Ectopic expression of PLC-β2 in non-invasive breast tumor cells plays a protective role against malignant progression and is correlated with the deregulation of miR-146a.

Cells in non-invasive breast lesions are widely believed to possess molecular alterations that render them either susceptible or refractory to the acquisition of invasive capability. One such alteration could be the ectopic expression of the β2 isoform of phosphoinositide-dependent phospholipase C (PLC-β2), known to counteract the effects of hypoxia in low-invasive breast tumor-derived cells. Here, we studied the correlation between PLC-β2 levels and the propensity of non-invasive breast tumor cells to acquire malignant features.

Levels of miR-126 and miR-218 are elevated in ductal carcinoma (DCIS) and inhibit malignant potential of DCIS derived cells.

A substantial number of ductal carcinoma (DCIS) detected by mammography never progress to invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) and current approaches fail to identify low-risk patients not at need of adjuvant therapies. We aimed to identify the key miRNAs protecting DCIS from malignant evolution, that may constitute markers for non-invasive lesions. We studied 100 archived DCIS samples, including pure DCIS, DCIS with adjacent IDC and pure DCIS from patients with subsequent IDC in contralateral breast or no recurrence.

Morphological parameters of lobular in situ neoplasia in stereotactic 11-gauge vacuum-assisted needle core biopsy do not predict the presence of malignancy on subsequent surgical excision.

Aims: The management of lobular in situ neoplasia (LN) when diagnosed on core biopsy remains a controversial issue. The present study aimed to investigate the association between morphological parameters of LN on vacuum-assisted needle core biopsy (VANCB) and the presence of malignancy (ductal carcinoma in situ, pleomorphic lobular carcinoma in situ, or invasive carcinoma) at surgical excision (SE).

Methods And Results: The study included 14 pathology departments in Italy.

Morphological parameters of flat epithelial atypia (FEA) in stereotactic vacuum-assisted needle core biopsies do not predict the presence of malignancy on subsequent surgical excision.

Flat epithelial atypia (FEA) may represent the earliest precursor of low-grade breast cancer and often coexists with more advanced atypical proliferative breast lesions such as atypical ductal hyperplasia (ADH) and lobular intraepithelial neoplasia (LIN). The present study aims to investigate the association between morphological parameters of FEA and presence of malignancy at surgical excision (SE) and the clinical significance of the association of FEA with ADH and/or LIN. This study included 589 cases of stereotactic 11-gauge vacuum-assisted needle core biopsy (VANCB), reporting a diagnosis of FEA, ADH or LIN with subsequent SE from 14 pathology departments in Italy.

Efficacy of a leptin receptor antagonist peptide in a mouse model of triple-negative breast cancer.

Triple-negative breast cancers, which represent 10-20% of all mammary tumours, are characterised by the aggressive phenotype, are often found in younger women and have been associated with poor prognosis. Obesity increases the risk for triple-negative breast cancer development. Because triple-negative breast cancer patients are unresponsive to current targeted therapies and other treatment options are only partially effective, new pharmacological modalities are urgently needed.

Positive predictive value for malignancy on surgical excision of breast lesions of uncertain malignant potential (B3) diagnosed by stereotactic vacuum-assisted needle core biopsy (VANCB): a large multi-institutional study in Italy.

Percutaneous core biopsy (CB) has been introduced to increase the ability of accurately diagnosing breast malignancies without the need of resorting to surgery. Compared to conventional automated 14 gauge needle core biopsy (NCB), vacuum-assisted needle core biopsy (VANCB) allows obtaining larger specimens and has recognized advantages particularly when the radiological pattern is represented by microcalcifications. Regardless of technical improvements, a small percentage of percutaneous CBs performed to detect breast lesions are still classified, according to European and UK guidelines, in the borderline B3 category, including a group of heterogeneous lesions with uncertain malignant potential.

Flat epithelial atypia on core needle biopsy: which is the right management?

The clinical significance and management (surgical excision vs. follow-up) of the patients with the diagnosis of flat epithelial atypia (FEA) on core needle biopsy (CNB) are actually under discussion. Using standardized criteria and precise terminology, we analyzed retrospectively our CNB diagnosis of FEA, dividing patients with pure FEA as the most advanced pathologic lesion from patients with FEA associated to atypical ductal hyperplasia (FEA+ADH).

