Steroid hormone receptor in pleural solitary fibrous tumours and CD34+ progenitor stromal cells

Our plain-English summary of Steroid hormone receptor in pleural solitary fibrous tumours and CD34+ progenitor stromal cells, by M. Bongiovanni, L. Viberti, C. Pecchioni, et al (The Journal of Pathology, 2002).

The study

• Authors: M. Bongiovanni, L. Viberti, C. Pecchioni, M. Papotti, R. Thonhofer, H. Hans Popper, A. Sapino
• Journal: The Journal of Pathology
• Published: 2002;198(2):252-7
• Cited by: 41 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

Solitary fibrous tumours (SFT), originally described in the pleura, were subsequently recognized in numerous extrapleural sites. This suggests that a common stem cell, present in various organs and tissues, may be at the origin of SFT and that specific factors may be involved in the proliferation of such cells. Recently it has been described that steroid hormone receptors, progesterone receptors in particular, are expressed by extrapleural SFT. In addition, progesterone may participate as growth factor in many CD34(+) stromal neoplasms, which express low levels of the hormone receptors. The present study analysed the expression of androgen (AR), oestrogen (ER) and progesterone (PR) receptors in a series of 32 pleural SFT, 10 mesotheliomas and in reactive tissue of chronic pleuritis. ER and AR were never expressed by SFT or by chronic pleuritis, whereas PR were demonstrated in 2/16 "large" (>8 cm) and in 6/16 "small" (< or =8 cm) pleural SFT (all expressing CD34, bcl-2 and CD99). PR(+) SFT had a significantly higher proliferative activity (p = 0.04) (Ki-67 mean value 6.5%) and lower p27(kip1) (mean value 51.5%) expression than the PR(-) cases (Ki-67 mean value 3.81% and p27(kip1) mean value 57.86%). One of the cases expressing a high level of PR (80%) recurred 1 year after first surgery and the recurrence was PR(+) as well, but with a lower percentage of nuclear receptor expression (12%). In addition, in chronically inflamed subserosal tissue, a subpopulation of CD34(+) endothelial and interstitial dendritic cells was identified, which also expressed PR. These findings suggest that the CD34(+) submesothelial interstitial dendritic cells, activated during reactive processes, may be the stem cells that give rise to SFT, and that progesterone might participate in the growth of SFT through modulation of its specific receptors.

Copyright 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

In plain English

This laboratory study from Torino (Italy) and Graz (Austria) examined tissue from 32 pleural solitary fibrous tumours (SFT) collected from 1984 to 2000. The authors reported that none of these patients had been exposed to asbestos. They stained the tumours, 10 pleural mesotheliomas and five cases of chronic pleuritis for androgen, oestrogen and progesterone receptors. Progesterone receptors were found in 8 of the 32 tumours: 6 of 16 tumours 8 cm or smaller, and 2 of 16 larger ones. These 8 tumours had a higher average Ki-67 value, a marker of cell growth, than 21 receptor-negative tumours (6.5% versus 3.81%, p = 0.04). A difference in p27kip1 was not statistically significant. No tumour, pleuritis sample or mesothelioma showed oestrogen or androgen receptors, and the mesotheliomas also lacked progesterone receptors. In two of five pleuritis samples, some stromal and endothelial cells carried progesterone receptors. The authors suggested that CD34-positive cells beneath the pleural lining may give rise to SFT and that progesterone might contribute to their growth.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Laboratory (immunohistochemical) study of archived pathology tissue samples
• Who was studied: 32 pleural solitary fibrous tumours (16 'small', 8 cm or less; 16 'large', more than 8 cm) from pathology files of the Universities of Torino and Graz, 1984 to 2000. Comparison tissue came from 5 epithelioid and 5 sarcomatoid pleural mesotheliomas and 5 cases of chronic pleuritis. The tumour patients' mean age was 57.98 years and mean follow-up was 6.1 years.
• Exposure: Not an asbestos exposure study. The study measured steroid hormone receptors (androgen, oestrogen, progesterone) and other markers in tissue. The article states that none of the SFT patients was exposed to asbestos.
• Main results:
  • Progesterone receptors were found in 8 of 32 pleural SFT: 2 of the 16 'large' tumours and 6 of the 16 'small' tumours.
  • Progesterone receptor-positive SFT (8 cases) had a higher mean Ki-67 value than receptor-negative SFT (21 evaluable cases): 6.5% versus 3.81%, p = 0.04. Mean p27kip1 was 51.5% versus 57.86%, p = 0.29.
  • One SFT that first appeared as a 3 cm tumour recurred 1 year later. Progesterone receptors were seen in 80% of tumour cells in the primary and in 12% in the recurrence.
  • Oestrogen and androgen receptors were not found in pleural SFT, non-neoplastic pleural tissue or mesotheliomas. The mesotheliomas were also negative for progesterone receptors.
  • In chronic pleuritis, progesterone receptors were found in stromal and endothelial cells in 2 of 5 samples.
  • Tumour cells expressed bcl-2, whereas reactive CD34-positive interstitial dendritic cells did not.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that CD34-positive submesothelial interstitial dendritic cells, activated during reactive processes, may be the stem cells that give rise to SFT. They also concluded that progesterone might take part in SFT growth through its receptors.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • In three large tumours, Ki-67 and p27kip1 staining could not be obtained, probably because immunoreactivity had been lost.
  • The authors stated that further studies of the biological effect of progesterone receptor activation in SFT are needed.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: CD34, Pleura, STEM, Neoplasm, Mesothelioma, Ki-67, Interstitial.

Related studies

• Solitary fibrous tumour of the tongue: a case report with immunohistochemical studies — Y. Yamashita, T. Satoh, et al. (2002)
• Solitary fibrous tumour of the tongue — A. Piattelli, M. Fioroni, et al. (1998)
• Localized fibrous tumors (LFTs) of the pleura: clinical data, asbestos burden, and syntactic structure analysis applied to newly defined angiogenic/growth-regulatory effectors — K. Kayser, J. Trott, et al. (2005)
• Solitary fibrous tumour of the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses — I. Alobid, L. Alós, et al. (2003)
• Giant benign fibrous tumor of the pleura in a pregnant woman: report of a case — A. Cakan, U. Cagirici, et al. (2003)
• Patterns of chromosomal imbalances in benign solitary fibrous tumours of the pleura — M. Krismann, H. Adams, et al. (2000)

Browse more research in The Journal of Pathology, or return to medical research.