Introduction: Castleman disease (CD) represents a spectrum of heterogeneous lymphoproliferative disorders sharing peculiar histopathological features, clinically subdivided into unicentric CD (UCD) and multicentric CD (MCD) and presenting with variable inflammatory symptoms. Interleukin (IL)-6 and other cytokines play a major role in mediating CD inflammatory manifestations. Although the local microenvironment seems to be among the major sources of hypercytokinemia, the precise cellular origin of IL-6 production in CD is still debated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBreast cancer is the most common malignancy in the female sex; although recent therapies have significantly changed the natural history of this cancer, it remains a significant challenge. In the past decade, evidence has been put forward that some oncogenic viruses may play a role in the development of sporadic breast cancer; however, data are scattered and mostly reported as sparse case series or small case-control studies. In this review, we organize and report current evidence regarding the role of high-risk human papillomavirus, mouse mammary tumor virus, Epstein-Barr virus, cytomegalovirus, bovine leukemia virus, human polyomavirus 2, and Merkel cell polyomavirus in the pathogenesis of breast cancer.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHepatitis C virus (HCV)-associated diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) displays peculiar clinicopathological characteristics, but its molecular landscape is not fully elucidated. In this study, we investigated the clinicopathological and molecular features of 54 patients with HCV-associated DLBCL. The median age was 71 years.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Human papillomavirus (HPV) persistence is considered the main risk factor for neoplastic progression, and evidence suggests that regulatory T cells play an important role in the failure of viral elimination. Regulatory T cells may be involved in maintaining a microenvironment favourable for viral persistence and neoplasticity, through a deregulation of the local immune response. The association between altered immune function and the development of chronic infections, cancer (solid and haematological), and autoimmune diseases is documented in the literature.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMetastasis to the gastrointestinal tract is a rare instance in the natural history of breast cancer, usually in association with lobular histology and widespread dissemination of disease. We report the case of a 74-year-old woman with a history of invasive lobular carcinoma presenting with a pancreatic metastasis mimicking a primary pancreatic adenocarcinoma; we also present a systematic review of the relevant literature. The presentation of pancreatic metastasis in the setting of breast cancer is unspecific, and histology is of paramount importance for a correct diagnosis; surgical metastasectomy could be of some benefit in the correct clinical setting.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCastleman disease (CD) is a rare lymphoproliferative disorder that includes various clinico-pathological subtypes. According to clinical course, CD is divided into unicentric CD (UCD) and multicentric CD (MCD). MCD is further distinguished based on the etiological driver in herpes virus-8-related MCD (that can occur in the setting of HIV); in MCD associated with POEMS syndrome (polyneuropathy, organomegaly, endocrinopathy, monoclonal protein, and skin changes); and idiopathic MCD (iMCD).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) of the breast is an extremely rare salivary gland-type tumor characterized by epidermoid, basaloid, intermediate, and/or mucinous cells arranged in solid and cystic patterns. Despite their triple-negative phenotype, breast MECs are generally considered low-risk malignancies but their biology is largely unexplored; therefore, guidelines for clinical management are lacking. Here, we sought to characterize the molecular landscape of breast MECs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Accurate evaluation of breast cancer on bioptic samples is of fundamental importance to guide therapeutic decisions, especially in the neoadjuvant or metastatic setting. We aimed to assess concordance for oestrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), c-erbB2/HER2 and Ki-67. We also reviewed the current literature to evaluate our results in the context of the data available at present.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe process in which locally confined epithelial malignancies progressively evolve into invasive cancers is often promoted by unjamming, a phase transition from a solid-like to a liquid-like state, which occurs in various tissues. Whether this tissue-level mechanical transition impacts phenotypes during carcinoma progression remains unclear. Here we report that the large fluctuations in cell density that accompany unjamming result in repeated mechanical deformations of cells and nuclei.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe interactions between aromatase inhibitors (AI) in breast cancer (BC) and gut microbiota (GM) have not been completely established yet. The aim of the study is to evaluate the bio-diversity of GM and the relationship between GM, inflammation and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in postmenopausal women with BC during adjuvant AI treatment compared to women with disease relapse during or after one year of AI therapy ("endocrine-resistant"). We conducted a monocenter observational case-control study.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRisk-reducing surgery (RRS) is recommended in BRCA-mutated carriers because of their increased risk of developing ovarian cancer, while its role is still discussed for women harboring mutations in non- homologous repair genes. The aim of this study was to retrospectively evaluate the occurrence of pathological findings in a high-risk population undergoing RRS in San Matteo Hospital, Pavia between 2012 and 2022, and correlate their genetic and clinical outcomes, comparing them with a control group. The final cohort of 190 patients included 85 , 63 , 11 , 7 , 4 , 1 , 1 , 1 , 1 gene mutation carriers and 15 patients with no known mutation but with strong familial risk.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGastrointestinal (GI) involvement of plasma cell neoplasms is extremely rare. Herein, we describe the case of a 74-year-old Caucasian woman who came to our attention with abdominal pain, food vomiting, and weight loss of 10 kg over 1 year. A computed tomography scan of the abdomen revealed circumferential thickening of terminal ileum, for which the patient underwent an urgent 20-cm-long ileal resection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: In Western countries, the prevalence of gastric mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma has declined over the last three decades. Contemporaneously, negative gastric MALT lymphoma is increasingly encountered, and their genetic basis and clinical features remain elusive.
Methods: A total of 57 cases of negative gastric MALT lymphoma were reviewed and investigated for chromosome translocation by fluorescence in-situ hybridization and for somatic mutations by the targeted sequencing of 93 genes.
: Considering highly selected patients with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), active surveillance is a valid alternative to surgery. Our study aimed to show the reliability of post-biopsy complete lesion removal, documented by mammogram, as additional criterion to select these patients. : A total of 2173 vacuum-assisted breast biopsies (VABBs) documented as DCIS were reviewed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPrimary cutaneous diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (pcDLBCLs) are rare hematological neoplasms. The pcDLBCL category includes primary cutaneous large B-cell lymphoma leg type (pcDLBCL-LT), characterized by a particularly unfavorable outcome, and primary cutaneous large B-cell lymphoma not otherwise specified (pcDLBCL-NOS), a widely debated subentity with a more indolent course. The negative prognostic impact of double expressor status (DE status, given by coexpression of MYC and BCL2) and double hit/triple hit status (DH/TH status, given by translocations of MYC and BCL2 and/or BCL6) in nodal DLBCL is well known; however, no unanimous conclusions regarding relevance of DE and DH/TH status have been reached in pcDLBCL.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Breast lesions classified as of "uncertain malignant potential" represent a heterogeneous group of abnormalities with an increased risk of associated malignancy. Clinical management of B3 lesions diagnosed on vacuum-assisted breast biopsy (VABB) is still challenging: surgical excision is no longer the only available treatment and VABB may be sufficient for therapeutic excision. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the positive predictive value (PPV) for malignancy in B3 lesions that underwent surgical excision, identifying possible upgrading predictive factors and characterizing the malignant lesions eventually diagnosed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFClin Res Hepatol Gastroenterol
January 2021