Myoepithelial cells (MCs) constitute the basal cell layer of normal mammary epithelia, and their identification is of particular diagnostic value because they are retained in most benign lesions while being lost in malignancy. Several MC immunocytochemical markers are currently available for diagnostic purposes, with special reference to smooth muscle-related antigens. p63 is a member of the p53 gene family, and its germline mutations are associated with severe mammary developmental defects in both rodents and humans. Different p63 isoforms have been identified, some of which (DeltaNp63) are preferentially expressed in the epithelial basal cells of different organs and have been considered as possible markers of stem cells/reserve cells. We investigated immunohistochemically 384 samples of normal and diseased human breast, including 300 invasive carcinomas, using four antibodies recognizing all p63 isoforms, or the DeltaNp63 isoforms. Twenty cytologic specimens were also investigated. Furthermore, snap-frozen tissue samples from three fibroadenomas and 10 invasive ductal carcinomas with their paired non-neoplastic tissues and three corresponding lymph node metastases were evaluated for the expression of p63 mRNA by RT-PCR. In normal breast tissue p63 immunoreactivity was confined to the nuclei of MCs. In all benign lesions p63-immunoreactive cells formed a continuous basal rim along the epithelial structures. Stromal cells, and in particular myofibroblasts, were consistently unreactive. Adenomyoepitheliomas showed nuclear staining in most neoplastic cells. A peripheral rim of p63-immunoreactive cells was retained surrounding lobular and ductal carcinoma in situ, although it was discontinuous as opposed to the normal structures. Invasive breast carcinomas were consistently devoid of nuclear p63 staining, with the exception of the two adenoid-cystic carcinomas, of the two ductal carcinomas with squamous metaplasia, and of 11 (4.6%) ductal carcinomas not otherwise specified, showing p63 immunoreactivity in a minor fraction (5-15%) of the neoplastic cells. In comparison with other MC markers, p63 was the most specific, being restricted exclusively to MCs, whereas antibodies to smooth muscle actin and, to a lesser extent, calponin also decorated stromal myofibroblasts. In the cytologic preparations p63 immunoreactivity was a consistent feature of "naked nuclei" and of a subset of cells surrounding benign epithelial clusters. RT-PCR experiments with primers specific for different p63 isoforms documented that normal tissues and fibroadenomas preferentially expressed the DeltaNp63 isoforms. Our study demonstrates that in normal and pathologic breast tissues MCs consistently express the DeltaNp63 isoforms. We suggest p63 as a reliable, highly specific, and sensitive MC marker in both histologic and cytologic preparations. Furthermore, because p63 immunoreactivity in adult epithelia is normally restricted to progenitor cells, it can be speculated that it might be a clue for the identification of the still elusive breast pr...

The distinction between malignant mesothelioma and reactive mesothelial proliferation can be challenging both on histology and cytology. Recently, variants of the BRCA1-associated protein 1 (BAP1) gene resulting in nuclear protein loss were reported in hereditary and sporadic mesothelioma. Using immunohistochemistry, we evaluated the utility of BAP1 expression in the differential diagnosis between mesothelioma and other mesothelial proliferations on a large series of biopsies that included 212 mesotheliomas, 12 benign mesothelial tumors, and 42 reactive mesothelial proliferations. BAP1 stain was also performed in 70 cytological samples (45 mesotheliomas and 25 reactive mesothelial proliferations). BAP1 was expressed in all benign mesothelial tumors, whereas 139/212 (66%) mesotheliomas were BAP1 negative, especially in epithelioid/biphasic compared with sarcomatoid/desmoplastic subtypes (69% vs 15%). BAP1 loss was homogeneous in neoplastic cells except for two epithelioid mesotheliomas showing tumor heterogeneity. By fluorescence in situ hybridization, BAP1 protein loss was paralleled by homozygous deletion of the BAP1 locus in the vast majority of BAP1-negative tumors (31/41, 76%), whereas 9/10 BAP1-positive mesotheliomas were normal. In biopsies interpreted as reactive mesothelial proliferation BAP1 loss was 100% predictive of malignancy, as all 6 cases subsequently developed BAP1-negative mesothelioma, whereas only 3/36 (8%) BAP1-positive cases progressed to mesothelioma. On cytology/cell blocks, benign mesothelial cells were invariably positive for BAP1, whereas 64% of mesotheliomas showed loss of protein; all 6 cases showing BAP1 negativity were associated with histological diagnosis of BAP1-negative mesothelioma. BAP1 stain also showed utility in the differential of mesothelioma from most common pleural and peritoneal mimickers, such as lung and ovary carcinomas, with specificity and sensitivity of 99/70% and 100/70%, respectively. Our results show that BAP1 protein is frequently lost in mesothelioma, especially of epithelioid/biphasic subtype and is commonly associated with homozygous BAP1 deletion. BAP1 immunostain represents an excellent biomarker with an unprecedented specificity (100%) in the distinction between benign and malignant mesothelial proliferations. Finding BAP1 loss in mesothelial cells should prompt to immediately reevaluate the patient; moreover, it might be useful in mapping tumor extent and planning surgical resection.

