Emerging Paradigms in Cancer Metastasis: Ghost Mitochondria, Vasculogenic Mimicry, and Polyploid Giant Cancer Cells.

The capacity of cancer cells to migrate from a primary tumor, disseminate throughout the body, and eventually establish secondary tumors is a fundamental aspect of metastasis. A detailed understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms underpinning this multifaceted process would facilitate the rational development of therapies aimed at treating metastatic disease. Although various hypotheses and models have been proposed, no single concept fully explains the mechanism of metastasis or integrates all observations and experimental findings.

Vitamin D receptor is associated with prognostic characteristics of breast cancer after neoadjuvant chemotherapy-an observational study.

Background: Breast cancer (BC) is the most commonly diagnosed malignant tumor in women. The disease and its subsequent treatment pose a serious burden on the quality of life of patients. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) has become one of the crucial strategies for the management of BC.

SATB2, CKAE1/AE3, and synaptophysin as a sensitive immunohistochemical panel for the detection of lymph node metastases of Merkel cell carcinoma.

Histopathological evaluation of lymph nodes in Merkel cell carcinoma has become crucial in progression estimation and treatment modification. This study was undertaken to determine the most sensitive immunohistochemical panel for detecting MCC nodal metastases. We included 56 patients with 102 metastatic MCC lymph nodes, which were tested with seven antibodies: cytokeratin (CKAE1/AE3), CK20, chromogranin A, synaptophysin, INSM1, SATB2, and neurofilament (NF).

Ki67 is a better marker than PRAME in risk stratification of BAP1-positive and BAP1-loss uveal melanomas.

Background: Accurate risk stratification of uveal melanoma (UM) patients is important for determining the interval and frequency of surveillance. Loss of BAP1 expression has been shown to be strongly associated with UM-related death and metastasis.

Methods: In this study of 164 enucleated UMs, we assessed the prognostic role of preferentially expressed antigen in melanoma (PRAME) expression and Ki67 proliferation index measured by digital quantitation using QuPath programme in patients with BAP1-positive and BAP1-loss UMs.

European consensus statement on expert colposcopy.

Background: Following the publication of the European consensus statement on standards for essential colposcopy in 2020, the need for standards relating to more complex and challenging colposcopy practice was recognised. These standards relate to colposcopy undertaken in patients identified through cervical screening and tertiary referrals from colposcopists who undertake standard colposcopy only. This set of recommendations provides a review of the current literature and agreement on care for recognised complex cases.

Combinations of EGFR and MET inhibitors reduce proliferation and invasiveness of mucosal melanoma cells.

Mucosal melanoma (MM) is a very rare and aggressive type of cancer for which immunotherapy or targeted therapy such as BRAF/MEK inhibitors, used in cutaneous melanoma, usually fail. Due to our earlier experience showing the high effectiveness of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and hepatocyte growth factor receptor (MET) inhibitors in reducing the activation of the MAPK and PI3K/AKT signalling pathways, we aim to test whether these drugs would also be effective for mucosal melanoma. Cells representing two commercially available mucosal melanoma cell lines (GAK and HMVII) and one cell line obtained from a patient's vaginal melanoma were treated with MET or EGFR inhibitors, or combinations of these agents.

Molecular profiling of primary uveal melanoma: results of a Polish cohort.

There is no published data regarding the molecular alterations of Polish patients with primary uveal melanoma. We performed whole exome sequencing of 20 primary uveal melanomas (UMs), 10 metastasizing and 10 non-metastasizing cases to identify significant molecular alterations. We detected mutations and copy number variants in the BAP1 gene in 50% (10 cases) of the cases.

Acute Villitis and Intravascular Microorganisms in Fetal Vessels: A Case Report and Literature Review of an Unusual Histopathological Finding.

Optimal management of intrauterine infection to avoid serious adverse perinatal outcomes entails prompt administration of antibiotics and consideration of early delivery of the fetus to remove the focus of infection. We report an unusual case of preterm chorioamnionitis which did not improve with sensitive antibiotics, or delivery of the fetus, and ultimately required an emergency hysterectomy to save the mother's life. Interestingly, subsequent histopathological analysis of the post-hysterectomy specimen did not reveal myometrial necrosis or infectious microorganisms.

Morphological predictors for lymph node metastases on computed tomography in colon cancer.

Introduction/background: The aim of the study was to assess morphological predictors for lymph node metastases (Stage III disease) in colon cancer on computed tomography.

Methods And Materials: Ninety-four patients with histology-proven colon cancer (adenocarcinoma) who underwent elective primary curative resection between the years 2012 and 2014 were included. Contrast-enhanced CT examinations were independently reviewed by two blinded observers regarding tumor location, depth of tumor invasion, and presence of lymph node metastases.

LRIG1 negatively regulates RET mutants and is downregulated in thyroid cancer.

Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) are characterized by genomic rearrangements and point mutations in the proto-oncogene RET. Leucine-rich repeats and immunoglobulin-like domains 1 (LRIG1) is a suppressor of various receptor tyrosine kinases, including RET. LRIG1 expression levels are associated with patient survival in many cancer types.

Integrating anatomy, radiology, pathology, and surgery: An alternative approach in resecting multifocal and multicentric breast carcinoma.

The sick lobe hypothesis provides the basis for a lobar approach in radiology, pathology, and surgical treatment of breast cancer. This approach aims to remove the tumor together with the surrounding field of genetic aberrations. Detailed preoperative lobar imaging that properly maps the disease and assesses its extent guides the parenchymal resection.

Biobanking multifocal breast carcinomas: sample adequacy with regard to histology and DNA content.

Aims: To determine the volume of tumoral and normal breast tissue containing sufficient DNA (>2 μg/sample) for genetic platforms and biobanking, with a focus on multifocality, tumoral heterogeneity, and factors that critically influence sample acceptability.

