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Previous Volume 331:294-299 August 4, 1994 Number 5 Next

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ABSTRACT

Background Precise diagnosis of small-round-cell tumors is often a challenge to the pathologist and the clinical oncologist. In Ewing's sarcomas and related peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumors, a t(11;22) translocation or a (21,22) rearrangement is associated with hybrid transcripts of the EWS gene with the FLI1 or ERG gene. To investigate the diagnostic implication of this observation, we searched for these hybrid transcripts in tumors from patients with clinical and radiologic features of Ewing's sarcoma or peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumors.

Methods Samples of RNA from 114 tumors were reverse transcribed and subjected to the polymerase chain reaction with primers designed to amplify the relevant chimeric transcripts. All amplified products were sequenced.

Results In-frame hybrid transcripts were observed in 89 cases. A hybrid transcript was found in 83 of 87 cases (95 percent) of Ewing's sarcoma or peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumors. Samples of RNA from all of 12 tumors that had been proved to be other than Ewing's sarcoma or neuroectodermal tumors had no hybrid transcript. However, 6 of 15 undifferentiated tumors whose type was ambiguous (nonsecreting, poorly differentiated neuroblastoma or undifferentiated sarcoma) contained a hybrid transcript, suggesting that they might have to be reclassified.

Conclusions A subgroup of small-round-cell tumors identified as belonging to the Ewing family of tumors can be defined according to a specific molecular genetic lesion that is detectable by a rapid, reliable, and efficient method. This approach can be applied to small specimens obtained by fine-needle biopsies.

Source Information

From the Laboratoire de Genetique des Tumeurs, INSERM Contrat Jeune Formation, Paris 9201 (O.D., J.Z., T.M., A.A., G.T.); Service d'Oncologie Pediatrique (J.-M.Z.) and Service d'Anatomopathologie (X.S.G.), Institut Curie, Paris; the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Childrens Hospital, Los Angeles (T.J.T.); the Human Cytogenetics Laboratory, Imperial Cancer Research Fund, London (D.S.); Laboratoire de Cytogenetique Cancerologique, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Unite de Recherche Associee 1462, Nice, France (C.T.-C.); the Children's Cancer Research Institute, St. Anna Kinderspital, Vienna, Austria (P.F.A.); and the International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France (G.M.L.).

Address reprint requests to Dr. Thomas at the Laboratoire de Genetique des Tumeurs, Institut Curie, 26 rue d'Ulm, 75231 Paris CEDEX 05, France.

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