Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH), a disorder of antigen-presenting cells, is the commonest disorder of the mononuclear phagocytic system. Diagnosis is always challenging due to heterogeneous clinical presentation. However, with the evolution and better understanding of its biology, many of these children are being diagnosed early and offered appropriate therapy. Despite these advances, in developing countries, an early diagnosis is still challenging due to resource constraints for specialized tests. As a result, many patients succumb to their disease. Autopsy data on LCH is notably lacking in the literature. We sought to analyze the clinical (including mutational) and morphologic features at autopsy in six proven cases of LCH. This study includes a detailed clinico-pathological and mutational analysis of 6 proven cases of LCH. Presence of BRAF V600E mutation was assessed by both Real Time PCR and Sanger sequencing. A varied spectrum of organ involvement was noted with some rare and novel morphological findings, like nodular bronchiolocentric infiltration of LCH cells, lymphovascular emboli of LCH cells, and paucity of eosinophils within the infiltrate; these features have not been described earlier. Surprisingly, all cases were negative for BRAF V600E mutation on both RQ-PCR and Sanger sequencing. The present study is perhaps the first autopsy series on LCH. This extensive autopsy analysis represents a correlation of pathological features with clinical symptoms which provides clues for a timely diagnosis and appropriate therapeutic intervention. Also, our findings hint at the low frequency of BRAF V600E mutation in our LCH patients.
Keywords
Autopsy, Histiocytosis, Langerhans-Cell, Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinases, Proto-Oncogene Proteins B-raf
References
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HeritierS, EmileJF, BarkaouiMA, et al. BRAF mutation correlates with high-risk Langerhans cell Histiocytosis and increased resistance to first line therapy.
ChakrabortyR, HamptonOA, ShenX, et al. Mutually exclusive recurrent somatic mutations in MAP2K1 and BRAF support a central role for ERK activation in LCH pathogenesis.
KambouchnerM, EmileJF, CopinMC, et al. Childhood pulmonary Langerhans cell histiocytosis: a comprehensive clinical-histopathological and BRAFV600E mutation study from the French national cohort.
EdelweissM, MedeirosLJ, SusterS, MoranCA. Lymph node involvement by Langerhanscellhistiocytosis: a clinicopathologic and immunohistochemical study of 20 cases.
The French Langerhans’ Cell Histiocytosis Study Group. A multicentre retrospective survey of Langerhans’ cell histiocytosis: 348 cases observed between 1983 and 1993.
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