Anaplastic thyroid cancer: outcome and the mutation/expression profiles of potential targets.

Anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) is a rare but aggressive malignancy of the thyroid. No effective treatment modalities are currently available. Targeted therapy against protein kinases showed promising results in preclinical studies.

Hypercalcemia from metastatic pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor secreting 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D.

Malignant hypercalcemia occurs in about 20-30% of patients with cancer, both solid tumors and hematologic malignancies. The secretion of parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTH-rP) is the most common cause and has been shown to be the etiology of hypercalcemia associated with neuroendocrine tumors. Here we report the case of a patient with metastatic pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor who developed hypercalcemia more than 4 years after the initial diagnosis as a result of secretion of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, a mechanism only commonly seen in lymphomas.

Early detection of high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions in the cervix with quantitative spectroscopic imaging.

Quantitative spectroscopy has recently been extended from a contact-probe to wide-area spectroscopic imaging to enable mapping of optical properties across a wide area of tissue. We train quantitative spectroscopic imaging (QSI) to identify cervical high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSILs) in 34 subjects undergoing the loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP subjects). QSI's performance is then prospectively evaluated on the clinically suspicious biopsy sites from 47 subjects undergoing colposcopic-directed biopsy.

Expression of microRNA and their gene targets are dysregulated in preinvasive breast cancer.

Introduction: microRNA (miRNA) are short, noncoding RNA that negatively regulate gene expression and may play a causal role in invasive breast cancer. Since many genetic aberrations of invasive disease are detectable in early stages, we hypothesized that miRNA expression dysregulation and the predicted changes in gene expression might also be found in early breast neoplasias.

Methods: Expression profiling of 365 miRNA by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction assay was combined with laser capture microdissection to obtain an epithelium-specific miRNA expression signature of normal breast epithelium from reduction mammoplasty (RM) (n = 9) and of paired samples of histologically normal epithelium (HN) and ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) (n = 16).

In thyroid fine-needle aspiration, use of bedside-prepared slides significantly increased diagnostic adequacy and specimen cellularity relative to solution-based samples.

Background: In the United States, the prevalence among adults of palpable thyroid nodules is 4%-7%, of which 5%-10% may represent thyroid carcinoma. Despite the success of fine-needle aspiration in reducing the need for thyroidectomy, aspirates are inadequate to render a diagnosis in 20% of cases. Minimizing nondiagnostic samples is an important goal in improving this technique.

Gene expression profiles of estrogen receptor-positive and estrogen receptor-negative breast cancers are detectable in histologically normal breast epithelium.

Purpose: Previously, we found that gene expression in histologically normal breast epithelium (NlEpi) from women at high breast cancer risk can resemble gene expression in NlEpi from cancer-containing breasts. Therefore, we hypothesized that gene expression characteristic of a cancer subtype might be seen in NlEpi of breasts containing that subtype.

Experimental Design: We examined gene expression in 46 cases of microdissected NlEpi from untreated women undergoing breast cancer surgery.

Abnormal anal cytology in HIV-infected women.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of and risk factors for abnormal anal cytology and human papillomavirus (HPV) infections in women who are human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive.

Study Design: We conducted an observational single center study of 100 HIV-infected women with cervical and anal specimens that were obtained for cytologic and high-risk HPV testing with Hybrid Capture 2.

Results: Seventeen women had abnormal anal cytology; 16 women had anal HPV; 21 women had abnormal cervical cytology, and 24 women had cervical HPV.

Effect of anatomy on spectroscopic detection of cervical dysplasia.

It has long been speculated that underlying variations in tissue anatomy affect in vivo spectroscopic measurements. We investigate the effects of cervical anatomy on reflectance and fluorescence spectroscopy to guide the development of a diagnostic algorithm for identifying high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSILs) free of the confounding effects of anatomy. We use spectroscopy in both contact probe and imaging modes to study patients undergoing either colposcopy or treatment for HSIL.

Early dysregulation of cell adhesion and extracellular matrix pathways in breast cancer progression.

Proliferative breast lesions, such as simple ductal hyperplasia (SH) and atypical ductal hyperplasia (ADH), are candidate precursors to ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and invasive cancer. To better understand the relationship of breast lesions to more advanced disease, we used microdissection and DNA microarrays to profile the gene expression of patient-matched histologically normal (HN), ADH, and DCIS from 12 patients with estrogen receptor positive sporadic breast cancer. SH were profiled from a subset of cases.

