A population of 1136 HPV DNA-HR positive women: expression of p16(INK4a)/Ki67 Dual-Stain Cytology and cytological diagnosis. Histological correlations and cytological follow up.

Objective: The objectives of this study were to evaluate, in a selected HR-HPV positive population, the clinical performance of the p16/ki67 immunostaining in all the cytological diagnoses, as a reflex test of triage HPV-cytology, and assess the usefulness of p16/ki67-staining to classify CIN1 according to its risk of progression/regression in order to plan a personalized follow-up.

Methods: Our analysis was in consecutive cases of 1136 women aged 25-64 years, asymptomatic, HR-HPV DNA HC2 tested positive in a HPV-screening program, from February to December 2011. All the women had a cervical sample, in the Thin Prep, used for cytological diagnosis and for pI6/Ki67 dual- staining.

Intraoperative hand-held imaging γ-camera for sentinel node detection in patients with breast cancer: feasibility evaluation and preliminary experience on 16 patients.

Purpose: This study aimed to assess the feasibility and potential usefulness of a new intraoperative portable high-resolution imaging γ-camera for the localization of sentinel lymph node in patients with breast cancer.

Methods: Sixteen T1 to T2 breast cancer female patients were evaluated (mean age, 62 years) with preoperative lymphoscintigraphy, acquired 30 minutes after intradermal injection of 60 to 70 MBq (1.6-1.

A web-based pilot study of inter-pathologist reproducibility using the ISHLT 2004 working formulation for biopsy diagnosis of cardiac allograft rejection: the European experience.

Background: The aim of this study was to assess, at the European level and using digital technology, the inter-pathologist reproducibility of the ISHLT 2004 system and to compare it with the 1990 system We also assessed the reproducibility of the morphologic criteria for diagnosis of antibody-mediated rejection detailed in the 2004 grading system.

Methods: The hematoxylin-eosin-stained sections of 20 sets of endomyocardial biopsies were pre-selected and graded by two pathologists (A.A.

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors: report of an audit and review of the literature.

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs), tumors characterized by c-KIT mutations, are the most frequent mesenchymal tumors of the digestive tract. The stomach is the most commonly involved site. Localization, size and mitotic rate are reliable predictors of survival and the two milestones of GISTs treatment are surgery and imatinib.

Prognostic value of subclassification of T2 tumours in patients with gastric cancer.

Background: This study was designed to evaluate the prognostic value of tumour stage T2 subcategorization (T2a and T2b) in patients with gastric carcinoma.

Methods: Clinicopathological details of a prospective series of patients who had radical resection of gastric adenocarcinoma in a single institution were analysed. Univariable and multivariable survival analyses were performed with the log rank test and Cox's model respectively.

Correlation between magnetic resonance imaging and histopathological tumor response after neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer.

Aim: To evaluate the accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging in assessing tumor response following neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with locally advanced breast cancer.

Materials And Methods: Twenty-six patients entered a phase II study of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, undergoing bilateral breast magnetic resonance imaging before therapy and before surgery. Tumor response was classified using RECIST criteria, using tumor size at magnetic resonance imaging.

Organizational model for a telepathology system.

The technological development of telemedicine has performed important progress, assuming a diagnostic relief role inside of the processes. Among the fields in fast evolution, telepathology is placed among those of greater interest. Up to some years ago, telepathology allowed us to observe at a distance and in real time, histological or cytological slides through the Internet, using a motorized microscope (dynamic telepathology).

Lycopodium similiaplex-induced acute hepatitis: a case report.

A 46-year-old woman was admitted to our department with symptoms of nausea, anorexia and asthenia. Serum alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase levels were increased; all serological tests for viral hepatitis and autoimmune disorders were negative. She had taken Lycopodium similiaplex solution as sedative for the previous 8 weeks, whose two constituents, Lycopodium serratum and Chelidonium majus, are found to be potentially toxic.

Role of resection margins in patients treated with breast conservation surgery.

Background: After breast conservation therapy (BCT), margin status is routinely evaluated to select patients who need reexcision. The aim of this study was to investigate how margin status and other clinicopathologic factors correlate with the presence of residual tumor at reexcision.

Methods: A series of 431 breast cancer patients who underwent BCT followed by reexcision were considered because they had positive or close (< or =3 mm) margins.

Peritoneal mesothelioma: a review.

Malignant peritoneal mesothelioma (MPM) is a rare aggressive tumor of the peritoneum, regarded as a universally fatal disease. It is poorly described and the knowledge of its natural history is very limited. Occupational and environmental asbestos exposure still remains a public health problem around the world.

Clinical impact of false-negative sentinel lymph nodes in breast cancer.

Aims: To evaluate the incidence of false-negative (FN) sentinel lymph node (SLN) cases, their correlation with a series of clinico-pathologic parameters and their impact on adjuvant treatment indications and on clinical axillary relapse in the setting of a multicentric clinical trial comparing SLN biopsy with axillary lymph node dissection (ALND).

