Simultaneous expression of c-erbB-1, c-erbB-2, c-erbB-3 and c-erbB-4 receptors in non-small-cell lung carcinomas: correlation with clinical outcome.

The expression of c-erbB receptors was immunohistochemically examined in paraffin embedded specimens from non-small-cell lung carcinomas. A total of 209 patients were enrolled [squamous-cell carcinomas (n=59), adenocarcinomas (n=130), large-cell carcinomas (n=15) and giant-cell carcinomas (n=5)]. The HercepTest kit scoring guidelines were used for the interpretation of positivity.

HSP-70, C-myc and HLA-DR expression in patients with cutaneous malignant melanoma metastatic in lymph nodes.

HSP-70, C-myc and HLA-DR were examined in patients with cutaneous malignant melanoma metastatic to lymph nodes. Lymph-nodal fine-needle aspiration biopsies (FNABs) were analyzed and the results were correlated to other variables, such as the gender of the patients, Clark level and Breslow thickness of the primary tumor. Thirty cases of metastatic melanoma in lymph nodes from 30 patients with cutaneous malignant melanoma were studied.

Metastatic uterine leiomyosarcoma coexisting with papillary carcinoma of the thyroid gland.

Metastatic leiomyosarcoma to the thyroid gland has rarely been described. We report a 54-year-old postmenopausal woman with uterine leiomyosarcoma, who presented with a single "cold" nodule in the right thyroid lobe 3 months after hysterectomy. The lesion was identified as a papillary thyroid carcinoma.

Topoisomerase II alpha expression in breast ductal invasive carcinomas and correlation with clinicopathological variables.

Topoisomerase II alpha (topo IIa) is an enzyme that in normal cells is expressed predominantly in the S/G2/M-phase of the cell cycle. In malignant cells, in vitro studies have indicated that the expression of topo II alpha is both higher and less dependent on the proliferation state in the cell. To study the expression of topo IIa and the relationship between that expression-and other variables in cases of breast ductal invasive carcinomas, 50 fine-needle aspiration biopsies were performed from the same number of female patients, diagnosed cytologically and confirmed histologically after surgery.

Lens epithelial apoptosis and cell proliferation in human age-related cortical cataract.

Purpose: To probe the presence of apoptosis in the epithelium of human lenses with age-related cortical cataract as well as to assess cell proliferation, a predicted consequence of apoptotic cell death, in this specific cell population.

Methods: DNA fragmentation was assessed using terminal digoxigenin-labeled dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) in capsulotomy specimens obtained from patients who underwent either extracapsular cataract extraction for the removal of adult-onset cortical cataract (n=27) or clear lens extraction for the correction of high myopia (n=25). Cell proliferation was assayed in 23 epithelia of cataractous lenses, and 20 epithelia of non-cataractous lenses with the proliferation marker MIB1, a monoclonal antibody against the nuclear antigen Ki-67 that is detected throughout the cell cycle but is absent in the resting (G0) cell.

Expression of apoptotic and antiapoptotic markers in epithelial cells in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Study Objective: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic, usually fatal lung disease of unknown etiology. A common feature is the presence of microscopic areas of epithelial cell dropout. Increased apoptosis of these cells could elucidate the speculative pathogenesis of the disease.

E-cadherin expression on fine-needle aspiration biopsies in primary lung adenocarcinomas is related to tumor differentiation and invasion.

Unlabelled: E-cadherin, a cell surface molecule that mediates cell-cell adhesion in normal epithelium, has been shown in recent studies of tissue biopsy to be related to tumor differentiation and invasiveness. The aim of the study was to explore if preoperative E-cadherin expression on fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) specimens can predict cell differentiation and mediastinal lymph node spread and therefore tailor treatment in patients with primary lung adenocarcinoma. We studied prospectively the relationship between E-cadherin expression on FNABs and the pathological features of 50 cases of primary lung adenocarcinomas, which were diagnosed cytologically and confirmed histologically post-operatively.

Meningioangiomatosis with predominantly cellular pattern.

A case of meningioangiomatosis (MA), in a 10-year-old-girl with refractory complex partial and secondary generalized seizures, starting at the age of 8 years, is presented. MRI evaluation revealed a lesion located at the left frontal lobe; the patient underwent surgical lesionectomy. Histology revealed the lesion to have the features of MA.