Characterisation of carotid atherosclerotic plaque: comparison between magnetic resonance imaging and histology.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to identify and characterise by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) carotid plaque constituents such as lipid-rich necrotic core, intraplaque haemorrhage and calcification in patients treated with carotid endarterectomy (CEA) using histological evaluation as the reference standard.

Materials And Methods: Nineteen patients (13 men and six women) scheduled for CEA between March and August 2004 were imaged on a 1.5-T scanner (Magnetom Symphony, Siemens, Erlangen, Germany).

Mammary Paget's disease occurring after mastectomy.

Background: Mammary Paget's disease and extramammary Paget's disease are neoplastic conditions, in which there is intraepithelial (usually intraepidermal) infiltration by neoplastic cells showing glandular differentiation. Mammary Paget's disease occurs exclusively on the nipple/areola complex from where it may spread to the surrounding skin.

Case Presentation: We here describe a case of Paget's disease occurring on the thoracic wall site of a previous simple mastectomy, and also briefly summarise the most important aspects leading to a diagnosis of mammary Paget's disease.

Peritoneal cytology does not increase the prognostic information provided by TNM in gastric cancer.

Background: This study aimed at verifying whether peritoneal cytology could improve the prognostic information provided by TNM staging in gastric cancer patients.

Method: The presence of free peritoneal tumor cells was investigated in 168 patients who underwent curative resection for gastric cancer from January 1992 to July 2002 in Verona, Italy. The influence of peritoneal cytology on survival was evaluated by a Cox regression model, controlling for potential confounders.

Prognostic significance of laminin, laminin receptor, and bone marrow micrometastases in breast cancer patients: are these markers of aggressive behavior and metastatic potential?

Laminin is a basement membrane glycoprotein implicated in a large number of biologic activities of cancer progression, many of which are mediated by the presence of the laminin receptor (67LR) on the cell membrane. We studied the correlations of laminin and its receptor with standardized and new prognostic factors (including bone marrow micrometastases) in a series of 112 patients with operable breast cancers. Laminin-positive cells were detected in 60% of the tumors and 67LR-positive cells in 55%; both were present in 35% of the cases.

Relationship between the thymidine labeling and Ki-67 proliferative indices in 126 breast cancer patients.

Proliferative activity has been proposed as a prognostic and predictive marker for breast cancer; Ki-67 is one of the most frequently used markers to assess proliferative activity. In the current study, Ki-67 immunoreactivity was comparatively assessed, even in terms prognostic relevance, with 3H-thymidine labeling index as a reference standard for proliferation in 126 patients with stage I and II breast cancer. There was a significant but weak correlation between Ki-67 values and the 3H-thymidine labeling index (r = 0.

[Breast calcifications with percutaneous vacuum-assisted biopsy diagnosis of malignancy or atypical hyerplasia: correlations with surgical findings].

Percutaneous, stereotactic, vacuum-assisted biopsy has become a widely used alternative to open surgical biopsy for the initial diagnosis of breast calcifications. We retrospectively assessed the accuracy of the technique in the diagnoses of malignancy and atypical hyperplasia by correlation with the findings of the subsequent surgical excision. We studied 330 consecutive cases of breast calcifications, 216 (65.

[Prognostic value of peritoneal lavage cytology in gastric cancer].

The microscopic detection of free peritoneal tumour cells in peritoneal lavage fluid in gastric cancer patients is a useful predictor of peritoneal recurrence and poor prognosis. The aim of this study was to verify the prognostic significance of intraoperative peritoneal lavage cytology and its value as a predictor of peritoneal recurrence. We evaluated the presence of free peritoneal tumour cells with extemporary cytological examination in a series of 170 peritoneal washing samples from patients undergoing gastrectomy for gastric cancer over the period from January 1992 to June 2001.

Leiomyosarcoma of the bladder fourteen years after cyclophosphamide therapy for retinoblastoma.

We report a case of bladder leiomyosarcoma which occurred in a 22-year-old female who had been treated with cyclophosphamide for a period of 68 months for retinoblastoma diagnosed at 18 months postpartum. Partial cystectomy was performed. Forty-two months after the operation she is tumor-free.

Comparative study of clinical, pathological and biological characteristics of symptomatic versus asymptomatic breast cancers.

Background: It is well known that mammographic screening reduces breast cancer mortality. One possible explanation for this effect is that screening makes it possible to detect smaller breast cancers with fewer involved nodes, but another hypothesis is that some screening-detected tumors are in a pathologically and biologically different phase of evolution from those that are detected clinically. The aim of the present study was to compare the biological, pathological and clinical characteristics of symptomatic vs.

