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JMD 2005, Vol. 7, No. 3
Copyright © 2005 American Society for Investigative Pathology & Association for Molecular Pathology

JAZF1/JJAZ1 Gene Fusion in Endometrial Stromal Sarcomas

Molecular Analysis by Reverse Transcriptase-Polymerase Chain Reaction Optimized for Paraffin-Embedded Tissue

Andelko Hrzenjak^*, Farid Moinfar^*, Fattaneh A. Tavassoli, Bettina- Strohmeier^*, Marie-Luise Kremser^*, Kurt Zatloukal^* and Helmut Denk^*

From the Institute of Pathology, * Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria; and the Department of Pathology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut

Endometrial stromal tumors are rare uterine neoplasms including benign stromal nodules, low-grade endometrial stromal sarcomas (ESS), and undifferentiated endometrial sarcomas (UES), the latter representing the most aggressive form. Morphological characteristics and cytogenetic abnormalities are heterogeneous, making diagnosis difficult. Recently, a gene fusion on chromosome 7 that includes two zinc-finger genes (JAZF1 and JJAZ1) has been discovered in these tumors. Hitherto only 31 cases, described by three different research groups, have shown JAZF1/JJAZ1 fusion in 50% of all analyzed low-grade ESSs whereas it is less frequent in UESs. In this study we analyzed 20 ESS and 2 UES cases using two-step reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction optimized for formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue. In our subset of samples, the JAZF1/JJAZ1 fusion transcript occurred in 80% of analyzed ESS cases and in none of two UES cases. In comparison to published data, our results identified the JAZF1/JJAZ1 gene fusion more frequently in endometrial stromal tumors than hitherto presumed. This cytogenetic abnormality was not present in normal endometria, leiomyomas, or leiomyosarcomas or in lung, gastric, or hepatic carcinomas, indicating its specificity for endometrial stromal tumors. In combination with other established methods, accurate reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction analysis of JAZF1/JJAZ1 gene fusion may be useful in diagnosing difficult or unusual ESS/UES cases.

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