Frequent loss of heterozygosity of SMAD4 locus and prognostic impacts of SMAD4 immunohistochemistry in gastric adenocarcinoma with enteroblastic differentiation

Recent advances in therapeutic use of transforming growth factor-beta inhibitors in cancer and fibrosis

Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) has long been known to be associated with early embryonic development and organogenesis, immune supervision, and tissue repair and homeostasis in adults. TGF-β has complex roles in fibrosis and cancer that may be opposing at different stages of these diseases. Under pathological conditions, overexpression of TGF-β causes epithelial-mesenchymal transition, deposition of extracellular matrix, and formation of cancer-associated fibroblasts, leading to fibrotic disease or cancer. Fibroblasts, epithelial cells, and immune cells are the most common targets of TGF-β, while fibrosis and cancer are the most common TGF-β-associated diseases. Given the critical role of TGF-β and its downstream molecules in fibrosis and progression of cancer, therapies targeting TGF-β signaling appear to be a promising strategy. Preclinical and clinical studies have investigated therapies targeting TGF-β, including antisense oligonucleotides, monoclonal antibodies, and ligand traps. However, development of targeted TGF-β therapy has been hindered by systemic cytotoxicity. This review discusses the molecular mechanisms of TGF-β signaling and highlights targeted TGF-β therapy for cancer and fibrosis as a therapeutic strategy for related diseases.

Gastric Adenocarcinoma with Enteroblastic Differentiation in the Presence of Calcification: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Gastric adenocarcinoma with enteroblastic differentiation is a specific subtype of gastric cancer that is rare and highly malignant, usually presenting at an early stage with lymphovascular invasion, lymph node, and distant metastases, resulting in a poor prognosis. The pathology of this patient showed a classic tubular adenocarcinoma infiltrating into the mucosal layer, with the presence of cytoplasmic translucent tumor cells below the mucosal layer. It is noteworthy that this patient did not exhibit lymphovascular invasion, lymph node, and distant metastasis. Additionally, a large amount of calcification was observed; therefore, it remains unclear whether there exists any correlation between the two factors. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report demonstrating massive calcification in gastric adenocarcinoma with enteroblastic differentiation, which may have implications for future diagnosis of this rare subtype of gastric cancer.

Pulmonary invasive mucinous adenocarcinoma

Invasive mucinous adenocarcinoma (IMA) is a relatively rare subtype of lung adenocarcinoma, composed of goblet and/or columnar tumour cells containing abundant intracytoplasmic mucin vacuoles. While a majority of IMAs are driven by KRAS mutations, recent studies have identified distinct genomic alterations, such as NRG1 and ERBB2 fusions. IMAs also more frequently present as a pneumonic-like pattern with multifocal and multilobar involvement, and comparative genomic profiling predominantly shows a clonal relationship, suggesting intrapulmonary metastases rather than synchronous primary tumours. Accordingly, these unique features require different therapeutic approaches when compared to nonmucinous adenocarcinomas in general. In this article, we review recent updates on the histopathological, clinical, and molecular features of IMAs, and also highlight some unresolved issues for future studies.

Exploring the molecular characteristics of the malignant potential of gastric adenocarcinoma with enteroblastic differentiation

AIMS

Gastric adenocarcinoma with enteroblastic differentiation (GAED) is a rare subset of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP)-producing carcinomas with poor prognosis. However, the molecular features associated with the malignant potential of GEAD remain partially elucidated.

METHODS AND RESULTS

In this study, the relationship between clinicopathological parameters and aggressive biological behaviour was analysed in 37 patients with GAED. The results showed that GAED tended to infiltrate the deep layer of the gastric wall and possessed more frequent vascular invasion than conventional gastric adenocarcinoma (CGA) (P < 0.001). All distant metastases were observed in the GAED group, not the CGA group (P < 0.001). High HER2 expression was found in nearly 24.32% of the informative cases, and none showed EBV-encoded RNA positivity or deficient mismatch repair. The most frequently mutated gene in GAED was p53. Programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) immunostaining revealed 13 patients with a combined positive score (CPS) ≥ 5 (65%, 13 of 20). Thus, based on these molecular markers (immunostaining, in situ hybridisation and mutation analysis), GAED may be classified as a unique subgroup of the chromosomal instability subtype with HER2+ /EBV- /MSS/TP53+ /PD-L1+ . Next-generation sequencing analyses showed that mutations in the TOPI, ELOA and NOTCH3 genes were found only in GAED, and abnormally expressed genes in GAED were significantly enriched in hepatocellular carcinoma-, gland development-, and gastric cancer-related pathways.

