A Clinicopathological Analysis of Molecular Subtypes of Breast Cancer using Immunohistochemical Surrogates: A 6-Year Institutional Experience from a Tertiary Cancer Center in North India.

Puneet Kaur Somal  Classification of breast cancer into different molecular subtypes has important prognostic and therapeutic implications. The immunohistochemistry surrogate classification has been advocated for this purpose. The primary objective of the present study was to assess the prevalence of the different molecular subtypes of invasive breast carcinoma and study the clinicopathological parameters in a tertiary care cancer center in rural North India.

Deciphering the Patterns of Dual Primary Cases Registered at the Hospital-Based Cancer Registry: First Experience from Rural Cancer Center in North India.

 The objective is to present the patterns of dual primary malignancies diagnosed at the Pathology Laboratory of Cancer Hospital with the support from hospital-based cancer registry (HBCR), Sangrur, Punjab, India for the years 2018 and 2019.  HBCR abstracts data from electronic medical records. Trained cancer registry staff abstracts cases in standard pro forma.

EphrinB2: Expression of a novel potential target in renal cell carcinoma.

Introduction: Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is primarily managed by surgery with the use of systemic targeted therapy in a metastatic setting. Newer targeted therapeutic options are evolving; Eph-ephrin is a potential new pathway. The therapeutic potential of targeting the EphB4-EphrinB2 pathway has been demonstrated in many solid tumors; however, its expression in RCC has only been evaluated in a few studies with limited cases.

Aliens in the thyroid gland: The secondary lesions.

Background: A secondary lesion in the thyroid gland is a rare clinical scenario diagnosed preoperatively during the evaluation of a neck mass, postoperatively in a thyroidectomy specimen or in autopsy studies. Even though the thyroid gland is highly vascular, secondary malignant lesions are rare accounting for 0.2% of all thyroid malignancies.

Early endometrial carcinoma: Experience and outcomes.

Aim: Endometrial carcinoma (EC) data from India are very sparse. We did a retrospective analysis of our patients registered at this peripheral cancer center based in rural Punjab and studied their outcome.

Materials And Methods: Ninety-eight Stage I and II EC patients with endometroid histology registered at our institute from January 2015 to April 2020 were studied for demography, histopathology, treatment received, and outcomes.

Challenges Encountered and Pattern-Based Analysis of Bone Marrow Biopsy in Lymphomas: An Institutional Experience.

 The evaluation of bone marrow (BM) status is an integral part of the initial workup of patients diagnosed with lymphoma as it plays an important role in staging and predicting prognosis in these patients. This article determines the incidence and pattern of BM involvement in lymphoma cases and distinguishes benign from malignant lymphoid aggregates in BM biopsies.  The study group included 121 cases of Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphomas for which BM biopsies were performed, fixed in acetic acid-zinc formalin solution, decalcified using 10% formic acid, and subjected to hematoxylin and eosin and immunohistochemistry.

Predictors of Pelvic Lymph Nodal Metastasis in Penile Squamous Cell Carcinoma- Results From a Matched-Pair Analysis.

Introduction: Pelvic lymph node (PLN) metastasis has a worse prognosis in penile squamous cell carcinoma. This study sought to determine the predictors of PLN metastasis in penile SCC.

Materials And Methods: This retrospective study included primary penile resections with inguinal lymph nodes (ILN) and PLN dissections over 10 years (2007-2017).

Immunohistochemistry on cell blocks for diagnosis of malignancy in abdomino-pelvic lesions and ascitic fluid cytology at a rural cancer center: A paradigm shift in cancer management.

Background: Cell block preparation is routine practice in cytopathology these days because of its pivotal role in increasing diagnostic yield and ancillary studies. In the present era of personalized medicine in oncology, ancillary techniques such as immunohistochemistry (IHC) and molecular analysis are gaining more importance.

Methods: A retrospective study was conducted in the Department of Pathology, over 6 months, which included 144 cases of Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology (FNAC) of abdominopelvic masses and 105 cases of ascitic fluids.

