Minimally invasive solid long segmental fixation combined with direct decompression in patients with spinal metastatic disease.

This study seeks to discuss the efficiency of minimally invasive surgery of posterior long segmental fixation plus direct decompression in patients with spinal metastatic tumors. Twenty-five patients received minimally invasive surgery of long segmental fixation combined with direct decompression from posterior approach. Pain and neurologic improvement in these patients pre- and post operation were evaluated by Denis' Pain Scale and Frankel Score, respectively.

Reduced argininosuccinate synthetase is a predictive biomarker for the development of pulmonary metastasis in patients with osteosarcoma.

Pulmonary metastasis is the most significant prognostic determinant for osteosarcoma, but methods for its prediction and treatment have not been established. Using oligonucleotide microarrays, we compared the global gene expression of biopsy samples between seven osteosarcoma patients who developed pulmonary metastasis within 4 years after neoadjuvant chemotherapy and curative resection, and 12 patients who did not relapse. We identified argininosuccinate synthetase (ASS) as a gene differentially expressed with the highest statistical significance (Welch's t test, P = 2.

Functional genome screen for therapeutic targets of osteosarcoma.

Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most frequent primary malignant bone tumor of children and young adults. Although the introduction of combined neoadjuvant chemotherapy has markedly improved survival, the outcome of OS patients with distant metastasis and/or poor response to chemotherapy is still unsatisfactory. Therefore there is a need to develop new therapeutic agents that suppress OS cell proliferation with higher efficacy.

Expression and gene amplification of actinin-4 in invasive ductal carcinoma of the pancreas.

Purpose: An invasive growth pattern is one of the hallmarks of pancreatic ductal carcinoma. Actinin-4 is an actin-binding protein associated with enhanced cell motility, invasive growth, and lymph node metastasis. Actinin-4 might play an important role in the development and progression of pancreatic cancer.

Distinct gene expression-defined classes of gastrointestinal stromal tumor.

Purpose: The majority of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) can be cured by surgery alone, but relapse occurs in 20% to 40% of cases. GISTs are considered to invariably arise through gain of function KIT or PDGFA mutation of the interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC). However, the genetic basis of the malignant progression of GISTs are poorly understood.

Prognostic implications of glucose transporter protein-1 (glut-1) overexpression in bone and soft-tissue sarcomas.

Background: The glucose transporter protein 1 (Glut-1) overexpression is associated with poor overall survival (OS) in various malignant tumors. The aim of this study was to investigate prognostic significance of Glut-1 overexpression in patients with bone and soft-tissue sarcomas.

Methods: A total of 67 patients (mean age, 43 years; range, 8-79 years) with bone and soft tissue sarcomas were analyzed.

Bone and soft-tissue sarcoma: preoperative staging with fluorine 18 fluorodeoxyglucose PET/CT and conventional imaging.

Purpose: To retrospectively compare the diagnostic accuracy of positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT), PET, conventional imaging, and combined PET/CT and conventional imaging for tumor staging of bone and soft-tissue sarcomas, by using histologic or follow-up imaging findings as the reference standard.

Materials And Methods: Institutional review board approval was received for this HIPAA-compliant study; informed consent was obtained. Integrated PET/CT was performed in 117 patients (69 male patients, 48 female patients; mean age, 42 years +/- 21 [standard deviation]; range, 9-86 years).

Prediction of response and prognostic factors for Ewing family of tumors in a low incidence population.

Purpose: There is some unknown reason Ewing family of tumors (EFTs) is much less common on Asia and Africa than in the Western Caucasian population. This study analyzed the prediction of response and prognostic factors for Ewing family of tumors (EFTs) in an Asian population with a low incidence.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 94 patients with EFTs between 1978 and 2006.

Solitary intramuscular myxoma with monostotic fibrous dysplasia as a rare variant of Mazabraud's syndrome.

The rare coexistence of intramuscular myxoma (IM) and fibrous dysplasia (FD) is known as Mazabraud's syndrome. IM tends to occur multifocally and is associated most frequently with polyostotic FD in Mazabraud's syndrome. We present an extremely rare combination of a solitary IM and monostotic FD as a variant of Mazabraud's syndrome, and discuss the importance of recognizing this rare coexistence for appropriate management of the patient.