CONCLUSION

The HER2+ /EBV- /MSS/TP53+ /PD-L1+ profile and hepatocellular carcinoma-related pathways may be significant in the malignant potential of GAED. In addition to anti-HER2 therapy, immune check-point inhibitors may be an effective treatment option for patients with GAED.

Clinicopathological characteristics of gastric adenocarcinoma with enteroblastic differentiation and gastric adenocarcinoma with enteroblastic marker expression

Gastric adenocarcinoma (GA) with enteroblastic differentiation (GAED) is an aggressive carcinoma histologically characterized by a glycogen-rich clear cytoplasm and fetal gut-like structures. GAED shows the expression of at least one of the following enteroblastic markers (EMs): glypican-3 (GPC3), spalt-like transcription factor 4 (SALL4), and α-fetoprotein (AFP). Despite the absence of clear cytoplasm, we often encounter GA with EMs expression (GA with EM); however, the clinicopathological characteristics of GA with EM remain unclear. Immunohistochemical (IHC) expression of three EMs (AFP, GPC3, and SALL4) was examined on tissue microarray. According to the status of the clear cytoplasm of tumor cells, GAs showing IHC expression of EMs were classified as either GAED or GA with EM, and this analysis categorized 688 GAs into 94 GAEDs (13.7%), 58 GAs with EM (8.4%), and 536 conventional GAs (CGAs). Both GAED and GA with EM showed frequent lymphovascular invasion, lymph node metastasis, and liver metastasis compared to CGA. However, a higher frequency of venous invasion, but not of lymphatic invasion, was noted for GAED in comparison to CGA. GAED and GA with EM showed similar overall survival. GAED had significantly poorer prognosis than CGA; however, not for GA with EM. Furthermore, GA showing EM expression had a worse prognosis than CGA. Interestingly, GA showing EM-positive group was more aggressive than CGA group as they had frequent venous invasion and liver metastasis despite its smaller tumor size. GAED and GA with EM can be clinically classified as aggressive tumors but pathologically they seem to be slightly different.

Cytopathological features of gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma with enteroblastic differentiation and histopathological correlation

The authors report a case of gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma with enteroblastic differentiation (GAED) presenting as an unknown primary and offer the first description of this tumour on cytological preparation with histopathological correlation. Although challenging, a specific diagnosis can be made in the right clinical scenario.

Molecular and clinicopathological analysis of three cases of gastric juvenile polyposis

Background and Aim

Juvenile polyposis (JP) is a rare disease known to be associated with mutations either in SMAD4/BMPR1A. JP is known to often develop into malignant tumors, with a reported probability of 9–50%. However, the mechanisms of its carcinogenesis are not fully understood. We tried to elucidate the mechanisms of malignant transformation underlying this condition in three cases of gastric JP.

Methods

We selected polyps from each patient displaying varying degrees of atypia and their nearby normal polyps and compared them using immunohistochemistry, Sanger sequencing, and loss of heterozygosity (LOH) analysis of SMAD4, BMPR1A, and TP53.

Results

Two of the three cases were suspected of having germline SMAD4 mutations based on their familial medical histories; the remaining case was found to have a SMAD4 germline mutation following preoperative genetic testing. All three cases were shown to present with both SMAD4 positive and negative areas across each lesion, with the neoplastic lesions tending to show stronger nuclear SMAD4 expression. This expression was closely associated with the SMAD4 LOH status; however, we also noted paradoxical SMAD4 expression in the neoplastic lesions despite the biallelic inactivation of SMAD4 revealed in the genetic evaluation.

Conclusions

These data suggest that strong nuclear expression of SMAD4, even when seemingly paradoxical, seems to be closely associated with dysplastic polyps in JP. Complete inactivation of SMAD4 was not shown to be essential for the development of dysplastic polyps in gastric JP, and other pathways seemed to be involved in the acquisition of the malignant phenotype.

Clinicopathological and mutational analysis of esophageal basaloid squamous cell carcinoma

Esophageal basaloid squamous cell carcinoma (EBSCC) is a poorly differentiated variant of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). We aimed to investigate the clinicopathological and molecular biological characteristics of EBSCC and enrolled 58 patients with EBSCCs. Clinicopathological factors including age, sex, tumor size and location, gross tumor type (superficial, protrusive, ulcerative, and unclassifiable), lymphovascular invasion, infiltrative growth, intramural invasion, TNM stage, and dominant histological type were examined. EBSCCs were classified into four types (solid, cribri, microcystic, and tubular) according to the dominant histology. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) of a cancer hotspot panel was performed in 19 cases. NGS identified TP53 as the most frequently mutated gene, and copy number variation analysis revealed the most frequent loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at the ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) and retinoblastoma 1 (RB1) loci. Target sequencing for TP53 was performed for the remaining 39 cases. We also performed LOH analysis for TP53, ATM, and RB1 and immunohistochemical staining for p53, ATM, and Rb in all cases. The rates of TP53 mutations and LOH and p53 aberrant expression were high (79.3%, 63.2%, and 72.4%, respectively); however, the frequencies were similar to those reported for ESCC. LOH rates of the RB1 and ATM loci were also high (55.3% and 67.2%, respectively). Overall survival rate was 66.5%, and recurrence-free survival rate was 55.0%. Only conventional clinicopathological factors had a prognostic impact in EBSCC; the microcystic type had the poorest prognosis. Our findings could be useful in developing novel treatment strategies for EBSCC.