Methods And Results: We examined 57 breast surgical specimens with multifocal (46/57) and unifocal (11/57) cancers. Punch biopsies were obtained from tissue slices under multimodal radiological guidance, and the colour-coded sampling sites were identified in large-format histology slides.

Early (<10 mm) HER2-Positive Invasive Breast Carcinomas are Associated with Extensive Diffuse High-Grade DCIS: Implications for Preoperative Mapping, Extent of Surgical Intervention, and Disease-Free Survival.

Background: The few publications on <10-mm invasive breast carcinomas have reported worse outcomes for women with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive cancer compared with HER2-negative cases and indicated that the high risk of recurrence in HER2-positive cases is related to the high grade, hormone receptor negativity, and high proliferation index of the invasive tumor component.

Methods: We studied the subgross morphology of such tumors in a consecutive series of 203 cases documented in large-format histology slides and worked up with detailed radiological-pathological correlation.

Results: The invasive component was associated with a diffuse in situ component in 78 % of the HER2-positive and 26 % of HER2-negative tumors <10 mm in size (odds ratio [OR], 11.

Expression of LRIG1 is associated with good prognosis and human papillomavirus status in oropharyngeal cancer.

Background: The incidence of human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated oropharyngeal cancer has increased rapidly during the past decades. HPV is typically associated with a favourable outcome; however, a need exists for new and more effective prognostic and predictive markers for this disease. Leucine-rich repeats and immunoglobulin-like domains (LRIG)-1 is a tumour suppressor protein that belongs to the LRIG family.

Tumor marker score for prognostication of early-stage squamous cell cervical cancer.

Background/aim: Histopathological and clinical scores to predict prognosis in cervical cancer have been of limited value. In the present study a tumor marker expression score was evaluated for prognostication in early-stage cervical cancer.

Materials And Methods: The entire study population included 128 women with invasive squamous cell cervical cancer followed-up for at least 10 years.

Molecular phenotype of the foci in multifocal invasive breast carcinomas: intertumoral heterogeneity is related to shorter survival and may influence the choice of therapy.

Background: Multiple synchronous, ipsilateral, invasive foci of breast carcinomas are frequent and are associated with a poorer prognosis. Few studies have investigated the prognostic and therapeutic implications of heterogeneity of such foci.

Methods: The authors reviewed the tumor type, grade, and size of all invasive foci in a series of 110 multifocal breast carcinomas documented on large-format slides.

Multifocal breast cancer documented in large-format histology sections: long-term follow-up results by molecular phenotypes.

Background: The prognostic significance of molecular phenotype in breast cancer is well established in the literature. Recent studies have demonstrated that subgross lesion distribution (unifocal, multifocal, and diffuse) and disease extent also carry prognostic significance in this disease. However, the correlation of molecular phenotypes with subgross parameters has not yet been investigated in detail.

The role of large-format histopathology in assessing subgross morphological prognostic parameters: a single institution report of 1000 consecutive breast cancer cases.

Breast cancer subgross morphological parameters (disease extent, lesion distribution, and tumor size) provide significant prognostic information and guide therapeutic decisions. Modern multimodality radiological imaging can determine these parameters with increasing accuracy in most patients. Large-format histopathology preserves the spatial relationship of the tumor components and their relationship to the resection margins and has clear advantages over traditional routine pathology techniques.

Comparison of the subgross distribution of the lesions in invasive ductal and lobular carcinomas of the breast: a large-format histology study.

To compare the lesion distribution and the extent of the disease in ductal and lobular carcinomas of the breast, we studied 586 ductal and 133 lobular consecutive cancers. All cases were documented on large-format histology slides. The invasive component of ductal carcinomas was unifocal in 63.

Immunohistochemical verification of ductal differentiation in prostate cancer.

Recent studies have shown that patients with prostate carcinomas exhibiting ductal differentiation have an unfavourable prognosis compared with those with purely acinar adenocarcinomas. We studied the expression of nine immunohistochemical markers to evaluate their value in delineating carcinomas with and without ductal differentiation. Thirteen tumours showing cellular characteristics and growth patterns typical of ductal differentiation were identified among 110 analysed prostatectomy specimens.

Improved differentiation between ductal and acinar prostate cancer using three-dimensional histology and biomarkers.

Objective: The aim of the study was to refine the methodology for discriminating the ductal (DAP) and acinar adenocarcinomas (AAP) of the prostate and confirm that prostate carcinoma of ductal origin is a more aggressive subtype.

Material And Methods: A retrospective analysis of 110 consecutive radical prostatectomy cases operated on between 2000 and 2006 and worked up using large-format "two-dimensional" (2D; 4 μm thick) and "three-dimensional" (3D; 1500 μm thick) histology sections was carried out, with an average follow-up of 5.1 years.

Axillary lymph node status in unifocal, multifocal, and diffuse breast carcinomas: differences are related to macrometastatic disease.

Background: Multifocality in breast carcinoma is associated with an increased propensity to metastasis. However, it is not clear whether this propensity manifests in the form of macrometastases or as presumably less-significant low-volume metastatic disease.

Methods: A total of 948 cases of invasive breast carcinoma documented in large-format histology sections and assessed with detailed radiologic-pathologic correlation were categorized as unifocal, multifocal, or diffuse on the basis of the subgross distribution of the invasive component.

Subgross morphology, the sick lobe hypothesis, and the success of breast conservation.

Breast carcinoma has a complex subgross morphology in the majority of cases. The malignant transformation usually involves a single breast lobe and may demonstrate peripheral, segmental, or lobar growth patterns in the in situ phase. During the invasive phase, the tumor may grow beyond the borders of the affected lobe.