Staging performance of carbon-11 choline positron emission tomography/computed tomography in patients with bone and soft tissue sarcoma: comparison with conventional imaging.

The present study was conducted to compare the diagnostic accuracy between carbon-11 choline (11C-choline) positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) and conventional imaging for the staging of bone and soft tissue sarcomas. Sixteen patients who underwent 11C-choline PET/CT prior to treatment were evaluated retrospectively for staging accuracy. Conventional imaging methods consisted of 99,mTc-hydroxymethylene diphosphonate bone scintigraphy, chest CT and magnetic resonance imaging of the primary site.

Utility of immunohistochemical analysis for cyclo-oxygenase 2 in the differential diagnosis of osteoblastoma and osteosarcoma.

Aims: To study the immunoexpression of cyclo-oxygenase (COX) 2 in osteoblastomas (OBs) and osteosarcomas (OSs), and to assess the utility of immunohistochemical analysis for COX 2 in the differential diagnosis of the two tumour forms.

Methods: The immunohistochemical features of COX 2 were studied in 11 OBs and 30 OSs, including 26 high-grade OSs (16 osteoblastic, 7 chondroblastic, and 3 fibroblastic) and 4 low-grade OSs.

Results: Tumour cells from all 11 OBs unequivocally showed diffuse, intense and cytoplasmic immunoreactivity for COX 2.

Cyclooxygenase-2 overexpression associated with a poor prognosis in chondrosarcomas.

Recent studies have shown increased levels of cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 in various human malignancies, including some bone and soft tissue tumors, but little is known about the presence of COX-2 in chondrosarcomas. We performed immunohistochemical staining for COX-2 in 74 chondrosarcomas and compared the staining results with the characteristics and outcome of the patients. Thirty-seven men and 37 women between the ages of 14 and 81 years (median, 50 years) participated in the study.

Interobserver variability in histologic recognition, interpretation of KIT immunostaining, and determining MIB-1 labeling indices in gastrointestinal stromal tumors and other spindle cell tumors of the gastrointestinal tract.

The authors studied the concordance among seven pathologists for the histologic diagnosis, interpretation of KIT immunostaining, and determining MIB-1 labeling indices (LI) in 80 adult patients with primary spindle cell tumors, mainly of the gastrointestinal tract, mesentery, retroperitoneum, and pelvis, based on the review of tissue sections using an immunohistochemical panel of antibodies for KIT/CD117, CD34, desmin, smooth muscle actin (SMA), and S-100 protein. Tumors included 30 gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs), 10 leiomyomas, 10 leiomyosarcomas, 10 schwannomas, 10 solitary fibrous tumors, and 10 desmoid-type fibromatoses. The overall concordance with the original diagnosis of each histologic type was 97.

Glut-1 expression and enhanced glucose metabolism are associated with tumour grade in bone and soft tissue sarcomas: a prospective evaluation by [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography.

Purpose: This study was conducted to investigate whether( 18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake, quantified by positron emission tomography (PET), correlates with histological variables including tumour grade, cell proliferation, cell cycle control integrity and glucose metabolism in patients with bone and soft tissue sarcomas.

Methods: Eighty-two patients clinically suspected of having a bone or soft tissue sarcoma underwent FDG PET within 1 week prior to operation and 63 patients (mean age 48 years, range 18-74 years) were enrolled in the complete analysis. We excluded 17 patients with pathologically confirmed benign tumours and two patients with uncontrolled diabetes or concomitant malignancy from data analysis.

Extraskeletal osteosarcoma: extensive tumor thrombus on fused PET-CT images.

A 30-year-old woman developed extraskeletal osteosarcoma in the right buttock and thigh. Radiographs and unenhanced computed tomography (CT) showed a large, multilobulated mass accompanied by mineralized matrix. Contrast-enhanced CT and magnetic resonance (MR) images showed extensive tumor thrombus in the right internal- and external iliac veins.

Cytogenetic confirmation of a gastrointestinal stromal tumor and ewing sarcoma/primitive neuroectodermal tumor in a single patient.

