Usefulness of β-catenin expression in the differential diagnosis of osteosarcoma, osteoblastoma, and chondroblastoma

• Published in: Virchows Archiv : an international journal of pathology 2021-09, Vol.479 (3), p.529-535
• Main Authors: Erdogan, Kivilcim Eren, Pacheco, Marina, Gambarotti, Marco, Magagnoli, Giovanna, Sbaraglia, Marta, Frisoni, Tommaso, Righi, Alberto, Dei Tos, Angelo Paolo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biomedical materials; Bone cancer; Bone tumors; Chondroblastoma; Diagnosis; Differential diagnosis; Medical diagnosis; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Original Article; Osteoblastoma; Osteoid; Osteosarcoma; Pathology; Sarcoma; Staining; Tumors; β-Catenin
• ISSN: 0945-6317; 1432-2307
• DOI: 10.1007/s00428-020-03004-2

The aim of this study is to assess the usefulness of beta-catenin immunohistochemical expression in the differential diagnosis of osteoid-producing primary tumors of bone. Seventy cases of osteoid-producing tumors of bone (24 conventional osteosarcomas, 18 osteoblastomas, 13 osteoblastoma-like osteosarcomas, 10 chondroblastomas, and 5 chondroblastoma-like osteosarcomas) diagnosed at Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli were reviewed and evaluated for the intensity, extension, and subcellular distribution of immunohistochemical expression of beta-catenin. A majority of cases (73%, 51 cases) exhibited cytoplasmic and/or membranous positivity in varied degrees of intensity and proportion of positive cells, in the absence of nuclear staining. Fifteen cases (21%) were completely negative, including two osteoblastomas, five chondroblastomas, three conventional osteosarcomas, four osteoblastoma-like osteosarcomas, and one chondroblastoma-like osteosarcoma. A minority of cases (6%) including three osteoblastoma-like osteosarcomas and one osteoblastoma showed focal nuclear beta-catenin positivity with or without concomitant cytoplasmic staining. In the current series, beta-catenin showed not to be useful in the differential diagnosis of osteoid-producing primary bone tumors.