Acantholytic squamous cell carcinoma in upper aerodigestive tract: histopathology, immunohistochemical profile and epithelial mesenchymal transition phenotype change.

Acantholytic squamous cell carcinoma is a rare variant of squamous cell carcinoma in the mucosa of upper aerodigestive tract. Histomorphologically, acantholytic squamous cell carcinoma may lose the typical features of conventional squamous cell carcinoma and mimic other epithelial or mesenchymal malignancies due to advanced acantholysis and dyskeratosis. Because of its rarity, information of prognosis, pathologic features and immunohistochemical profiles is limited.

Increased expression of p53 protein correlates with the extent of myocyte damage in cardiac allograft rejection.

Acute cardiac allograft rejection (ACAR) has been associated with a poor prognosis. The early diagnosis of ACAR necessitates the accurate detection of myocyte damage. Nuclear damage activates p53, a transcription factor that initiates apoptosis and repair.

Regulation of dextran sodium sulfate induced colitis by leukocyte beta 2 integrins.

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are chronic inflammatory disorders whose etiology remains unknown. Reports have shown that infiltration of leukocytes into intestinal tissue is a pathognomonic hallmark for this disease. Leukocyte beta(2) integrins are heterodimeric adhesion membrane proteins that are exclusively expressed on leukocytes and participate in immune cell adhesion and activation.

Primary central nervous system lymphoma of the brain stem responding favorably to radiosurgery: a case report and literature review.

Objective: To explore various therapeutic alternatives and evaluate the clinical results of patients with primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL). We report a case of PCNSL with involvement of the brain stem managed with radiosurgery using the Leksell gamma knife as the treatment modality.

Case Description: A 55-year-old white woman presented with complaints of weakness on the left side of her body and double vision associated with a frontal headache.

Plexiform neurofibroma of the uterine cervix: a case report and review of the literature.

The female genital system is rarely affected in von Recklinghausen neurofibromatosis. The vulva is the most frequent genital location, but vaginal, cervical, uterine, and ovarian neurofibromas have rarely been reported. We describe a case of plexiform neurofibroma affecting the uterine cervix in a patient with chronic pelvic pain and menorrhagia who had multiple cutaneous neurofibromas and 1 large paraspinal neurofibroma.

CD56 reactivity in small cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix.

Small cell carcinoma (SCC) of the uterine cervix, like its pulmonary counterpart, is a rare but distinctive neoplasm that should be separated from nonendocrine carcinomas because of its highly aggressive clinical course and response to chemotherapy and irradiation. CD56 (neural cell adhesion molecule) has recently been shown to be the best marker for the diagnosis of pulmonary SCC. In this study, we assessed the sensitivity and specificity of CD56 in the diagnosis of SCC of the uterine cervix compared with those of chromogranin and synaptophysin.

Aggressive fibromatosis of the parapharyngeal space: two cases and treatment recommendations.

Aggressive fibromatosis is an uncommon tumor that is locally aggressive but not malignant. Therefore, its classification falls between the benign and malignant neoplasms of soft-tissue origin. In the past, these lesions were misdiagnosed as low-grade fibrosarcomas.

Pilocytic astrocytoma presenting as an intrinsic brainstem tumor: case report and review of the literature.

Objective: Pilocytic astrocytomas are typically circumscribed, slow growing tumors found in children and young adults. This type of tumor can arise from various locations in the neuraxis. In the brainstem, pilocytic astrocytomas grow as dorsal exophytic masses.

Histiocytic sarcoma involving the central nervous system: clinical, immunohistochemical, and molecular genetic studies of a case with review of the literature.

Histiocytic sarcoma (HS) is a rare disease, and there has been much confusion concerning the diagnostic criteria for this entity. Since immunohistochemical and cytogenetic techniques have become more universally available, many cases initially diagnosed as histiocytic sarcoma have been reclassified as other diseases. We describe a case of HS that presented as a single mass lesion in left occipital lobe.

Devic disease: clinical course, pathophysiology, and management.

Devic disease is characterized by an attack or attacks of optic neuritis and necrotizing myelitis without clinical or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) evidence of brain involvement or presence of oligoclonal bands in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). More than a century after its first systematic study by the French physician, Eugene Devic, its cause as well as its pathogenesis, remains unknown. Devic disease is both a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge to clinicians.

Synovial metaplasia, a specialized form of repair.

Synovial metaplasia is a change seen most frequently in the tissues surrounding silicone breast prostheses and in healing tissue adjacent to joint prostheses. It has also been described in skin and soft tissues, most frequently in healing or healed traumatic or surgical wounds. We report a case of synovial metaplasia occurring in a hitherto unreported location, namely, adjacent to a silicone low-pressure voice prosthesis.

Differentiated thyroid carcinoma with functional autonomy.

Objective: To present a case of papillary carcinoma in an autonomously hyperfunctioning thyroid nodule.

Methods: We chronicle the clinical and laboratory findings in a patient with a painless neck mass, with a particular focus on the pathologic findings after surgical removal of the right thyroid lobe.

Results: A 39-year-old woman had an enlarging nodule of the right thyroid lobe.