Updates in staging of penile cancer: the evolution, nuances, and issues.

Staging based on the tumor (T), node (N), and metastasis (M) schema of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) is usually the most important prognostic factor for any tumor type. Although a rare tumor, in penile cancers, this staging has evolved rapidly in the last two editions of the AJCC Cancer Staging manuals. These changes and updates are largely based on the advancement in our knowledge of the complex anatomy of the penis, the role of histopathological variables in disease biology, and the results of multicentric studies comprising large data sets.

Adequacy of Histopathology Reports Representing Oncologic Resection Specimens: An Experience of Reporting Practice in Rural India.

Context.—: The histopathology reporting practice in rural areas is largely variable. To ensure the adequacy of histopathology reports (HPRs), the College of American Pathologists (CAP) has developed cancer reporting checklists.

Determinants of completion of cancer directed treatment: an experience from a rural cancer centre, Sangrur, Punjab state, India.

In low and middle-income countries, access to cancer diagnosis and treatment is suboptimal. Further, compliance to cancer treatment is a major issue due to various reasons including financial barriers, lack of family support and fear of treatment. This article discusses the determinants of treatment completion in cancer patients of a government-run hospital, in a rural part of Punjab in India.

Primary angiosarcoma of the seminal vesicle.

Angiosarcomas are rare but highly aggressive malignancies originating from lymphatic or vascular endothelial cells and may arise from any site in the body. Angiosarcomas of the genitourinary tract, especially of seminal vesicle origin, are extremely rare with only five reported cases. Surgery forms the mainstay of therapy in localised disease while adjuvant therapies are still being refined.

Validation of a Portable Whole-Slide Imaging System for Frozen Section Diagnosis.

Background: Frozen section (FS) diagnosis is one of the promising applications of digital pathology (DP). However, the implementation of an appropriate and economically viable DP solution for FS in routine practice is challenging. The objective of this study was to establish the non-inferiority of whole-slide imaging (WSI) versus optical microscopy (OM) for FS diagnosis using a low cost and portable DP system.

A comparative study of AJCC and the modified staging system in pT2/pT3 penile squamous cell carcinoma - a validation on an external data set.

Aims: The recent changes in the American Joint Commission on Cancer, 8th edition (AJCC-8E) pT2 and pT3 tumour definitions for penile cancer need robust validation studies. A recent study redefined and modified the pT2 and pT3 stages incorporating the histopathological variables (tumour grade, lymphovascular invasion, perineural invasion) similar to that used in the current AJCC-8E pT1 stage tumour subclassification. In this study, we validate and compare this proposed staging with the AJCC staging systems on an external data set.

Ectopic Prostate Tissue Presenting as Urinary Bladder Tumor: The Imitation Game!

Ectopic prostate tissue is a rare phenomenon. Histologically and immunohistochemically it is indistinguishable from normal prostatic tissue but it is difficult to recognize and may be confused with malignancy when presenting as ectopic lesion in the urinary system. Therefore, awareness of this entity is essential for both urologists and pathologists to prevent misdiagnosis.

Strategies to ensure efficient laboratory functioning while navigating through the COVID-19 crisis in developing countries: An early experience from a tertiary care centre in India.

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID 19) is a zoonotic viral infection that originated in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. It was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization shortly thereafter. This pandemic is going to have a lasting impact on the functioning of pathology laboratories due to the frequent handling of potentially infectious samples by the laboratory personnel.

Application and comparison of Fuhrman nuclear grading system with the novel tumor grading system for chromophobe renal cell carcinoma and its correlation with disease-specific events.

Introduction: The grading system of chromophobe renal cell carcinoma (ChRCC) is not well established. In this study, we aimed to compare the application of Fuhrman nuclear grade (FNG) with the novel chromophobe tumor grade (CTG). We also evaluated the correlation of these two grading systems with the clinical outcome.