Negative colorectal polyp biopsies: the utility of cutting deeper levels.

The objectives of this study were to determine the frequency with which deeper levels reveal a lesion in polyp biopsies where no polyp was found on initial sections and to identify features that predict such occult (histologically unapparent) lesions. All initially negative biopsy specimens were accumulated over an 18-month period. Following standard sections, three to ten levels were cut, 50 μm apart.

Activation of protein kinase Cδ leads to increased pancreatic acinar cell dedifferentiation in the absence of MIST1.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has a 5 year survival rate post-diagnosis of < 5%. Individuals with chronic pancreatitis (CP) are 20-fold more likely to develop PDAC, making it a significant risk factor for PDAC. While the relationship for the increased susceptibility to PDAC is unknown, loss of the acinar cell phenotype is common to both pathologies.

Three dimensional transrectal ultrasound imaging of the prostate: initial experience with an emerging technology.

PURPOSE: A three-dimensional ultrasound system (3-D US) was evaluated for its clinical utility in transrectal prostate imaging, in comparison with the current standard 2-dimensional transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) imaging system. METHODS AND MATERIALS: The computer program developed in our laboratory was coupled with a commercially available ultrasound transducer. Geometric validation and volumetric assessment was performed with "stretched-string" wire models and solution-containing balloons respectively.