Systemic mast cell disease (mastocytosis). General aspects and histopathological diagnosis.

Systemic mast cell disease/mastocytosis (SMCD) is best defined as a multitopic proliferation of cytologically and/or functionally abnormal tissue mast cells (TMC). SMCD preferentially involves the bone marrow, skin, spleen, liver, and lymph nodes. The histopathological diagnosis of SMCD may be very difficult to make, and the disease is often not considered in the differential diagnosis of lymphoreticular neoplasia.

Mastocytosis: reactive or neoplastic?

Mast cells are now known to derive from CD34+ haemopoietic stem cells in the bone marrow. However, it has not yet been established whether the various types of mastocytosis, which involve tumour-like proliferation of mast cells, are true neoplastic disorders or reactive/hyperplastic conditions. In this study, tissue specimens (five bone marrow, two spleen, one skin) from female patients with histologically confirmed mastocytosis were investigated with a recently developed polymerase chain reaction assay for the determination of clonality of female cells using the human androgen receptor gene (HU-MARA).

[Association of bone marrow mastocytosis with extremely immature extramedullary mast cell sarcoma].

The case of a 63-year-old man with a widespread retroperitoneal tumor and two tumor nodules in the left testis is described. Histopathological and cytopathological examination of tissue from the retroperitoneal tumor led to a diagnosis of lymphoreticular neoplasia. The patient died in acute cardiac failure, five weeks after initial presentation.

Immunophenotyping of human HT29 colon cancer cell primary tumours and their metastases in severe combined immunodeficient mice.

The immunophenotype of HT29 human colon cancer cells implanted into severe combined immunodeficient mice was assessed in primary tumours and their metastases in the lungs using an indirect immunohistochemical method. After primary tumours were surgically removed, the metastases were given time to develop, thus paralleling the clinical situation. While vimentin was negative in both primary and secondary tumours, E-cadherin was present as membrane-bound labelling in the primary tumours only.

Immunophenotype of human ovarian malignancies (cystadenocarcinomata and mixed müllerian tumor) established in SCID mice.

Human ovarian malignancies from three different patients (histology: two serous cystadenocarcinomata and one mixed Müllerian tumor, homologous type) were successfully serially transplanted intraperitoneally into severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice where the tumor cells spread around the peritoneal cavity. If the ascites derived from cystadenocarcinoma cells engrafted in the female genital tract of the SCID mice, they formed cystic tumors resembling remarkably well the original tumors in the patients. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that the immunophenotype of the patients' original tumor and those grown in SCID mice were similar in the case of the two cystadenocarcinomata; in addition, the marker expression in general was stable during serial transplantation.

Bone marrow mastocytosis associated with an undifferentiated extramedullary tumor of hemopoietic origin.

The case of a 62-year-old man who presented with acute abdominal pain and a widespread tumor involving the retroperitoneum is described. Three weeks after initial presentation, the patient died suddenly of acute cardiac failure with signs of arrhythmia. Autopsy revealed a disseminated tumor with infiltration of the retroperitoneal fat, as well as nodules in the left testis and the right atrium.

Desmoplastic squamous cell carcinoma of skin and vermilion surface: a highly malignant subtype of skin cancer.

Background: The prognosis of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the skin is directly related to the development of metastases or local recurrence. This is affected by numerous factors, most of which are independent: clinical tumor size, histopathologic tumor thickness, depth of penetration, degree of cell differentiation, degree of keratinization, location, and immunosuppression. The determination of whether desmoplasia, previously described in only one case of SCC, constitutes an additional prognostic factor was the objective of this study.

Renal involvement in myeloproliferative and lymphoproliferative disorders. A study of autopsy cases.

A considerable proportion of cases of myeloproliferative and lymphoproliferative disorders exhibit renal involvement. However, it is unclear whether the cytologic features, immunophenotype or grade of malignancy of the cells infiltrating the kidney differ from those of the primary tumor. This study was performed on 120 autopsy cases with the following diagnoses: acute myelogenous leukemia (AML, n = 22; subtypes M1 + M2, n = 12, subtype M4, n = 10), chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML, n = 7), agnogenic myeloid metaplasia/myelofibrosis (AMM/MF, n = 6), acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL, n = 6), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL, n = 9), other low-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (low-grade NHL, n = 24), high-grade NHL (n = 21) and multiple myeloma (MM, n = 25).

Immunophenotype of human HT29 colon cancer cell metastases in the lungs of scid mice: spontaneous versus artificial metastases.

The aim of this study was to compare the immunophenotype of the human colon cancer cell line HT29 tumour deposits in the lung which occurred spontaneously after subcutaneous implantation with those which arose after intravenous injection into severe combined immunodeficient (scid) mice. Irrespective of the route of implantation the colon cancer cells were readily observed in the lungs of the scid mice. Similar patterns of immunoreactivity for the proliferative markers (MiB-1, PCNA), and for the tumour suppressor gene (p53) were detected in both groups, and for carcinoembryonic antigen, with only minor quantitative differences in levels of marker expression.

[Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma of the mycosis fungoides type in the area of the eyelid and lacrimal ducts].

Patient: A 62-year-old former miner with silicosis of the lungs but otherwise in good general condition presented with a solid nodule in the nasal left lid area for a duration of three months. Because of a central ulceration the reference diagnosis was basalioma. The tumour infiltrated the nasal part of the upper and lower eyelid and the tear ducts so that these were unrinseable.

