Related Experiment Videos
Molecular pathogenesis of pulmonary carcinosarcoma as determined by microdissection-based allelotyping
Sanja Dacic1, Sydney D Finkelstein, Eizaburo Sasatomi
1Department of Pathology, Division of Anatomic Pathology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Presbyterian University Hospital, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. dacics@msx.upmc.edu
The American Journal of Surgical Pathology
|March 27, 2002
Summary
Pulmonary carcinosarcoma, a rare biphasic lung tumor, originates from a single clone. Comparative genotypic analysis revealed similar allelic loss patterns in both epithelial and mesenchymal components, supporting monoclonal origin.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Genetics
- Pathology
Background:
- Pulmonary carcinosarcoma is a rare biphasic tumor with malignant epithelial and mesenchymal elements.
- The histogenesis of pulmonary carcinosarcoma is debated due to divergent cell lineages and the clonal nature of malignancy.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the clonal origin of pulmonary carcinosarcoma.
- To compare the genotypic profiles of epithelial and mesenchymal components within individual tumors.
Main Methods:
- Comparative genotypic analysis of six pulmonary carcinosarcoma cases.
- Microdissection to isolate epithelial and mesenchymal components.
- Analysis of loss of heterozygosity using 12 polymorphic microsatellite markers near tumor suppressor genes.
Main Results:
- Both epithelial and mesenchymal components exhibited extensive allelic loss, particularly on chromosomes 3p, 5q, and 17p.
- Equivalent patterns of acquired allelic loss were observed between the two components within individual cases.
- Minor differences in allelic fingerprints suggest progressive allelic loss accumulation, potentially more frequent in the mesenchymal component.
Conclusions:
- The findings strongly support a monoclonal origin for pulmonary carcinosarcoma.
- Microdissection-based allelic fingerprinting is effective for studying relationships between neoplastic components.