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. 2001 Jul;49(1):82–86. doi: 10.1136/gut.49.1.82

Genomic homogeneity in fibrolamellar carcinomas

Y Sirivatanauksorn 1, V Sirivatanauksorn 1, N Lemoine 1, R Williamson 1, B Davidson 1
PMCID: PMC1728372  PMID: 11413114

Abstract

BACKGROUND—Fibrolamellar carcinoma (FLC) is a variant of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with distinctive clinical and histological features. To date there have been few studies on the genotypic aspects of FLC and no previous attempts have been made to use the arbitrarily primed-polymerase chain reaction (AP-PCR) technique to detect genetic alterations in this disease.
AIM—The aim of this study was to assess the degree of genomic heterogeneity of FLC using the AP-PCR technique.
METHODS—A total of 50 tissue samples of primary and metastatic FLCs from seven patients were microdissected. AP-PCR amplification of each genomic DNA sample was carried out using two arbitrary primers.
RESULTS—DNA fingerprints of the primary FLCs and all their metastatic lesions (both synchronous and metachronous disease) were identical in an individual patient. The fingerprints were different between tumours of different patients. No evidence of intratumour heterogeneity was observed.
CONCLUSIONS—Such genomic homogeneity in FLCs may explain their indolent growth. The absence of clonal evolution, which is present in other tumours (particularly HCCs), may explain the distinct behaviour in this tumour. The tumorigenic pathway and degree of somatic genomic changes in this disease may be less complex than in HCC.


Keywords: fibrolamellar carcinoma; hepatocellular carcinoma; DNA fingerprint; arbitrarily primed-polymerase chain reaction; laser capture microdissection

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Figure 1  .

Figure 1  

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Laser capture microdissection (LCM) of a fibrolamellar carcinoma (FLC) nodule. As no coverslip is used in LCM, the reduction in refractive index means that most light passing through the tissue is scattered which can obscure cellular detail at high magnifications. (A) A 10 µm thick paraffin embedded section of FLC tissue stained with haematoxylin and eosin. The tumour cells are separated into nests and sheets by dense lamellar bands of collagen. (B) Selected tumour cells transferred to the film of the vial caps. (C) The residual tissue section after laser capture.

Figure 2  .

Figure 2  

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Arbitrarily primed-polymerase chain reaction (AP-PCR) analysis of primary fibrolamellar carcinomas (FLC) and their metastatic lesions from patient No 1. Autoradiograms of polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of 33P labelled DNA fragments amplified by AP-PCR. Genomic DNA from each sample was amplified with the AR3 (A) and ZF3 (B) primers. P, primary FLC; Ov, left ovarian mass; Ap, appendiceal nodule; LNP, infrapancreatic lymph nodes; LNIVC, inferior vena cava lymph nodes; LO1/LO2, lesser omentum nodules; Peri, peritoneum; (number of sectors is represented at the top).

Figure 3  .

Figure 3  

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Arbitrarily primed-polymerase chain reaction (AP-PCR) analysis of primary fibrolamellar carcinomas (FLC) and their metastatic lesions from patient No 6. Autoradiograms of polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of 33P labelled DNA fragments amplified by AP-PCR. Genomic DNA from each sample was amplified with the AR3 (A) and ZF3 (B) primers. P, primary FLC; LN, lymph nodes metastases; (number of sectors is represented at the top).

Selected References

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