Automated cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma grading using deep learning with transfer learning.

Introduction: Histological grading of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) is crucial for prognosis and treatment decisions, but manual grading is subjective and time-consuming.

Aim: This study aimed to develop and validate a deep learning (DL)-based model for automated cSCC grading, potentially improving diagnostic accuracy (ACC) and efficiency.

Materials And Methods: Three deep neural networks (DNNs) with different architectures (AlexNet, GoogLeNet, ResNet-18) were trained using transfer learning on a dataset of 300 histopathological images of cSCC.

The transcriptional landscape of cancer stem-like cell functionality in breast cancer.

Background: Cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) have been extensively researched as the primary drivers of therapy resistance and tumor relapse in patients with breast cancer. However, due to lack of specific molecular markers, increased phenotypic plasticity and no clear clinicopathological features, the assessment of CSCs presence and functionality in solid tumors is challenging. While several potential markers, such as CD24/CD44, have been proposed, the extent to which they truly represent the stem cell potential of tumors or merely provide static snapshots is still a subject of controversy.

Immunohistochemical and Morphometric Analysis of Lung Tissue in Fatal COVID-19.

The primary targets of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in the lungs are type I pneumocytes, macrophages, and endothelial cells. We aimed to identify lung cells targeted by SARS-CoV-2 using viral nucleocapsid protein staining and morphometric features on patients with fatal COVID-19. We conducted a retrospective analysis of fifty-one autopsy cases of individuals who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2.

Preoperative MRI accuracy after neoadjuvant chemoradiation for locally advanced rectal cancer.

Background And Aims: To evaluate the performance of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in restaging locally advanced rectal cancers (LARC) after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT), with pathologic correlation.

Methods: 80 patients with LARC treated with neoadjuvant therapy, with restaging MRI and surgery, were enrolled and prospectively reviewed. The diagnostic accuracy of the restaging MRI was assessed for tumor (ymrT), nodal status (ymrN), circumferential resection margin (ymrCRM), extramural vascular invasion (ymrEMVI) and tumoral deposits (ymrN1c) by calculating the sensitivity (Se), specificity (Sp), negative predictive values (NPV) and positive predictive values (PPV).

Identification of Histopathological Biomarkers in Fatal Cases of Coronavirus Disease: A Study on Lung Tissue.

We aimed to evaluate the primary lung postmortem macro- and microscopic biomarkers and factors associated with diffuse alveolar damage in patients with fatal coronavirus (COVID-19). We retrospectively analyzed lung tissue collected from autopsies performed in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, between April 2020 and April 2021 on patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). We examined 79 patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, ages 34 to 96 years, split into two groups using the cut-off value of 70 years.

Morphological aspects of basal cell carcinoma vascularization.

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is a malignant skin cancer which commonly exhibits aberrant blood flow because of angiogenesis. Its invasiveness and lack of metastatic potential may be explained by the typical pattern of vascularization seen in BCCs, where blood vessels are absent in the tumor islands and prominent in the tumor's periphery. From clinical point of view, high-frequency ultrasound (HFUS) is a useful tool for the evaluation of the lateral and depth extension of these tumors; furthermore, by employing color Doppler, important data regarding the vascularization degree of BCCs is provided.

Thyroid carcinoma associated with other primary neoplasms, a single center study.

Background And Aims: Thyroid carcinoma is the most frequent endocrine malignancy. It develops following a complex interaction of environmental and genetic factors. Its incidence is on the rise mostly due to the frequent diagnosis of microcarcinomas (tumor <1 cm).

The Evaluation of the Four-Chamber Cardiac Dissection Method of the Fetal Heart as an Alternative to Conventional Inflow-Outflow Dissection in Small Gestational-Age Fetuses.

The examination of very small fetal hearts requires special equipment and a specialist that are not available in many general pathology laboratories. Compared to conventional examination, the four-chamber cardiac dissection (4CCD) method can be performed by any pathologist using instruments generally available in pathology services. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficiency of the 4CCD method in the examination of small fetal hearts using post-mortem magnetic resonance imaging (pm-MRI) at 7T as the standard.

Antibody-functionalized theranostic protein nanoparticles for the synergistic deep red fluorescence imaging and multimodal therapy of ovarian cancer.

Among women, ovarian cancer is the fifth most frequent type of cancer, and despite benefiting from current standard treatment plans, 90% of patients relapse in the subsequent 18 months and, eventually, perish. As a result, embracing nanotechnological advancements in the field of medical science, researchers working in the areas of cancer therapy and imaging are looking for the next breakthrough treatment strategy to ensure lower cancer recurrence rates and improved outcomes for patients. Herein, we design a novel phototheranostic agent with optical features in the biological window of the electromagnetic spectrum encapsulating a newly synthesized phthalocyanine dye within biocompatible protein nanoparticles, allowing the targeted fluorescence imaging and synergistic dual therapy of ovarian cancer.

Age-Related Changes of the Pineal Gland in Humans: A Digital Anatomo-Histological Morphometric Study on Autopsy Cases with Comparison to Predigital-Era Studies.

The pineal gland is a photoneuroendocrine organ in the midline of the brain, responsible primarily for melatonin synthesis. It is composed mainly of pinealocytes and glial tissue. This study examined human postmortem pineal glands to microscopically assess age-related changes using digital techniques, and offers a perspective on evolutionary tendencies compared to the past.

