A Simplified Ultrasonographic Score for the Prediction of Cytologically Suspicious Thyroid Nodules.

Purpose:  The major aim of ultrasound (US)-based risk stratification systems is to reduce unnecessary thyroid biopsies without losing the ability to recognize nodules with clinically significant malignancy. Each of the classic suspicious features of a thyroid nodule detected on US scan (hypoechoic pattern, microcalcifications, irregular margin, taller than wide shape, irregular vascularization) is significantly independently associated with the probability of malignancy, but none of them has good diagnostic accuracy. Thus, we evaluated the predictive value of a binary score simply based on the combination of these US features, regardless of the specific predictive value of each US feature, against the outcome of suspected malignancy at cytological diagnosis (TIR3 to TIR5 categories by SIAPEC-IAP [TIR+]).

Gene status in HER2 equivocal breast carcinomas: impact of distinct recommendations and contribution of a polymerase chain reaction-based method.

Background: The primary objectives of this study on carcinomas with equivocal HER2 expression were to assess the impact of distinct recommendations with regard to identifying patients eligible for anti-HER2 agents by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and to elucidate whether multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) may be of support in assessing HER2 gene status.

Methods: A cohort of 957 immunohistochemistry-evaluated HER2-equivocal cases was analyzed by dual-color FISH. The results were assessed according to U.

Papillary thyroid carcinoma presenting as a solitary soft tissue arm metastasis in an elderly hyperthyroid patient. Case report and review of the literature.

A case of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) presenting as a solitary metastasis in the right arm muscle is described in an elderly hyperthyroid male patient. A 2-cm nodule in the right bycipites muscle was found to be a papillary carcinoma of thyroid origin and a primary, 3.5-cm tumor was subsequently found in the left lobe of a hyperfunctioning gland due to toxic goiter.

Steroid hormone receptor in pleural solitary fibrous tumours and CD34+ progenitor stromal cells.

Solitary fibrous tumours (SFT), originally described in the pleura, were subsequently recognized in numerous extrapleural sites. This suggests that a common stem cell, present in various organs and tissues, may be at the origin of SFT and that specific factors may be involved in the proliferation of such cells. Recently it has been described that steroid hormone receptors, progesterone receptors in particular, are expressed by extrapleural SFT.

34betaE12 Cytokeratin Immunodetection in the Differential Diagnosis of Small Cell Tumors of Lung.

The group of small cell tumors of the lung includes fine following: (1) small cell carcinoma (SCC) of neuroendocrine (NE) origin, (2) poorly differentiated squamous carcinoma, (3) the rare basaloid (basal cell) carcinomas, and (4) malignant lymphomas, primitive neuroectodermal tumors (PNETs), and rhabdomyosarcomas. The differential diagnosis among these entities carries a heavy therapeutic impact but may be difficult in small biopsy specimens or in cytologic material, especially if necrosis or artifactual alterations are present. The use of additional techniques such as immunostaining for NE markers is not always helpful, since immunoreactive chromogranin A is detectable in only a small percentage of small cell carcinomas.