Background & Aims Features of eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) overlap; because they cannot be differentiated based on eosinophil counts alone, it can be a challenge to distinguish between these disorders. We aimed to characterize the clinical, endoscopic, and histologic features of EoE and GERD and identify factors that might be used to differentiate them. Methods We performed a retrospective case-control study on data collected from 2000 to 2007. Cases were patients of any age with EoE, as defined by recent consensus guidelines; controls were patients of any age with GERD. Clinical and endoscopic data were collected and all esophageal biopsy specimens were reassessed by gastrointestinal pathologists. Cases and controls were compared, unconditional logistic regression was performed to develop a model to predict EoE, and receiver operator characteristic curves were constructed. Results Data from 151 patients with EoE and 226 with GERD were analyzed. Compared to GERD, features that independently predicted EoE included younger age; symptoms of dysphagia; documented food allergies; observations of esophageal rings, linear furrows, white plaques, or exudates by upper endoscopy; an absence of a hiatal hernia, observed by upper endoscopy; a higher maximum eosinophil count; and the presence of eosinophil degranulation, observed in biopsy specimens. The area under the curve for this model was 0.934. Conclusions We identified a set of readily available and routinely measured variables that differentiate EoE from GERD. Use of this type of analysis with patients suspected to have EoE might lead to more accurate diagnoses.

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a frequently fatal heterogeneous disease. Beyond the role of human papilloma virus (HPV), no validated molecular characterization of the disease has been established. Using an integrated genomic analysis and validation methodology we confirm four molecular classes of HNSCC (basal, mesenchymal, atypical, and classical) consistent with signatures established for squamous carcinoma of the lung, including deregulation of the KEAP1/NFE2L2 oxidative stress pathway, differential utilization of the lineage markers SOX2 and TP63, and preference for the oncogenes PIK3CA and EGFR. For potential clinical use the signatures are complimentary to classification by HPV infection status as well as the putative high risk marker CCND1 copy number gain. A molecular etiology for the subtypes is suggested by statistically significant chromosomal gains and losses and differential cell of origin expression patterns. Model systems representative of each of the four subtypes are also presented.

Objectives Proton pump inhibitor-responsive esophageal eosinophilia (PPI-REE) is a newly recognized entity that must be differentiated from eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE). Little is known about this condition. We aimed to determine the prevalence of PPI-REE and EoE in patients undergoing upper endoscopy, and determine features that distinguish the two groups. Methods This prospective study conducted at University of North Carolina from 2009–2011 enrolled consecutive adult patients undergoing outpatient upper endoscopy. Subjects had esophageal biopsies to quantify the maximum eosinophil count per high-powered field (eos/hpf; hpf = 0.24mm2). If biopsies revealed ≥15 eos/hpf, subjects were treated with twice daily PPI for 8 weeks and endoscopy was repeated. If ≥15 eos/hpf persisted despite PPI therapy, EoE was diagnosed. If there were <15 eos/hpf, PPI-REE was diagnosed. The proportion of patients in each group was calculated, and patients with EoE and PPI-REE were compared. Results Of the 223 subjects enrolled, 173 had dysphagia and 50 did not. Of those with dysphagia, 66 (38%) had ≥15 eos/hpf. After the PPI trial, 40 (23%) were confirmed to have EoE, and 24 (14%) had PPI-REE. Of those without dysphagia, 2 (4%) had ≥15 eos/hpf and after the PPI trial, 1 (2%) had EoE. Compared with EoE, PPI-REE patients were more likely to be older and male, and less likely to have typical endoscopic findings of EoE. However, none of the individual factors was independently predictive of PPI-REE status on multivariable analysis. Similarly, while some endoscopic findings were differentially distributed between PPI-REE and EoE, none were significantly associated with disease status on multivariable analysis. Conclusions Esophageal eosinophilia is common among patients undergoing EGD for dysphagia. While EoE was seen in nearly a quarter of patients with dysphagia, PPI-REE was almost as common, and accounted for over one-third of those with ≥15 eos/hpf. No clinical or endoscopic features independently distinguished PPI-REE from EoE prior to the PPI trial.

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Purpose: Basal-like breast tumors are typically (ER/PR/HER2) triple-negative and are associated with a high incidence of brain metastases and poor clinical outcomes. The molecular chaperone aB-crystallin is predominantly expressed in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and contributes to an aggressive tumor phenotype in preclinical models. We investigated the potential role of aB-crystallin in brain metastasis in TNBCs.Experimental Design: aB-crystallin expression in primary breast carcinomas and brain metastases was analyzed by immunohistochemistry among patients with breast cancer with brain metastases. aB-crystallin was overexpressed or silenced in two different TNBC cell lines. The effects on cell adhesion to human brain microvascular endothelial cells (HBMEC) or extracellular matrix proteins, transendothelial migration, and transmigration across a HBMEC/astrocyte coculture blood-brain barrier (BBB) model were examined. In addition, the effects of overexpressing or silencing aB-crystallin on brain metastasis in vivo were investigated using orthotopic TNBC models.Results: In a cohort of women with breast cancer brain metastasis, aB-crystallin expression in primary breast carcinomas was associated with poor overall survival and poor survival after brain metastasis, even among patients with TNBC. Stable overexpression of aB-crystallin in TNBC cells enhanced adhesion to HBMECs, transendothelial migration, and BBB transmigration in vitro, whereas silencing aB-crystallin inhibited these events. aB-crystallin promoted adhesion of TNBC cells to HBMECs, at least in part, through an a3b1 integrin-dependent mechanism. aB-crystallin overexpression promoted brain metastasis, whereas silencing aB-crystallin inhibited brain metastasis in orthotopic TNBC models.Conclusion: aB-crystallin is a novel regulator of brain metastasis in TNBC and represents a potential biomarker and drug target for this aggressive disease. Clin Cancer Res; 1-12. Ó2013 AACR.

