Identification of clinical, histopathological and immunohistochemical criteria for prediction of malignity in pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas

• Grant number: 20/16453-8
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: March 01, 2022
• End date: May 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine - Medical Clinics
• Principal Investigator: Maria Adelaide Albergaria Pereira
• Grantee: Maria Adelaide Albergaria Pereira
• Host Institution: Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da USP (HCFMUSP). Secretaria da Saúde (São Paulo - Estado). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Pheochromocytomas (PHEO) and paragangliomas (PGL) are tumors arising from chromaffin cells of the adrenal medulla or sympathetic and parasympatheticparaganglia respectively. 15 a 17% of PHEO and PGL patients develop metastatic disease, with 5 year survival between 40 - 85%. Malignancy diagosis can only be defined in the presence of metastasis. There is no clinical, histological, immuno-histochemical or molecular criteria that unnequivocally differentiate benign and malignant tumors. So, the efforts in this area are concentrated on identify predictive markers of disease behavior. Patients data will be evaluated (demographic, clinical, biochemical and genetic data) as well as tumor characteristics (size, site, quantitation of the number of tumors, histology - PASS and GAPP scores will be reviewed and validated) and CART and Chromogranin B immuno-histochemical analisys, markers not yet assessed as malignant predictors, will be performed. (AU)