A novel spectral microscope system: application in quantitative pathology.

In this paper, a novel spectral microscope system is presented together with a method for the quantitative assessment of the uptake by histologic samples of stains used in pathology to label tissue features of diagnostic importance. The critical component of the microscope is a variable interference filter-based monochromator. The system is capable of performing real-time spectral imaging in a plurality of spectral bands and micro-spectroscopy in any image pixel, in the spectral range 400-1000 nm.

Membrane androgen binding sites are preferentially expressed in human prostate carcinoma cells.

Background: Prostate cancer is one of the most frequent malignancies in males. Nevertheless, to this moment, there is no specific routine diagnostic marker to be used in clinical practice. Recently, the identification of a membrane testosterone binding site involved in the remodeling of actin cytoskeleton structures and PSA secretion, on LNCaP human prostate cancer cells has been reported.

Cell proliferation and DNA fragmentation (apoptosis) on FNABs of breast invasive ductal carcinomas and their relationship to clinicopathological variables and prognosis.

The purpose of this study was to investigate cell proliferation and apoptosis in ductal breast invasive carcinomas and their relationship to prognosis. Fifty cases, from the same number of operable female patients, were diagnosed cytologically on FNA biopsies as invasive ductal breast carcinomas and confirmed histologically after oncectomy. In the same cases, to evaluate the cell proliferation and apoptosis, the MIB1 and the TUNEL method were used respectively.

Changing pattern of cytokeratin 7 and 20 expression from normal epithelium to intestinal metaplasia of the gastric mucosa and gastroesophageal junction.

It is currently unclear whether intestinal metaplasia at the esophagogastric junction and in the distal esophagus represent a continuum of the same underlying disease process, i.e., gastroesophageal reflux, or constitute different entities with a different pathogenesis.

Pleuropulmonary blastoma: an aggressive intrathoracic neoplasm of childhood.

A case of a 4-year-old girl with pleuropulmonary blastoma is reported. Surgical resection of the tumor was performed and histologic examination revealed pleuropulmonary blastoma with rhabdomyosarcomatous differentiation. Postoperative chemotherapy was administered and 3 weeks after initiation of treatment protocol a second site of lesion in the retroperitoneum was revealed with extension to the mediastinum, which shared similar mesenchymal neoplastic characteristics to the previously diagnosed primary lesion.

Bcl-2 expression as an apoptotic index in non small cell lung carcinomas.

To evaluate the bcl-2 protein expression in non small cell lung carcinomas (NSCLC) as an index of apoptosis of these tumors, in fine needle aspiration biopsies (FNABs) of the lung, we studied thirty-eight cases of NSCLC (25 bronchogenic adenocarcinomas and 13 squamous. carcinomas. Bcl-2 protein was used as the primary antibody (monoclonal, DAKO) by Alkaline-phosphatase method.

Cytological diagnosis of malignant mixed müllerian tumor of the uterus in ascitic fluid.

The malignant mixed Mullerian tumour (MMMT) is a rare and aggressive neoplasm of the uterus, seen in postmenopausal women. In this case, an uncommon neoplasm was diagnosed cytologically in the ascitic fluid of a woman 58 years old and was confirmed histologically after hysterectomy and bilateral adnexectomy.

Nuclear grading in invasive ductal breast carcinomas.

Nuclear grade (NG) was studied in cytologic material obtained from 120 fine-needle aspiration biopsies of breast lesions and compared with the NG observed in the nuclear grade of surgical biopsies of the same lesions. All lesions included were invasive breast carcinomas diagnosed cytologically and confirmed histologically. Cytologic aspirates and tissue sections were graded by cytologists and pathologists, respectively, using a multiheaded microscope.

Image analysis of mesothelioma. II. Discrimination of mesothelioma from metastatic serous ovarian adenocarcinoma.

Objective: To examine the utility of karyometric measurements in the differentiation of mesothelioma from metastatic serous ovarian adenocarcinoma.