CDKN1C/p57kip2 is a candidate tumor suppressor gene in human breast cancer.

Background: CDKN1C (also known as p57KIP2) is a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor previously implicated in several types of human cancer. Its family members (CDKN1A/p21CIP1 and B/p27KIP1) have been implicated in breast cancer, but information about CDKN1C's role is limited. We hypothesized that decreased CDKN1C may be involved in human breast carcinogenesis in vivo.

Expression of cytokeratin 19 in the diagnosis of thyroid papillary carcinoma by quantitative polymerase chain reaction.

Objective: To examine cytokeratin 19 (CK19) expression levels by immunostaining for protein and quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) for messenger RNA in thyroid surgical specimens from patients with papillary carcinoma (PC) and other types of thyroid lesions.

Methods: A total of 54 randomly selected postoperative thyroid tissue samples were collected for formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded sectioning or flash-frozen total RNA extraction for complementary DNA synthesis (or both). Tissue sections were stained for CK19 expression with use of a specific monoclonal antibody.

In utero exposure to diethylstilbestrol (DES) does not increase genomic instability in normal or neoplastic breast epithelium.

Background: In 1992, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) established the Continuation of Follow-Up of DES-Exposed Cohorts to study the long-term health effects of exposure to diethylstilbestrol (DES). Genetic effects on human breast tissue have not been examined. The authors investigated whether breast tissue of women exposed in utero to DES might exhibit the genetic abnormalities that characterize other DES-associated tumors.

Allele imbalance, or loss of heterozygosity, in normal breast epithelium of sporadic breast cancer cases and BRCA1 gene mutation carriers is increased compared with reduction mammoplasty tissues.

Purpose: Normal-appearing breast epithelium can contain genetic abnormalities, including allele imbalance (AI), also referred to as loss of heterozygosity. Whether abnormalities are associated with cancer or cancer risk is unknown.

Patients And Methods: We performed a miniallelotype, using 20 microsatellites, on each of 460 histologically normal, microdissected breast terminal ducto-lobular units (TDLUs) from three groups of women: sporadic breast cancer patients (SP; n = 18), BRCA1 gene mutation carriers (BRCA1; n = 16), and controls undergoing reduction mammoplasty (RM; n = 18).

Quantitative DNA fingerprinting may distinguish new primary breast cancer from disease recurrence.

Purpose: Approximately 10% of women with breast cancer develop a second breast tumor, either a new primary or a recurrence. Differentiating between these entities using standard clinical and pathologic criteria remains challenging. Ambiguous cases arise, and misclassifications may occur.

Loss of heterozygosity in serial plasma DNA samples during follow-up of women with breast cancer.

We evaluated the potential utility of occult circulating tumor DNA as a molecular marker of disease in subjects previously diagnosed with breast cancer. Using 24 microsatellite markers located at sites of frequent loss of heterozygosity (LOH) or allele imbalance in breast cancer, we analyzed DNA from 16 primary tumors (Stage IIA or more advanced) and 30 longitudinally collected plasma specimens. Clinical data at the time of plasma collection were obtained.

Interim analysis of a prospective, randomized trial of vacuum-assisted closure versus the healthpoint system in the management of pressure ulcers.

Twenty-eight patients with 41 full-thickness decubitus ulcers were randomized to compare the Vacuum-Assisted Closure device (VAC) with the Healthpoint System (HP) of wound gel products in promoting ulcer healing. A total of 22 patients with 35 full-thickness ulcers completed the 6-week trial of treatment, during which time 2 patients (10%) in the VAC group (N =20) and 2 patients (13%) in the HP group (N = 15) healed completely. The mean percent reduction in ulcer volume was 42.

Loss of heterozygosity or allele imbalance in histologically normal breast epithelium is distinct from loss of heterozygosity or allele imbalance in co-existing carcinomas.

To better understand early steps in human breast carcinogenesis, we examined allele imbalance or loss of heterozygosity (LOH), in co-existing normal-appearing breast epithelium and cancers. We microdissected a total of 173 histologically normal ducts or terminal ductolobular units (TDLUs) and malignant epithelial samples from 18 breast cancer cases, and examined their DNA for LOH at 21 microsatellite markers on 10 chromosome arms. Fourteen of 109 (13%) normal ducts/TDLUs, from 8 of 18 (44%) cases, contained LOH.