Novel diet-related mouse model of colon cancer parallels human colon cancer.

Aim: To investigate the close parallels between our novel diet-related mouse model of colon cancer and human colon cancer.

Methods: Twenty-two wild-type female mice (ages 6-8 wk) were fed the standard control diet (AIN-93G) and an additional 22 female mice (ages 6-8 wk) were fed the control diet supplemented with 0.2% deoxycholic acid [diet + deoxycholic acid (DOC)] for 10 mo.

Epigenetic field defects in progression to cancer.

A field defect is a field of pre-malignant tissue in which a new cancer is likely to arise. Field defects often appear to be histologically normal under the microscope. Recent research indicates that cells within a field defect characteristically have an increased frequency of epigenetic alterations and these may be fundamentally important as underlying factors in progression to cancer.

Loss of heterozygosity at the glutathione peroxidase 1 locus is not an early event in colon carcinogenesis.

It has been previously shown that loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at the cytosolic glutathione peroxidase (GPx-1) locus is a common event in the development of several cancer types, including colorectal cancer. GPx-1 is an antioxidant selenium-containing protein, and polymorphisms within this gene have been shown to be associated with the increased risk of cancer. In order to assess whether this genetic change was an early or late event in colon cancer development, we investigated whether LOH at this site was occurring in colorectal adenomas, a premalignant lesion.

Karyometry of nuclear phenotypes in cutaneous squamous cell cancer.

Objective: To establish the karyometric characteristics of the two main nuclear phenotypes in cutaneous squamous cell cancer (cSCC) lesions.

Study Design: The clinical materials comprised 75 cases of cSCC, 38 with aggressive lesions and 37 with nonaggressive lesions. High-resolution images of 100 nuclei per case were recorded.

Deficient expression of DNA repair enzymes in early progression to sporadic colon cancer.

Background: Cancers often arise within an area of cells (e.g. an epithelial patch) that is predisposed to the development of cancer, i.

Nuclear morphometry identifies a distinct aggressive cellular phenotype in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma.

By identifying aggressive cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) in patients who are at high risk for recurrences or second primaries after resection, intensive surveillance and therapy may decrease morbidity and mortality. We investigated the role of nuclear morphometry (karyometry) in differentiating between aggressive and nonaggressive cSCC. We retrospectively analyzed cSCC lesions from 40 male patients.

Prognostic criteria for squamous cell cancer of the skin.

Background: Non-well-differentiated cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas may display a more aggressive behavior. It is important to better define prognostic criteria for these tumors.

Methods: This was a retrospective case-control analysis of a squamous cell carcinoma database.

Progression of skin lesions from normal skin to squamous cell carcinoma.

Objective: To assess the changes in the nuclear chromatin pattern concomitant with progressive sun damage in skin biopsies ranging from sun-exposed, normal-appearing skin to squamous cell carcinoma (SCC).

Study Design: Biopsies were taken from 140 cases with sun-exposed but histopathologically normal skin, from 20 cases visually assessed as pre-actinic keratosis (pre-AK) or early AK, from 30 cases of AK, and from 21 cases of SCC. A total of 21,094 nuclei were recorded from these biopsies.

Regulation of deoxycholate induction of CXCL8 by the adenomatous polyposis coli gene in colorectal cancer.

Elevated deoxycholic acid (DCA), mutations in the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) gene and chronic inflammation are associated with increased risk of colorectal cancer. APC status was manipulated to determine whether DCA mediates inflammatory molecules in normal or initiated colonic mucosa. DCA increased steady state mRNA and protein levels of CXCL8 in cells which do not express wild-type APC.

Actinic damage in histopathologically normal skin.

Objective: To establish measures of sun damage in histopathologically normal skin.

Study Design: Biopsies were taken from the upper inner arm, representing skin with presumably minimum sun exposure, from skin of the forearm with no visible sun damage, from skin of the forearm with visible sun damage and from normal-appearing skin from the forearm of individuals who had sun exposure that had resulted in actinic keratosis (AK) lesions. In addition, a data set of nuclei from AKs was recorded.

Sleep and non-invasive ventilation in patients with chronic respiratory insufficiency.

Objective: Noninvasive ventilation with pressure support (NIV-PS) therapy can augment ventilation; however, such therapy is fixed and may not adapt to varied patient needs. We tested the hypothesis that in patients with chronic respiratory insufficiency, a newer mode of ventilation [averaged volume assured pressure support (AVAPS)] and lateral decubitus position were associated with better sleep efficiency than NIV-PS and supine position. Our secondary aim was to assess the effect of mode of ventilation, body position, and sleep-wakefulness state on minute ventilation (V(E)) in the same patients.

Zone of traction injury of the common peroneal nerve.

The history of functional motor recovery after reconstruction of traction injury to the common peroneal nerve is poor, regardless of technique and regardless of the experience of the surgeon doing the reconstruction. The hypothesis tested is that the failure of functional motor recovery after common peroneal nerve traction injury is because the zone of injury extends beyond the visible region of peroneal nerve in continuity injury and into the muscle entry zone of the motor nerve terminations. The opportunity arose to examine pathologically this suspected distal zone of injury in one patient.

MGMT promoter methylation and field defect in sporadic colorectal cancer.

Background: Sporadic colorectal cancers often arise from a region of cells characterized by a "field defect" that has not been well defined molecularly. DNA methylation has been proposed as a candidate mediator of this field defect. The DNA repair gene O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) is frequently methylated in colorectal cancer.

Identification of a stem cell candidate in the normal human prostate gland.

Stem cells of the human prostate gland have not yet been identified utilizing a structural biomarker. We have discovered a new prostatic epithelial cell phenotype-expressing cytokeratin 6a (Ck6a+ cells). The Ck6a+ cells are present within a specialized niche in the basal cell compartment in fetal, juvenile and adult prostate tissue, and within the stem cell-enriched urogenital sinus.

Mucin-rich variant of salivary duct carcinoma: a clinicopathologic and immunohistochemical study of four cases.

Salivary duct carcinoma is a relatively uncommon aggressive neoplasm, typically found in the parotid glands of older men. The histologic appearance is that of an in situ and invasive high-grade adenocarcinoma, and it closely resembles ductal carcinoma of the breast. Several variants of the latter are very well known, but only papillary, sarcomatoid, and low-grade subtypes have so far been reported in salivary duct carcinoma.

Cardiac Wegener's granulomatosis masquerading as left atrial myxoma.

A 56-year-old woman was referred with mitral regurgitation, left ventricular dysfunction, and a sessile mass on the anterior leaflet of her mitral valve. The initial impression from echocardiography was that she had a left atrial myxoma. At operation, we found an intense inflammatory process diagnosed as Wegener's granulomatosis.