BackgroundInflammatory myofibroblastic tumor is a histopathologically distinctive neoplasm of children and young adults. According to World Health Organization (WHO) classification, inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor is an intermediate-grade tumor, with potential for recurrence and rare metastasis. There are no definite histopathologic, molecular, or cytogenetic features to predict malignant transformation, recurrence, or metastasis.MethodsA 5-year retrospective study of histopathologically diagnosed inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors of various anatomic sites was conducted to correlate anaplastic lymphoma kinase-1 (ALK-1) expression with histological atypia, multicentric origin of tumor, recurrence, and metastasis. Clinical details of all the cases were noted from the clinical work station. Immunohistochemical stains for ALK-1 and other antibodies were performed. Statistical analysis was done using Fisher exact test.ResultsA total of 18 cases of inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors were found during the study period, of which 14 were classical. The female-male ratio was 1:1 and the mean age was 23.8 years. Histologically atypical (four cases) and multifocal tumors (three cases, multicentric in origin) were noted. Recurrence was noted in 30% of ALK-1 positive and 37.5% of ALK-1 negative cases, whereas metastasis to the lung, liver, and pelvic bone was noted in the ALK-1 positive group only.ConclusionsOverall, ALK-1 protein was expressed in 55.6% of inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors. There was no statistically significant correlation between ALK-1 expression, tumor type, recurrence and metastasis. However, ALK-1 immunohistochemistry is a useful diagnostic aid in the appropriate clinical and histomorphologic context.

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Immunofluorescence (IF) has been in use for the past five decades, both to investigate the pathophysiology of skin disorders and to help the dermatologists in the diagnosis of various bullous and connective tissue diseases. This review article, deals with different methods, applications, and recent advances in the IF methods used in dermatopathology. Here, we also discuss about the practical aspects of this technique such as handling of skin biopsy specimens and interpretation of direct and indirect IF findings.