In this issue

Excerpt

What does Virchows Archiv offer this month to its readers? To begin with, Chiu et al. (https://​doi.​org/​10.​1007/​s00428-019-02557-1) explore the pattern of SOX10 immunoreactivity in breast cancer. The protein, which is involved in shuttling of molecules between the nucleus and the cytoplasm, was found originally to be expressed in neural crest derivatives but - much as it goes with immunohistochemical markers - its expression pattern over time appeared less specific than originally assumed. Knowing that SOX10 is expressed in myoepithelial cells, the authors set out to map its staining patterns in subtypes of ductal carcinoma (in situ) and normal breast tissue. Expression in breast cancer was found to be rare but, interestingly, almost all positive cases were grade 3 triple negative carcinomas and the sole positive in situ ductal carcinoma occurred in a patient who also had a SOX10 positive invasive ductal carcinoma. In normal breast tissue, not only myoepithelial cells but also luminal cells stained and moreover not all myoepithelial cells identified by other markers were SOX10 positive. The authors conclude that SOX10 cannot be regarded as a reliable marker of myoepithelial cells in breast lesions. …