OBJECTIVE: Previous studies on pediatric soft tissue sarcomas have demonstrated a chromosomal 11;22 (q24;q12) translocation in Ewing's sarcoma (ES) and peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumors that appears to be a unique oncogenic marker. To investigate the usefulness of reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) as an ancillary method for cytodiagnosis, we tested archival aspirates derived from ES patients to establish whether any beta-actin RNA expression or tumor-specific EWS/FLI-1 gene translocation had occurred. STUDY DESIGN: Sixteen skeletal specimens aspirated 10-15 years earlier from patients with cytologic and histologic diagnoses of ES were prepared for PCR. The amplification products were sequenced. RESULTS: Amplifiable RNA was detected in smears from 12 patients by beta-actin RT-PCR. Seven aspirates from beta-actin-positive patients showed ES-specific genomic translocation (58%). Sequence analysis of the resulting PCR fragments revealed EWS/FLI-1 fusion transcriptions of varying length. CONCLUSION: When RNA was retrievable, RT-PCR applied to routinely stained aspirate smears was a highly specific method in differential diagnosis of ES.
OBJECTIVE: Previous studies on pediatric soft tissue sarcomas have demonstrated a chromosomal 11;22 (q24;q12) translocation in Ewing's sarcoma (ES) and peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumors that appears to be a unique oncogenic marker. To investigate the usefulness of reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) as an ancillary method for cytodiagnosis, we tested archival aspirates derived from ES patients to establish whether any beta-actin RNA expression or tumor-specific EWS/FLI-1 gene translocation had occurred. STUDY DESIGN: Sixteen skeletal specimens aspirated 10-15 years earlier from patients with cytologic and histologic diagnoses of ES were prepared for PCR. The amplification products were sequenced. RESULTS: Amplifiable RNA was detected in smears from 12 patients by beta-actin RT-PCR. Seven aspirates from beta-actin-positive patients showed ES-specific genomic translocation (58%). Sequence analysis of the resulting PCR fragments revealed EWS/FLI-1 fusion transcriptions of varying length. CONCLUSION: When RNA was retrievable, RT-PCR applied to routinely stained aspirate smears was a highly specific method in differential diagnosis of ES.
Authors: Christopher H Evans; Fangjun Liu; Ryan M Porter; Regina P O'Sullivan; Taha Merghoub; Elaine P Lunsford; Kyle Robichaud; Frans Van Valen; Stephen L Lessnick; Mark C Gebhardt; James W Wells Journal: Clin Cancer Res Date: 2012-08-09 Impact factor: 12.531