Journal of Pathology and Translational Medicine

Original Article

Clinicopathological and molecular mechanisms of CLDN18.2 in gastric cancer aggressiveness: a high-risk population study with multi-omics profiling: Hengquan Wu, Mei Li, Gang Wang, Peiqing Liao, Peng Zhang, Luxi Yang, Yumin Li, Tao Liu, Wenting He; J Pathol Transl Med. 2026;60(1):47-57. Published online January 5, 2026; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4132/jptm.2025.09.11

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Abstract PDF Supplementary Material: Background
The tight junction protein claudin18.2 (CLDN18.2) has been implicated in poor prognosis and suboptimal immunotherapy response in gastric cancer (GC). This study investigates the clinicopathological relevance of CLDN18.2 expression and its association with molecular subtypes in GC patients from a high-incidence region, combining transcriptomic and proteomic approaches to explore how CLDN18.2 contributes to progression and metastasis.
Methods
A retrospective cohort of 494 GC patients (2019–2024) underwent immunohistochemical analysis for CLDN18.2, Epstein-Barr virus (Epstein–Barr virus–encoded RNA), p53, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), and mismatch repair proteins (MLH1, MSH2, PMS2, and MSH6). CLDN18.2 positivity was defined as moderate to strong (2+/3+) membranous staining in ≥75% of tumor cells. Clinicopathological correlations, biomarker associations, and survival outcomes were evaluated. Transcriptomic and proteomic sequencing was performed to explore molecular mechanisms.
Results
CLDN18.2 positivity was observed in 26.9% (133/494) of gastric adenocarcinomas. CLDN18.2-positive tumors correlated with TNM stage (p = .003) and shorter overall survival (p = .018). No associations were identified with age, sex, HER2 status, microsatellite instability, or Epstein-Barr virus infection. Transcriptomic profiling revealed CLDN18.2-high tumors enriched in pathways involving cell junction disruption, signaling regulation, and immune modulation. Proteomic profiling showed that tumors with high CLDN18.2 were enriched in multiple mechanism-related pathways such as integrated metabolic reprogramming, cytoskeletal recombination, immune microenvironment dysregulation, and pro-survival signaling. These mechanisms may collectively contribute to tumor progression and metastasis.
Conclusions
CLDN18.2 overexpression is associated with poor prognosis in GC patients. Transcriptomic and proteomic analyses demonstrate that CLDN18.2 promotes tumor progression and metastasis, underscoring its potential as an independent prognostic factor in regions with a high incidence of GC.

Case Study

Cytological features of atypical adenomatous hyperplasia and adenocarcinoma in situ of the lung: a case report: Misa Takahashi, Seiya Homma, Chisato Setoguchi, Yoko Umezawa, Atsuhiko Sakamoto; J Pathol Transl Med. 2025;59(3):195-200. Published online May 9, 2025; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4132/jptm.2025.04.09

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Abstract PDF: Atypical adenomatous hyperplasia (AAH) and adenocarcinoma in situ (AIS) are generally treated as different lesions, depending on the differences in lesion size and histological findings. However, these differences are not absolute; thus, AAH and AIS are often difficult to distinguish. Moreover, whether AAH and AIS can be regarded as different lesions remains unknown because cytological specimens, especially those of AAH, are rare. In this study, we examined these uncommon cytological specimens and compared the cytological findings between AAH and AIS. We observed many common cytological features with no obvious differences between AAH and AIS. These findings suggest that these two distinct lesions can be grouped into a single category. Therefore, we propose creating a new cytological category.

Original Article

Fine needle aspiration cytology diagnoses of follicular thyroid carcinoma: results from a multicenter study in Asia: Hee Young Na, Miyoko Higuchi, Shinya Satoh, Kaori Kameyama, Chan Kwon Jung, Su-Jin Shin, Shipra Agarwal, Jen-Fan Hang, Yun Zhu, Zhiyan Liu, Andrey Bychkov, Kennichi Kakudo, So Yeon Park; J Pathol Transl Med. 2024;58(6):331-340. Published online November 7, 2024; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4132/jptm.2024.10.12

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Abstract PDF Supplementary Material

Background
This study was designed to compare diagnostic categories of thyroid fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) and incidence of thyroid tumors in the multi-institutional Asian series with a special focus on diagnostic category IV (suspicious for a follicular neoplasm) and follicular thyroid carcinomas (FTCs). Methods: Distribution of FNAC categories, incidence of thyroid tumors in resection specimens and cytologic diagnoses of surgically confirmed follicular adenomas (FAs) and FTCs were collected from 10 institutes from five Asian countries and were compared among countries and between FAs and FTCs. Results: The frequency of category IV diagnoses (3.0%) in preoperative FNAC were significantly lower compared to those in Western countries (10.1%). When comparing diagnostic categories among Asian countries, category IV was more frequent in Japan (4.6%) and India (7.9%) than in Taiwan (1.4%), Korea (1.4%), and China (3.6%). Similarly, incidence of FAs and FTCs in surgical resection specimens was significantly higher in Japan (10.9%) and India (10.1%) than in Taiwan (5.5%), Korea (3.0%), and China (2.5%). FTCs were more commonly diagnosed as category IV in Japan (77.5%) than in Korea (33.3%) and China (35.0%). Nuclear pleomorphism, nuclear crowding, microfollicular pattern, and dyshesive cell pattern were more common in FTCs compared with FAs. Conclusions: Our study highlighted the difference in FNAC diagnostic categories of FTCs among Asian countries, which is likely related to different reporting systems and thyroid cancer incidence. Cytologic features such as nuclear pleomorphism, nuclear crowding, microfollicular pattern, and dyshesive cell pattern were found to be useful in diagnosing FTCs more effectively.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

Misdiagnosed follicular adenoma with 11 year postoperative liver and lung metastases a case report and literature review
Kai-Li Yang, Heng-Tong Han, Shou-Hua Li, Xiao-Xiao Li, Ze Yang, Li-Bin Ma, Yong-Xun Zhao
Discover Oncology.2025;[Epub] CrossRef

Case Study

A rare goblet cell adenocarcinoma arising from Barrett’s esophagus: the first reported case in the esophagus: Chi Eun Oh, Sung Eun Kim, Sun-Ju Oh; J Pathol Transl Med. 2024;58(2):81-86. Published online January 8, 2024; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4132/jptm.2023.12.26

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Abstract PDF: Goblet cell adenocarcinoma (GCA) is a rare and distinctive amphicrine tumor comprised of goblet-like mucinous cells and neuroendocrine cells. It is believed to originate from pluripotent stem cells located at the base of crypts. GCA predominantly arises from the appendix, with a few reported cases in extra-appendiceal locations such as the colorectum, small intestine, and stomach. In this case report, we present a unique instance of a 64-year-old male who initially received a diagnosis of neuroendocrine carcinoma in the distal esophagus based on biopsy but, following resection, was subsequently re-diagnosed with GCA arising from Barrett’s esophagus.

Original Articles

Usefulness of BRAF VE1 immunohistochemistry in non–small cell lung cancers: a multi-institutional study by 15 pathologists in Korea: Sunhee Chang, Yoon-La Choi, Hyo Sup Shim, Geon Kook Lee, Seung Yeon Ha; J Pathol Transl Med. 2022;56(6):334-341. Published online October 27, 2022; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4132/jptm.2022.08.22

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