Epidemiologic and Clinicopathological Characterization of Feline Mammary Lesions.

Most lesions found in the mammary glands of cats are malignant, with aggressive behavior and unfavorable prognosis. Studies on the epidemiologic and clinicopathological characteristics of mammary lesions in cats are scarce. The present study aimed to evaluate those characteristics and to correlate them with survival in cats.

Evaluation of immunophenotype and inflammation in canine mammary neoplasms with solid arrangement.

Morphological and immunohistochemical studies of solid arrangement canine mammary carcinomas have shown that the different histological types may be characterized by proliferation of epithelial and/or myoepithelial cells. However, little is known about immunophenotypes and the importance of inflammation as prognostic factors in these neoplasms. The objective of the present study was to characterize the immunophenotype and degree of inflammation in the solid type of canine mammary neoplasm and to investigate their association with metastasis, Ki-67 index, tumour size, necrosis and survival.

Changes in Invasive Breast Carcinomas after Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy Can Influence Adjuvant Therapeutic Decisions.

Purpose: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) can change invasive breast carcinomas (IBC) and influence the patients' overall survival time (OS). We aimed to identify IBC changes after NACT and their association with OS.

Materials And Methods: IBC data in pre- and post-NACT samples of 86 patients were evaluated and associated with OS.

Adjuvant Thalidomide and Metronomic Chemotherapy for the Treatment of Canine Malignant Mammary Gland Neoplasms.

Background/aim: The aim of the present study was to evaluate a multimodal approach for the treatment of canine malignant mammary gland neoplasms, including surgery, chemotherapy, thalidomide, and metronomic chemotherapy (MC).

Materials And Methods: Fifty-eight female dogs were submitted to four different treatments: surgery; surgery with chemotherapy; surgery with chemotherapy and thalidomide; and surgery with chemotherapy and metronomic chemotherapy and overall survival was evaluated.

Results: No statistical difference was found in the proliferative index and microvessel density of primary neoplasms and distant metastases following thalidomide treatment.

Association between HER2 status in gastric cancer and clinicopathological features: a retrospective study using whole-tissue sections.

Background: Gastric cancer is usually diagnosed in an advanced stage of disease and treatment options are sparse. Trastuzumab was recently approved for metastatic or locally advanced carcinomas arising in the stomach or in the gastroesophageal junction in patients with HER2-positive tumors. However, data on the frequency of HER2-positive cases among Brazilian patients are limited.

Association between age and survival in a cohort of Brazilian patients with operable breast cancer.

Whether age is an independent prognostic factor in breast cancer is a matter of debate. This is a retrospective cohort study of 767 breast cancer patients, stages I-III, treated at the Hospital das Clínicas, Minas Gerais Federal University, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais State, Brazil, from 2001 to 2008, aiming to study the relationship between age and survival. We included variables related to patients, tumors, and types of treatment.

Co-Expression of p16, Ki67 and COX-2 Is Associated with Basal Phenotype in High-Grade Ductal Carcinoma In Situ of the Breast.

We assessed the co-expression of cell cycle-related biomarkers in a series of 121 consecutive cases of high-grade ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), pure or associated with invasive carcinoma, and their associations with the different immunoprofiles of DCIS. Cases were identified from the histopathology files of the Breast Pathology Laboratory, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil, from 2003 to 2008. The expression of estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, HER2 overexpression, cytokeratin 5, epidermal growth factor receptor 1, cyclooxygenase-2, p16 and Ki67 were assessed.

Ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast: correlation between histopathological features and age of patients.

Background: The histopathological subtype, nuclear grade and presence or absence of comedonecrosis are established as critical elements in the reporting of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) of the breast. The aims of this study were to determine the frequencies of morphological subtypes of DCIS, nuclear grade and comedonecrosis; to compare the age of patients with the histopathological characteristics of DCIS, and to assess the agreement of grade between in situ and invasive components in DCIS cases that were associated with invasive carcinoma.

Methods: We evaluated a series of 403 cases of DCIS, pure or associated with invasive mammary carcinoma, consecutively identified from the histopathology files of the Breast Pathology Laboratory, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil, from 2003 to 2008.

High agreement between whole slide imaging and optical microscopy for assessment of HER2 expression in breast cancer: whole slide imaging for the assessment of HER2 expression.

Unlabelled: Whole slide imaging (WSI) technology has been used for training, teaching, researching, and remote consultation. Few studies compared HER2 expression using optical microscopy (OM) and WSI evaluations in breast carcinomas. However, no consensus has been achieved comparing both assessments.