Study Design: High-resolution images of 1,631 nuclei from 32 cases of mesothelioma and 742 nuclei from 15 cases of ovarian adenocarcinoma were recorded. A stepwise discriminant analysis and nonparametric classifier were applied.

P53 expression in patients with malignant and benign breast diseases.

Immunohistochemical expression of p53 protein was studied in FNA specimens of 20 breast ductal carcinomas, 20 fibroadenomas and 20 atypical ductal hyperplasia of the breast. Nine cases of breast carcinomas (45%), five fibroadenomas (25%) and four atypical ductal hyperplasia (20%) were found to be p53-immuno-positive. A statistically significant difference was found among p53 staining index of breast carcinomas (mean 72.

Immediate free flap mandibular reconstruction in osteosarcoma of the mandible in childhood.

Mandibular osteogenic sarcoma (OS) is a very rare entity in childhood. Adequate surgical rejection with a wide margin of normal tissue is the mainstay of treatment of this site, while the role of adjuvant chemotherapy remains uncertain. A case is presented of a 15 1/2-year-old male with a huge OS of the mandible.

Quantitative cytology in ovarian carcinoma ascitic fluids.

Objective: To assess the value of quantitative methods in the differential diagnosis between ovarian carcinoma cells and mesothelial cells in ascitic fluids.

Study Design: Ninety ascitic fluid samples, previously reported as positive for ovarian carcinoma (30 cases), suspicious for malignancy (30) and negative for malignancy, containing only reactive mesothelial cells (30), were retrieved from the files. In each of these specimens the nuclear area, perimeter, roundness and shape coefficient of 100 cells were determined at 630 x magnification.

Image analysis of mesothelioma. I. differentiation of mesothelioma from adenocarcinoma of the lung.

Objective: To explore the usefulness of nuclear micromorphometric analysis for the differentiation between epithelial mesothelioma and metastatic adenocarcinoma in the chest wall.

Study Design: High-resolution images of 2,100 nuclei from 27 cases of epithelial mesothelioma and 15 cases of adenocarcinoma of the lung were recorded. Stepwise discriminant analysis and a nonparametric classifier were applied to derive estimates for a case diagnosis correct classification rate.

Nuclear morphometry of the myocardial cells as a diagnostic tool in cases of sudden death due to coronary thrombosis.

Sudden cardiac death due to underlying coronary artery thrombosis is one of the leading causes of death. However, in a significant percentage of individuals who died suddenly, no indication of myocardial infarction is found during post-mortem examination, especially when the time interval between appearance of symptoms and death is short. In the present study, we have evaluated certain nuclear morphometric parameters, such as, minimum, maximum, mean and standard deviation of perimeter and area in 20 individuals who died of coronary artery thrombosis, within 1 h from symptoms onset.

Congenital capillary hemangioma and its therapeutic approach in infants: a case report.

Hemangiomas, common congenital lesions in infants and children, are thought to arise when islands of angioblastic tissue fail to connect with the developing vascular system. They are not usually life-threatening. A case of congenital capillary hemangioma in an infant, which was surgically excised, is reported, and therapeutic approaches are discussed.

Expression of p53, p21, mdm2, Rb, bax and Ki67 proteins in lymphomas of the mucosa-associated lymphoid (MALT) tissue.

We have investigated by immunohistochemistry 38 cases of B-cell MALT-NHL comprising 23 high grade (HG) and 15 low grade-(LG) tumours for the expression of p53, mdm2, p21, Rb, Ki67, bcl2 and Bax proteins. P53, mdm2 and p21 proteins were found in at least 5% of the tumour cells in 13/23, 2/23 and 11/23 HG tumours, respectively. These proteins were detected in very rare tumour cells in LG tumours.

P21/waf1 protein expression in nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Comparative study with PCNA, p53 and MDM-2 protein expression.

We investigated the immunohistochemical expression of p21/waf1 protein in 59 cases of nasopharyngeal carcinomas (NPC) and compared p21 expression with PCNA, p53 and mdm2 protein expression. We found p21, PCNA, p53 and mdm2 in 59/59, 59/59, 18/59 and 12/59 nasopharyngeal carcinomas, respectively. We observed a tendency to a relationship between high expression of PCNA (> 25% positivity in tumour cells) and low expression of p21 protein.