Malignant Rhabdoid Tumor, an Aggressive Tumor Often Misclassified as Small Cell Variant of Hepatoblastoma

• Published in: Cancers Vol. 11; no. 12; p. 1992
• Main Authors: Fazlollahi, Ladan, Hsiao, Susan J, Kochhar, Manpreet, Mansukhani, Mahesh M, Yamashiro, Darrell J, Remotti, Helen E
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 11.12.2019; MDPI
• Subjects: Arginase; Biopsy; Cancer therapies; Cell morphology; Chemotherapy; Chromatin remodeling; Cytology; Diagnosis; Hepatocytes; Immunoreactivity; INI1 protein; Liver; Malignant rhabdoid tumor; Monoclonal antibodies; Morphology; Mutation; Patients; Pediatrics; Proteins; Risk groups; SWI/SNF complex; Tumors; St Louis Missouri; United States > US; small cell undifferentiated (SCUD) Hepatoblastoma; SMARCB1; small cell Hepatoblastoma; Malignant Rhabdoid Tumor (MRT); Hepatoblastoma; INI1
• ISSN: 2072-6694; 2072-6694
• DOI: 10.3390/cancers11121992

The clinical management of pediatric liver tumors involves stratification into risk groups. One previously defined, high-risk group of hepatoblastomas is the small cell undifferentiated variant. In light of molecular studies showing deletion in these tumors, it is now recognized that most small cell, undifferentiated liver tumors represent an aggressive unrelated tumor-the malignant rhabdoid tumor (MRT). is a member of the chromatin remodeling SWI/SNF complex and encodes the INI1 protein. The histologic diagnosis of MRT is currently based on INI1 negative immunoreactivity and the presence of rhabdoid morphology. INI1-negative small cell liver tumors lacking classic rhabdoid morphology are often misclassified as small cell undifferentiated hepatoblastomas (SCUD-HB), according to the current classification. Pediatric liver tumors diagnosed between 2003-2017 as SCUD-HB (four cases) or MRT (two cases) were identified from the Columbia University Pathology Department Archives. All tumors were associated with normal or low serum alpha fetoprotein levels, and showed an absence of immunohistochemical staining of hepatocellular markers (Hep-par1, Arginase) and loss of INI1 staining. Two cases were initially diagnosed as MRT, one with prominent rhabdoid morphology, the other with predominant small cell morphology. The remaining four cases with small cell morphology were classified as SCUD-HB. Ancillary molecular studies confirmed the loss of , supporting the diagnosis of MRT in all cases, proving morphology an unreliable criterion. It is critical to eliminate the term INI1-negative hepatoblastoma from the current classification scheme, and classify INI1-negative tumors as MRT, particularly since high-risk HB-chemotherapy regimens are not effective for treating MRT.