A Clinicopathological and Immunohistochemical Study of Lymphatic Differentiation in 49 Angiosarcomas
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Histopathology 2010, 56, 364–371. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2559.2010.03484.x Can lymphangiosarcoma be resurrected? A clinicopathological and immunohistochemical study of lymphatic differentiation in 49 angiosarcomas Cohra C Mankey, Jonathan B McHugh, Dafydd G Thomas & David R Lucas Department of Pathology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA Date of submission 18 November 2008 Accepted for publication 12 June 2009 Mankey C C, McHugh J B, Thomas D G & Lucas D R (2010) Histopathology 56, 364–371 Can lymphangiosarcoma be resurrected? A clinicopathological and immunohistochemical study of lymphatic differentiation in 49 angiosarcomas Aims: The term lymphangiosarcoma has largely been as hobnail and kaposiform morphologies were more abandoned in the current classification of endothelial often positive with these markers, including a statistical neoplasms. Recently, a number of lymphatic-associated association between D2-40 and hobnailing. Ten antibodies have been developed for immunohistochem- tumours had features suggestive of lymphatic differen- istry, which frequently stain angiosarcomas, implying tiation, namely well-differentiated histology, interanas- lymphatic or mixed lymphatic and blood vascular tomosing channels devoid of red cells, prominent differentiation is common. The aim was to investigate hobnailing, lymphoid aggregates, and multi-antigen further lymphatic antigen expression, and to explore expression of D2-40 (100%), Prox-1 (100%) and the relation of immunohistochemistry to morphological VEGFR-3 (60%), which might be deserving of the and clinical findings. appellation lymphangiosarcoma. Nine were cutaneous Methods and results: Forty-nine angiosarcomas in scalp ⁄ facial tumours in elderly patients and one arose tissue microarrays were analysed with D2-40 and within chronic lymphoedema. antibodies to Prox-1 and vascular endothelial growth Conclusions: Lymphatic differentiation is common in factor receptor (VEGFR)-3. D2-40 was positive in 53%, angiosarcoma, certain subsets show greater lymphatic Prox-1 in 76%, and VEGFR-3 in 57%. Tumours with differentiation than others, and lymphangiosarcoma features attributable to lymphatic differentiation such may be defined pathologically, rather than clinically. Keywords: angiosarcoma, D2-40, immunohistochemistry, lymphangiosarcoma, podoplanin, Prox-1, VEGFR-3 Abbreviations: LYVE-1, lymphatic vessel hyaluronan receptor-1; TMA, tissue microarray; VEGFR, vascular endothelial growth factor receptor Introduction lymphatic vessels, thus having lymphatic endothelial differentiation. Today pathologists rarely make this The concept of lymphangiosarcoma originated in 1948 diagnosis, and distinguishing between lymphangiosar- when Stewart and Treves described six cases of a coma and haemangiosarcoma has essentially become malignant vascular neoplasm that arose in the upper an obsolete practice. This is summarized in Enzinger extremity many years after radical mastectomy.1 and Weiss’s Soft tissue tumors textbook: ‘Since it is Because the neoplasm arose in the setting of chronic usually impossible to determine which tumors display lymphoedema, it was presumed to have arisen from lymphatic versus vascular differentiation, all are referred to as angiosarcoma, even those that arise in the setting of lymphedema’.2 Address for correspondence: Dr David R. Lucas, Department of Recently, a number of antigens preferentially Pathology, University of Michigan, 2G332 UH, Ann Arbor, expressed by lymphatic endothelial cells have been MI 48109-0054, USA. e-mail: [email protected] discovered. Examples include podoplanin (recognized Ó 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation Ó 2010 Blackwell Publishing Limited. Lymphatic differentiation in angiosarcoma 365 by the monoclonal antibody D2-40), Prox-1, vascular The following features were evaluated: differentiation endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR)-3, and (well, moderate or poor, based upon criteria of the lymphatic vessel hyaluronan receptor-1 (LYVE-1), all French Federation of Cancer Centre Systems), archi- of which have been used to study vascular tumours by tecture (vasoformative, fascicular ⁄ kaposiform or solid), immunohistochemistry. These antigens are expressed in cytology (hobnail, epithelioid, spindled or pleomorphic) nearly all lymphangiomas,3–9 but in only a minority of and presence or absence of lymphoid aggregates within haemangiomas.4,5,7–12 They are also expressed in nearly the tumour. Cuboidal cells with scant cytoplasm and all Kaposi sarcomas,3–5,7,8,11,13 a tumour believed to apical hyperchromatic nuclei that protruded into the have at least partial lymphatic differentiation. Data vascular lumen were considered hobnail cells, whereas