Collecting duct carcinoma of the kidney: an immunohistochemical study of 11 cases.

Background: Collecting duct carcinoma (CDC) is a rare but very aggressive variant of kidney carcinoma that arises from the epithelium of Bellini's ducts, in the distal portion of the nephron. In order to gain an insight into the biology of this tumor we evaluated the expression of five genes involved in the development of renal cancer (FEZ1/LZTS1, FHIT, TP53, P27kip1, and BCL2).

Methods: We studied eleven patients who underwent radical nephrectomy for primary CDC.

Lymph node dissection in papillary or follicular thyroid carcinoma.

Background: Prospective randomized studies aimed at evaluating the different therapeutic protocols for the treatment of papillary or follicular carcinoma are lacking at the moment. Although total thyroidectomy is widely accepted, indication to locoregional lymphadenectomy is strongly debated.

Materials And Methods: Fifty-four patients with papillary or follicular thyroid carcinoma (45 papillary and 9 follicular) underwent functional evaluation of the gland before intervention, FNAB included Surgical management was carried out as follows: 41 total thyroidectomy, 6 lobectomy with further totalization in 5, 6 total thyroidectomy plus central compartment lymphadenectomy and 1 left laterocervical lymphadenectomy (papillary carcinoma, treated elsewhere through total thyroidectomy plus central and right laterocervical lymphadenectomy).

New approaches to prevent intestinal toxicity of irinotecan-based regimens.

Background: Irinotecan is a selective inhibitor of topoisomerase I, an enzyme part of the replication and transcription system of DNA. Irinotecan is employed, with different modalities, in the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer, and recently it has been officially approved in association with fluorouracil (FU) and leucovorin (LV) as a first-line option in metastatic colorectal cancer.

Results: One of the problems linked to the administration of this drug is the high intestinal toxicity, which constitutes its dose limiting toxicity (DLT).

Nuclear insulin receptor substrate 1 interacts with estrogen receptor alpha at ERE promoters.

Insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS-1) is a major signaling molecule activated by the insulin and insulin-like growth factor I receptors. Recent data obtained in different cell models suggested that in addition to its conventional role as a cytoplasmic signal transducer, IRS-1 has a function in the nuclear compartment. However, the role of nuclear IRS-1 in breast cancer has never been addressed.

Restoration of receptor-type protein tyrosine phosphatase eta function inhibits human pancreatic carcinoma cell growth in vitro and in vivo.

DEP-1/HPTPeta, a receptor-type protein tyrosine phosphatase, is a candidate tumor suppressor gene because its expression was blocked in rat and human thyroid transformed cells, and its restoration reverted their neoplastic phenotype. In addition, loss of DEP-1/HPTPeta heterozygosity has been described in mammary, lung and colon primary tumors. We now show that DEP-1/HPTPeta is drastically reduced in several cell lines originating from human epithelial pancreatic carcinomas compared with normal pancreatic tissue.

Clinico-pathological significance of cell-type-specific loss of heterozygosity on chromosome 7q21: analysis of 318 microdissected thyroid lesions.

A careful pathological examination often reveals the presence of different lesions at various stages of tumor progression and invasion, even in those thyroid glands presenting with solitary nodules. Each thyroid lesion is composed of many different cell types, reflecting the marked heterogeneity of normal thyroid tissue. Among the different chromosome regions altered in thyroid tumors, 7q21 appears to be specifically involved in malignant tumors, especially of the follicular type.

Alfa-epoietin and anaemia in gynaecological cancer.

The incidence and severity of anaemia in gynaecological cancer patients depends on several factors including age, histology and tumor stage, site of neoplasm and treatment. At present, two principal opinions are available for the management of chronic anaemia in cancer patients: blood transfusions and treatment with recombinant human Erythropoietin (rHuEPO). Clinical studies showed that rHuEPO can ameliorate chronic and chemotherapy-induced anaemia and reduce transfusions in patients with various malignant diseases.

