Thoracic SMARCA2-deficient But SMARCA4-preserved Tumors With Undifferentiated Morphology Combined With Claudin-4 Negativity

Abstract

Thoracic SMARCA4-deficient undifferentiated tumor (SMARCA4-UT) is a recently recognized tumor characterized by inactivation of SMARCA4, a SWItch/Sucrose NonFermentable chromatin remodeler, detectable by immunohistochemistry. SMARCA4-UT shows undifferentiated or rhabdoid morphology with claudin-4 negativity. However, thoracic undifferentiated tumors with the same histologic features as SMARCA4-UTs but a preserved SMARCA4 expression have so far been underrecognized. We herein report 3 cases of thoracic undifferentiated tumors with isolated loss of SMARCA2 but retained expression of SMARCA4 and SMARCB1. The present tumors were found in 2 men and 1 woman, 40 to 50 years old. All patients were heavy smokers (≥20 pack-years). The tumors were generally large masses located in the mediastinum, lung>chest wall, or lung and composed of relatively monotonous, round to epithelioid cells with variably rhabdoid cells. Immunohistochemically, the tumors showed claudin-4 negativity with variable expression of cytokeratin. All cases showed highly aggressive clinical behavior with overall survival of 2 to 10 months. These SMARCA2-deficient tumors with preserved SMARCA4 expression appeared to be clinicopathologically indistinguishable from SMARCA4-UTs, except for in their SMARCA4 status. This variant may expand the spectrum of SWItch/Sucrose NonFermentable-deficient undifferentiated tumors of the thoracic region beyond SMARCA4-UT.