The influence of clinical information in the histopathologic diagnosis of melanocytic skin neoplasms.

Background: We tested the relevance of clinical information in the histopathologic evaluation of melanocytic skin neoplasm (MSN).

Methods: Histopathologic specimens from 99 clinically atypical MSN were circulated among ten histopathologists; each case had clinical information available in a database with a five-step procedure (no information; age/sex/location; clinical diagnosis; clinical image; dermoscopic image); each step had a histopathologic diagnosis (D1 through D5); each diagnostic step had a level of diagnostic confidence (LDC) ranging from 1 (no diagnostic certainty) to 5 (absolute diagnostic certainty). The comparison of the LDC was employed with an analysis of variance (ANOVA) for repeated measures.

[Solitary metachronous metastasis of the sternum from pancreatic adenocarcinoma].

Sternal metastases from adenocarcinoma of the pancreas are extremely rare, and even more so when solitary. Two years earlier, the patient reported on here, a 67-year-old man with a solitary osteolytic lesion of the sternal manubrium, had undergone a duodeno-cephalopancreatectomy for adenocarcinoma of the pancreas (G2, pY3, pN1) followed by adjuvant radio-chemotherapy. PET/CT scans, in response to the onset of burning pain in the sternal region, revealed a hypermetabolic area only at the level of the manubrium, while MRI showed a bulging manubrium due to the presence of extensive solid pathological tissue towards the right articulations of the ribs.

NeuroD1 expression in human prostate cancer: can it contribute to neuroendocrine differentiation comprehension?

Objectives: Neuroendocrine differentiation is a common feature of prostate cancer (pCA). NeuroD1 is a neuronal transcription factor able to convert epithelial cells into neurons. The aim of the study is to investigate NeuroD1 expression and compare it with chromogranin-A, synaptophysin, and CD56 staining in human prostate cell lines and surgical specimens.

[Neuroendocrine tumors. A rare case of duodenal carcinoids].

The authors report their experience with a case of double duodenum carcinoid tumors occurring in a 59-year-old female patient. She presented with a one-year history of frequent abdominal painful episodes, associated with dyspepsia, emesis, pyrosis, eructation, skin flushing and easy strain. The laboratory examinations point out high hematic values of serotonin and gastrin, with a raising of urinary 5-HIAA.

[Voluminous cystic lymphangioma of the retroperioneum in an adult. A case report].

Intra-abdominal cystic lymphangiomas are very rare tumours in adults. They are preferentially located in the neck, extremities and axillae in children. The authors report a case occurring in a 37-year-old female who had been experiencing dyspepsia and abdominal tension for a few weeks and was successfully treated surgically.

Surgical staging for epithelial ovarian tumors of low malignant potential.

From January 1975 to December 1991, 34 patients with a diagnosis of epithelial ovarian tumors of low malignant potential (LMP) were admitted to the Istituto Nazionale Tumori of Milan. Eighteen of them (group 1) underwent complete staging laparotomy and retroperitoneal para-aortic and pelvic lymphadenectomy, as for ovarian cancer. In the remaining 16 cases (group 2), the surgical treatment ranged from unilateral oophorectomy to incomplete staging procedure.

Long-term follow-up of in situ carcinoma of the breast.

Eighty cases of duct carcinoma in situ (DCIS) of the breast have been investigated by a cohort-retrospective study. These consisted of 8.5 per 1,000 of 9,446 breast biopsies originally diagnosed as benign, between 1964 and 1976, with a mean follow-up of 17.

Antigen unmasking on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue sections.

Enzymatic and non-enzymatic treatments for antigen unmasking on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded, dewaxed sections were optimized and compared by the use of a panel of antibodies of diagnostic relevance (anti-cytokeratins, vimentin, S-100, T- and B-cell receptors, Ki-67/MIB 1, muscle actin). Non-enzymatic unmasking was obtained by boiling the slides in a microwave oven in 0.01 M salt solution (pH 6) or in 6 M urea.

Granulocytic sarcoma with myxoid stroma. Report of a case.

A granulocytic sarcoma with myxoid features simulating a chondrosarcoma was detected in the left arm of a 59 years old man. It is suggested that extramedullary hematopoietic neoplasms such as granulocytic sarcoma may display, similarly to malignant lymphomas, non-specific sarcoma-like features that obscure the usual diagnostic characteristics.