Publications by authors named "Dimitra Rontogianni"

Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates the expression of programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) in thymic epithelial tumors (TETs) and explores how it relates to histone deacetylases (HDACs), which can influence tumor behavior.
  • Results showed that aggressive TET subtypes had higher PD-L1 in tumor cells but lower PD-L1 in immune cells, indicating a correlation with advanced stages of the disease.
  • The findings suggest that epigenetic regulation by HDACs could affect PD-L1 levels in TETs, presenting potential targets for future combination therapies.
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Given the pivotal role of the Hippo pathway in different facets of tumorigenesis, which has been vigorously established in multiple heterogenous malignancies, we attempted to evaluate its potential utility as a prognostic-predictive biomarker in thymic epithelial tumors (TETs). For this purpose, we performed a comprehensive immunohistochemical analysis of four Hippo cascade components (YAP, TAZ, TEAD4 and LATS1) in a sizeable cohort of TETs and attempted to identify possible correlations of their H-score with various clinicopathological parameters. TAZ and TEAD4 displayed both cytoplasmic and nuclear immunoreactivity in almost equal frequency, with their cytoplasmic H-score being strongly associated with more aggressive high-grade tumors (type B3, thymic carcinoma) and more advanced pathological stages.

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Histone deacetylases (HDACs) are core epigenetic factors, with pivotal roles in the regulation of various cellular procedures, and their deregulation is a major trait in the acquisition of malignancy properties. In this study we attempt the first comprehensive evaluation of six class I (HDAC1, HDAC2, HDAC3) and II HDACs (HDAC4, HDAC5, HDAC6) expression patterns in thymic epithelial tumors (TETs), with the aim of identifying their possible association with a number of clinicopathological parameters. Our study revealed higher positivity rates and expression levels of class I enzymes compared to class II.

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Background: The role of oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of colorectal carcinoma (CRC) has garnered considerable interest recently. Specific oxidative factors have been implicated in the pathogenesis of adenomatous polyps and ultimately adenocarcinoma.

Aim: To evaluate the effect of oxidative imbalance as quantified by specific serological markers in the development of sporadic colon adenocarcinoma.

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Article Synopsis
  • Parotid swelling (PSW) is a sign that can predict a type of cancer called non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) in people with a condition called primary Sjögren's Syndrome (pSS).
  • * A study looked at patients with pSS and compared those who developed NHL and those who didn't, focusing on how long they had PSW.
  • * The results showed that longer PSW increases the risk of NHL and that NHL mostly shows up in the parotid glands, suggesting that these glands play a big role in the disease.
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Background: Recent advances demonstrate the role of chromatin regulators, including histone variants and histone chaperones, in cancer initiation and progression. Methods: Histone H3K4me3, histone variant centromere protein (CENP-A) and histone chaperones Holliday junction recognition protein (HJURP) as well as DAXX expression were examined immunohistochemically in 95 thymic epithelial tumor (TET) specimens. Our results were compared with the expression profile of DAXX, HJURP and CENP-A in gene expression profiling interactive analysis (GEPIA2).

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Ephrin receptors (Ephs) are receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) implicated in tissue development and homeostasis, and they are aberrantly expressed in tumors. Here, immunohistochemical Eph type-A and -B expression in thymic epithelial tumors (TETs) was assessed and correlated with clinicopathological parameters. Tissue microarrays from 98 TETs were stained for EphA1, -A2, -A4 -A6, -B1, -B2, -B4 and -B6.

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We aimed to determine whether Alemtuzumab-induced immune reconstitution affects immunoglobulin and complement levels in the serum of Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis (RRMS) patients. IgG4-levels were increased 24-months after treatment initiation compared to baseline levels in twenty-nine patients. Alemtuzumab-treated patients with the highest IgG4-levels were more prone to thyroid-related autoimmune manifestations and specific autoimmune adverse events such as Crohn's disease, Graves' disease, and hemolytic anemia.

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Primary thyroid lymphoma (PTL) is a rare thyroid gland cancer, with diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (DLBCL) being extremely rare in children and adolescents. Thus, optimal therapy is debatable. We describe a rare case of thyroid DLBCL in an adolescent girl with a history of Hashimoto thyroiditis (HT), the difficulty in diagnosis and the outcome of treatment.

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Objectives: Resection of thymic tumours including the removal of both the tumour and the thymus gland (thymothymectomy; TT) is the procedure of choice and is recommended in most relevant articles in the literature. Nevertheless, in recent years, some authors have suggested that resection of the tumour (simple thymomectomy; ST) may suffice from an oncological standpoint in patients with early-stage thymoma who do not have myasthenia gravis (MG) (non-MG). The goal of our study was to compare the short- and long-term outcomes of ST versus TT in non-MG early-stage thymomas using the European Society of Thoracic Surgeons thymic database.