Purpose: In breast cancer, the PIK3CA gene is frequently mutated at ''hotspots'' in exons 9 and 20, corresponding to the helical and kinase domains, respectively. We decided to investigate the association of PIK3CA mutations with pathologic features and clinical outcome in a large series of patients with breast cancer. Experimental Design: Frozen samples from 163 consecutive patients were analyzed for PIK3CA mutations using PCR single-strand conformation polymorphism and sequence analyses. Results: We identified 46 missense mutations, 24 (53%) in exon 9, and 21 (47%) in exon 20. Twelve (50%) of the 24 mutations in exon 9 were of the E542K type and 11 (46%) were of the E545K type.Twenty (95%) of the 21mutations in exon 20 were H1047R substitutions. Mutations in exon 9 were more frequent in lobular carcinomas (42% of cases) than in ductal carcinoma (11% of cases; P = 0.002). At univariate survival analysis, PIK3CA exon 20 mutations were associated with prolonged overall and disease-free survival, whereas mutations in exon 9 were associated with significantly worse prognosis. At multivariate analysis, exon 9 PIK3CA mutations were the strongest independent factor to predict poor prognosis for disease-free survival (P = 0.0003) and overall survival (P = 0.001). Conclusion: Our data show that exon 9 PIK3CA mutations are typical of infiltrating lobular carcinomas. In addition, they indicate that PIK3CA mutations in different exons are of different prognostic value: exon 9 mutations are independently associated with early recurrence and death, whereas exon 20 PIK3CA mutations are associated with optimal prognosis.

For complex industrial processes with multiple operating conditions, the traditional multivariate process monitoring techniques such as principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares (PLS) are ill‐suited because the fundamental assumption that the operating data follow a unimodal Gaussian distribution usually becomes invalid. In this article, a novel multimode process monitoring approach based on finite Gaussian mixture model (FGMM) and Bayesian inference strategy is proposed. First, the process data are assumed to be from a number of different clusters, each of which corresponds to an operating mode and can be characterized by a Gaussian component. In the absence of a priori process knowledge, the Figueiredo–Jain (F–J) algorithm is then adopted to automatically optimize the number of Gaussian components and estimate their statistical distribution parameters. With the obtained FGMM, a Bayesian inference strategy is further utilized to compute the posterior probabilities of each monitored sample belonging to the multiple components and derive an integrated global probabilistic index for fault detection of multimode processes. The validity and effectiveness of the proposed monitoring approach are illustrated through three examples: (1) a simple multivariate linear system, (2) a simulated continuous stirred tank heater (CSTH) process, and (3) the Tennessee Eastman challenge problem. The comparison of monitoring results demonstrates that the proposed approach is superior to the conventional PCA method and can achieve accurate and early detection of various types of faults in multimode processes. © 2008 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2008