The fifth edition of the World Health Organization Classification of Tumors of the Central Nervous System (CNS) now includes mesenchymal tumors that occur uniquely or frequently in the CNS. Moreover, ...this version has aligned the terminology of mesenchymal tumors with their soft tissue counterparts. New tumor types have been added, such as the "intracranial mesenchymal tumor, FET-CREB fusion-positive", the "CIC-rearranged sarcoma", and the "Primary intracranial sarcoma, DICER1-mutant". Other entities (such as rhabdomyosarcoma) have remained in the current WHO classification because these tumor types may present specificities in the CNS as compared to their soft tissue counterparts. Based on an extensive literature review, herein, we will discuss these newly recognized entities in terms of clinical observation, radiology, histopathology, genetics and outcome, and consider strategies for an accurate diagnosis. In light of this literature analysis, we will also introduce some potentially novel tumor types.
Abstract Pediatric spinal low-grade glioma (LGG) and glioneuronal tumours are rare, accounting for less 2.8–5.2% of pediatric LGG. New tumour types frequently found in spinal location such as diffuse ...leptomeningeal glioneuronal tumours (DLGNT) have been added to the World Health Organization (WHO) classification of tumours of the central nervous system since 2016, but their distinction from others gliomas and particularly from pilocytic astrocytoma (PA) are poorly defined. Most large studies on this subject were published before the era of the molecular diagnosis and did not address the differential diagnosis between PAs and DLGNTs in this peculiar location. Our study retrospectively examined a cohort of 28 children with LGGs and glioneuronal intramedullary tumours using detailed radiological, clinico-pathological and molecular analysis. 25% of spinal PAs were reclassified as DLGNTs. PA and DLGNT are nearly indistinguishable in histopathology or neuroradiology. 83% of spinal DLGNTs presented first without leptomeningeal contrast enhancement. Unsupervised t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding (t-SNE) analysis of DNA methylation profiles showed that spinal PAs formed a unique methylation cluster distinct from reference midline and posterior fossa PAs, whereas spinal DLGNTs clustered with reference DLGNT cohort. FGFR1 alterations were found in 36% of spinal tumours and were restricted to PAs. Spinal PAs affected significantly younger patients (median age 2 years old) than DLGNTs (median age 8.2 years old). Progression-free survival was similar among the two groups. In this location, histopathology and radiology are of limited interest, but molecular data (methyloma, 1p and FGFR1 status) represent important tools differentiating these two mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) altered tumour types, PA and DLGNT. Thus, these molecular alterations should systematically be explored in this type of tumour in a spinal location.
Aims
The SOX10 transcription factor is important for the maturation of oligodendrocytes involved in central nervous system (CNS) myelination. Currently, very little information exists about its ...expression and potential use in CNS tumour diagnoses. The aim of our study was to characterize the expression of SOX10 in a large cohort of CNS tumours and to evaluate its potential use as a biomarker.
Methods
We performed immunohistochemistry (IHC) for SOX10 and OLIG2 in a series of 683 cases of adult‐ and paediatric‐type CNS tumours from different subtypes. The nuclear immunostaining results for SOX10 and OLIG2 were scored as positive (≥10% positive tumour cells) or negative.
Results
OLIG2 and SOX10 were positive in diffuse midline gliomas (DMG), H3‐mutant, and EZHIP‐overexpressed. However, in all DMG, EGFR‐mutant, SOX10 was constantly negative. In diffuse paediatric‐type high‐grade gliomas (HGG), all RTK1 cases were positive for both OLIG2 and SOX10. RTK2 cases were all negative for both OLIG2 and SOX10. MYCN cases variably expressed OLIG2 and were all immunonegative for SOX10. In glioblastoma, IDH‐wildtype, OLIG2 was mostly positive, but SOX10 was variably expressed, depending on the epigenetic subtype. All circumscribed astrocytic gliomas were positive for both OLIG2 and SOX10 except pleomorphic xanthoastrocytomas, astroblastomas, MN1‐altered, and subependymal giant cell astrocytomas. SOX10 was negative in ependymomas, meningiomas, pinealoblastomas, choroid plexus tumours, intracranial Ewing sarcomas, and embryonal tumours except neuroblastoma, FOXR2‐activated.
Conclusion
To conclude, SOX10 can be incorporated into the IHC panel routinely used by neuropathologists in the diagnostic algorithm of embryonal tumours and for the subtyping of paediatric and adult‐type HGG.
A novel histomolecular tumor of the central nervous system (CNS), the "diffuse glioneuronal tumor with oligodendroglioma-like features and nuclear clusters (DGONC)," has recently been identified, ...based on a distinct DNA methylation profile and has been added to the 2021 World Health Organization Classification of CNS Tumors. This glioneuronal tumor mainly affects the supratentorial area in children and recurrently presents with a monosomy of chromosome 14. Herein, we report the case of a DNA-methylation based diagnosis of DGONC having atypical features, such as pseudo-rosettes and the absence of a chromosome 14 monosomy, thus rendering its diagnosis very challenging. Because of the wide variety of morphologies harbored by DGONC, a large range of differential diagnoses may be hypothesized from benign to malignant. Interestingly, the current case, like one previously reported, exhibited a co-expression of OLIG2, synaptophysin and SOX10, without GFAP immunopositivity. This particular immunophenotype seems to be a good indicator for a DGONC diagnosis. The classification of DGONC amongst glioneuronal or embryonal tumors is still debated. The clinical (a pediatric supratentorial tumor), morphological (from a benign oligodendroglioma-like tumor with microcalcifications and possible neuropil-like islands to a malignant embryonal tumor with a possible spongioblastic pattern), and immunohistochemical (co-expression of OLIG2 and synaptophsyin) profiles resemble CNS, neuroblastoma, FOXR2-activated and may potentially bring them together in a future classification. Further comprehensive studies are needed to conclude the cellular origin of DGONC and its prognosis. Keywords: DGONC, Chromosome 14, PIK3R1, Embryonal
Because a subset of pHGG-MYCN have been found to harbor an amplification of the ID2 gene with (12/36, 33%) or without (1/36, 3%) a concomitant MYCN amplification (MYCN+/ID2+) 2, we have formulated a ...FISH (Fluorescence in situ hybridization) technique that targets both loci. DNA-methylation analysis is still only limited to a small number of centres worldwide or may not be contributive (8/29 cases from this cohort presented a low calibrated score for a methylation class), so alternative methods for routine practice need to be validated. ...histopathology (including p53 overexpression correlated to TP53 mutation), and FISH MYCN/ID2 may help diagnose pHGG-MYCN, using a simple algorithm approach (Fig. 2). Acta Neuropathol Commun 8:104. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40478-020-00974-x Tauziède-Espariat A, Debily M-A, Castel D, Grill J, Puget S, Sabel M, Blomgren K, Gareton A, Dangouloff-Ros V, Lechapt E, Boddaert N, Varlet P (2019) An integrative radiological, histopathological and molecular analysis of pediatric pontine histone-wildtype glioma with MYCN amplification (HGG-MYCN).