A Distinctive Genomic and Immunohistochemical Profile for NOTCH3 and PDGFRB in Myofibroma With Diagnostic and Therapeutic Implications

• Published in: International journal of surgical pathology Vol. 28; no. 2; p. 128
• Main Authors: Koo, Selene C, Janeway, Katherine A, Harris, Marian H, Fryer, Christy J, Aster, Jon C, Al-Ibraheemi, Alyaa, Church, Alanna J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.04.2020
• Subjects: PDGFRB; NOTCH3; infantile myofibroma; myofibroma
• ISSN: 1940-2465
• DOI: 10.1177/1066896919876703

. Myofibromas are rare tumors of pericytic lineage, typically affecting children, and are sometimes aggressive. A subset of sporadic and familial myofibromas have activating variants in . The relationship of myofibroma and PDGFRB to the NOTCH pathway has not yet been described. . Ten myofibroma cases were sequenced with a targeted panel of 447 genes, including copy number variation and selected fusions. Immunohistochemical analysis of total NOTCH3 and activated NOTCH3 was assessed for all 10 myofibroma cases, and a series of histologic mimics (n = 20). . Alterations identified by next-generation sequencing included sequence variants in 8/10 cases (80%), a variant in 1/10 cases (10%), and a variant in 1/10 cases (10%). All 10 cases also showed a pattern of low-amplitude (1.5- to 2-fold) copy number alterations including gains in and . Ten of 10 myofibromas (100%) showed cytoplasmic staining for total NOTCH3 and 9 of 10 cases (90%) showed nuclear staining for activated NOTCH3. Within the control cohort of histologic mimics, 3 of 3 nodular fasciitis cases (100%) were positive for activated and total NOTCH3, and the remaining 17 cases were negative for pan NOTCH3, while 3 of 3 desmoid-type fibromatosis cases (100%) showed patchy weak nuclear staining for activated NOTCH3. . Our findings suggest a common pathway of PDGFRB/NOTCH3 activation in myofibromas, even in cases that lack sequence variants. These results support the pericytic lineage of myofibroma. Identification of the characteristic genomic alterations or immunohistochemical staining pattern may facilitate a difficult pathologic diagnosis, and support the use of targeted treatments.