Methods: A series of 697 patients with primary breast cancer < or = 3 cm were randomized to SLN biopsy associated with ALND (ALND arm) or to SLN biopsy followed by ALND only if the SLN was metastatic (SLN arm). The FN SLN rate was assessed in the ALND arm.

Prognosis of gastrointestinal stromal tumors.

Background/aims: Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are the most common mesenchymal tumors (GIMT) of the gut. The aim of this retrospective study is to correlate the histological risk factors with the survival of our patients operated for GIST.

Methodology: In our department, from 1980 to October 2003, 15 patients were operated for GIST.

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR): mutational and protein expression analysis in gastric cancer.

Background: Since specific epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) somatic mutations have been demonstrated to influence the response to anti-EGFR therapy in non-small cell lung cancer, EGFR gene mutational analysis of different types of neoplasm is under investigation.

Patients And Methods: EGFR protein expression and gene mutations in exons 18, 19 and 21 were investigated in 49 gastric adenocarcinomas.

Results: no specific EGFR gene mutations were detected, while EGFR positive staining was detected in 6% of the cases.

Sentinel lymph node metastasis from mammary ductal carcinoma in situ with microinvasion.

Axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) in patients with ductal carcinoma in situ with microinvasion (DCISM) of the breast was controversial, because of the relevant morbidity incurred by the procedure and the low incidence of axillary involvement. The introduction of the sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy as a minimally invasive procedure for axillary staging has prompted new interest in this issue. However, as DCISM is a rare type of cancer, data on the incidence of SLN metastasis are scarce.

True solitary pancreatic cyst in an adult: report of a case.

The differential diagnosis of cystic neoformations in the pancreas is challenging. We report a case of a true solitary cyst of the pancreas in a 26-year old woman. Abdominal magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography showed a unilocular neoformation in the head of the pancreas, without obstruction of Wirsung's duct.

Extended lymphadenectomy (D2) in patients with early gastric cancer.

Aims: To investigate the survival benefit of extended lymphadenectomy (D2) in EGC patients in one European Institution.

Methods: A review was made of our prospective gastric database from January 1980 to December 2001. Of 527 patients with primary gastric adenocarcinoma, 119 with EGC underwent potentially curative resection (R0) with D2 lymphadenectomy.

Postmortem distribution of sildenafil in histological material.

This study reports results of the detection and quantitation of sildenafil (Viagra) in biological fluids and tissues and its stability in fixed tissues and formalin solutions in which the tissues were fixed. Toxicological analyses were performed on samples from a 60-year-old man who died of acute heart failure due to myocardiosclerosis. Sildenafil pills were found in his pocket.

Role of axillary sentinel lymph node biopsy in patients with pure ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast.

Background: Sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy is an effective tool for axillary staging in patients with invasive breast cancer. This procedure has been recently proposed as part of the treatment for patients with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), because cases of undetected invasive foci and nodal metastases occasionally occur. However, the indications for SLN biopsy in DCIS patients are controversial.

Simultaneous detection and quantitation of morphine, 6-acetylmorphine, and cocaine in toenails: comparison with hair analysis.

This study describes the results of the simultaneous detection and quantitation of morphine, 6-acetylmorphine, and cocaine in toenail and hair samples obtained from 18 forensic autopsies of drug abusers who had died in various manners. After external decontamination, each specimen was submitted to hot acid hydrolysis (1 mL of HCl 37%) in the presence of internal standards, followed by liquid-liquid and solid-phase extraction techniques. The extracts were then derivatized with propionic anhydride and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, operating in the selected ion monitoring mode.

Ratio between metastatic and examined lymph nodes is an independent prognostic factor after D2 resection for gastric cancer: analysis of a large European monoinstitutional experience.

Background: In view of the lack of consensus on the level and number of lymph nodes to be examined for accurate staging of patients with gastric cancer, our aim was to evaluate the prognostic significance of lymph node status in a large European monoinstitutional experience.

Methods: A review was made of our prospective database from 1980 to 2000, when 314 of 445 patients operated for gastric adenocarcinoma underwent radical resection (R0) with D2 lymphadenectomy. Survival was determined by the Kaplan-Meier method and differences were assessed by the log-rank test.

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors: from a surgical to a molecular approach.

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are the most common mesenchymal tumors of the digestive tract. These tumors span a wide clinical spectrum from benign to malignant and have long been recognized for their nearly absolute resistance to chemotherapy and radiation treatment. We reviewed the worldwide experience on GIST diagnosis, prognosis and treatment and describe our own series.

Lymphadenectomy in patients with gastric cancer. A critical review.

Background: Surgical resection is still the main treatment for patients with gastric cancer. However, while surgical procedures for the treatment of the primary tumor have been standardized, there has been no worldwide consensus as yet on the extent of lymphadenectomy. The aim of the present study was therefore to evaluate the outcome following extended lymphadenectomy, and the prognostic significance of lymph node status, in a group of patients who underwent radical resection for gastric cancer.