Mast Cell: A Mysterious Character in Skin Cancer.

Cutaneous malignancies represent a real concern and burden for the healthcare system, not only due to their increased frequency, but also due to the significant number of deaths attributed to these types of cancer. The genesis of tumors, their progression and metastasis are highly complex and researched subjects; apparently, mast cells (MCs) constitute an important piece in the complicated jigsaw puzzle of cancer. This article reviews the current knowledge of the roles MCs might play in the development of cutaneous malignancies.

"Face(s)" of a PHACE(S) Syndrome Patient before and after Therapy: Particular Case Report and Review of Literature.

A rare, uncommon disorder called PHACE(S) (P-posterior fossa anomalies, H-hemangioma, A-arterial anomalies, C-cardiac anomalies, E-eye anomalies, and S-sternal cleft) of unknown etiology was rarely reported. Children are susceptible to developing PHACE(S) syndrome from the moment they are born. It may be challenging for a physician to appropriately diagnose and treat children with PHACE due to the multifaceted nature of the disease and the extensive range of consequences that may be associated with it.

VEGF Pathway Gene Expression Profile of Proliferating versus Involuting Infantile Hemangiomas: Preliminary Evidence and Review of the Literature.

. Infantile hemangiomas may have unexpected behavior. Initial regression (spontaneously or drug-induced) may be followed by unexplained recurrences.

Chloride Intracellular Channel Protein 1 (CLIC1) Ιs Over-expressed in Muscle Invasive Urinary Bladder Cancer.

Background/aim: Invasive bladder cancer mortality remains high despite progresses made in early diagnosis and surgical procedures. Thus, there is a need to define new markers for bladder cancer. CLIC1 has not been previously studied in bladder cancer and thus, we aimed to assess its immunohistochemical expression in relation to different stages of bladder cancer development.

Historical Overview of In Vivo and In Vitro Angiogenesis Assays.

Most of angiogenesis assays were designed and developed during Folkman's era. But the growth of new blood vessels in several pathologic conditions as tumor development or inflammation were observed long time ago.The development of new blood vessels was early observed by ancient Egyptians who tried to destroy them by applying empirical methods.

An Insight into the Structural Diversity and Clinical Applicability of Polyurethanes in Biomedicine.

Due to their mechanical properties, ranging from flexible to hard materials, polyurethanes (PUs) have been widely used in many industrial and biomedical applications. PUs' characteristics, along with their biocompatibility, make them successful biomaterials for short and medium-duration applications. The morphology of PUs includes two structural phases: hard and soft segments.

Mast Cells as an Indicator and Prognostic Marker in Molecular Subtypes of Breast Cancer.

Background/aim: Mast cells (MCs) represent the most controversial non-malignant element of the tumor microenvironment. Our aim was to study how MCs density and distribution (intratumoral-MCit versus peritumoral-MCpt) relate to tumor grade and molecular subtypes.

Materials And Methods: MCs tryptase immunohistochemistry was performed on 80 cases of breast carcinomas.

Targeting Tumor Vascular CD99 Inhibits Tumor Growth.

CD99 (MIC2; single-chain type-1 glycoprotein) is a heavily O-glycosylated transmembrane protein (32 kDa) present on leukocytes and activated endothelium. Expression of CD99 on endothelium is important in lymphocyte diapedesis. CD99 is a diagnostic marker for Ewing's Sarcoma (EWS), as it is highly expressed by these tumors.

The Mesenchymal-Epithelial and Epithelial-Mesenchymal Cellular Plasticity of Liver Metastases with Digestive Origin.

Background: Few data are available regarding the epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) /mesenchymal to epitheilal transition (MET) in the liver metastasis of digestive cancers. The aim of this study was to establish EMT/MET metastatic tumor cell plasticity according to the histological growth pattern of liver metastases.

Materials And Methods: Biopsies from 25 patients with liver metastasis (desmoplastic, replacement and pushing type) were evaluated.

Paul Langerhans: a prilgrim "traveling" from functional histology to marine biology.

