Circulating miR-21-5p and miR-148a-3p as emerging non-invasive biomarkers in thymic epithelial tumors.

Thymic epithelial cells give rise to both thymoma and thymic carcinoma. A crucial advance in thymic epithelial tumors (TET) management may derive from the identification of novel molecular biomarkers able to improve diagnosis, prognosis and treatment planning.In a previous study, we identified microRNAs that were differentially expressed in tumor vs normal thymic tissues.

Development of a prediction model and risk score for procedure-related complications in patients undergoing percutaneous computed tomography-guided lung biopsy.

Objectives: To propose a risk score predicting the potential occurrence of procedure-related complications in patients undergoing computed tomography (CT)-guided lung biopsy.

Methods: Institution review board approval was obtained. A total of 342 CT-guided lung biopsies were retrospectively evaluated taking into account procedure-related complications and associated risk factors, including patient gender and age, previous radiation therapy (RT) and/or chemotherapy (CHT), lesion size, depth and location, incomplete pulmonary fissures, associated diffuse lung diseases, previous pneumothorax (PNX), lung volumes, punctured fissures, thoracic access, needle size and operator experience.

Preliminary clinical experience with a dedicated interventional robotic system for CT-guided biopsies of lung lesions: a comparison with the conventional manual technique.

Objective: Evaluate the performance of a robotic system for CT-guided lung biopsy in comparison to the conventional manual technique.

Materials And Methods: One hundred patients referred for CT-guided lung biopsy were randomly assigned to group A (robot-assisted procedure) or group B (conventional procedure). Size, distance from entry point and position in lung of target lesions were evaluated to assess homogeneity differences between the two groups.

Unusual symptomatic inclusion cysts in a newborn: a case report.

Introduction: Dental lamina cysts are cysts that occur as white or pink small nodules, often multiple, approximately 1 to 3mm in diameter. They are typically located on the midpalatine raphe and less frequently on the maxillary and mandibular alveolar mucosa; in the latter case these can be appear to be neonatal teeth.On microscopic examination, these lesions show a stratified squamous epithelium (two to three cell layers); it is possible to find protein, keratin and/or exfoliated epithelial cells in the lumen of the lesions.

MicroRNA expression profiling of thymic epithelial tumors.

Background: Thymic epithelial tumors (TET) are the most frequent human primary mediastinal tumors in adults. A deep biological characterization of the processes at the basis of the transformed phenotype could strongly improve our understanding of the morphological and clinical heterogeneity of these diseases. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are non-coding RNAs involved in post-transcriptional regulation and their altered expression accounts for the pathogenesis of several tumors.

Outcome of surgically resected thymic carcinoma: a multicenter experience.

Objective: Thymic carcinoma (TC) is a rare and invasive mediastinal tumor, with poor prognosis. Most of the previous published papers are single-institution based, reporting small series of patient, sometimes including palliative resection. This study collected patients with TC treated in 5 high-volume Italian Thoracic Surgery Institutions.

External Quality Assessment (EQA) program for the preanalytical and analytical immunohistochemical determination of HER2 in breast cancer: an experience on a regional scale.

Background: An External Quality Assessment (EQA) program was developed to investigate the state of the art of HER2 immunohistochemical determination in breast cancer (BC) in 16 Pathology Departments in the Lazio Region (Italy). This program was implemented through two specific steps to evaluate HER2 staining (step 1) and interpretation (step 2) reproducibility among participants.

Methods: The management activities of this EQA program were assigned to the Coordinating Center (CC), the Revising Centers (RCs) and the Participating Centers (PCs).

von Hippel Lindau disease with colon adenocarcinoma, renal cell carcinoma and adrenal pheochromocytoma.

von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease is an autosomal dominant inherited tumor syndrome characterized by the presence of heterogeneous tumors derived from different organs. VHL is caused by germline mutations in the VHL tumor suppressor gene located on chromosome 3p25-26. The loss of functional VHL protein contributes to tumorigenesis.

Usefulness of the organ culture system when villous height/crypt depth ratio, intraepithelial lymphocyte count, or serum antibody tests are not diagnostic for celiac disease.

The existence of mild forms of celiac disease (CD) can make the histology-based diagnosis difficult to reach. Since anti-endomysium (EMA) and anti-tissue transglutaminase (anti-tTG) are detectable in culture supernatants of duodenal biopsies from CD patients, our aim was to assess if this system can support the histology in the diagnostic work-up. A total of 559 suspected CD patients underwent serum EMA/anti-tTG detection, upper endoscopy with duodenal biopsy sampling, histologic analysis, and organ culture to detect EMA/anti-tTG in supernatants.

Thymoma and thymic carcinoma.

Thymic tumors comprise a heterogeneous group of neoplasms with a wide spectrum of clinical presentations. The evolution of the disease is often unpredictable, ranging from an indolent attitude to the possibility of intra- and extrathoracic spread. From the histological point of view, thymoma and thymic carcinoma are the most frequent subtypes and arise only from thymic epithelial cells.

