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PAX8 expression in anaplastic thyroid carcinoma is less than those reported in early studies: a multi-institutional study of 182 cases using the monoclonal antibody MRQ-50

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Abstract

Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) is an aggressive malignant tumor composed of undifferentiated thyroid follicular cells. Pathological diagnosis of ATC can be challenging as the tumor may show morphological overlap with other neoplasms with anaplastic morphology. Immunohistochemical demonstration of thyroid origin facilitates the diagnosis of ATC. Previous studies using the polyclonal anti-PAX8 antibody 10336-1-AP suggested that PAX8 was the most sensitive marker, expressed in up to 80% of ATC. According to a 2018 NordiQC report, the monoclonal anti-PAX8 antibody MRQ-50 has become the most commonly used anti-PAX8 antibody worldwide. However, validation of this antibody in ATC is lacking. In this study, we recruited 182 ATC cases from seven institutions. Pathology slides were subjected to histology review. PAX8 immunohistochemistry using the MRQ-50 antibody was performed in whole tissue slides (n = 147) or tissue microarray sections (n = 35). We found PAX8 expression in 54.4% of the cases, which was significantly lower than those reported in prior studies with the polyclonal antibody. PAX8 expression was positively correlated with the presence of an epithelial pattern (63.6% vs 37.5%, p = 0.0008) and a coexisting differentiated thyroid carcinoma component (71.6% vs 44.3%, p = 0.0004), but was not associated with age, gender, specimen type, or presence of giant cell and sarcomatoid patterns. In conclusion, we demonstrated PAX8 expression using the monoclonal antibody MRQ-50 in only half of the cases in a large ATC series. Pathologists should be aware that PAX8 expression in ATC is less than those reported in early studies to avoid misdiagnosis.

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Contributions

A. Bychkov and J. Hang designed the study. W. Lai, J. Hang, C. Liu, Y. Bai, Z. Liu, H. Gu, S. Hong, J. Pyo, C. Jung, and A. Bychkov reviewed the slides and collected the data. W. Lai and J. Hang analyzed the data and performed the study. W. Lai, J. Hang, and A. Bychkov wrote the paper. K. Kakudo supervised the study and provided critical revision.

Funding

This study was supported by the research grant from Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan (Grant No.: V108B-011).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Room 5046, Medical Science & Technology Building 5F, No. 201, Sec. 2, Shipai Rd, Taipei, 11217, Taiwan

    Wei-An Lai & Jen-Fan Hang

  2. School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan

    Jen-Fan Hang

  3. Division of Pathology, Sijhih Cathay General Hospital, New Taipei City, Taiwan

    Chih-Yi Liu

  4. Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Department of Pathology, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, China

    Yanhua Bai

  5. Department of Pathology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China

    Zhiyan Liu

  6. Department of Pathology, Qilu Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China

    Zhiyan Liu

  7. Department of Pathology, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, Shandong, China

    Haiyan Gu

  8. Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, Gangnam Severance Hospital, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea

    SoonWon Hong & Ju Yeon Pyo

  9. Department of Hospital Pathology, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea

    Chan Kwon Jung

  10. Department of Pathology, Nara Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Kindai University, Nara, Japan

    Kennichi Kakudo

  11. Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand

    Andrey Bychkov

  12. Department of Pathology, Kameda Medical Center, Kamogawa, Chiba, Japan

    Andrey Bychkov

  13. Department of Pathology, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan

    Andrey Bychkov

Authors
  1. Wei-An Lai
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  2. Jen-Fan Hang
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  3. Chih-Yi Liu
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  4. Yanhua Bai
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  5. Zhiyan Liu
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  6. Haiyan Gu
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  7. SoonWon Hong
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  8. Ju Yeon Pyo
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  9. Chan Kwon Jung
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  10. Kennichi Kakudo
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  11. Andrey Bychkov
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jen-Fan Hang.

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This study was approved by the institutional review boards of the participating centers.

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Lai, WA., Hang, JF., Liu, CY. et al. PAX8 expression in anaplastic thyroid carcinoma is less than those reported in early studies: a multi-institutional study of 182 cases using the monoclonal antibody MRQ-50. Virchows Arch 476, 431–437 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00428-019-02708-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00428-019-02708-4

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