Aims: Sebaceous neoplasms constitute a group of adnexal tumours, including sebaceous adenoma, sebaceoma and sebaceous carcinoma. Although mismatch repair deficiency may be observed, the nature of the genetic alterations contributing to the development of most of these tumours is still unknown. In the present study, we describe the clinical, microscopic, and molecular features of eight sebaceomas with GRHL gene rearrangement.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSince their initial description in 1948, Spitz tumours have always been a challenge in the field of dermatopathology and paediatric pathology. Advances in molecular pathology have confirmed they are associated with specific anomalies, mainly gene fusions. They display a wide range of clinical presentations and histological subtypes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe histological similarities between pleomorphic adenomas (PAs) and cutaneous mixed tumors (CMTs) found in certain facial regions can create a diagnostic challenge. Molecular findings reveal common genetic profiles, particularly PLAG1 rearrangements in both PA and CMT. Although molecular distinctions have received limited attention, our observations indicate multiple cases of CMTs carrying the TRPS1::PLAG1 fusion.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRecent data have redefined the genetic spectrum of pigmented epithelioid melanocytomas (PEMs). PEM is now defined by a secondary genetic event, a protein kinase cAMP-dependent type I regulatory subunit alpha (PRKAR1A) inactivation, that confers the specific cytomorphology of the entity, but this event can arise within a naevus with a genetic background of common, blue or Spitz type. PKC-fused melanocytic proliferations, although they can exhibit PEM-like morphological features, have now been regrouped within the blue group of tumours.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDespite growing descriptions of wild-type Huntingtin (wt-HTT) roles in both adult brain function and, more recently, development, several clinical trials are exploring HTT-lowering approaches that target both wt-HTT and the mutant isoform (mut-HTT) responsible for Huntington's disease (HD). This non-selective targeting is based on the autosomal dominant inheritance of HD, supporting the idea that mut-HTT exerts its harmful effects through a toxic gain-of-function or a dominant-negative mechanism. However, the precise amount of wt-HTT needed for healthy neurons in adults and during development remains unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Cutan Pathol
October 2024
Context: Merkel cell carcinoma diagnosis is often based on microscopic examination by pathologists. While histopathologic diagnosis primarily hinges on conscious and analytical cognition, the pathologist's decision-making process is also influenced by a rapid "gist" or "gestalt" approach. In this study, using cases of Merkel cell carcinoma as a model, we aim to assess how pathologists' viewing short videos containing conceptual clues and visual aids, in conjunction with reading an original article as a reference, may enhance their diagnostic performance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHidrocystoma is thought to be a benign retention cyst of sweat ductal units. The lesion is usually located in the periorbital skin; however, lesions with similar histopathological features are rarely observed in extra-facial sites. Herein, we present four cases of hidrocystoma-like tumours in extra-facial skin sites that harboured a RET or ALK rearrangement.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPerivascular epithelioid cell neoplasms (PEComas) are tumors of uncertain cell lineage that occur across a wide age range, at a variety of anatomic sites, and with a female predominance. Most PEComas are associated with dysregulation of the mTOR pathway, most commonly through inactivating mutations of TSC2 or TSC1 . However, a small subset of PEComas are instead associated with TFE3 gene fusions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPerivascular epithelioid cell tumors (PEComas) are a family of benign neoplasms characterized by smooth muscle and melanocytic differentiation. Orbital cases are rare. A 9-year-old male presented with a slowly growing orbital mass.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Aims: PKC-fused blue naevi are a recently described group of melanocytic tumours that have distinctive morphological features, including a pigmented epithelioid melanocytoma-like junctional component or a dermal biphasic architecture associating with naevocytoid nests surrounded by dendritic and spindled pigmented melanocytes (so-called 'combined common and blue naevus'). There have been reports of smooth muscle hyperplasia in a hamartoma-like pattern in cases of combined blue naevi without genetic exploration.
Materials And Methods: Herein, we describe 12 cases of protein kinase C (PKC)-fused blue tumours associated with a co-existing smooth muscle hyperplasia, identified from a total of 98 PKC-fused melanocytic tumours.
Next-generation sequencing (NGS) is increasingly being utilized as an ancillary tool for diagnostically challenging melanocytic neoplasms. It is incumbent upon the pathology community to perform studies assessing the benefits and limitations of these tools in specific diagnostic scenarios. One of the most challenging diagnostic scenarios faced by skin pathologists involves accurate diagnosis of desmoplastic melanocytic neoplasms (DMNs).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn some tumoral subtypes chromosomal translocations lead to an oncogenic chimeric protein acting as a tumorigenesis driver event. The main fusion model combines the promoter swapping of an inactivated tumor suppressor gene and a functional kinase that evades its regulatory system. The range of described fusions keeps growing in the 2023 WHO classification of melanocytic tumours.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe recently described novel dermal tumors with melanocytic differentiation and morphologic and biological similarities to cutaneous clear cell sarcoma, including CRTC1::TRIM11 cutaneous tumor, and clear cell tumors with melanocytic differentiation and either ACTIN::MITF or MITF::CREM. Here, we describe a series of 3 patients presenting with tumors reminiscent of CRTC1::TRIM11 cutaneous tumor, found to demonstrate a novel MED15::ATF1 fusion. All 3 patients were children (5-16 years old).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPerivascular epithelioid cell neoplasms (PEComas) are tumors of uncertain cell lineage that show a strong female predominance. Their hallmark is the presence of combined smooth muscle and melanocytic differentiation. In most cases, melanocytic differentiation is detectable only by immunohistochemistry, but there are rare reports of PEComa with extensive melanin accumulation (so-called "melanotic PEComa").
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnlabelled: An accurate estimate of patient survival at diagnosis is critical to plan efficient therapeutic options. A simple and multiapplication tool is needed to move forward the precision medicine era. Taking advantage of the broad and high CD10 expression in stem and cancers cells, we evaluated the molecular identity of aggressive cancer cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPoroma is a benign sweat gland tumour showing morphological features recapitulating the superficial portion of the eccrine sweat coil. A subset of poromas may transform into porocarcinoma, its malignant counterpart. Poroma and porocarcinoma are characterised by recurrent gene fusions involving YAP1, a transcriptional co-activator, which is controlled by the Hippo signalling pathway.
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