Publications by authors named "Maria C Zerbini"

The epidemiology of classical Hodgkin lymphoma varies significantly in populations with different socioeconomic conditions. Among other changes, improvement in such conditions leads to a reduction in the association with EBV infection and predominance of the nodular sclerosis subtype. This study provides an overview of the epidemiology of 817 cases of classical Hodgkin lymphoma diagnosed in five reference hospitals of the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil, over 54 years (1954-2008).

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Background: Secondary myeloid neoplasms comprise a group of diseases arising after chemotherapy, radiation, immunosuppressive therapy or from aplastic anemia. Few studies have addressed prognostic factors in these neoplasms.

Method: Forty-two patients diagnosed from 1987 to 2008 with secondary myeloid neoplasms were retrospectively evaluated concerning clinical, biochemical, peripheral blood, bone marrow aspirate, biopsy, and immunohistochemistry and cytogenetic features at diagnosis as prognostic factors.

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Article Synopsis
  • Intermediate cell histiocytosis is a rare skin disorder stemming from a proliferation of indeterminate cells, first identified in 1985, marked by specific immune cell markers (CD1a, CD68) and absence of CD207.
  • A case report details a healthy elderly woman who developed reddish dome-shaped skin nodules over 18 months, while tests showed no internal disease.
  • Treatment with narrowband ultraviolet B phototherapy achieved excellent short-term results for the patient's skin condition.
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Background/aims: Although craniopharyngioma (CP) is histologically benign, it is a pituitary tumour that grows rapidly and often recurs. Adamantinomatous CP (ACP) was associated with an activating mutation in β-catenin, and it has been postulated that pituitary stem cells might play a role in oncogenesis in human ACP. Stem cells have also been identified in pituitary adenoma.

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Trisomy 21-driven transcriptional alterations in human thymus were characterized through gene coexpression network (GCN) and miRNA-target analyses. We used whole thymic tissue--obtained at heart surgery from Down syndrome (DS) and karyotipically normal subjects (CT)--and a network-based approach for GCN analysis that allows the identification of modular transcriptional repertoires (communities) and the interactions between all the system's constituents through community detection. Changes in the degree of connections observed for hierarchically important hubs/genes in CT and DS networks corresponded to community changes.

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Adrenocortical carcinomas (ACCs) are complex neoplasias that may present unexpected clinical behavior, being imperative to identify new biological markers that can predict patient prognosis and provide new therapeutic options. The main aim of the present study was to evaluate the prognostic value of metabolism-related key proteins in adrenocortical carcinoma. The immunohistochemical expression of MCT1, MCT2, MCT4, CD147, CD44, GLUT1 and CAIX was evaluated in a series of 154 adult patients with adrenocortical neoplasia and associated with patients' clinicopathological parameters.

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Nodal peripheral T-cell lymphomas are a rare group of neoplasms derived from post-thymic and activated T lymphocytes. A review of scientific articles listed in PubMed, Lilacs, and the Cochrane Library databases was performed using the term "peripheral T-cell lymphomas". According to the World Health Organization classification of hematopoietic tissue tumors, this group of neoplasms consists of peripheral T-cell lymphoma not otherwise specified (PTCL-NOS), angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma (AITL), anaplastic large cell lymphoma-anaplastic lymphoma kinase positive (ALCL-ALK(+)), and a provisional entity called anaplastic large cell lymphoma-anaplastic lymphoma kinase negative (ALCL-ALK(-)).

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Low DICER1 expression was associated with poor outcome in several cancers. Recently, hot-spot DICER1 mutations were found in ovarian tumors, and TARBP2 truncating mutations in tumor cell lines with microsatellite instability. In this study, we assessed DICER1 e TRBP protein expression in 154 adult adrenocortical tumors (75 adenomas and 79 carcinomas).

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Background: Primary macronodular adrenal hyperplasia (PMAH) is a rare cause of Cushing's syndrome, characterized by functioning adrenal macronodules and variable cortisol production. Recently, we demonstrated a high 18F-FDG uptake in PMAH, an unexpected finding for a benign disorder.

Purpose: To investigate whether there is a correlation between 18F-FDG high uptake and the expression levels of the glycolytic pathway components GLUT1, HK1, HK2, and HK3 in PMAH.

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Bone marrow biopsy is recommended for staging of classical Hodgkin lymphoma. The aim of this study was to compare bone marrow evaluation by histology with that obtained by (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography (FDG-PET). One hundred and three cases of Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma were reviewed.

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Castleman's disease (CD) is a polyclonal lymphoproliferative disorder also known as giant nodular hyperplasia or angiofollicular lymph node hyperplasia. It is a rare disease often associated to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and human herpes virus 8 (HHV-8). Histopathological findings in Castleman's disease suggest an exaggerated response to antigenic stimuli seen in other diseases associated with immune activation, such as rheumatoid arthritis.

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Currently, there is no characteristic microRNA (miRNA) expression pattern in Epstein-Barr virus+ diffuse large B-cell lymphoma of the elderly (EBV+DLBCLe). This study aims to characterize a signature profile and identify miRNAs that can be used as biomarkers and alternative therapeutic targets for EBV+DLBCLe. Seventy-one DLBCL patients aged 50 years and older were included and four EBV+ and four EBV- samples were analyzed in two miRNA array platforms (pilot study).

