Background Colorectal carcinoma 5-year survival ranges from 90% in patients with localized disease to 15% for those with distant metastasis. Recent research has suggested that hypermutation may predict response to immunotherapy in these tumors, but routine tests for microsatellite (MS) instability miss tumours which acquire hypermutation through other mechanisms. Tumour mutational burden (TMB) measured by next-generation sequencing has been proposed to overcome this limitation. Methods A commercially available next-generation sequencing panel targeting 409 cancer-relevant genes was validated for TMB measurement using 12 MS stable and 14 MS instable metastatic colorectal carcinomas, defined by routine testing of MS loci. The same panel was applied to 53 untested colorectal carcinomas with matched synchronous metastases, collected across 10 years to determine both their TMB and presence of KRAS/BRAF mutations. Results All samples could be sequenced at a mean coverage depth of 766x and uniformity of 97%. Mean TMB (mutations/megabase) was 8.84 for MS stable vs. 33.36 for MS instable cases in the assay validation cohort. A cut-off value of 15.56 reached 100% sensitivity (95% CI 77-100%) and 100% specificity (95% CI 73-100%). Analysis of the 10 years cohort showed KRAS mutation in 25 cases and BRAF mutation in 4; automated TMB analysis was feasible for samples collected within 7 years (n = 16), while in older specimens DNA deamination caused artefactual calls. 14 cases showed a low TMB in both primary and metastasis, one MS instable case showed high TMB in both primary and metastasis, and one MS stable case showed low TMB (11.61) in the primary and a higher TMB (21.37) in the metastasis. The mutational signature of the metastatic sample showed C>A transversions (11%), missing in the primary tumour, suggesting an additional mutational mechanism. Conclusions Gene panel-based TMB analysis can be performed on routine histology samples to detect both hypermutation and cancer relevant somatic mutations. Analysis of older samples may lead to deamination artifacts, which can however be revealed by mutational signature analysis. Legal entity responsible for the study Aldo Scarpa (ARC-NET Cancer Research Centre). Funding Associazione Italiana Ricerca Cancro [AIRC grant n. 12182]. Disclosure All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.

Congenital-Infantile Fibrosarcoma (CIF) is a malignant mesenchymal tumor representing 10-20% of soft-tissue tumors. Complete surgical resection is generally the treatment of choice. The most recurrent cytogenetic abnormality was identified as the traslocation t(12;15)(p13:q25), which bears the fusion of Tel gene EVT6 with TrkC gene. This study describes a case of infantile fibrosarcoma of the ileum in a female newborn examined for intestinal occlusion and its laparoscopic treatment.

Patients with selective immunoglobulin (Ig) A deficiency have a 10- to 20-fold increased risk of celiac disease. In these patients, serological diagnosis of celiac disease can be difficult, since specific IgA-based assays are usually negative and IgG-specific antibody tests are insufficiently reliable. We describe a girl with selective IgA deficiency who had a troublesome diagnosis of celiac disease that was established only after an unexpected positive test result for antitransglutaminase IgA and antiendomysium IgA. Our observation indicates that IgA-based serology should not be forgotten in patients with selective IgA deficiency, since positive results for antitransglutaminase IgA, antiendomysium IgA, or both can be observed at any time during diagnostic investigations.

Crohn's disease is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease, whose aetiology and pathogenesis are still unknown. The occurrence of epithelioid granulomas is one characteristic feature of the disease since these lesions are found in the bowel wall in 50-87% of colectomy specimens. Although granulomas are not pathognomonic, their identification is considered a relevant element for diagnosis. Cathepsin-k, a papain-like cysteine protease, is involved in bone remodelling, and has been widely used as a immunohistochemical marker for the in situ detection of osteoclasts. Interestingly, the expression of this potent protease is also significantly increased in stimulated tissue macrophages, epithelioid cells and granulomas, but is not expressed in resident tissue macrophages. In the present study, we evaluated Cathepsin-k expression as a diagnostic tool in the identification of small granulomas in Crohn's disease. Formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded samples of 10 cases of Crohn's disease were collected from surgical ileo-colic resections followed by comparison of Cathepsin-k and CD68 immunoreactivity. Granulomas were identified in 4 of 10 cases examined in haematoxylin & eosin preparations. Cathepsin-k enabled the identification of small granulomas (with a diameter between 100 and 200 microm) in 6 of 10 cases, mainly localized within the submucosa and muscular layers. When compared to CD68, Cathepsin-k immunoreactivity was generally absent or only weakly expressed in resting tissue macrophages, thus allowing better identification of activated epithelioid cells. Based on these results, Cathepsin-k appears to be a reliable tool for the precise and rapid identification of small epithelioid granulomas in Crohn's disease.

Ectopic tissue can be histologically detected in gastric duplication cysts. The authors describe the case of a complete pancreatic ectopia in a prenatally diagnosed symptomatic gastric duplication cyst in a 6-month-old male infant. Surgical removal of the cystic formation was curative. In view of the rarity of the lesion, a full clinical and diagnostic classification of the condition proved possible only after radical surgical resection and histological examination. Immunohistochemical investigation enabled us to detect the complete pancreatic ectopia.

The immunoperoxidase staining of normal and hyperplastic prostatic epithelium for Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) is, with few exceptions, uniform and strong. In contrast to the benign tissue, most reports of prostatic adenocarcinoma demonstrated an apparent correlation between staining-variability and increasing tumour grades. Decreased PAP staining may be related to incorrect manipulation of prostatic tissue. Finally there are many tumours and pseudotumours of the prostate in which the PSA stain is regularly negative. In the differential diagnosis of prostate tumour, both PSA and PAP (Prostatic Acid Phosphatase) stains should be performed. It is mandatory that the stains be interpreted in the appropriate histologic and clinicopathologic setting with due consideration of positive and negative staining.