Background Brain metastases (BM) arising from Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) portend poor prognosis. TNBC is more common in premenopausal and African-American (AA) patients; both also confer poor prognosis. In a single institution cohort study, we sought to determine if inferior outcome of TN BCBM is more reflective of a higher-risk population or subtype itself. Methods The UNC Breast Cancer Database identified pts with BCBM diagnosed 1988 – 2008. BC subtype was assigned by IHC: HR+ (hormone receptor, ER+ and/or PR+)/HER2−, HR+/HER2+, HR−/HER2+ and TN (ER−/PR−/HER2−). Survival and recurrence patterns were evaluated by subtype, age (< vs ≥ 40 years) and race (AA vs non-AA) using the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression. Results Among 119 patients with BCBM, 33% were AA and 31% aged < 40 yrs. BC subtype was confirmed in 98 patients: 30% HR+/HER2−, 21% HR+/HER2+, 18% HR−/HER2+, 31% TN. Survival after BM was impacted by subtype (p=0.002), shortest for TNBC (0.24 yrs, CI 0.17 – 0.48). There were no age- (p=0.84) or race-specific (p=0.09) differences in survival after BM; stratification of subtypes by age and race revealed no difference (all, p > 0.1). Receipt of systemic therapy after BCBM was an important predictor of survival following BCBM (HR = 0.29, p=0.002) when adjusted for race, age, number of CNS lesions and BC subtype. Conclusions TNBC confers a high risk of death following BM regardless of race and age supporting the need for novel agents capable of controlling both intra- and extracranial TNBC across all races and ages.

Objectives Mast cells may contribute to the pathogenesis of eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), but their role in diagnosis is unknown. Our aim was to determine whether tryptase staining of esophageal mast cells differentiates EoE from GERD and has utility for diagnosis of EoE. Methods We performed a case-control study comparing patients with EoE, defined by consensus guidelines, to GERD patients with eosinophils on esophageal biopsy. Immunohistochemistry was performed with mast cell tryptase. The density (mast cells/mm2) and intensity (0–4 scale) of mast cell staining was compared between groups after masking the diagnosis. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were constructed, and the area under the curve (AUC) calculated to assess mast cell staining as both a stand-alone diagnostic test and an adjunctive assay with eosinophil counts. Results Fifty-four EoE (mean age: 24; 69% male; mean 146 eos/hpf) and 55 GERD (mean age 34; 60% male; mean 20 eos/hpf) patients were analyzed. The maximum epithelial tryptase density was higher in EoE than in GERD (162 ± 87 mast cells/mm2 vs 67 ± 54; p<0.001). Mast cells were diffusely distributed throughout the biopsy in more EoE than GERD patients (41% vs 7%; p<0.001). Tryptase density and eosinophil count were only weakly correlated (R2=0.09; p=0.002). The AUC was 0.84 for tryptase staining alone, and 0.96 for the combination of mast cells and eosinophils. Conclusions Patients with EoE have higher levels of tryptase positive mast cells compared to GERD patients, improving the diagnostic value of biopsies beyond eosinophil counts alone. Mast cell tryptase may have utility as a diagnostic assay for EoE.

Pleomorphic hyalinizing angiectatic tumor (PHAT) is a rare, locally aggressive tumor of the distal extremities with a proclivity for local recurrence. PHATs contain characteristic ectatic, thin-walled vessels, lined by fibrin, and are surrounded by groups of variably pleomorphic spindled to epithelioid neoplastic cells. The putative precursor lesion of PHAT, originally termed "early PHAT" shares many clinicopathologic features with hemosiderotic fibrolipomatous tumor (HFLT). HFLT, myxoinflammatory fibroblastic sarcoma (MIFS), and tumors showing hybrid features of HFLT and MIFS often show TGFBR3 and MGEA5 gene rearrangements. To date, only a small number of PHATs has been tested for either rearrangement; all have been negative. We hypothesized that PHATs contain TGFBR3 and/or MGEA5 rearrangements. Cases of PHAT (all containing areas of HFLT) (N=10), HFLT (N=7), MIFS (N=6), hybrid HFLT/MIFS (N=3), and PHAT-like undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcomas (N=7) were retrieved from our institutional and consultation archives and analyzed for TGFBR3 and MGEA5 rearrangements using a break-apart probe strategy for FISH. Six of 10 PHATs harbored TGFBR3 and/or MGEA5 gene rearrangements: 4 cases had both TGFBR3 and MGEA5 rearrangements, and 2 cases contained MGEA5 rearrangements. Two of 7 HFLTs were positive: 1 case had a TGFBR3 rearrangement, and 1 case had an MGEA5 rearrangement. One of 6 MIFSs had an MGEA5 rearrangement. All 3 hybrid HFLT/MIFS cases were positive: 2 cases had both TGFBR3 and MGEA5 rearrangements, and 1 case had a TGFBR3 rearrangement. All PHAT-like undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcomas were negative. We report, for the first time, the presence of TGFBR3 and/or MGEA5 rearrangements in tumors showing mixed features of HFLT and PHAT. The presence of such rearrangements strongly suggests that HFLT is related to both PHAT and MIFS and that the latter 2 tumors may represent morphologic variants of a single, genetically defined entity in which only MIFS has acquired the capacity to metastasize.