Epithelioid and spindle-celled leiomyosarcoma of the heart. Report of 2 cases and review of the literature.

Background: Primary cardiac leiomyosarcomas are rare. Isolated reported cases and small series generally describe spindle-celled, high-grade tumors with poor short-term survival; however, the pathologic features of many of these tumors are incompletely documented. The authors report in detail the clinicopathologic features of 2 relatively low-grade epithelioid and spindle-celled primary cardiac leiomyosarcomas.

bcl-2 but not p53 expression is associated with resistance to chemotherapy in advanced breast cancer.

Programmed cell death is an important determinant of the response to chemotherapy. Among the factors controlling this process, a significant role is played by bcl-2 and p53, the expression of which, together with estrogen receptor content and tumor proliferative activity, was investigated by means of immunohistochemistry in 55 advanced breast cancer patients (median age, 60 years; range, 25-71 years). Analysis of bcl-2 expression identified two groups of patients with a significant difference in response rate.

Prognostic significance of estrogen receptors in 405 primary breast cancers: a comparison of immunohistochemical and biochemical methods.

Over the last few years, estrogen receptor determination by means of immunohistochemistry has been extensively used. The aim of this study was to compare this technique with estrogen receptor determination by means of dextran-coated charcoal, and to evaluate whether one of the two methods is more predictive of prognosis. Estrogen receptors were determined by means of both the dextran-coated charcoal method and immunohistochemistry in 405 patients with primary breast cancer; age, pathological tumor size, nodal status, and progesteron receptors by dextran-coated charcoal method were also recorded.

Ki-67 immunostaining in 322 primary breast cancers: associations with clinical and pathological variables and prognosis.

Cell-proliferation markers are very important in the clinical management of cancer patients, and the identification of Ki-67 (a monoclonal antibody that recognizes proliferating cells) can make it easier to define the level of proliferative activity. This study investigated the associations between the Ki-67 levels measured by means of immunohistochemistry, and other clinical and pathological variables and prognosis in 322 breast-cancer patients. A significant association was found (p < 0.

Bone marrow micrometastases in 109 breast cancer patients: correlations with clinical and pathological features and prognosis.

Background: The presence in bone marrow of cells which react with monoclonal antibodies against tumor-associated antigens has been proposed over the last few years as a new prognostic factor in breast cancer patients.

Patients And Methods: Bone marrow aspirates were obtained from 109 stage I and II breast cancer patients during or 2-4 weeks after primary surgery. The samples were processed for leukocyte separation on a Ficoll-Hypaque gradient and then used to prepare cytospin slides for immunocytochemical analysis.

Tumor proliferative activity and response to first-line chemotherapy in advanced breast carcinoma.

The relationship between tumor proliferative activity and response to first-line chemotherapy and survival was investigated in 76 advanced breast cancer patients. Proliferative activity was determined by means of Ki-67 immunohistologic staining on primary tumors (55 patients) or at the relapse site (21 patients), and was classified as low ( < or = 25% of stained cells) or high ( > 25% of stained cells). The usual WHO response criteria were used.

Estrogen receptors in 699 primary breast cancers: a comparison of immunohistochemical and biochemical methods.

Background: Over the last few years, estrogen receptor (ER) determination by immunohistochemistry (ER-ICA) has been extensively used, but it still remains to be established whether this method can replace the standard biochemical technique using dextran-coated charcoal (ERDCC).

Patients And Methods: ER were determined by both the dextran-coated charcoal (DCC) method and immunohistochemistry (ICA) in 699 patients with primary breast cancer; other parameters (age, pathological T-pT- and nodal status -pN-, progesterone receptors by DCC, proliferative index by ICA) were also recorded. The 'best' cut-off for ERICA was evaluated by means of Receiver Operating Characteristics (R.

Expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen, Ki-67 antigen, estrogen receptor protein, and tumor suppressor p53 gene in cytologic samples of breast cancer: an immunochemical study with clinical, pathobiological, and histologic correlations.

Sixty-six unselected breast cancers were analyzed in cytologic smears and histologic sections for the expression of Ki-67, proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), estrogen receptor protein (ERP), and p53 protein using a standard immunochemical method. The results, expressed as both positive cases and labelling index (LI), were compared with clinical and pathobiological variables. Ki-67 and PCNA immunostaining was seen in all cases, whereas ERP was detectable in 46/63 cases and p53 protein in 20/66 cases.