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Review
. 2014:2014:514753.
doi: 10.1155/2014/514753. Epub 2014 Jan 21.

Brachyury: a diagnostic marker for the differential diagnosis of chordoma and hemangioblastoma versus neoplastic histological mimickers

Valeria Barresi  1 , Antonio Ieni  2 , Giovanni Branca  2 , Giovanni Tuccari  2
Affiliations
Review

Brachyury: a diagnostic marker for the differential diagnosis of chordoma and hemangioblastoma versus neoplastic histological mimickers

Valeria Barresi et al. Dis Markers. 2014.

Abstract

Brachyury is a transcription factor which is required for posterior mesoderm formation and differentiation as well as for notochord development during embryogenesis. Due to its expression in the neoplastic cells of chordoma, a malignant tumour deriving from notochordal remnants, but not in tumors showing a similar histology, brachyury has been proposed as a diagnostic marker of this neoplasia. Though commonly considered a hallmark of chordoma, the expression of brachyury has been also documented in the stromal cells of hemangioblastoma (HBL), a slow growing tumor which may involve the central nervous system (CNS) and, rarely, the kidney. Herein we review the role of brachyury immunohistochemical detection in the identification and differential diagnosis of chordoma and HBL towards histological mimickers and suggest that brachyury is added to the panel of immunohistochemical markers for the recognition of HBL in routinary practice, principally in unusual sites.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(a) Nuclear staining for brachyury in the neoplastic cells of chordoma (brachyury stain; original magnification, ×200). Absence of stain for brachyury in chondrosarcoma: (b) chordoma (brachyury stain; original magnification, ×100), (c) seminoma (brachyury stain; original magnification, ×200), and (d) chordoid meningioma (brachyury stain; original magnification, ×200).
Figure 2
Figure 2
(a) Cytoplasmic staining for brachyury in the neoplastic cells of hemangioblastoma (brachyury stain; original magnification, ×200). (b) Absence of stain for brachyury in CCRCC (brachyury stain; original magnification, ×200). (c) Membranous stain for brachyury in a case of CCRCC (brachyury stain; original magnification, ×200). (d) No evidence of stain for brachyury in clear cell meningioma (brachyury stain; original magnification, ×200).
Figure 3
Figure 3
(a) No evidence of brachyury stain in the neoplastic cells of adrenal carcinoma (brachyury stain; original magnification, ×200) and (b) of paraganglioma (brachyury stain; original magnification, ×400).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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