[Detection of ALK positive pulmonary adenocarcinoma using immunostaining].

Although ALK-positive lung cancer cases have been recently reported, it is impossible to detect using only morphology technique. Furthermore, though RT-PCR and FISH techniques can be used for detection, they are not practical for screening. We investigated whether ALK-positive lung cancer could be detected using a conventional immunostaining method.

Usefulness of epidermal growth factor receptor and p53 cocktail immunostaining for differential diagnosis with urine cytology.

Objective: To investigate immunochemical markers of assisting cytologic diagnosis to evade the inaccuracy to be caused by alteration of urinary samples.

Study Design: We used p53 and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in an immunostaining cocktail for the differential diagnosis of urine cytology. We reviewed urothelial tumor tissues resected from 36 cases, normal urothelium tissues collected from 20 autopsy cases and 108 separate urine samples.

Prognostic significance of gastric cancer metastasis in second-tier lymph nodes detected on reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry.

To determine the prognostic significance of the methods used to determine the presence of metastasis in second-tier lymph nodes of patients with gastric cancer, the authors studied lymph nodes surgically removed from 100 patients with gastric cancer (55 with early cancer, 45 with progressive). The results of HE staining were compared with those of immunohistochemistry using the anticytokeratin (CK) antibody and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assays. Lymph node 7 or 8a was obtained intraoperatively, then mRNA was extracted using an immunobeads method, and RT-PCR with CK19 mRNA was performed.

Detection of gene point mutation in paraffin sections using in situ loop-mediated isothermal amplification.

For pathological diagnoses, visualization of genetic status using routine tissue sections is important to determine the relationships between histopathological findings and genetic alterations. Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) has been reported to have high levels of specificity and amplification efficiency. An in situ LAMP method was used, along with an amplification refractory mutation system (ARMS) to directly detect a specific point mutation, L858R, which is a mutation of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), useful for the prediction of the effects of the anti-lung cancer drug gefitinib.

Correlation between EGFR gene mutation pattern and Akt phosphorylation in pulmonary adenocarcinomas.

The detection of gene mutation of epithelial growth factor receptor (EGFR) is important to predict the therapeutic effect of gefitinib. Recently, it was reported that examination of the activation of the downstream protein of EGFR is useful in the same way as the EGFR mutation. Therefore the purpose of the present paper was to determine whether activation of Akt and Erk, which are downstream proteins, and the EGFR gene mutation pattern was correlated.

Clinicopathologic roles of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes and CD8-positive lymphocytes in lung cancer imprint smears in squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma.

Objective: To investigate the presence of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and CD8-positive lymphocytes (CD8s) in lung cancers and to examine the prognostic significance of their relationship with clinicopathologic parameters.

Study Design: Primary tumor imprint smears from 83 lung cancers were consecutively obtained at surgery at Tsuchiura Kyodo General Hospital between 1996 and 1998. TILs were observed in Papanicolaou-stained smears, and CD8s were immunocytochemically visualized.

The usefulness of immunostaining in washed cell cytological smears for differential diagnosis of B cell type malignant lymphoma.

We investigated the usefulness of immunostaining on washed cell cytological smears for the differential diagnosis of B-cell type malignant lymphoma. Twenty-eight cases with possible malignant lymphoma were examined. The tissues were squashed in a test tube of isotonic saline.

Immunohistochemical detection of telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) protein in benign and malignant tumor cells of the breast.

Telomerase activity is associated with immortality and is expressed in various malignant tumors. Telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) is a human telomerase catalytic subunit and is strongly correlated with telomerase activity. In this study, the expression of TERT was investigated by immunocytochemistry to determine whether it is a useful marker for differential diagnosis in benign or malignant breast tumors.

Blood flow does not correlate with the size of metastasis in our new intravital observation model of Lewis lung cancer.

We previously reported a novel in situ observation model for microcirculation of lung metastasis from subcutaneously implanted Lewis lung cancer into mouse. Using this model, we studied the correlation of blood flow and the size of lung metastasis. It was revealed that metastatic growth and its angiogenesis are suppressed by circulating angiogenesis inhibitors, such as angiostatin or endostatin, released from primary tumor.