Galectin-3 immunodetection may improve cytological diagnosis of occult papillary thyroid carcinoma.

Galectin-3 has been found recently to be neo-expressed in thyroid cancers compared to benign lesions and it could therefore be considered a marker of malignancy. We report the case of a 36-year-old woman with a history of occasional dysphagia and dysphonia first observed in November 2000. Thyroid ultrasound scan revealed two subcentimetric nodules in the right lobe.

Testis metastasis as an initial manifestation of an occult gastrointestinal cancer.

Metastatic epithelial malignant tumor involving the spermatic cord and epididymis is rare and the prognosis of these patients is poor. Usually gastrointestinal cancers show diffusion to liver, lung and bone. Several routes by which a colorectal cancer can metastasize to the testis have been reported in literature.

Effect of exogenous E2F-1 on the expression of common chromosome fragile site genes, FHIT and WWOX.

The expression of two tumor suppressor genes, fragile histidine triad (FHIT) and WW domain containing oxidoreductase (WWOX), encompassing common chromosome fragile regions, FRA3B at 3p14.2 and FRA16D at 16q23, is altered in many epithelial tumors. Since DNA sequence search shows that the FHIT gene has the E2F-1 recognition site in 5'] region, which regulates cell cycle, we tested the effect of E2F-1 overexpression in tumor cells.

Cancer prevention and therapy in a preclinical mouse model: impact of FHIT viruses.

A link between common chromosome fragile sites and frequent chromosomal deletions in cancer was observed two decades ago and led to the hypothesis that genes at fragile sites may play a role in tumor development. In 1996, the human fragile histidine triad gene, FHIT, was identified by positional cloning of the chromosome region spanning the carcinogen-sensitive, common fragile site, FRA3B at 3p14.2.

A man with a deltoid swelling and paraneoplastic erythrocytosis: case report.

Erythrocytosis is a well-known paraneoplastic syndrome occurring in 1% of cancer cases. Herein, we report a patient with a history of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) who developed a paraneoplastic erythrocytosis 3 months after curative nephrectomy. Concomitantly we documented the presence of a deltoid mass, highly suggestive for a muscle metastasis.

Temozolomide in radio-chemotherapy combined treatment for newly-diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme: phase II clinical trial.

Background: Continuous research into new strategies and chemotherapy agents for the treatment of malignant high-grade gliomas have led to the synthesis of a new chemotherapy drug, temozolomide (TMZ), with a lower toxicity profile compared to conventional chemotherapy agents, such as nitrosoureas. Temozolomide is an oral alkylating chemotherapy agent licensed for the treatment of recurrent high-grade gliomas, anaplastic astrocytoma (AA) and glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). Because of its favorable pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties and improved tolerability, TMZ is now under investigation for concomitant use with radiotherapy in patients with newly-diagnosed GBM.

[New and old procedures in the diagnosis of dubious breast lesions].

In the last years the detection of early breast cancers (lesions less than one centimetre in diameter, with good prognosis) has consistently increased for the wide application of mammary screening programs. At the same time, an increasing number of radiographically detected unexpected lesions (nonpalpable breast lesions) has been evidenced. In those cases, often both mammography and ultrasound evaluation are dubious and a multidisciplinary diagnostic approach is mandatory.

Expression of FRA16D/WWOX and FRA3B/FHIT genes in hematopoietic malignancies.

The WW domain containing oxidoreductase (WWOX) gene was recently identified as a candidate tumor suppressor gene at a common fragile site, FRA16D. Because the fragile histidine triad (FHIT) gene, a tumor suppressor gene encompassing the most active, common fragile site FRA3B, is frequently deleted in various cancers, we evaluated the expression of WWOX and FHIT in 74 cases of primary hematopoietic neoplasias and 20 leukemia cell lines. Aberration or absence of WWOX transcripts was detected in 51% of the primary cases and 55% of cell lines, and three WWOX nucleotide variants were detected among the leukemia cell lines.

