Omalizumab for management of hypersensitivity reactions to anticancer drugs.

Hypersensitivity reactions to anticancer drugs include treatment-limiting toxicity. Standard drug desensitisation offers temporary tolerance and hence requires repetition. We used omalizumab, an anti-immunoglobulin E antibody, to overcome immediate and delayed hypersensitivity reactions to various anticancer drugs.

Gastrotomy creation and closure for NOTES using a gastropexy technique (with video).

Background: Safe and efficient gastrotomy creation and closure is pivotal for natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES).

Objective: To test a method of transgastric access and closure with commercially available devices.

Design: An animal survival study.

Endoscopic colotomy closure for natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery using a T-fastener prototype in comparison to conventional laparoscopic suture closure.

Background: Safe and efficient endoscopic closure of a colotomy is essential for transcolonic peritoneal access or endoscopic full-thickness resection of the colon, if open or laparoscopic surgery is to be avoided.

Objective: To compare the feasibility and safety of colotomy closure with the newly developed Tissue Approximation System (TAS, Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc.) to conventional laparoscopic suture closure.

Immunohistochemistry in ocular carcinomas.

Background: The distinction between ocular sebaceous carcinoma, poorly differentiated ocular squamous cell carcinoma and ocular basal cell carcinoma can be challenging. An appropriate immunohistochemical panel may help to differentiate these lesions.

Methods: To determine the distribution and use of several immunostains in these specimens, formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue from several of each was studied using an immunohistochemical technique.

Increased expression of the inflammatory protein YKL-40 in precancers of the breast.

Serum levels of YKL-40 have been associated with inflammatory diseases and breast cancer. Our purpose was to determine if YKL-40 in breast tissue, nipple aspirate fluid (NAF) and serum is (i) concentrated in NAF compared to matched serum, (ii) increased in the NAF, serum or tissue of women with biopsy proven precancer or cancer compared to healthy women and (iii) influenced by menopausal status. 118 women (61 healthy subjects, 10 with precancer and 47 with breast cancer) aged 17-95 years provided NAF with or without serum samples for analysis.

The pathology of extrapulmonary small cell carcinoma.

Extrapulmonary small cell carcinomas (EPSCCs) are uncommon malignant neoplasms with a reported incidence of 0.1% to 0.4% in the United States.

1D5 and 6F11: An immunohistochemical comparison of two monoclonal antibodies for the evaluation of estrogen receptor status in primary breast carcinoma.

The optimal monoclonal antibody to examine steroid hormone receptor status of primary breast carcinoma has yet to be defined. Estrogen receptor status was evaluated in 592 cases using routinely prepared paraffin-embedded tissue samples from primary breast carcinomas with the 1D5 (DAKO, Carpinteria, CA) and 6F11 (Novocastra, Newcastle upon Tyne, England) monoclonal antibodies. The stains were compared, assessing the percentage of positive cells stained and their intensity.

Villous adenocarcinoma of the colon and rectum: a clinicopathologic study of 36 cases.

Some colorectal adenocarcinomas show villous architecture with morphologic similarities to tubulovillous or villous adenomas. We reviewed 420 consecutive colorectal adenocarcinoma resection specimens and found that 95 tumors (23%) showed areas of villous architecture. Thirty-six tumors (8.

A103 immunostaining in the diagnosis of adrenal cortical tumors: an immunohistochemical study of 316 cases.

Context: The monoclonal antibody A103 recognizes an antigen on melanoma cells known as Melan-A or MART-1. Recent studies have shown that A103 also reacts with adrenal cortical cells and may be useful in the diagnosis of adrenal cortical tumors. However, only small numbers of some of the tumors in the differential diagnosis of adrenal cortical neoplasms have been studied.