Translocation (Y;12) in lipoma

Lipomas are the most common benign mesenchymal neoplasm in adults, and have been extensively characterized at the cytogenetic level. Chromosomal aberrations have been observed in the majority of lipomas, two-thirds of which involve chromosomal region 12q14.3. To date, structural rearrangements have been reported affecting every chromosome except chromosome Y. Here we report a case of a lipoma that shows a novel apparently balanced translocation involving chromosomes Y and 12. Fluorescence in situ hybridization using a break-apart HMGA2 in-house probe set detected a single signal on the normal chromosome 12 but not on either the derivative chromosome Y or 12, indicating a cryptic loss of 12q14.3, where HMGA2 is mapped. Immunohistochemical studies, however, revealed overexpression of HMGA2 with nuclear expression in the majority of tumor cells, whereas MDM2 and CDK4 were negative. The overexpression of HMGA2 may be caused by a cryptic chromosomal aberration affecting either the cytogenetically unaltered HMGA2 allele or HMGA2 regulators elsewhere. The current case broadens our knowledge about the translocation partners of HMGA2 in lipomas and highlights the biological complexity in regulating HMGA2 expression.