Modern pathology : an official journal of the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology, Inc
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Multicenter Study
Diagnostic utility of SOX10 to distinguish malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor from synovial sarcoma, including intraneural synovial sarcoma.
Synovial sarcoma and malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor pose a significant diagnostic challenge given similar histomorphology. The distinction is further complicated by similar immunophenotype and especially by occasional synovial sarcomas that present as intraneural tumors. Although the presence of a t(X;18) rearrangement or expression of TLE1 can help confirm the diagnosis of synovial sarcoma, negative results for these tests are not diagnostic of malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor. ⋯ Therefore, SOX10 is a specific (93%), albeit not very sensitive (67%), diagnostic marker to support a diagnosis of malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor over synovial sarcoma. Furthermore, the stain needs to be interpreted with caution in intraneural tumors in order to avoid a potential diagnostic pitfall. It remains to be determined whether SOX10-positive cells in intraneural synovial sarcoma represent entrapped Schwann cells, synovial sarcoma cells or both.