Telepathological evaluation of paediatric histological specimens in support of a hospital in Tanzania.

Background/objective: In a project of telepathology (TP) between German pathologists and a hospital in Tanzania, trained technical assistants have uploaded digital histological images onto the internet-based platform ipath. The diagnoses from 486 paediatric specimens were analysed.

Methods: The investigation included diagnoses, either primarily done via TP or secondarily after a further workup of the paraffin-embedded tissue, which was sent to Germany for cases which could not be solved via TP.

Re-evaluation of challenging telepathological diagnoses in support of a hospital in Tanzania.

Since 2007, a hospital in Tanzania has been supported with histopathological reports via telepathology (TP) by German pathologists. For this, the Internet-based platform iPath is used. The aim of this study was to analyse the rate of discrepancies in defined diagnostic groups.

Diagnostic validity of static telepathology supporting hospitals without local pathologists in low-income countries.

Introduction: Static telepathology (TP) was used to support a hospital in Tanzania that cannot employ a resident pathologist but has a basic laboratory. Histological slides were prepared by the local technical staff and digital images were uploaded into an Internet-based system; consultant pathologists in Germany could give their opinion. The aim of the study was to examine the diagnostic validity of this project without local pathologists.

Clinicopathologic features of adult EBV-associated B-cell lymphoproliferative disease.

In the present study, 21 cases of adult/late-onset EBV-associated lymphoproliferative disease (AELPD) with an uncertain malignant potential were investigated with regard to their histomorphology, immunophenotype, clonal rearrangement of the heavy chain (IgH) and T-cell receptor (TCR) genes and clinical course. The cases were histomorphologically reevaluated and assigned to one of three morphological groups: mononucleosis-like, Hodgkin-like, or polymorphous. In addition, cases with or without detectable necrosis were investigated for differences in clinical outcome.

Eight cycles of escalated-dose BEACOPP compared with four cycles of escalated-dose BEACOPP followed by four cycles of baseline-dose BEACOPP with or without radiotherapy in patients with advanced-stage hodgkin's lymphoma: final analysis of the HD12 trial of the German Hodgkin Study Group.

Purpose: Eight cycles of BEACOPP(escalated) (escalated dose of bleomycin, etoposide, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, procarbazine, and prednisone) followed by radiotherapy (RT) to initial bulk or residual tumor mass is the German Hodgkin Study Group standard of care for advanced-stage Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL). However, treatment-related toxicity is a concern, and the role of RT in this setting is unclear. The HD12 study thus aimed to reduce toxicity while maintaining efficacy.

MicroRNA profiles of t(14;18)-negative follicular lymphoma support a late germinal center B-cell phenotype.

A total of 90% of follicular lymphomas (FLs) harbor the translocation t(14;18) leading to deregulated BCL2 expression. Conversely, 10% of FLs lack the t(14;18), and the majority of these FLs do not express BCL2. The molecular features of t(14;18)-negative FLs remain largely unknown.

Epstein-Barr virus and Hodgkin's lymphoma in Cairo, Egypt.

Fifty-five consecutive cases of Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL), collected between 1996 and 1998 from Cairo, Egypt, were histologically subtyped, phenotyped, and then studied for the presence of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). We used immunohistochemical stains for EBV latent membrane protein 1 (LMP-1) and in situ hybridization stains for EBV-encoded small RNA (EBER-1) transcripts. Forty-five cases (82%) had classic HL (cHL), and ten cases (18%) had nodular lymphocyte predominant HL (NLPHL), with each group expressing its typical phenotype.

Pathway discovery in mantle cell lymphoma by integrated analysis of high-resolution gene expression and copy number profiling.

The genome of mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is, in addition to the translocation t(11;14), characterized by a high number of secondary chromosomal gains and losses that probably account for the various survival times of MCL patients. We investigated 77 primary MCL tumors with available clinical information using high-resolution RNA expression and genomic profiling and applied our recently developed gene expression and dosage integrator algorithm to identify novel genes and pathways that may be of relevance for the pathobiology of MCL. We show that copy number neutral loss of heterozygosity is common in MCL and targets regions that are frequently affected by deletions.

Follicular lymphomas with and without translocation t(14;18) differ in gene expression profiles and genetic alterations.

Follicular lymphoma (FL) is genetically characterized by the presence of the t(14;18)(q32;q21) chromosomal translocation in approximately 90% of cases. In contrast to FL carrying the t(14;18), their t(14;18)-negative counterparts are less well studied about their immunohistochemical, genetic, molecular, and clinical features. Within a previously published series of 184 FLs grades 1 to 3A with available gene expression data, we identified 17 FLs lacking the t(14;18).

[Clonality analysis and mutational status of IgVH gene in Hodgkin variant of Richter syndrome].

Objective: To detect the clonal relationship, the rearrangement, and the mutational status of IgVH gene; the influence of these molecular characteristics on the clinical outcome in Hodgkin variant of Richter syndrome; and the possible molecular pathogenesis in this transformation.

Methods: The clonal rearrangements and mutational status of IgVH genes were analyzed in Hodgkin variant of Richter syndrome and B-CLL with Reed-Stemberg (R-S)-like cells by GeneScan analysis and sequencing. Semi-nest PCR based on laser capture microdissection was utilized to compare the clonal relationship between B-CLL and R-S/R-Slike cells.

[Clonality analysis and mutation status of IgVH genes in classic Richter's syndrome].

Objective: To study the clonal rearrangements and mutation status of IgVH genes in classic Richter's syndrome, the relationship between molecular findings of IgVH gene and clinical outcome, and to deciper the possible molecular mechanism of transformation.

Methods: The clonal rearrangements and mutation status of IgVH genes were analyzed in cases of classic Richter's syndrome by Genescan and sequencing. Immunohistochemical study for zeta-chain associated protein kinase 70 kDa (ZAP70), p53 and interferon regulation factor 4 (IRF-4) was also performed.

Enteropathy-type T-cell lymphoma.

Session 7 of the Society for Hematopathology/European Association for Haematopathology Workshop was devoted to case presentations and discussion of enteropathy-type T-cell lymphoma (ETL) and other T-cell lymphomas involving the gastrointestinal tract. ETL is a rare type of T-cell lymphoma, often associated with a history of celiac disease, that usually arises in the jejunum but can involve other gastrointestinal tract sites (eg, stomach and colon). As the cases submitted illustrate, there are 2 histologic groups of ETL that correlate with clinical and immunophenotypic features.

New WHO histologic classification predicts prognosis of thymic epithelial tumors: a clinicopathologic study of 200 thymoma cases from China.

Background: In 1999, a World Health Organization (WHO) committee published histologic criteria for distinct thymoma entities (labeled as Type A, AB, B1, B2, B3 thymomas) and for the heterogeneous group of thymic carcinomas, collectively called Type C thymomas. Whether WHO-defined histologic thymoma subtypes are of independent prognostic relevance has yet to be proved.

Methods: Two hundred thymomas from the Shanghai Chest Hospital with a mean follow-up time of 15 years (range, 1-246 months) were studied for the relevance of WHO histologic subtype and other factors (stage, therapy, and myasthenia gravis [MG]) for survival.