Medullary carcinoma.

This paper constitutes a brief review of recent developments related to medullary carcinoma of the thyroid gland. The following topics are discussed: definition; pathologic variants; mixed medullary and follicular carcinoma; C cell hyperplasia; and the possible existence of C cell adenoma.

Nodular regenerative hyperplasia of the liver. Report of three cases and review of the literature.

Nodular regenerative hyperplasia of the liver is a rare pathologic condition that occurs in adults. We report three cases of this condition, including that of an infant with coexisting globoid cell leukodystrophy (Krabbe's disease). The literature on nodular regenerative hyperplasia of the liver is reviewed with emphasis on the role of drugs in the production of this disease.

Oat cell carcinoma of the gallbladder.

Among 448 malignant epithelial tumors of the gallbladder, 19 were classified as oat cell carcinomas. Seventeen cases occurred in elderly women. Eighteen of the patients had cholelithiasis.

Carcinoma in situ of the gallbladder. A clinicopathologic study of 18 cases.

Eighteen cases of carcinoma in situ of the gallbladder collected over a 7-year period at the General Hospital of Mexico City are reported. All patients were females whose ages ranged from 26 to 83 years with a mean of 55. Their symptoms and signs were related to the presence of stones.

Clear cell variant of thyroid carcinoma.

Three carcinomas composed of a variable proportion of clear cells, oxyphil cells, and cells with combined oxyphil and clear cell features are reported. Cytologically, these tumors were included in the category of oxyphil cell variant of follicular carcinoma. In regard to pattern, two were entirely follicular, and one had follicular and papillary areas.

Malignant schwannoma presenting as a skin mass. Confirmation by the demonstration of myelin basic protein within tumor cells.

A malignant spindle cell tumor with features of a malignant schwannoma presented as a skin mass in the neck of a 13-year-old child. The histologic diagnosis was supported by the demonstration of myelin basic protein within the atypical cells using a monoclonal antibody to myelin basic protein and an unlabelled antibody peroxidase-antiperoxidase technique.

Somatostatinoma of the cystic duct.

An unusual tumor of the cystic duct in a 28-year-old woman is described. The patient presented with a painful distended gallbladder due to a small tumor occluding the cystic duct. Microscopically the tumor cells showed a nesting pattern suggestive of endocrine differentiation, but contained numerous lipid vacuoles and were argentaffin and argyrophil negative.

The ultrastructure of gallbladder carcinoma.

Nine malignant epithelial tumors of the gallbladder were examined electron microscopically. The tumors included the following subtypes: well-differentiated adenocarcinoma, signet ring cell carcinoma, adenosquamous carcinoma, and oat cell carcinoma. Well-differentiated adenocarcinomas recapitulated the ultrastructure of the normal surface epithelium of the gallbladder.

Carcinoembryonic antigen in normal, preneoplastic and neoplastic gallbladder epithelium.

Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) was found in normal epithelium, premalignant lesions, and all histologic types of carcinomas of the gallbladder. Immunocytochemical staining for CEA was limited to the apical surface of normal epithelium. In premalignant lesions and in carcinomas, the staining was more extensive, occurring within the cytoplasm and gland secretions.

Thyroglobulin in carcinoma of the thyroid: an immunohistochemical study.

To determine the value of thyroglobulin as an immunohistochemical marker for thyroid neoplasms, we studied 42 primary thyroid carcinomas, 38 metastatic carcinomas, and four sarcomas involving the thyroid gland. All follicular and papillary carcinomas, regardless of their morphologic variation, stained positively for thyroglobulin, whereas the medullary carcinomas, metastatic tumors, and sarcomas showed negative staining reactions. The only small-cell variant of follicular carcinoma and ten of 14 spindle and giant cell carcinomas showed the lowest thyroglobulin reactivity.

Multiple endocrine neoplasia. Pituitary adenoma, multicentric papillary thyroid carcinoma, bilateral carotid body paraganglioma, parathyroid hyperplasia, gastric leiomyoma, and systemic amyloidosis.

Multiple endocrine neoplasia in a 70-year-old woman are described. The findings include a nonfunctioning pituitary adenoma, a multicentric papillary thyroid carcinoma, bilateral carotid body paragangliomas, parathyroid hyperplasia, gastric leiomyoma and systemic amyloidosis. A study of the kindred revealed that two family members, a daughter and a granddaughter, have clinical and radiographic evidence of pituitary tumors and bilateral carotid body paragangliomas, suggesting that this may represent a genetically determined syndrome inherited as an autosomal dominant.

Cytopathology of precursor lesions of invasive carcinoma of the gallbladder: a study of bile aspirated from surgically excised gallbladders.

Bile aspirated from 374 gallbladders immediately after they were excised for cholelithiasis or cholecystitis was examined cytologically. Smears from 250 cases were considered adequate for cytologic analysis, and the findings were correlated with the histologic diagnosis. Poor correlation was obtained with hyperplasia (28%) and dysplasia (25%).

Unusual types of gallbladder carcinoma. A report of 16 cases.

In a review of 159 gallbladder carcinomas, we identified four unusual histologic types: oat-cell carcinoma (five cases), giant-cell adenocarcinoma (seven cases), intestinal-type adenocarcinoma (three cases), and adenocarcinoma with choriocarcinoma-like areas (one case). Oat-cell carcinomas were similar at light- and electron-microscopic levels to those previously described in other anatomic locations. Giant-cell adenocarcinomas coexisted with well-differentiated adenocarcinomas and exhibited transition areas.

The precursor lesions of invasive gallbladder carcinoma. Hyperplasia, atypical hyperplasia and carcinoma in situ.

In 200 consecutive cholecystectomy specimens excised for cholelithiasis or cholecystitis, 83% exhibited epithelial hyperplasia, 13.5%, atypical hyperplasia and 3.5%, carcinoma in situ.

Malignant mixed tumor of the salivary-gland type, primary in the prostate.

A previously undescribed malignant mixed tumor arising in the prostate of a 72-year-old man is herein presented. Clinically, it was manifested by slowly progressing urinary frequency and urgency, as well as by intense pain. The total serum acid phosphatase value and the prostatic fraction were within normal limits.

Carcinoid of the uterine cervix: additional observations on a new tumor entity.

Twelve carcinoid tumors of the uterine cervix were studied. Based on the microscopic structure, they were divided into well-differentiated and poorly differentiated types. Both tumor varieties affected adult women.

[Teratoma of the thyroid gland in children].

Two cases of teratoma of the thyroid gland occurring in children are presented. Both tumors were discovered shortly after birth and were not associated with clinical hypothyroidism. One of the patients was thoroughly studied from the endocrinological point of view utilizing several techniques.