The Prognostic Impact of Gender, Therapeutic Strategies, Molecular Background, and Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes in Glioblastoma: A Still Unsolved Jigsaw.

Despite the adoption of novel therapeutical approaches, the outcomes for glioblastoma (GBM) patients remain poor. In the present study, we investigated the prognostic impact of several clinico-pathological and molecular features as well as the role of the cellular immune response in a series of 59 GBM. CD4+ and CD8+ tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) were digitally assessed on tissue microarray cores and their prognostic role was investigated.

Immunohistochemistry for Thymidine Kinase-1 (TK1): A Potential Tool for the Prognostic Stratification of Breast Cancer Patients.

Breast cancer (BC) is the most frequent non-cutaneous malignancy in women. Histological grade, expression of estrogen and progesterone receptors (ER and PgR), overexpression/amplification of the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) oncogene, and proliferative activity measured with ki-67 provide important information on the biological features of BC and guide treatment choices. However, a biomarker that allows a more accurate prognostic stratification is still lacking.

Expression of cyclooxygenase-2 and its correlation with vasogenic brain edema in human intracranial meningiomas.

COX-2 expression was evaluated in intracranial meningiomas, relating this molecule to grade, vasculature, VEGF and brain edema. Fifty-six tumors were evaluated for COX-2 and VEGF expression and for microvessel density. In 34/56 cases, the edema was evaluated by CT scan.

Applications of tissue microarray technology in immunohistochemistry: a study on c-kit expression in small cell lung cancer.

Tissue microarray technology allows the immediate evaluation of molecular profiles of numerous different tissues, with savings of money and time. It was created for rapid, large-scale molecular studies, and the main concern regarding its possible broad acceptance is that the analysis of tissue microarrays instead of whole tissue sections may lead to false negative or positive results because of tissue heterogeneity. In the present study, we analyzed in 54 small cell lung cancers, by immunohistochemistry, the expression of the antigen c-kit, which seems to be important in these neoplasms' tumorigenesis, and compared the staining obtained on whole sections with that of the corresponding tissue microarrays.

Immunohistochemical and molecular study of radiation-induced multiple meningiomas with pleural and pulmonary metastasis.

In the present study, the telomerase activity and the putative alterations of genes involved in cell-cycle control (p53, Fas and pRb) were investigated in a radiation-induced meningioma with multiple recurrences and pleural-pulmonary metastases (the patient, a 34-year-old male, had a history of carcinoma of the tongue of testicular lymphocytic lymphoma). Expression of VEGF and vasculature pattern were also studied. Expression of VEGF, pRb and p53 were evaluated by immunohistochemistry on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded samples of the tumor.

Galectin-3 and oncofetal-fibronectin expression in thyroid neoplasia as assessed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and immunochemistry in cytologic and pathologic specimens.

Oncofetal fibronectin (onfFN) and galectin-3 (Gale-3) have been proposed as possible tools for the preoperative diagnosis of thyroid carcinomas, based on the finding that the expression of both onfFN and Gale-3 are significantly increased in papillary and anaplastic carcinomas, compared to normal thyroid tissues and follicular adenomas. In this study we analyzed the expression of these markers by immunochemical and molecular analysis of benign and malignant thyroid tumors. Sixty-five thyroid nodules, consisting of 20 follicular adenomas (FAs) and 45 papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTCs) at final histology were examined.

The role of somatostatin in vasogenic meningioma associated brain edema.

Many tumors, including meningiomas, express somatostatin receptors, suggesting the application of somatostatin analogues for therapy and diagnosis. Sixty percent of meningiomas are associated with perilesional edema, whose development seems to be related to the vascular endothelial growth factor, although it requires an efficient pial blood supply. However, in several neoplastic models, other mediators seem to cooperate with vascular endothelial growth factor in regulating angiogenesis.