Apocrine-eccrine carcinomas: molecular and immunohistochemical analyses

• Published in: PloS one 2012-10, Vol.7 (10), p.e47290-e47290
• Main Authors: Le, Long P, Dias-Santagata, Dora, Pawlak, Amanda C, Cosper, Arjola K, Nguyen, Anh Thu, Selim, M Angelica, Deng, April, Horick, Nora K, Iafrate, A John, Mihm, Jr, Martin C, Hoang, Mai P
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 1-Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase; Adenoid; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; AKT protein; AKT1 protein; Analysis; Apocrine Glands - metabolism; Apocrine Glands - pathology; Biology; Breast cancer; Cancer; Cancer therapies; Carcinoma; Carcinoma - metabolism; Carcinoma - pathology; Care and treatment; Chemotherapy; Drugs; Eccrine Glands - metabolism; Eccrine Glands - pathology; Epidermal growth factor; Epidermal growth factor receptors; ErbB-2 protein; Female; Fluorescence; Fluorescence in situ hybridization; Gene amplification; Gene expression; Health aspects; Hospitals; Humans; Immunohistochemistry; Immunohistochemistry - methods; In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; Kinases; Male; Medical prognosis; Medical schools; Medicine; Metastasis; Middle Aged; Mutation; p53 Protein; Pathology; Patients; Prognosis; Receptor, Epidermal Growth Factor - genetics; Receptor, Epidermal Growth Factor - metabolism; Receptor, ErbB-2 - genetics; Receptor, ErbB-2 - metabolism; Receptors; Studies; Therapeutic applications; TOR protein; Trisomy; Tumor proteins; Tumors; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0047290

Apocrine-eccrine carcinomas are rare and associated with poor prognosis. Currently there is no uniform treatment guideline. Chemotherapeutic drugs that selectively target cancer-promoting pathways may complement conventional therapeutic approaches. However, studies on genetic alterations and EGFR and Her2 status of apocrine-eccrine carcinomas are few in number. In addition, hormonal studies have not been comprehensive and performed only on certain subsets of apocrine-eccrine carcinomas. To investigate whether apocrine-eccrine carcinomas express hormonal receptors or possess activation of oncogenic pathways that can be targeted by available chemotherapeutic agent we performed immunohistochemistry for AR, PR, ER, EGFR, and HER2 expression; fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) for EGFR and ERBB2 gene amplification; and molecular analyses for recurrent mutations in 15 cancer genes including AKT-1, EGFR, PIK3CA, and TP53 on 54 cases of apocrine-eccrine carcinomas. They include 10 apocrine carcinomas, 7 eccrine carcinomas, 9 aggressive digital papillary adenocarcinomas, 10 hidradenocarcinomas, 11 porocarcinomas, 1 adenoid cystic carcinoma, 4 malignant chondroid syringomas, 1 malignant spiradenoma, and 1 malignant cylindroma. AR, ER, PR, EGFR and HER2 expression was seen in 36% (19/53), 27% (14/51), 16% (8/51), 85% (44/52) and 12% (6/52), respectively. Polysomy or trisomy of EGFR was detected by FISH in 30% (14/46). Mutations of AKT-1, PIK3CA, and TP53 were detected in 1, 3, and 7 cases, respectively (11/47, 23%). Additional investigation regarding the potential treatment of rare cases of apocrine-eccrine carcinomas with PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway inhibitors, currently in clinical testing, may be of clinical interest.