about expression of lymphatic antigens in angiosarco- cells with abundant eosinophilic cytoplasm and vesic- ma, however, are limited.3–5,8,11,14 For example, only ular nuclei with prominent nucleoli were considered one group has studied a large number of cases,4 only epithelioid cells. The series did not include any low- single antigens have been studied in all but one series,15 grade malignant vascular tumour such as retiform and Prox-1 has not been studied at all. Some studies haemangioendothelioma or Dabska tumour, tumours suggest that most angiosarcomas show some degree of with frequent hobnailing. lymphatic differentiation,3,4,8,14 whereas others suggest Tissue microarrays (TMAs) with three 1.0-mm that certain subsets show lymphatic differentiation and punches of each tumour were constructed and suggest a link between expression of lymphatic antigens immunostained with D2-40 and antibodies to Prox-1 and morphological features such as hobnail cytol- and VEGFR-3. Table 1 details the antibodies and ogy,5,11 non-epithelioid cytology,4,15 kaposiform archi- conditions. A variety of normal tissue samples and tecture,11 and lymphoid infiltrates or aggregates.5,11 neoplasms were included in the TMAs as controls. The purpose of our study was to analyse a large number TMAs were utilized to facilitate screening of multiple of angiosarcomas by immunohistochemistry with tumours with multiple antibodies. In tumours show- D2-40, and antibodies to Prox-1 and VEGFR-3 to ing cytoarchitectural heterogeneity, tissue cores were determine the extent of lymphatic antigen expression. selectively taken to sample for variation. In addition, In addition, we wanted to see if we could identify a whole block tissue sections were stained in 23 subgroup of angiosarcomas that might be considered tumours. These included nine tumours that were lymphangiosarcomas based upon morphological, underrepresented in the TMA, such as ones in which immunohistochemical and clinical features. the core sections were lost in processing. Cytoplasmic immunoreactivity was considered positive for D2-40 Materials and methods and VEGFR-3, whereas nuclear reactivity was consid- ered positive for Prox-1. For 14 tumours with mixed This study was conducted under approval of the well and poorly differentiated areas, selected whole Institutional Review Board of the University of Mich- blocks were stained to analyse for variation in igan. The pathology database was searched for all patterns of reactivity based upon histological grade. angiosarcomas diagnosed between 1986 and 2006. A separate TMA block containing five lymphangio- Forty-nine cases had sufficient tissue in paraffin blocks mas, four haemangiomas and six Kaposi sarcomas for immunohistochemical studies. Each case was was used for antibody validation. classified as sporadic cutaneous, sporadic visceral ⁄ Correlative analyses between tumours having hob- deep-seated, lymphoedema-associated or radiation- nail cytology and ⁄ or kaposiform architecture (mor- associated based upon information gleaned from the phological features often attributed to tumours with medical records. Haematoxylin and eosin-stained lymphatic differentiation) and immunopositivity with sections were re-examined to confirm the diagnosis. D2-40, Prox-1 and ⁄ or VEGFR-3 were performed using Table 1. Antibodies and procedures Antibody Species Manufacturer Address Dilution Pretreatment D2-40 Mouse Signet Dedham, MA, USA 1:50 None Prox-1 Rabbit Abcam Cambridge, MA, USA 1:100 HIER pH 6 VEGFR-3 Rabbit Abcam Cambridge 1:150 HIER pH 6 HIER, heat-induced epitope retrieval. Ó 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation Ó 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd, Histopathology, 56, 364–371. 366 C C Mankey et al. histograms and Fisher’s exact test. A P-value of <0.05 Table 2. Immunohistochemical results of validation samples was considered statistically significant. Kaposi’s Antibody Haemangioma Lymphangioma sarcoma Results D2-40 0 ⁄ 45⁄ 55⁄ 6 Among the 49 angiosarcomas, 22 were sporadic Prox-1 1 ⁄ 45⁄ 55⁄ 6 cutaneous tumours (18 of the scalp or face, and one each on the back, ante cubit, vulva and buttock), 15 VEGFR-3 0 ⁄ 44⁄ 55⁄ 6 were sporadic visceral ⁄ deep-seated tumours (five breast, three heart, and one each involving mediasti- num, thigh, adrenal gland, retroperitoneum, aorta, maxillary sinus, and femur), eight were radiation- With hobnailing (n = 19) 100 Without hobnailing (n = 30) associated (five breast, one scrotum, one suprapubic 89 skin, and one oral mucosa) and four were lymph- 90 79 oedema-associated (all involving the lower extremity). 80 Nineteen tumours had well-differentiated areas, 42 had 68 70 67 moderately or poorly differentiated areas. Fourteen tumours had both well and poorly differentiated areas 60 50 within the same tumour. Architectural features were % 50 vasoformative in 38, solid in 28, and kaposiform ⁄ fas- 40 37 cicular in 11. Cytological