Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013 Jun;139(6):1073-81.
doi: 10.1007/s00432-013-1420-6. Epub 2013 Mar 26.

Can HMGI-C be used as an aid with MDM2 and CDK4 to differentiate liposarcoma subtypes from their mimics?

Hanan Alshenawy  1
Affiliations

Can HMGI-C be used as an aid with MDM2 and CDK4 to differentiate liposarcoma subtypes from their mimics?

Hanan Alshenawy. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol. 2013 Jun.

Abstract

Purpose: Liposarcoma represents the most common soft tissue tumors in adults. The tumors are characterized by a high morphological diversity and a great variation in biological behavior. Atypical lipomatous tumors represent a distinctive subset of mesenchymal neoplasms featuring mature adipocytic differentiation. Histologically, atypical lipomatous tumor might be easily confused with lipoma. Conversely, dedifferentiated liposarcoma may be confused with other spindle cell/pleomorphic undifferentiated tumors.

Methods: A group of liposarcomas was analyzed by investigating the MDM2, CDK4, and HMGI-C proteins. The study was extended to a group of lipomas and non-lipomatous sarcomas, to determine whether the immunohistochemical investigation of these proteins might play any diagnostic role.

Results: Our data suggest that ordinary lipomas may form a molecular genetic and morphological continuum with atypical lipomatous tumor. At one end of the spectrum are lipomas characterized by HMGI-C activation and at the other end are atypical lipomatous tumors with overrepresentation of the HMGI-C, CDK4, or MDM2 proteins. These findings not only provide insights into the molecular pathogenesis of lipomatous tumors, but also indicate that the immunohistochemical analysis of HMGI-C, CDK4, or MDM2 may help to increase diagnostic accuracy.

Conclusions: HMGI-C is a useful adjunct in the diagnosis of atypical lipomatous tumor and dedifferentiated liposarcoma and differentiates them from their mimics. Therefore, in our experience, HMGI-C expression alone is of rather limited value in the differential diagnosis of liposarcoma subtypes.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
A case of ALT/WLS showing strong MDM2 (a), CDK4 (b), and HMGI-C staining (c), and a case of conventional lipoma stained with HMGI-C (d) (strept avidin–biotin–DAB)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
A case of dedifferentiated liposarcoma positive for MDM2 (a), CDK4 (b), and HMGI-C (c) (strept avidin–biotin–DAB)
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
A case of synovial sarcoma (a), GIST (b), and osteosarcoma (c) positive for HMGI-C (strept avidin–biotin–DAB)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Alexio PB, Hartmann AA, Menezes IC, Meurer RT, Olivera AM (2009) Can MDM2 and CDK4 make the diagnosis of well differentiated/dedifferentiated liposarcoma? An immunohistochemical study of 129 soft tissue tumours. J Clin Pathol 62:1127–1135 - PubMed
    1. Angelo P, Dei T, Claudio D, Sara P, Raf S, Alberto F, Mauro B, Paola DC, Roberta M, Fletcher CDM, Giovanni T (2000) Coordinated expression and amplification of the MDM2, CDK4, and HMGI-C genes in atypical lipomatous tumours. J Pathol 190:531–536 - PubMed
    1. Antoine I, Laurence B, Elisabet G et al (2009) Clinical and biological significance of CDK4 amplification in well-differentiated and dedifferentiated liposarcomas. Clin Cancer Res 15:5696–5703 - PubMed
    1. Bartuma H, Panagopoulos I, Collin A et al (2009) Expression levels of HMGA2 in adipocytic tumors correlate with morphologic and cytogenetic subgroups. Mol Cancer 8:36–41 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Binh MB, Sastre-Garau X, Guillou L et al (2005) MDM2 and CDK4 immunostainings are useful adjuncts in diagnosing well-differentiated and dedifferentiated liposarcoma subtypes: a comparative analysis of 559 soft tissue neoplasms with genetic data. Am J Surg Pathol 29:1340–1344 - PubMed

MeSH terms