Basal cell carcinoma of the vulva: a case series.

Aims: To review the diagnostic features and characteristics of an uncommon tumour, basal cell carcinoma (BCC) of the vulva.

Methods: The clinical and pathological details of six vulvar BCCs were reviewed. Four of the BCCs arose in isolation, one was combined with vulvar Paget's disease and another was intimately associated with a poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma.

The molecular characterisation of unusual subcutaneous spindle cell lesion of breast.

Background: Spindle cell lesions of the breast represent an interesting diagnostic challenge as they comprise a wide range of tumours that are rare. Differentiating dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP) from other dermatofibromas using CD34 immunohistochemistry alone is difficult; therefore, fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) analysis is often employed to identify typical COL1A1-PDGFB fusion or gene rearrangement. Although molecular confirmation of diagnosis is unnecessary in the majority of DFSP cases, the detection of chromosomal rearrangement is valuable in tumours that show unusual clinicopathological features as in this study the authors report a case of DFSP of breast that did not show any typical known molecular features.

Nuclear and cytoplasmic expressions of ERβ1 and ERβ2 are predictive of response to therapy and alters prognosis in familial breast cancers.

Estrogen receptor (ER) α has been studied extensively in familial breast cancers but there are limited data on ERβ and its isoforms. This is an important issue since many BRCA1-associated tumours are "triple negative" and are resistant to conventional and targeted therapies. We performed an immunohistochemical study of pan-ERβ, ERβ1 and ERβ2 in a cohort of 123 familial breast carcinomas (35 BRCA1, 33 BRCA2 and 55 BRCAX) using a cut-off for positivity at 20% (Shaaban et al.

BRCA1 tumours correlate with a HIF-1alpha phenotype and have a poor prognosis through modulation of hydroxylase enzyme profile expression.

Background: There are limited data regarding the hypoxia pathway in familial breast cancers. We therefore performed a study of hypoxic factors in BRCA1, BRCA2 and BRCAX breast cancers.

Methods: Immunoperoxidase staining for HIF-1alpha, PHD1, PHD2, PHD3, VEGF and FIH was carried out in 125 (38 BRCA1, 33 BRCA2 and 54 BRCAX) breast carcinomas.