New substituted molecular classifications of advanced gastric adenocarcinoma: characteristics and probable treatment strategies

Background

Gastric adenocarcinoma (GA) is a heterogeneous tumor, and the accurate classification of GA is important. Previous classifications are based on molecular analysis and have not focused on GA with the primitive enterocyte phenotype (GAPEP), a unique subtype with a poor prognosis and frequent liver metastases. New substituted molecular (SM) classifications based on immunohistochemistry (IHC) are needed.

Methods

According to the IHC staining results, we divided 582 cases into six types: mismatch repair deficient (dMMR), Epstein-Barr virus associated (EBVa), the primitive enterocyte phenotype (PEP), the epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) phenotype, not otherwise specified/P53 mutated (NOS/P53m) and not otherwise specified/P53 wild-type (NOS/P53w). We analyzed the clinicopathological features, the immune microenvironment (PD-L1, CD8) and expression of HER2 and VEGFR2 of those types.

Results

There were 31 (5.3%) cases of the dMMR type, 13 (2.2%) cases of the EBVa type, 44 (7.6%) cases of the PEP type, 122 (21.0%) cases of the EMT type, 127 (21.8%) cases of the NOS/P53m type and 245 (42.1%) cases of the NOS/P53w type. Patients with the dMMR type had the best survival (P < 0.001). Patients with the EBVa type were younger (P < 0.001) and had higher PD-L1 and CD8 expression (P < 0.001) than other patients. Patients with the EMT type exhibited poor differentiation and a higher rate of abdominal metastasis. Patients with the NOS/P53m and PEP types had the worst survival rates and the highest PD-L1/HER2/VEGFR2 expression levels among all patients (P < 0.001).

Conclusion

Different SM classifications have different clinicopathological features and expression patterns, which indicate the probable clinical treatment strategies for these subtypes.

Clinicopathological and molecular characteristics of the alpha-fetoprotein-producing gastric cancer: emphasis on two major subtypes

Alpha-fetoprotein-producing gastric cancer (AFPGC) is associated with high invasion and poor prognosis, but has not been well-documented due to its rarity. To develop the understanding of AFPGC, and further facilitate its clinical decision-making and treatment, we performed clinicopathological and molecular characterization of AFPGC and its two major subtypes, namely, gastric adenocarcinoma with enteroblastic differentiation (GAED) and hepatoid adenocarcinoma (HAC). The clinicopathological and molecular characteristics of AFPGC patients (n = 54) were mainly investigated by immunohistochemistry and next-generation sequencing (NGS) approaches. AFPGC exhibited a higher incidence of lymphatic and vascular invasion than conventional gastric adenocarcinoma (CGA). Despite various morphological patterns, there was mostly no evident difference in clinicopathological characteristics between the GAED and HAC subtypes. Target-enriched NGS profiling of disease mutation landscapes discovered 17 differentially mutated genes between AFPGC and CGA. The AFPGC patients carrying ZNF217 mutations had poorer overall survival than the ZNF217 wildtype. Furthermore, ATR showed a significantly higher mutation rate in GAED than in HAC. Overall, our study of clinicopathological characteristics shed light on the differences between CGA and AFPGC, as well as the relationships between the GAED and HAC subtypes of AFPGC. Furthermore, mutation landscape profiling revealed potential diagnostic and prognostic markers for AFPGC and its two subtypes.

Both the serum AFP test and AFP/GPC3/SALL4 immunohistochemistry are beneficial for predicting the prognosis of gastric adenocarcinoma

BACKGROUND

Both gastric adenocarcinoma with primitive enterocyte phenotype (GAPEP) (including hepatoid adenocarcinoma) and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP)-producing gastric adenocarcinoma have poor prognoses. However, the value of the serum AFP test and AFP/glypican-3 (GPC3)/spalt-like transcription factor 4 (SALL4) immunohistochemistry is still not clear, and these two methods have not yet been thoroughly compared.

