Benign Serrated Colorectal Fibroblastic Polyps/Intramucosal Perineuriomas Are True Mixed Epithelial-stromal Polyps (Hybrid Hyperplastic Polyp/Mucosal Perineurioma) With Frequent BRAF Mutations

Abstract

Colorectal fibroblastic polyp and intramucosal perineurioma are 2 synonyms for a recently described benign mucosal lesion with a predilection for the rectosigmoid colon. These lesions are characterized by aggregates of bland spindled cells separating and distorting mucosal crypts. The latter frequently showed a serrated architecture. The pathogenesis of fibroblastic polyp/intramucosal perineurioma and the nature of serrated crypts observed in them are poorly understood. We analyzed the clinicopathological features of 29 fibroblastic polyps and investigated them for the first time for mutations known to be involved in serrated colorectal epithelial polyps (BRAF, KRAS, and PIK3CA). Patients were 23 women and 6 men with a mean age of 64 years (range: 47 to 84 y). All lesions represented asymptomatic solitary polyps (mean size 3.5 mm) localized predominantly in the rectosigmoid colon (81%). Hyperplastic polyps, classical adenoma, and sessile serrated adenoma/lesion coexisted in 12 (44%), 12 (44%), and 5 (17%) patients, respectively. All lesions showed irregular aggregates of bland spindled cells separating and distorting mucosal crypts. Serrated (hyperplastic) crypts were observed on the top or contiguous with the lesion in all cases. Immunohistochemistry revealed expression of at least one perineurial cell marker (epithelial membrane antigen, claudin-1, and glucose transporter-1) in 26 out of 27 lesions (96%), but expression of CD34 was less common (8 of 27; 30%). Immunostaining for hMLH1 showed a normal nuclear expression. Molecular analysis in 22 cases showed V600E BRAF mutation in 14 cases (63%) and KRAS mutation in 1 (4%). The remainder were wild-type for all 3 genes. Our results indicate that serrated fibroblastic polyps/intramucosal perineuriomas represent a unique type of mixed epithelial-stromal polyps (hybrid hyperplastic polyp/mucosal perineurioma). The perineurial stromal component might be derived from modified pericryptic fibroblasts as a consequence of a yet poorly understood epithelial-stromal interaction.