Molecular genetic evidence for different clonal origins of epithelial and stromal components of phyllodes tumor of the prostate.

Phyllodes tumor of the prostate is a rare neoplasm, composed of epithelium-lined cysts and channels embedded in a variably cellular stroma. The pathogenetic relationship of the epithelium and stroma is unknown and whether each is a clonal neoplastic element is uncertain. We studied the clonality of phyllodes tumors from six patients who underwent either enucleation or transurethral resection as their initial treatment. This was followed by total prostatectomy in three of the patients. Laser-assisted microdissection was performed to extract epithelial and stromal components of phyllodes tumor from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue. Polymerase chain reaction was used to amplify genomic DNA at specific loci on chromosome 7q31 (D7S522), 8p21.3-q11.1 (D8S133, D8S137), 8p22 (D8S261), 10q23 (D10S168, D10S571), 17p13 (TP53), 16q23.2 (D16S507), 12q11-12 (D12S264), 17q (D17S855), 18p11.22-p11 (D18S53), and 22q11.2 (D22S264). In each tumor, stroma and epithelium were analyzed separately. Gel electrophoresis with autoradiography was used to detect loss of heterozygosity. All tumors showed allelic loss in one or more loci of both the epithelial and stromal components. The frequency of allelic loss in the epithelial component was 2 of 5 (40%) at D7S522, 2 of 6 (33%) at D8S133, 1 of 5 (20%) at D8S137, 3 of 6 (50%) at D8S261, 4 of 4 (100%) at D10S168, 4 of 6 (67%) at TP53, 2 of 6 (33%) at D10S571, 6 of 6 (100%) at D16S507, 1 of 5 (20%) at D12S264, 1 of 6 (17%) at D17S855, 2 of 6 (33%) at D18S53, and 2 of 5 (40%) at D22S264. The frequency of allelic loss in the stromal component was 2 of 5 (40%) at D7S522, 1 of 6 (17%) at D8S133, 2 of 5 (40%) at D8S137, 3 of 6 (50%) at D8S261, 1 of 4 (25%) at D10S168, 3 of 6 (50%) at TP53, 2 of 6 (33%) at D10S571, 3 of 6 (50%) at D16S507, 1 of 5 (20%) at D12S264, 0 of 6 (0%) at D17S855, 1 of 6 (17%) at D18S53, and 0 of 5 (0%) at D22S264. The pattern of allelic loss is significantly different in both stroma and epithelium statistically; completely concordant allelic loss patterns were not seen in any tumor examined. Our data demonstrate that both epithelial and stromal components of phyllodes tumor of the prostate are clonal, supporting the hypothesis that both elements are neoplastic. While both epithelium and stroma are clonal proliferations, they appear to have different clonal origins.