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Context: The phenotype of familial pheochromocytoma (PHEO) associated with germline TMEM127 mutations (TMEM127-related PHEO) has not been clearly defined.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the penetrance, full phenotypic spectrum and effectiveness of clinical/genetic screening in TMEM127-related PHEO.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Clinical and genetic screening, and genetic counseling were offered to 151 individuals from a six-generation family carrying a TMEM127 germline mutation in a referral center.

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Objective: LIN28 control cells reprogramming and pluripotency mainly through miRNA regulation and has been overexpressed in many advanced cancers. In this study, we evaluated the prognostic role of LIN28 and its regulatory miRNAs in a large cohort of adrenocortical tumours (ACTs).

Patients And Methods: LIN28 protein expression was assessed in 266 adults ACTs (78 adenomas and 188 carcinomas) from Brazil and Germany.

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B+NK+SCID (severe combined immunodeficiency) due to IL7Rα deficiency represents approximately 10% of American SCID cases. To better understand the spectrum of autoimmune disorders associated with IL7Rα deficiency, we describe two unrelated IL7Rα-deficient female SCID infants whose clinical picture was dominated by autoimmune manifestations: one with intrauterine Omenn syndrome (OS) and another with persistent thrombocytopenic purpura since 4months of age. The OS baby harbored a homozygous p.

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Article Synopsis
  • Primary macronodular adrenal hyperplasia (PMAH) is a rare genetic condition leading to excess cortisol production and Cushing's syndrome, with potential familial links.
  • A study focused on a Brazilian family with PMAH identified a damaging variant in the ARMC5 gene, confirmed through testing of affected individuals.
  • The findings suggest that mutations in ARMC5 may frequently cause PMAH and highlight its role as a potential tumor suppressor gene.
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Objective: To develop and internally validate a prognostic score to predict the risk of metastases or recurrence in patients with adrenal cortical carcinomas (ACC).

Design: Clinical, laboratory and pathological data from 129 ACC patients, treated in a tertiary centre, were retrospectively reviewed.

Results: Using a multivariate binary logistic regression analysis, we developed a prognostic score with five covariates: a functional pattern other than isolated hyperandrogenism, a tumour size >7·5 cm, a primary tumour classified as T3/T4, the presence of microscopic venous invasion and a mitotic index >5/50 high-power fields.

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  • Nasal gliomas are rare, benign tumors made of neuroglial tissue that can extend into the skull through bony defects.
  • Neuroimaging, especially CT and MRI, is crucial for locating these lesions and assessing any intracranial involvement, with MRI being preferred for better soft tissue detail.
  • A case study describes a large fetal mass observed through ultrasound that was diagnosed and surgically treated as an intranasal glioma after imaging ruled out a connection to the skull base.
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Fifteen percent of patients with Wilms' tumor (WT) experience relapse. It has been suggested that weight and age may affect the chances of relapse. Few studies have investigated the role, if any, between P-glycoprotein (P-gp) and relapse.

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Congenital hyperinsulinism (CHI) is a rare pancreatic β-cell disease of neonates, characterized by inappropriate insulin secretion with severe persistent hypoglycemia, with regard to which many questions remain to be answered, despite the important acquisition of its molecular mechanisms in the last decade. The aim of this study was to examine pancreatic histology, β-cell proliferation (immunohistochemistry with double staining for Ki-67/insulin), and β-cell adenosine triphosphate-sensitive potassium channels genes from 11 Brazilian patients with severe medically unresponsive CHI who underwent pancreatectomy. Pancreatic histology and β-cell proliferation in CHI patients were compared to pancreatic samples from 19 age-matched controls.

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Glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide receptor (GIPR) and LHCGR are G-protein-coupled receptors with a wide tissue expression pattern. Aberrant expression of these receptors has rarely been demonstrated in adult sporadic adrenocortical tumors with a lack of data on pediatric tumors. We quantified the GIPR and LHCGR expression in a large cohort of 55 patients (25 children and 30 adults) with functioning and non-functioning sporadic adrenocortical tumors.

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Introduction And Objectives: Tuberculosis and cancer are the main causes of pleural effusion. Pleural involvement is associated with migration of immune cells to the pleural cavity. We sought to characterize the immunophenotype of leukocytes in the pleural effusion and peripheral blood of patients with tuberculosis or malignancy.

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Objective: To study the importance of NB84, synaptophysin and AgNOR and explore the quantitative association of these factors with diagnosis and outcome as well as the association between NB84 and AgNOR and other tumor and stromal factors in twenty-eight peripheral neuroblastic tumors.

Methods: We assessed AgNORs, NB84, synaptophysin and several other markers in tumor tissues from 28 patients with primary neuroblastic tumors. The treatment included: surgery for stage 1, chemotherapy and bone marrow transplantation for most of stages 3 and 4.

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Objective: To investigate the biological behavior of classical and atypical osteoblastomas in comparison to osteosarcomas.

Methods: Based on histological parameters, 30 osteoblastomas were subclassified as classical osteoblastomas (23/30) or atypical osteoblastoma (high cellularity, prominent blue osteoid, and epithelioid osteoblasts--7/30). Comparative immunohistochemical and clinical analysis was performed in 17 cases of patients with high-grade osteosarcoma.

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Objective: Hormone-secreting adrenocortical tumors are frequently associated with endocrine syndromes. We describe a 30-year-old man who had abdominal pain, a nodule in the right breast and loss of libido. Abdominal magnetic resonance imaging revealed a very large tumor in the right adrenal gland.

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