Inter-observer variability between general pathologists and a specialist in breast pathology in the diagnosis of lobular neoplasia, columnar cell lesions, atypical ductal hyperplasia and ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast.

Background: This study aimed to assess inter-observer variability between the original diagnostic reports and later review by a specialist in breast pathology considering lobular neoplasias (LN), columnar cell lesions (CCL), atypical ductal hyperplasia (ADH), and ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) of the breast.

Methods: A retrospective, observational, cross-sectional study was conducted. A total of 610 breast specimens that had been formally sent for consultation and/or second opinions to the Breast Pathology Laboratory of Federal University of Minas Gerais were analysed between January 2005 and December 2010.

Intramuscular lipoma of the subscapularis muscle.

Context: Intramuscular lipomas are benign tumors that infiltrate the muscles.

Case Report: We describe the case of a 58-year-old female patient with an axillary lump. The lump was a lipoma inside the subscapularis muscle.

Survival of patients with operable breast cancer (Stages I-III) at a Brazilian public hospital--a closer look into cause-specific mortality.

Background: Breast cancer incidence is increasing. The survival rate varies and is longer in high-income countries. In Brazil, lower-income populations rely on the Unified Public Health System (Sistema Único de Saude, SUS) for breast cancer care.

False positivity in HER2 testing of breast cancer: novel paths for approaching an old dilemma.

Aims: Variability in determining HER2 status has been reported, especially, differences in sensitivity and specificity among commercially available antibodies, with false positive and false negative results. We compared the sensitivity and specificity of five anti-HER2 antibodies by immunohistochemistry (IHC), using the new dual colour brightfield in situ hybridisation (DDISH) as the gold standard, on invasive breast carcinomas (IBC) arrays.

Material And Methods: Serial sections from tissue microarrays (TMA) containing 200 preselected primary IBC were submitted to DDISH (VENTANA INFORM HER2 Dual ISH assay), and immunohistochemistry, using Dako A0485 and HercepTest (polyclonal), Novocastra CB11 (mouse monoclonal), NeoMarkers SP3 and Ventana 4B5 (rabbit monoclonal).

Immunohistochemical profile of high-grade ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast.

Objective: To determine the frequency of the immunohistochemical profiles of a series of high-grade ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast.

Methods: One hundred and twenty-one cases of high-grade ductal carcinoma in situ, pure or associated with invasive mammary carcinoma, were identified from 2003 to 2008 and examined with immunohistochemistry for estrogen receptor, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2, cytokeratin 5, and epidermal growth factor receptor. The tumors were placed into five subgroups: luminal A, luminal B, HER2, basal-like, and "not classified".

[Consultation in breast surgical pathology: interobserver diagnostic variability of atypical intraductal proliferative lesions].

Purpose: To evaluate the agreement about the histopathological diagnosis of intraductal proliferative breast lesions between general pathologists and a specialist in breast pathology.

Methods: This was an observational, cross-sectional study of 209 lesions received in consultation at the Breast Pathology Laboratory of the School of Medicine, Federal University of Minas Gerais, from 2007 to 2011, comparing the original diagnosis and the review. We included only cases with a formal request for review and cases in which the original diagnosis or reviewer's diagnosis showed proliferative lesions, pure ductal carcinoma in situ, ductal carcinoma in situ associated with microinvasion or associated with invasive carcinoma.

Changes in mastectomy rates at a Brazilian public hospital over 20 years (1989 to 2008).

Context And Objective: Recently, breast-conserving surgery (BCS) has been replacing mastectomy for breast cancer treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the changes in mastectomy and BCS rates and the factors relating to these shifts.

Design And Setting: A retrospective study in a Brazilian public hospital.

Lobular neoplasia: frequency and association with other breast lesions.

Background: Using new molecular biology techniques, recent studies have implicated a common evolutionary pathway between lobular neoplasia, lobular carcinomas, and columnar cell lesions. Our aims were to assess the frequency of lobular neoplasia in a series of breast biopsies that were performed and examined in the same institution and to analyze the association between subtypes of lobular neoplasia and benign and malignant breast lesions.

Methods: Cases were selected after reviewing archived pathological reports in the Breast Pathology Laboratory, School of Medicine of Federal University of Minas Gerais (1999-2008).

[Mortality pattern of Jewish community of Belo Horizonte in the 20th century].

Objective: Genetic and environmental factors are known for their importance in the genesis of the majority of diseases. It is possible to study them through the observation of prevalence of diseases, and also the mortality causes, relating it to social habits and ethnic and familial origins of the individuals. In those studies, communities in which there are social and genetic links stand out.