Alternative lengthening of telomeres and ATRX/DAXX loss can be reliably detected in FNAs of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors

BACKGROUND Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PanNETs) frequently use the alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT) pathway for telomere maintenance. ALT is strongly correlated with α thalassemia‐mental retardation, X linked (ATRX), and death domain‐associated protein 6 (DAXX) alterations and a poor prognosis in patients with primary PanNET. Because fine‐needle aspiration (FNA) is a noninvasive way to sample tumors, the authors evaluated whether...