A case of long surviving metastatic retroperitoneal epithelioid sarcoma in a 20 year old male.

This is the case of a 20 year-old male who came to our observation with a neoplastic lesion of the retroperitoneum. At diagnosis it had already spread to the lung, the liver and to the retroperitoneal para aortic lymph nodes. The patient was treated only with chemotherapy, first 4 cycles of PEI schedules and the second option were 3 cycles of EI schedule.

Regression of upper gastric cancer in mice by FHIT gene delivery.

Fhit expression is reduced in most cancers, and Fhit replacement by FHIT expression viruses in lung, esophageal, pancreatic, and cervical cancers induces apoptosis in the cancer cells. Mice carrying one or two inactivated Fhit alleles are hypersensitive to development of N-nitrosomethylbenzylamine (NMBA)-induced forestomach tumors. In the present study, we investigated the kinetics and mechanism of tumor reversal and intervention by oral delivery of FHIT expression viruses.

[Changes in the expression of cellular alpha and beta tubulins in patients with sporadic type colorectal cancer].

The aim of this preliminar report is to evaluate alfa and beta tubulins, components of cellular microtubules, alterated expression in sporadic colorectal cancer patients. The Authors considered 16 patients who underwent surgery for sporadic colorectal carcinoma with radical intent. Alfa and beta tubulins were evaluated in tumoral mucosa by immunohistochemistry.

Myoepithelial carcinoma of parotid gland: a case report.

Myoepithelial carcinoma or malignant myoepithelioma are considered extremely rare malignant salivary gland neoplasms. Their clinical behaviour by literature seems variable: most studies reported good prognosis for low-grade malignancy and vice versa. Nevertheless long term survival has been described in patients with high-grade tumours, while patients with low-grade have been reported to develop metastases.

Immunocytochemical expression of Ki67 and laminin in Hurthle cell adenomas and carcinomas.

Background: Hurthle cell neoplasms may occur as a benign adenoma or carcinoma; the latter displays comparatively aggressive clinical behaviour. Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) represents a reliable tool for screening Hurthle cell lesions before surgery. Nevertheless, the cytological interpretation of these lesions is not always unequivocal.

[From molecular biology to new treatment approaches to colorectal cancer: basic research, experimental trials and surgical implications].

The Authors review the natural history of colorectal cancer from the point of view of molecular biology and genetics from aberrant crypts foci and familiar adenomatous polyposis to hereditary non polyposis colon cancer and sporadic colorectal cancer. They carry out international literature about basis knowledges, experimental trials and personal studies. Up to day traditional colorectal cancer surgical treatments and adjuvant or neoadjuvant pharmacological therapy cannot be modified, nevertheless "new drugs generation" known as signal transduction inhibitor could, in the future, prove to be an effective cancer treatment.

CD44v6 and Nm23-H1 protein expression related to clinico pathological parameters in colorectal cancer.

Objective: Nm23-H1 and CD44v6 expression has been shown to be correlated with the metastatic potential of colorectal cancer (CRC) in some studies but not in others. The present study was undertaken to evaluate immunohistochemically the expression of these markers and to correlate them with clinicopathological variables.

Materials And Methods: Archival tissues of 41 non metastatic colorectal cancers were histopathologically evaluated and stained with monoclonal antibodies versus Nm23-H1 and CD44v6.

Study of viral integration of HPV-16 in young patients with LSIL.

Aims: To investigate the physical status of human papillomavirus 16 (HPV-16) in low grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSILs) as a means of determining the percentage of viral integration.

Methods: Ninety two LSIL/HPV positive Thin Prep(TM) samples were initially tested for the E6 gene by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to identify the HPV-16 virus. To avoid false positive results, the specificity of the bands obtained from PCR was confirmed by Southern blot hybridisation with internal oligonucleotide probes.