Caveolin-1 overexpression is associated with simultaneous abnormal expression of the E-cadherin/α-β catenins complex and multiple ErbB receptors and with lymph nodes metastasis in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas.

The presence of lymph node metastases is one of the most important prognostic indicators in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs). An alteration of the E-cadherin-catenins complex and EGFR is essential for the invasiveness of cancer cells. Caveolin-1, the major structural protein of the caveolae, represents a scaffolding molecule for several signaling proteins including EGFR.

Efficacy and tolerability of long-acting octreotide in the treatment of thymic tumors: results of a pilot trial.

Objectives: Octreotide is a somatostatin analog, long-acting formulations of which have been used experimentally for the treatment of patients with invasive tumors and/or residual disease after conventional therapies. The objective of this retrospective study was to evaluate the efficacy of long-acting octreotide (Sandostatin LAR) for the treatment of thymic tumors, with a primary efficacy end point of progression-free survival.

Methods: Between 1994 and 2010, 44 patients with thymic malignancies were evaluated.

Synchronous B3 thymoma and lung bronchoalveolar carcinoma.

The association between thymic tumors and other intrathoracic or extrathoracic neoplasms is relatively rare; the synchronous occurrence of thymoma and bronchoalveolar carcinoma of the lung has never been described so far. A huge B3 cystic thymoma was found at thoracotomy to be associated with stage IV bronchoalveolar carcinoma (intraparenchymal and pleural metastases). The thymic tumor was completely resected; lung cancer was biopsied only for diagnosis and staging purposes.

Dermatomyositis as first clinical appearance for a thymic epidermoid cell carcinoma.

Primary thymic carcinoma is a rare and heterogeneous group of tumours of the anterior mediastinum that includes different histological types. Frequently, it first comes to clinical attention through paraneoplastic syndromes such as dermatomyositis. We report the case of a 54-year-old woman with several episodes of fever and chest pain in the previous 5 months.

Thymoma and thymic carcinoma.

Thymoma and thymic carcinoma are an extremely heterogeneous group of neoplastic lesions with an exceedingly wide spectrum of morphologic appearances. They show different presentations with a variable and unpredictable evolution ranging from an indolent non-invasive attitude to a highly infiltrative and metastasising one. Prognosis can be predicted on the basis of a number of variables, mainly staging, the WHO histological pattern and diameter of the tumour.

Pancreatic intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms: a paradigmatic case. A case report and review of the literature.

Pancreatic intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms constitute an increasingly frequent clinical entity. The definition and clinical behaviour of these tumours are still a subject of debate. As a consequence, their clinical management is also presents controversial aspects ranging from follow-up to the advisability or otherwise of an aggressive surgical approach, even in the case of small non-malignant lesions.

Probiotic administration in patients with ileal pouch-anal anastomosis for ulcerative colitis is associated with expansion of mucosal regulatory cells.

Background: Probiotics have anti-inflammatory effects in patients with inflammatory bowel disease and appear to regulate mucosal immune response through reductions in proinflammatory cytokines. The probiotic VSL#3 prevents pouchitis if started within a week of ileostomy closure and maintains remission following antibacterial treatment in patients with refractory or recurrent pouchitis. However, the efficacy of probiotics and their effects on regulatory cells if started at a greater time after surgery in patients undergoing ileal pouch anal anastomosis (IPAA) for ulcerative colitis are unknown.

The ribosomal P0 protein induces a spontaneous immune response in patients with head and neck advanced stage carcinoma that is not dependent on its overexpression in carcinomas.

A typical feature in systemic lupus erythemathosus patients is the presence of autoantibodies to the carboxyl-terminal homologous P proteins (P0, P1, P2) domain (C-22 P0 epitope). In this report we provide evidence for the in vivo immunogenicity of the P0 protein in head and neck cancer patients as well as overexpression by immunohistochemistry of the C-22 P0 epitope in invasive carcinomas (55/57). Overexpression of this epitope was also significantly associated with a number of pathological lesions arising in the head and neck stratified epithelium including acanthosis (8/8), benign tumors (11/11), dysplasia (23/25) and in situ carcinomas (9/9).

Gene-specific inhibition of breast carcinoma in BALB-neuT mice by active immunization with rat Neu or human ErbB receptors.

Employing the transgenic BALB-neuT mouse tumor model, we explored the in vivo biologic relevance of immunocompetent epitopes shared among the four ErbB receptors. The outcome of neu-mediated tumorigenesis was compared following vaccination with isogeneic normal rat ErbB2/Neu (LTR-Neu) or xenogeneic human ErbB receptors (LTR-EGFR, LTR-ErbB2, LTR-ErbB3 and LTR-ErbB4), each recombinantly expressed in an NIH3T3 murine cell background. Vaccination using rat LTR-Neu at the stage of atypical hyperplasia potently inhibited neu-mediated mammary tumorigenesis.