METHODS

We collected 421 consecutive non-neoadjuvant surgically or endoscopically resected gastric adenocarcinoma patients with serum AFP results before surgery (group A). We divided these cases into serum AFP-high (sAFP-H) and serum AFP-normal (sAFP-N) by serum AFP levels, and into GAPEP (expressing AFP, GPC3, or SALL4) and non-GAPEP (nGAPEP) by AFP/GPC3/SALL4 immunohistochemistry results. We also collected 12 non-resected gastric adenocarcinoma patients with serum AFP ≥ 7 ng/mL before treatment (group B). We analyzed these patients' clinicopathological characteristics and prognoses.

RESULTS

Seventeen (4.04%) patients in group A were sAFP-H. These patients were younger and mainly had tubular adenocarcinoma with later pT (P = 0.014) and pN (P = 0.047) categories and more lymphovascular invasion (P < 0.001), perineural spread (P = 0.008), and metastases or recurrence (P < 0.001). For immunohistochemistry, 34 (8.08%) cases were GAPEP, and GAPEP cases also had later pT categories than nGAPEP cases (P = 0.001). Most group B patients with elevated serum AFP (especially > 1000 ng/mL) had simultaneous metastases, mainly liver metastases. Both the serological method and immunohistochemical method were useful for predicting prognosis (AUC _sAFP = 0.625, AUC _A/G/S-IHC = 0.723, z statistic = 1.726, P = 0.084). The serum AFP level (especially > 1000 ng/mL) is more specific (100%), and immunohistochemistry is more sensitive (50%).

CONCLUSION

Both the serum AFP level and immunohistochemical expression of AFP/GPC3/SALL4 can be used to indicate a poor prognosis for gastric adenocarcinoma.

Nomogram model characterized by mutant genes and clinical indexes to identify high-risk patients with stage III/IV colorectal cancer

Background

The aim of the present study was to construct a nomogram model of high-risk stage III/IV colorectal cancer (CRC).

Methods

Gene mutation and clinical information of 251 CRC patients were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Targeted next-generation sequencing was performed on 44 patients to screen shared mutation genes with frequency >5% between TCGA and clinical cohorts. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to analyze the mutant genes and clinical indexes, and a high-risk stage III/IV nomogram model was constructed. The nomogram model was further validated in the clinical cohort.

Results

SMAD family member 4 (SMAD4), zinc finger homeobox 3 (ZFHX3), and phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate-dependent Rac exchanger 2 (PREX2) mutations; pathological location; and preoperative carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) value were screened out to compose a high-risk III/IV nomogram model. The nomogram had good calibration and discriminative ability, with an area under the curve of 0.76 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.69-0.84]. Hosmer-Leme show test indicated that the model had good goodness of fit (P=0.83). The decision curve revealed this a nomogram model was feasible in clinical practice. In our clinical cohort, the calibration curve did not show good calibration and discrimination.

Conclusions

We established a nomogram model, including the mutation status of SMAD4, ZFHX3, and PREX2; pathological location; and preoperative CEA value, which showed accuracy in the risk prediction of stage III/IV CRC patients.

Molecular and clinicopathological features of colorectal adenocarcinoma with enteroblastic differentiation

BACKGROUND

Colorectal adenocarcinoma with enteroblastic differentiation (CAED) is a rare subtype of colorectal malignancy with expression of enteroblastic markers (glypican 3, SALL4, AFP); however, the clinicopathological and epidemiological features are not fully elucidated.

AIMS

The aims of this study were to elucidate and establish the molecular and clinicopathological characteristics of CAED.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In addition to three cases recently diagnosed as CAED, colorectal carcinoma (CRC) with expression of enteroblastic markers were selected by using immunohistochemistry (IHC) on tissue microarrays of 988 advanced CRC. We employed next-generation sequencing (NGS) and Sanger sequencing for the detection of genetic alterations. IHC for p53 and HER2, HER2-FISH and MSI status was also investigated. Survival analyses for clinicopathological parameters were performed using Kaplan-Meier methods.

RESULTS

Thirty-nine cases (4.0%) were positive for at least one enteroblastic marker. Histological evaluation of the total of 42 cases revealed that 10 contained tumour cells with clear cytoplasm. Enteroblastic marker-positive cases had aggressive behaviour and poor prognosis. NGS revealed TP53 as the most frequently mutated gene. The rate of HER2-positive cases and MSI-H cases was 9.5% (four of 42) and 12.2% (five of 41), respectively. Among these 42 cases, there were no molecular and clinicopathological differences according to the presence of tumour cells with clear cytoplasm.

CONCLUSIONS

Enteroblastic marker-positive CRC could be grouped together as CAED regardless of clear cell cytoplasm. Using this definition, the frequency of CAED is 4.0% and has a poorer prognosis than that for conventional CRCs. HER2 targeted therapy would be a meaningful treatment for CAED, and CAEDs contain both MSI-H and MSI-stable CRCs, although the MSS phenotype is dominant.