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Bronchocentric granulomatosis (BcG) is characterized by granulomatous destruction of bronchial or bronchiolar walls and adjacent parenchyma, with debris and exudates filling the airway lumen. Approximately 50% of total cases have been associated with asthma and allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis, while it has been rarely reported in the context of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We describe the case of a 69-year-old female RA patient with BcG presenting as a solitary cavitary pulmonary mass.

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Background/aim: The aim of the present study was to investigate the clinical significance of 7 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA), endothelin receptor type A (EDNRA), nibrin (NBS1) and Fas cell surface death receptor (FAS) genes in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).

Patients And Methods: Genomic DNA was extracted from the peripheral blood specimens of 60 patients. Genotyping of 4 VEGFA polymorphisms, namely VEGFA -1154 G/A (rs1570360), -2578 A/C (rs699947), -1498 C/T (rs833061) and +936 C/T (rs3025039), as well as EDNRA SNP p.

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Background: The coexistence of two or more types of lymphoma within the same organ at the same time of diagnosis is defined as composite lymphoma, a rare disease that has recently been identified in the literature. Pointedly, the concurrence may be Hodgkin lymphoma with a Non-Hodgkin lymphoma [NHL], either B or T cells, or two different entities of NHLs. Furthermore, this condition has been described concurrently or sequentially.

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Objectives: Interstitial lung disease is a life-threatening complication of many systemic autoimmune diseases with diverse clinical and histopathological features. Among them, lymphocytic interstitial pneumonia (LIP) is mainly associated with primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS). A case of a middle-aged man with LIP, anti-Ro/La, anti-Scl70 autoantibodies and overlapping histopathological features of pSS and systemic sclerosis (SSc) is presented and discussed.

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Vein aneurysms represent a rare clinical entity with a wide range of clinical symptoms. We present a case of a 67-year-old male who presented with a large, bluish, easily compressible, soft tissue mass in the lateral side of his forearm, which was mildly tender and it had been worsening during the last year. A color duplex ultrasound revealed local venous dilatation of the cephalic vein, measuring 6.

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Background: Multicentric Castleman Disease (MCD) presents with enlarged lymph nodes in multiple regions and systemic inflammatory symptoms, due to the dysregulation of cytokines, most commonly interleukin-6 (IL-6). Human herpes virus-8 (HHV-8) is strongly related to MCD (HHV-8-associated MCD) and is being implicated in cytokine dysregulation in patients, the majority of whom are HIV positive or immunosuppressed. Preferred treatment of HHV-8- associated MCD depends on the presence or not of concurrent Kaposi sarcoma and on whether the patient has life-threatening organ failure or poor performance status thought to be related to HHV- 8-associated MCD.

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Angiosarcomas developing in nonfunctioning arteriovenous fistulas in renal transplant recipients are quite rare clinical entities with very poor prognosis. Herein we present a 60-year-old male who developed an angiosarcoma in a thrombosed radiocephalic fistula 6 years after renal transplantation. The patient presented with pain and swelling at the site of a previously asymptomatic fistula.

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Cellular senescence, an age-related process in response to damage and stress, also occurs during normal development and adult life. The thymus is a central lymphoepithelial organ of the immune system that exhibits age-related changes termed thymic involution. Since the mechanisms regulating thymic involution are still not well elucidated, we questioned whether cellular senescence is implicated in this process.

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Biliary tract cancer (BTC) represents a heterogeneous disease with dismal outcome. Herein, we examined genotype and angiogenesis features in BTC. We applied genotyping (Sanger, qPCR, 101-gene panel NGS), mRNA relative quantification methods, and β-catenin immunohistochemistry in 84 FFPE BTC (55 gallbladder [GBC], 14 intrahepatic [ICC], 15 extrahepatic [ECC] carcinomas).

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IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is an entity with various clinical manifestations. Histopathologically, it is characterized by lymphoplasmacytic infiltrates enriched in IgG4 (+) plasmacytes and usually fibrosis of the affected tissue. Most of the patients have also increased IgG4 serum levels and they respond to glucocorticosteroids.

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Neuroendocrine neoplams (NENs) are mostly relatively indolent malignancies but a significant number have metastatic disease at diagnosis mainly to the liver. Although in the majority of such cases the primary origin of the tumor can be identified, in approximately 11-22% no primary tumor is found and such cases are designated as NENs of unknown primary origin (UPO). This has significant therapeutic implications with respect to potentially resectable hepatic disease and/or application of appropriate medical therapy, either chemotherapeutic agents or targeted treatment, as the response to various treatments varies according to the origin of the primary tumor.

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Unlabelled: Parathyroid carcinoma is an extremely rare endocrine malignancy that accounts for less than 1% of cases of primary hyperparathyroidism. We report a 44-year-old woman who presented with fatigue and diffuse bone pain. Laboratory findings revealed highly elevated serum calcium and parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels and a 4.

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