Carcinosarcomas: tumors in transition?

• Jason A. Somarelli ^[5] ; Mary-Keara Boss ^[2] ; Jonathan I. Epstein ^[1] ; Andrew J. Armstrong ^[3] ; Mariano A. Garcia-Blanco ^[4]
  1. [1] Johns Hopkins Hospital

     Johns Hopkins Hospital

     Estados Unidos

     
  2. [2] North Carolina State College of Veterinary Medicine, Raleigh, NC
  3. [3] Duke University Medical Center
  4. [4] The University of Texas Medical Center, Galveston, USA
  5. [5] Center for RNA Biology

  Mostrar afiliaciones +
• Localización: Histology and histopathology: cellular and molecular biology, ISSN-e 1699-5848, ISSN 0213-3911, Vol. 30, Nº. 6, 2015, págs. 673-687
• Idioma: inglés
• Enlaces
  • Texto completo
• Resumen

  • Carcinosarcomas are rare, biphasic tumors that are comprised of carcinomatous and sarcomatous elements. While the exact mechanism by which these two phenotypes arise within a single tumor remains unclear, molecular evidence indicates that the epitheliod and spindle-cell components share a clonal origin. We propose that the biphasic nature of these neoplasms may represent an extreme case of epithelial plasticity, in which an epithelial-like cell undergoes a transition to a more mesenchymal phenotype. The present review will discuss both the histological and molecular biological evidence of the involvement of epithelial plasticity in driving the mixed phenotypes observed in carcinosarcomas.