Publications by authors named "Jennifer Boland"

Context.—: Cardiac and pulmonary allograft recipients represent a unique population, frequently interacting with support groups and exhibiting intense curiosity about their pathology. Like other solid organ transplant patients, they have enduring and frequent interaction with the laboratory for routine allograft surveillance.

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A 62-year-old woman came to our hospital with worsening cough and dyspnea over the preceding week, during which time she had been treated with azithromycin and prednisone for suspected pneumonia. She had no fever, chills, or sweats, but her cough had become productive of clear to blood-tinged phlegm during the interval. Medical history was significant for insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and OSA.

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Ligand binding hotspots are regions of protein surfaces that form particularly favourable interactions with small molecule pharmacophores. Targeting interactions with these hotspots maximises the efficiency of ligand binding. Existing methods are capable of identifying hotspots but often lack assays to quantify ligand binding and direct elaboration at these sites.

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Granulomas are frequently encountered by pathologists in all types of lung specimens and arise from diverse etiologies. They should always be reported as necrotizing or non-necrotizing, with microorganism stains performed to evaluate for infection. With attention to distribution, quality (poorly vs well-formed), associated features, and correlation with clinical, radiologic, and laboratory data, the differential diagnosis for granulomatous lung disease can usually be narrowed to a clinically helpful "short list.

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Prognostic stratification of pulmonary carcinoids into "typical" and "atypical" categories requires examination of large tissue volume. However, there is a need for tools that provide similar prognostic information on small biopsy samples. Ki-67 and OTP immunohistochemistry have shown promising prognostic value in studies of resected pulmonary carcinoids, but prognostic value when using biopsy/cytology specimens is unclear.

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The coenzyme A (CoA) biosynthesis pathway has attracted attention as a potential target for much-needed novel antimicrobial drugs, including for the treatment of tuberculosis (TB), the lethal disease caused by (). Seeking to identify inhibitors of phosphopantetheine adenylyltransferase (PPAT), the enzyme that catalyses the penultimate step in CoA biosynthesis, we performed a fragment screen. In doing so, we discovered three series of fragments that occupy distinct regions of the PPAT active site, presenting a unique opportunity for fragment linking.

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Gangliocytic paragangliomas are rare neoplasms occurring almost exclusively in the ampullary region of the gastrointestinal tract. Although these tumors are not typically considered in the differential diagnosis of primary pulmonary neoplasia, 5 cases of primary pulmonary gangliocytic paragangliomas have been previously reported. Herein we report our experience with 3 additional examples, all referred to our Anatomic Pathology Consultation service.

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Primary pulmonary myxoid sarcoma (PPMS) and thoracic angiomatoid fibrous histiocytoma (AFH) are rare neoplasms with EWSR1 fusions and overlapping morphology. Both tumor types often show epithelial membrane antigen expression, but AFH characteristically co-expresses desmin. We encountered a case of PPMS with the unexpected finding of patchy, strong anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) (previously reported in AFH) and synaptophysin expression.

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Context.—: Primary thoracic neoplasms are rare in children, whereas nonneoplastic mass lesions or cysts and metastases are more common, and there is a relative paucity of comprehensive histopathologic and molecular data.

Objective.

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Context.—: Nuclear protein in testis (NUT) carcinoma is an aggressive carcinoma defined by NUTM1 gene rearrangement. Diagnostic challenges include morphologic overlap with poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma, small cell carcinoma, thoracic SMARCA4-deficient undifferentiated tumor, and other small round blue cell tumors.

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Context.—: Respiratory infections complicate lung transplantation and increase the risk of allograft dysfunction. Allograft lungs may have different susceptibilities to infection than native lungs, potentially leading to different disease severity in lungs of single lung transplant recipients (SLTRs).

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While lung cancer is one of the most common malignancies routinely encountered by pathologists, benign pulmonary neoplasms are quite rare. However, it is important for pathologists to be familiar with the typical diagnostic features of benign lung tumors to avoid confusing them with malignant morphological mimics. There have also been intriguing discoveries in the genetics of benign pulmonary neoplasms in the past decade.