The nineteenth century was the time of a real revolution in science and medicine. A lot of seminal discoveries in medicine and biology were done in this time, and many of them were coincident with the introduction of the compound microscope by Hermann van Deijl and the standard histological technique by Paul Ehrlich. The main tissue types and individual cells were characterized and originally classified more than hundred years ago, although less attention was paid to their basic functions.

Mast Cells: Key Players in the Shadow in Oral Inflammation and in Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Oral Cavity.

Although mast cells (MCs) have been discovered over 130 years ago, their function was almost exclusively linked to allergic affections. At the time being, it is well known that MCs possess a great variety of roles, in both physiologic and pathologic conditions. In the oral tissues, MCs release different proinflammatory cytokines, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-), that promote leukocyte infiltration in various inflammatory states of the oral cavity.

Heterogeneous vascular patterns in renal cell carcinomas.

The present study proposes a classification of renal cancer tumor blood vessels according to their morphology and maturation grade. We identified four vascular patterns: reticular, diffuse, fasciculated and trabecular. The reticular pattern was present in 63% of cases, being characterized by the predominance of mature CD34+/SMAct+ tumor vessels, highly interconnected.

Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) and Keratin 5 (K5): Versatile Keyplayers Defining Prognostic and Therapeutic Sub-classes of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinomas.

Molecular classifications of several malignancies are already accepted and applied in clinical practice. For head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs) there exist few and controversial data regarding their stratification on distinct groups or sub-groups and thus, none of them are validated as useful tools for diagnosis and therapy. Starting from the highly expressed markers in HNSCC (epidermal growth factor receptor, keratin 5 and E cadherin) we proposed to identify distinct HNSCC sub-groups with a potential impact on prognosis and therapy.

Hormone receptors and HER2 expression in primary breast carcinoma and corresponding lymph node metastasis: do we need both?

Background: Scattered studies report on controversial results concerning evaluation of primary breast tumors and their matched lymph node metastases. Aim. To investigate the molecular profile of primary breast tumors and corresponding lymph node metastases (LNM) based on estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and human epiderma growth factor receptor-2 (HER2 protein).

Heterogeneity of malignant non-Hodgkin lymphoma-associated blood vessels.

The present study described for the first time a high heterogeneity of blood vessels in non-Hodgkin lymphomas (nHL). The tumor blood vessels were highlighted with CD105÷smooth muscle actin (SMA) and CD34/SMA double immunostaining. For both follicular and diffuse types of lymphomas, more than 85% of CD34/SMA positive vessels were of immature and intermediate type.

Everolimus dual effects of an area vasculosa angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis.

Recently approved as treatment for astrocytoma, kidney and pancreatic cancer, everolimus acts on tumor cells by inhibiting tumor cell growth and proliferation, as well as by inhibition of angiogenic activity by both direct effects on vascular cell proliferation and indirect effects on growth factor production. The effects of everolimus on early stages of normal vasculogenesis, angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis are not yet available. We found increased development of intravascular pillars by using area vasculosa of the chick chorioallantoic membrane treated with everolimus.

Lymphatic microvessel density, VEGF-C, and VEGFR-3 expression in different molecular types of breast cancer.

Background: Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease and five major distinct molecular types have been characterized by gene analysis and immunohistochemistry. The molecular types of breast cancer have different behavior, a particular profile of response to therapy, reflected in the differential survival of patients. Previous findings showed a particular preference for lymph node and distant metastases of different molecular types, but the specific lymphangiogenic profile of these types is lacking.

Endocrine gland derived-VEGF is down-regulated in human pituitary adenoma.

Background: Endocrine gland-derived vascular endothelial growth factor (EG-VEGF) is an angiogenic molecule restricted to endocrine glands and, particularly, to steroid-secreting cells. The expression of EG-VEGF and its significance in human adenohypophysis in physiological and pathological conditions is still unknown.

Materials And Methods: In this study, we investigated by immunohistochemistry the expression of EG-VEGF in 2 samples of normal adenohypophysis and 43 bioptic samples of pituitary adenoma.