Case Report: Coinheritance of Germline Mutations in APC and BRCA1 in Colorectal Cancer

Deleterious mutations inAPCgene cause the autosomal dominant familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) which is typically characterized by the occurrence of hundreds to thousands of colorectal adenomas that eventually lead to colorectal cancers (CRCs).BRCA1/2are the two major susceptibility genes for breast and ovarian cancers. Here, we reported a coinheritance of mutations inAPCandBRCA1genes in a 20-year-old CRC patient with typical clinical features for FAP. Multiple relatives in the family of the patient were affected by colorectal and other cancers. Next-generation sequencing analysis using a panel consisting of 53 hereditary cancer related genes revealed a maternally inheritedAPC(exon15cn_del) mutation and a paternally inheritedBRAC1(p.lle1824AspfsX3) mutation. This is the first coexistence ofAPCandBRCA1mutations in a CRC patient with the mutation inheritance pattern comprehensively characterized in the family. The patient underwent a colonoscopy and a subtotal colectomy and was subsequently diagnosed with colonic adenocarcinomas accompanied with hundreds of tubulovillous adenomas. The case reveals the scenario where two disease-causing mutations of different hereditary tumor syndromes coexist, and illustrates the importance of evaluating detailed family history and performing a multiple-gene panel test in patients with hereditary cancer.

Helicobacter Infection and Gastric Adenoma

Background: We aimed to provide insight into the actual frequencies of gastric adenoma types and their association with gastritis status and associated mucosal changes with a focus on Helicobacter infection and the operative link on gastritis assessment (OLGA)/operative link on gastric intestinal metaplasia assessment (OLGIM) staging. Methods: From the archive of the Institute of Pathology in Bayreuth, we collected a consecutive series of 1058 gastric adenomas diagnosed between 1987 and 2017. Clinicopathological parameters retrieved from diagnostic reports included adenoma type and localization, associated mucosal changes in antrum and corpus (i.e., type of gastritis, the extent of intestinal metaplasia and atrophy), gender, date of birth, and date of diagnosis. Results: Intestinal-type adenoma was the most frequent adenoma (89.1%), followed by foveolar-type adenoma (4.3%), pyloric gland adenoma (3.4%), adenomas associated with hereditary tumor syndromes (2.8%), and oxyntic gland adenoma (0.4%). Adenomas were found in the background of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) gastritis in 23.9%, Ex-H. pylori gastritis in 36.0%, autoimmune gastritis in 24.8%, chemical reactive gastritis in 7.4%, and others in 0.1%. More than 70% of patients with gastric adenomas had low-risk stages in OLGA and OLGIM. Conclusions: We found a higher frequency of foveolar-type adenoma than anticipated from the literature. It needs to be questioned whether OLGA/OLGIM staging can be applied to all patients.

Hereditary cancer syndromes: a modern paradigm

About 5–10% of malignant neoplasms (MN) are hereditary. Carriers of mutations associated with hereditary tumor syndromes (HTS) are at high risk of developing tumors in childhood and young age and synchronous and metachronous multiple tumors. At the same time, this group of diseases remains mainly an oncological problem, and clinical decisions are made only when MNs are detected in carriers of pathogenic mutations.Individual recommendations for cancer screening, treatment, and prevention should be developed for carriers of mutations associated with HTS to prevent an adverse outcome of the disease. It is essential to identify patients at risk by doctors of all specialties for further referral to medical and genetic counseling with molecular genetic testing (in case of indications). The problems of standardization of enrollment criteria for genetic tests, further tactics of prevention, screening, and treatment of many hereditary oncological diseases remain unsolved.This review was created to inform doctors of various specialties, including endocrinologists, about the HTS. This allows them to get acquainted with main clinical features of specific syndromes, helps to understand the difference between hereditary and non-hereditary cancer, recognize signs of hereditary cancer, and introduce the indications for genetic examination and genetic counseling of the patient. Also, significant differences between international and domestic recommendations on screening measures, diagnosis, and treatment of HTS underline the need to review the existing and develop new algorithms for medical support of patients with HTS.

Neuroendocrine neoplasms of lung, pancreas and gut: a morphology-based comparison

The bronchopulmonary (BP) and gastroenteropancreatic (GEP) organ systems harbor the majority of the neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs) of the body, comprising 20 and 70% of all NENs, respectively. Common to both NEN groups is a classification distinguishing between well- and poorly differentiated NENs associated with distinct genetic profiles. Differences between the two groups concern the reciprocal prevalence of well and poorly differentiated neoplasms, the application of a Ki67-based grading, the variety of histological patterns, the diversity of hormone expression and associated syndromes, the variable involvement in hereditary tumor syndromes, and the peculiarities of genetic changes. This review focuses on a detailed comparison of BP-NENs with GEP-NENs with the aim of highlighting and discussing the most obvious differences. Despite obvious differences, the principle therapeutical options are still the same for both NEN groups, but with further progress in genetics, more targeted therapy strategies can be expected in future.