Impact of chromosomal instability on colorectal cancer progression and outcome.

Background: It remains presently unclear whether disease progression in colorectal carcinoma (CRC), from early, to invasive and metastatic forms, is associated to a gradual increase in genetic instability and to a scheme of sequentially occurring Copy Number Alterations (CNAs).

Methods: In this work we set to determine the existence of such links between CRC progression and genetic instability and searched for associations with patient outcome. To this aim we analyzed a set of 162 Chromosomal Instable (CIN) CRCs comprising 131 primary carcinomas evenly distributed through stage 1 to 4, 31 metastases and 14 adenomas by array-CGH.

Breast tumor PDXs are genetically plastic and correspond to a subset of aggressive cancers prone to relapse.

Patient derived xenografts (PDXs) are increasingly appreciated models in cancer research, particularly for preclinical testing, as they reflect the patient's tumor biology more accurately than cancer cell lines. We have established a collection of 20 breast PDXs and characterized their biological and clinical features, as well as their genetic stability. While most PDXs originated from triple negative breast cancers (70%), our collection comprised five ER + cases (25%).

[The design of new protocols/what place for the pathology departments?].

The pathologist's role in 2008 includes diagnosic, prognostic and predictive implications. Histopathologic criteria are still essential to manage the disease of cancer patients. They need to be based on standardized pathology reports and can use ancillary techniques such as immunohistochemistry and molecular biology.

Long term outcome of small size invasive breast carcinomas independent from angiogenesis in a series of 685 cases.

Background: To document the role of neoangiogenesis in the progression of breast carcinomas, intratumoral vascular density (ITVD) was assessed and compared to pathologic data and disease outcome in a series of 685 cases.

Methods: Patients were registered between 1981 and 1988 at the Curie Institute. Tumors corresponded to small size (< or = 30 mm) invasive carcinomas, 71% of which were axillary lymph node-negative.