title: Is acinic cell carcinoma a variant of secretory carcinoma? A FISH study using ETV6'split apart' probes.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Acinic cell carcinomas (ACCs) and secretory carcinomas (SCs) of the breast are rare, low-grade malignancies that preferentially affect young female patients. Owing to the morphological and immunohistochemical similarities between these lesions, they have been proposed to be two morphological variants of the same entity. It has been demonstrated that SCs of the breast consistently harbour the t(12;15)ETV6-NTRK3 translocation. The aim was to determine whether ACCs also harbour ETV6 gene rearrangements and are thus variants of SCs.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Using the ETV6 fluorescence in situ hybridization DNA Probe Split Signal (Dako), the presence of ETV6 rearrangements in three SCs and six ACCs was investigated. Cases were considered as harbouring an ETV6 gene rearrangement if >10% of nuclei displayed 'split apart signals' (i.e. red and green signals were separated by a distance greater than the size of two hybridization signals). Whereas the three SCs displayed ETV6 split apart signals in >10% of the neoplastic cells, no ACC showed any definite evidence of ETV6 gene rearrangement.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Based on the lack of ETV6 rearrangements in ACCs, our results strongly support the concept that SCs and ACCs are distinct entities and should be recorded separately in breast cancer taxonomy schemes.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Pathology Laboratory, The Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Centre, Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK. jorge.reis-filho@icr.ac.uk
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Reis-Filho
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Natrajan
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vatcheva
authors.forename: M B K
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Lambros
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Marchió
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mahler-Araújo
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Paish
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Hodi
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Eusebi
authors.forename: I O
authors.initials: IO
authors.lastname: Ellis
mesh_terms: D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D018267:Carcinoma, Acinar Cell / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D015321:Gene Rearrangement; D006801:Humans; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D050783:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-ets / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D012097:Repressor Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D000097764:ETS Translocation Variant 6 Protein
chemical_list: D004273:DNA, Neoplasm; D050783:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-ets; D012097:Repressor Proteins; D000097764:ETS Translocation Variant 6 Protein