Differential diagnosis between pancreatic neuroendocrine and solid pseudopapillary neoplasms on endoscopic...

To evaluate the role of applying a limited panel of immunohistochemical stains on the cellblock preparation from samples obtained by endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) in the aim of differentiating solid pseudopapillary neoplasms (SPNs) from neuroendocrine tumors (NETs).

We retrospectively retrieved all the EUS-FNAs of the pancreas that have a diagnosis of NET or SPN that were performed at 2 tertiary care hospitals in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from May 2004 to December 2014. Diff-Quik, Papanicolaou, and Immunohistochemistry stains on cellblock preparations were performed.

Twenty cases were available (16 pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (pNETs) and 4 SPNs). The pNETs were immunoreactive for synaptophysin, chromogranin A and CD56 while E-cadherin was diffusely to focally cytoplasmic positive. β-catenin was negative or showed focal cytoplasmic immunoreactivity. In comparison, SPNs were positive for vimentin, CD10, CD-56, focally positive for progesterone receptors and synaptophysin, and revealed nuclear immunostaining for β-catenin. They were negative for chromogranin A and E-cadherin.

Based on EUS-FNA samples, nuclear immunoreactivity for β-catenin with loss of membranous immunostaining for E-Cadherin can potentially facilitate differentiating SPNs from pNETs.