We report a rare case in which two tumor entities, a gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) and Ewing sarcoma/primitive neuroectodermal tumor (ES/PNET), with distinct cytogenetic features occurred in a single patient. The patient was a 72-year-old woman. The first tumor was a submucosal gastric tumor and was diagnosed as a low-risk group GIST based on morphological characteristics and the results of an immunohistochemical analysis for c-kit and CD34.

Blood loss and transfusion associated with musculoskeletal tumor surgery.

Background And Objectives: No organized data regarding the blood losses associated with musculoskeletal tumor surgery has been existed. The present study aimed to examine the extent of blood loss and the transfusion requirement associated with various kinds of musculoskeletal tumor surgeries in a large, well-defined sample.

Methods: The records of 1,047 consecutive operations for musculoskeletal tumors were reviewed.

Incidence of multiple primary malignancies in a cohort of adult patients with soft tissue sarcoma.

Objective: Some studies to date have suggested the development of multiple primary malignancies in patients with soft tissue sarcoma. The current study was performed to quantify the risk of development of multiple primary malignancies in adult patients with soft tissue sarcoma.

Methods: A total of 406 consecutive patients who were diagnosed with soft tissue sarcoma were identified in the study analysis.

Bizarre parosteal osteochondromatous proliferation with a t(1;17) translocation.

Bizarre parosteal osteochondromatous proliferation (BPOP) is a benign lesion that tends to recur repeatedly. Histologically, BPOP contains three components (cartilage, bone, and spindle cells) in differing amounts. The histological findings of BPOP are similar to those of florid reactive periostitis (FRP) and subungual (Dupuytren's) exostosis.

Expression of epidermal growth factor receptor, ERBB2 and KIT in adult soft tissue sarcomas: a clinicopathologic study of 281 cases.

Background: Little is known about the expression of receptor tyrosine kinases in adult soft tissue sarcomas (STS). In the current study, the authors analyzed the expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), ERBB2, and KIT in 281 patients with STS who were treated in a single institution. Verification of the presence of an association with prognosis was performed.

[Pathological evaluation of soft tissue sarcoma for diagnosis, prognosis and treatment].

Soft tissue sarcomas (STS) are rare and heterogeneous group of tumors which differ widely in their clinicopathological features, and have a wide spectrum of clinical course, ranging from indolent tumors with a good prognosis to highly aggressive tumors with a poor prognosis. The diagnostic process of STS is complex and may necessitate an array of ancillary studies, including immunohistochemistry, electron microscopy and molecular genetic methods. Although an ongoing and improved histopathological definition of individual tumor types has been established, there still remains a subset of mesenchymal tumors which are currently not readily classifiable.

Differential diagnosis of gastrointestinal stromal tumor and other spindle cell tumors in the gastrointestinal tract based on immunohistochemical analysis.

To confirm the usefulness of an immunohistochemical panel of antibodies for KIT (c-kit/CD117), CD34, desmin, smooth-muscle actin (SMA), h-caldesmon (HCD), S-100 protein, neuron-specific enolase (NSE), and beta-catenin, 297 mesenchymal and peripheral nerve-sheath tumors of the gastrointestinal tract and intra-abdominal locations including 211 gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs), 12 leiomyomas, 18 leiomyosarcomas, 17 solitary fibrous tumors (SFTs), 14 schwannomas, and 25 desmoid-type fibromatoses (DTFs) were analyzed immunohistochemically. Consistent (100%) immunoreactivity for KIT, CD34, desmin and S-100, and nuclear accumulation of beta-catenin were detected in GISTs, SFTs, smooth-muscle tumors, schwannomas, and DTFs, respectively. Immunoreactivity for SMA, HCD, and NSE was observed in a wide range of these tumors.

Sclerosing perineurioma: a clinicopathological study of five cases and diagnostic utility of immunohistochemical staining for GLUT1.

We reviewed five cases of sclerosing perineurial tumor of the hand. Four patients were male and one was female with ages ranging from 11 years to 49 years (mean 26 years). The predominant reason for consultation at the outpatient clinic was a slowly growing painless mass.