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Objectives: Bronchiolar adenoma/ciliated muconodular papillary tumor (BA/CMPT) and sclerosing pneumocytoma (SP) are both rare and morphologically unique peripheral lung tumors with indolent behavior. These tumors have not been previously described as showing overlapping morphologic features and are generally genetically distinct.

Methods: Two cases were recently encountered that show hybrid morphologic features between BA/CMPT and SP, and the morphology and immunophenotype are described in detail.

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Objectives: Communities of color in the United States systematically experience inequities in physical and mental health care compared to individuals who identify as non-Hispanic White. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic exacerbated these structural drivers of inequity to disproportionate and devastating effects for persons of color. In addition to managing the direct effects of COVID-19 risk, persons of color were also navigating increased racial prejudice and discrimination.

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The coenzyme A (CoA) biosynthesis pathway has attracted attention as a potential target for much-needed novel antimicrobial drugs, including for the treatment of tuberculosis (TB), the lethal disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). Seeking to identify inhibitors of Mtb phosphopantetheine adenylyltransferase (MtbPPAT), the enzyme that catalyses the penultimate step in CoA biosynthesis, we performed a fragment screen. In doing so, we discovered three series of fragments that occupy distinct regions of the MtbPPAT active site, presenting a unique opportunity for fragment linking.

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Article Synopsis
  • The text discusses the importance of promoting independence in medical trainees, specifically in surgical pathology, while navigating strict regulations.
  • A pilot program allowed surgical pathology fellows to independently handle certain cases and issue preliminary reports, which were monitored by attending pathologists for safety.
  • Results showed that fellows successfully released a significant number of preliminary reports with minimal discrepancies and no negative impacts on patient care, indicating strong decision-making judgment among trainees.
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Introdution: Few studies examine the financial burden of clinical psychology doctoral programs and its impact on achievements, stress, and mental health.

Objectives: The current study sought to better understand students' financial stress and debt, and how financial stress may impact their mental health and the attainment of personal and professional milestones.

Method: Students (N = 912) completed an online survey assessing demographics, sources of income and expenditures, mental health, and milestones.

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Patients with early-stage lung adenocarcinoma have a high risk of recurrent or metastatic disease despite undergoing curative intent therapy. We hypothesized that increased CD14+ cells within the tumor microenvironment (TME) could stratify patient outcomes. Immunohistochemistry for CD14 was performed on 189 specimens from patients with lung adenocarcinoma who underwent curative intent surgery.

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Malignant rhabdoid tumor of the kidney (MRTK) is a rare aggressive pediatric renal tumor which can be diagnosed via fine-needle aspiration (FNA) cytology and core biopsy. The diagnosis of MRTK is challenging, and requires morphologic, immunohistochemical and clinical correlation to distinguish it from other entities. The differential diagnosis includes Wilms tumor, desmoplastic small round cell tumor, rhabdomyosarcoma, synovial sarcoma, renal medullary carcinoma, and epithelioid sarcoma.

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Context.—: Studies of lungs in patients with COVID-19 have focused on early findings.

Objective.

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Most pathologists are well versed in the diagnosis of lung cancer, given the common nature of the disease. Occasionally more unusual neoplasms are encountered in lung biopsies and resections, which may be difficult to distinguish from "run of the mill" lung cancer cases based on overlapping morphologic and immunophenotypic features. The accurate diagnosis of these rare entities is quite challenging and requires careful morphological examination paired with judicious use of ancillary immunohistochemical and genetic studies.

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Objectives: Differentiating malignant pleural mesothelioma from benign reactive mesothelial processes can be quite challenging. Ancillary tests such as BRCA1-associated protein 1 (BAP1) immunohistochemistry and p16 fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) are helpful tools to aid in this distinction. Immunohistochemistry for methylthioadenosine phosphorylase (MTAP) has recently been proposed as an effective surrogate marker for p16 FISH and is an attractive alternative test due to shorter turnaround time.

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Three-dimensional (3D) imaging is increasingly being incorporated into a variety of medical specialties: surgery and radiology being but two prominent examples. Image-intensive disciplines, such as anatomic pathology (AP), represent excellent potential candidates for further exploration of this innovative technology. Multiple potential use cases exist within AP, involving patient care, education, and research.

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