Transplantation of a human ovarian cystadenocarcinoma into severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice--formation of metastases without significant alteration of the tumour cell phenotype.

Human ovarian papillary cystadenocarcinoma cells were injected intraperitoneally into severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice. After intraperitoneal application the cells, designated SoTü, grew well in vivo, lodged on to the peritoneum, formed local metastatic deposits, led to the development of ascites in the mice and formed distant metastases in the lungs. If lodged in the ovary, the morphology of the SoTü tumour remarkably resembled that of the primary tumour in the patient.

Neoplastic human tissue mast cells express the adhesion molecule CD44/HCAM.

Expression of the homing-associated cell adhesion molecule/HCAM (CD44) in normal/reactive and neoplastic human tissue mast cells (TMC) was determined immunohistochemically using the antibody DAKO-DF1485, which detects all isoforms of CD44. Studies were performed on 30 routinely processed specimens. Twenty of these, from bone marrow, skin, spleen, liver, lymph node and jejunal mucosa, contained infiltrates of TMC.

Immunohistochemical localization of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-2 (TIMP-2) in first trimester human placental decidua.

Background: Matrix metalloproteinases have been shown to play an important role both in the invasive growth of malignant tumors and in human placentation. However, unlike tumor cell invasion, cytotrophoblast invasion is strictly controlled in its extent. Tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMP) may play an important role in the modulation of cytotrophoblast growth into maternal tissue.

Laryngeal lymphoma derived from mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue.

Extranodal lymphomas account for as many as 40% of non-Hodgkin's lymphomas, and most arise in the gastrointestinal tract, but other mucosal organs may be involved, especially the upper aerodigestive tract. Low-grade B-cell lymphomas arising in the gastrointestinal tract and other mucosae have been found to recapitulate the structure and cytologic features of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT). Histologically low-grade MALT lymphomas are characterized by centrocyte-like B-cells with a phenotype similar to that of so-called marginal zone B-cells.

A CD44 variant exon 6 epitope as a prognostic indicator in breast cancer.

The CD44 variant exon 6 sequence is associated with metastasizing clones of rat pancreatic and mammary carcinoma. In human breast and colorectal carcinoma epitopes on the cell surface encoded by exon v6 have been shown to predict poor chances of survival. Breast cancers in 55 patients whose clinical follow-up was available for 6 to 8 years were immunophenotyped for the presence of the CD44 exon v6 epitope and the results were correlated with survival.

The distribution of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-2 (TIMP-2) in the human placenta.

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) secreted by human cytotrophoblasts are crucial for the invasion of the placental bed by these cells. The invasive growth of the trophoblast is similar to that of malignant tumours in many respects, but, unlike the latter, it is strictly controlled. Tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) have been postulated to play a role in the control of trophoblast invasion.

[Primary plasmacytoma of the lymph node (plasmocytic lymphoma). The differential diagnosis of nodal plasma-cell proliferates].

History And Clinical Findings: A 60-year-old man was found on routine examination to have an enlarged, firm, cervical lymph node. He looked older than his age and his general condition was poor. He had no fever, nocturnal sweating or weight loss.

Virilizing stromal Leydig cell tumor (Leydig cell-containing thecoma) of the ovary in pregnancy. A case report with extensive immunohistochemical investigation of the tumor cells.

The rare case of a stromal Leydig cell tumor of the ovary occurring in a 21-year-old woman who developed signs of virilization during pregnancy is reported. Serum androgen levels were markedly elevated. At cesarean section, a slightly hypotrophic, but otherwise normal, female infant was delivered and a tumor of the right ovary measuring 12 cm in maximum diameter was resected.

Comparative analysis of the immunophenotypes of decidual and peripheral blood large granular lymphocytes and T cells during early human pregnancy.

Problem: The functional role of the leukocytes in the decidual is not clear. They may regulate the maternal immune response to the fetal allograft. However, the factors controlling maternal and fetal communication have not yet been identified.

QBEND10 for the diagnosis of myelodysplastic syndromes in routinely processed bone marrow biopsy specimens.

Aim: The assessment of the value of the antibody QBEND10, which is directed against the haemopoietic stem cell related antigen CD34, in the immunohistochemical diagnosis of myelodysplastic syndrome in routinely processed bone marrow biopsy specimens.

Methods: 581 formalin fixed, paraffin embedded trephine biopsy specimens of the iliac crest were immunostained with QBEND10 (avidin-biotin complex/ABC method). The number of CD34+ haemopoietic stem cells/blast cells (referred to hereafter as CD34+ cells) was determined in each case.

Evidence for a lymphotropic nature of circulating plasmacytoid monocytes: findings from a case of CD56+ chronic myelomonocytic leukemia.

Because the cells previously designated plasmacytoid T cells share major immunophenotypic features with cells of the mononuclear-phagocyte system, they have been re-named and are now known as plasmacytoid monocytes (PM). We describe a unique case of chronic myelomonocytic leukemia with circulating PM. The patient, a 48-year-old man, presented initially with refractory anemia.

Involvement of the larynx by hemopoietic neoplasms. An investigation of autopsy cases and review of the literature.

Involvement of the larynx by hemopoietic tumors is generally considered a rare event and little is known about the associated clinicopathologic features. Laryngeal tissue removed at autopsy from 14 patients with known disseminated hematologic malignancies and at operation from one patient with multicentric malignant lymphoma of low-grade malignancy (MALToma) of the head and neck region was investigated. A systematic survey of the main clinicopathologic features of the published cases of hemopoietic tumors with laryngeal involvement was also performed.