Particular Morphological Features in the Diagnosis of Pediatric Gastritis: A Morphometry-Based Study.

Background: Current pediatric guidelines recommend the use of the Updated Sydney Classification for gastritis to assess histological changes caused by () infection. The purpose of this study was to investigate the morphometric alterations of the antral mucosa in relation to pediatric infection.

Methods: A total of 65 cases were considered eligible.

Human Chorionic Gonadotropin Improves the Proliferation and Regenerative Potential of Bone Marrow Adherent Stem Cells and the Immune Tolerance of Fetal Microchimeric Stem Cells In Vitro.

Nongonadal tissues express luteinizing hormone-chorionic gonadotropin receptors (LHCG-R) which are essential for their growth during fetal development. Adult mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) have been shown to express functional LHCG-R outside pregnancy conditions, making them susceptible to hCG stimulation. In the present study we tested the effect of hCG treatment on bone marrow (BM) derived adherent stem cells in vitro, isolated from a parous women, mother of male sons, in order to evaluate its effect on maternal MSCs and in the same time on fetal microchimeric stem cells (FMSCs), to better understand the outcomes of this safe and affordable treatment on cell proliferation and expression of pluripotency genes.

Isolation and Characterization of a Fetal-Maternal Microchimeric Stem Cell Population in Maternal Hair Follicles Long after Parturition.

Fetal-maternal microchimerism describes the acquisition of fetal stem cells (FSC) by the mother during pregnancy and their long-term persistence after parturition. FSC may engraft in a variety of maternal tissues especially if there is organ/tissue injury, but their role and mechanism of persistence still remains elusive. Clinical applications due to their pluripotency, immunomodulatory effects and accessibility make them good candidates for ex-vivo manipulation and autologous therapies.

The role of medical registries, potential applications and limitations.

Medical registries provide highly reliable data, challenged hierarchically only by randomized controlled trials. Although registries have been used in several fields of medicine for more than a century and a half, their key role is frequently overlooked and poorly recognized. Medical registries have evolved from calculating basic epidemiological data (incidence, prevalence, mortality) to diverse applications in disease prevention, early diagnosis and screening programs, treatment response, health care planning, decision making and disease control programs.

Expression of toll-like receptors in ovarian cancer.

Purpose: Ovarian cancer continues to be the most lethal gynecologic malignancy, with a complex tumor microenvironment (TME). We investigated the immunohistochemical (IHC) expression of toll like receptors (TLRs) 4,5,7 and 9 together with CD68 and CD 163 as markers for tumor-associated macrophages (TAM) in relation to clinicopathological data.

Methods: Data from 102 patients with serous ovarian cancer treated between 2006 and 2011 was retrospectively reviewed.

Endobronchial ultrasound - one year of experience in clinical practice.

Background And Aim: Endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) is a recent minimally invasive, safe examination method for the mediastinum, with a good diagnostic precision. This method makes possible real time examination with transbronchial fine needle aspiration, diagnostic transbronchial needle aspiration (TBNA) and staging of non-small pulmonary tumors, as well as diagnosis of mediastinal and hilar adenopathies of various causes.

Methods: We present the experience of the Bronchoscopy Department of the Pulmonology Clinic of Cluj-Napoca with EBUS-TBNA as a tool for the diagnosis and staging of tumors in contact with the bronchial wall and mediastinal and hilar adenopathies of unknown etiology.

The use of EBUS-TBNA and ROSE in the diagnosis of lung cancer.

Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) is a minimally invasive method for diagnosing and staging of lung cancer. EBUS-TBNA obtained small specimens. Rapid on-site examination (ROSE) is a rapid, real-time examination method.

Endobronchial ultrasound EBUS--a new method for the diagnosis and staging of lung cancer.

In this paper we present a new method, endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS), which appeared recently among the tools of the pulmonologist for the diagnosis and staging of lung cancer. Endobronchial ultrasound transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) provides the opportunity for obtaining tissue samples required for the histologic and cytologic diagnosis of lung cancer. The advantages of EBUS have to be made popular as it is a minimally invasive method, safe, simple, fast, also with a superior cost/benefit ratio compared to any previously used methods.

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma in Romania: a single-centre experience.

Epidemiologic studies of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in Eastern Europe are scarce in the literature. We report the experience of the "Ion Chiricuta" Institute of Oncology in Cluj-Napoca (IOCN), Romania, in the diagnosis and outcome of patients with NHL. We studied 184 consecutive NHL patients diagnosed in the Pathology Department of IOCN during the years 2004-2006.

The role of microRNAs in the pathogenesis of HIV-related lymphomas.

The incidence of HIV-related lymphomas (HRLs) is increased by 60-100 times in patients with HIV. When compared to the general population, patients with HRLs often present with extranodal lymphoid proliferation, most frequently of the gastrointestinal tract, central nervous system, liver and bone marrow. MicroRNAs (miRs) are non-coding double-stranded RNA molecules of 18-25 nucleotides that regulate post-translational gene expression by inhibiting translation or promoting degradation of messenger RNA complementary sequences.

Castleman Disease. A Report of Six Cases.

Background And Aims: Castleman's disease is a rare disorder situated at the boundary between reactive and neoplastic conditions. The pathogenesis is a subject of debate and the limited number of cases renders the study of the disease difficult. In our paper we present a series of six cases of Castleman disease with emphasis on the clinical presentation, pathology examination and the use of immunohistochemistry in the final diagnosis of the cases.