The combination of bevacizumab/Avastin and erlotinib/Tarceva is relevant for the treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma: the role of a synonymous mutation of the EGFR receptor.

Metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinomas (mRCC) over-express the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Hence, the anti-VEGF antibody bevacizumab/Avastin (BVZ) combined with interferon alpha (IFN) was approved for the treatment of mRCC. However, approval was lost in July 2016 due to the absence of sustained efficacy.

Fetal anomalies associated with HNF1B mutations: report of 20 autopsy cases.

Objectives: To describe macroscopic and microscopic anomalies present in fetuses carrying hepatocyte nuclear factor-1 β mutation, their frequency, and genotype/phenotype correlations.

Methods: Clinical data, ultrasound findings, genetic studies, and autopsy reports of 20 fetal autopsies were analyzed. Histology was reviewed by two pathologists.

Gains and complex rearrangements of the 12q13-15 chromosomal region in ordinary lipomas: the "missing link" between lipomas and liposarcomas?

Well-differentiated liposarcomas (WDLPS) classically contain high-level amplification of 12q14-15 sequences, including the MDM2 and CDK4 genes, while lipomas are characterized by simple structural chromosome aberrations often involving HMGA2 at 12q15. Previous studies have shown that low-level gain of the 12q14-15 region, such as trisomy 12 and 12q15-24 duplication, might be sufficient for the development of minimal atypia and formation of WDLPS. Moreover, because some features, such as overexpression of HMGA2, are shared by both lipomas and WDLPS, it has been hypothesized that lipomas and WDLPS may form a genetic and morphological continuum.

Sources of variability in histological scoring of chronic viral hepatitis.

Inter-observer agreement on activity and fibrosis scores used in chronic viral hepatitis has only been studied under selected conditions. The aim of this study was to identify the sources of variability due to specimen characteristics and observers. This study included 254 liver specimens and 15 pathologists and used the Metavir score.

[Primary pleomorphic rhabdomyosarcoma of the kidney in adults: unusual tumor].

Primary rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) of the kidney in an adult is a very rare and unusual tumor in this site. The clinical signs associated with the flank tumoral syndrome, the histologic appearance of cytoplasmic double striation in rhabdomyoblasts and the immunohistochemical expression of skeletal muscle differentiation (desmin, myoglobin, myogenin) are described in the context of a rapidly evolving renal RMS in a 77-year old man. The differential diagnosis are mainly represented by sarcomatoid renal cell carcinoma.

Rearrangement involving chromosomes 1 and 8 in a retroperitoneal lipoma.

Superficial lipomas are very common benign adipose tissue tumors. In contrast, deep-seated lipomas such as retroperitoneal lipomas, are extremely rare and have to be carefully distinguished from well-differentiated liposarcomas for appropriate treatment and follow-up. We report to, our knowledge, the first cytogenetic analysis of a retroperitoneal lipoma occurring in an adult, which showed a complex rearrangement interpreted as t(1;8)(q32;q22-q23) followed by a pericentric inversion of der(8).