How many cases do young pediatric surgeons need to experience to achieve autonomy in performing pediatric endoscopic surgery? A nationwide survey to establish an ideal curriculum for pediatric endoscopic surgery in Japan.

Purpose: To ensure the safe prevalence of pediatric endoscopic surgery in Japan, a training curriculum should be established. In addition, the number of pediatric surgical cases is decreasing due to the decreasing birth rate in Japan, and it is necessary to clarify the number of surgical cases required for young pediatric surgeons to achieve autonomy in pediatric endoscopic surgery.

Methods: An online nationwide survey was conducted among young pediatric surgeons with 3-15 years of clinical experience in Japan.

Qualitative inductive analysis of the lives of women with persistent cloaca based on their narratives.

Purpose: The study aimed to explore and describe the lives of patients with persistent cloaca (PC) from childhood to adulthood.

Methods: Semistructured interviews were conducted with nine adult patients with PC. Their experiences and thoughts regarding this disease were analyzed qualitatively and inductively.

Analysis of 25 surgical cases of thymic neuroendocrine tumors and thymic carcinoma.

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinicopathological characteristics of patients who underwent surgical resection for thymic neuroendocrine tumors (TNET) or thymic carcinoma.

Methods: In this study, we retrospectively evaluated the clinicopathological characteristics of our surgical patients at Fukuoka University Hospital from January 1995 to December 2018.

Results: There were nine cases of TNET and 16 cases of thymic carcinoma.

The Effectiveness of Deflux® Treatment for Vesicoureteral Reflux Following Pediatric Renal Transplantation: A Single-Institution Challenging Experience.

Purpose: To validate the effectiveness of Deflux® treatment for vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) following pediatric renal transplantation (RT), based on our single-institution experience.

Method: A retrospective study was conducted using the medical records of pediatric patients who underwent Deflux® treatment for VUR after RT from April 2008 to March 2022.

Results: Sixty-eight pediatric patients underwent RT.

Evaluation of the radiofrequency identification lung marking system: a multicenter study in Japan.

Background: The radiofrequency identification (RFID) lung marking system is a novel technique using near-field radio-communication technology. The purpose of this study was to investigate the utility and feasibility of this system in the resection of small pulmonary nodules.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed clinical records of 182 patients who underwent sublobar resection with the RFID marking system between March 2020 and November 2021 in six tertial hospitals in Japan.

Usefulness of NF2 hemizygous loss detected by fluorescence in situ hybridization in diagnosing pleural mesothelioma in tissue and cytology material: A multi-institutional study.

Objectives: BAP1, CDKN2A, and NF2 are the most frequently altered genes in pleural mesotheliomas (PM). Discriminating PM from benign mesothelial proliferation (BMP) is sometimes challenging; it is well established that BAP1 loss, determined by immunohistochemistry (IHC), and CDKN2A homozygous deletion (HD), determined by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), are useful. However, data regarding the diagnostic utility of NF2 FISH in PM is limited.

Challenges and limitation of MTAP immunohistochemistry in diagnosing desmoplastic mesothelioma/sarcomatoid pleural mesothelioma with desmoplastic features.

Aim: Genomic-based ancillary assays including immunohistochemistry (IHC) for BRCA-1 associated protein-1 (BAP1) and methylthioadenosine phosphorylase (MTAP), and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) for CDKN2A are effective for differentiating pleural mesothelioma (PM) from reactive mesothelial proliferations. We previously reported a combination of MTAP and BAP1 IHC effectively distinguishes sarcomatoid PM from fibrous pleuritis (FP). Nevertheless, cases of sarcomatoid PM with desmoplastic features (desmoPM) are encountered where the IHC assessment is unclear.

Update of pathological diagnosis of pleural mesothelioma using genomic-based morphological techniques, for both histological and cytological investigations.

As more than 80% of pleural mesothelioma (PM) cases start with pleural effusions, diagnosis with effusion smear cytology or pleural biopsy is important. For diagnosing PM, a three-step approach is used: (1) detecting atypical cells; (2) verifying their mesothelial origin using immunohistochemistry (IHC); and (3) discriminating PM from benign mesothelial proliferations (BMP). The third step is critical for diagnosing early lesions.

Elucidation of prognostic factors and the effect of anti-fibrotic therapy on waitlist mortality in lung transplant candidates with idiopathic interstitial pneumonias.

Background: Lung transplantation (LTx) is the last resort for patients who fail to respond to drug therapy and progress to advanced idiopathic interstitial pneumonias (IIPs). However, more than one-third of patients registered for LTx face despair because of rapid disease progression and donor shortage. This study aimed to identify the risk factors of waitlist mortality in LTx candidates with IIPs and investigate the association of anti-fibrotic therapy with waitlist mortality.

Histological and immunohistochemical characteristics and status studied by FISH in six incidentally detected cases of well-differentiated papillary mesothelioma of the peritoneum.

Well-differentiated papillary mesothelioma (WDPM) is an uncommon mesothelial neoplasm, which is generally regarded as benign or indolent in terms of its clinical behavior. However, details about WDPM have remained relatively unknown. Therefore, in this study, we examined six incidentally detected cases of WDPM of the peritoneum.

The concept of mesothelioma in situ, with consideration of its potential impact on cytology diagnosis.

Diffuse malignant mesothelioma (MM) is an incurable tumour of the serosal membranes, which is often caused by exposure to asbestos and commonly diagnosed at advanced stage. Malignant mesothelioma in situ (MMIS) is now included as diagnostic category by the World Health Organization (WHO). However, our international survey of 34 pulmonary pathologists with an interest in MM diagnosis highlights inconsistency regarding how the diagnosis is being made by experts, despite published guidelines.

Alveolar Epithelial Denudation Is a Major Factor in the Pathogenesis of Pleuroparenchymal Fibroelastosis.

The pathogenesis of pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis (PPFE), a rare interstitial lung disease, remains unclear. Based on previous reports and our experience, we hypothesized that alveolar epithelial denudation (AED) was involved in the pathogenesis of PPFE. This multicenter retrospective study investigated the percentage of AED and the features of the denudated areas in 26 PPFE cases, 30 idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) cases, and 29 controls.

Bronchial mucoepidermoid carcinoma, recurrent asthmatic symptoms, and pneumonia presenting in pregnancy.

We report the case of a 37-year-old pregnant Japanese woman (34th week of gestation) with a left main bronchus mucoepidermoid carcinoma. She had left lower lung pneumonia episodes for eight weeks that had been associated with bronchial asthma. Bronchoscopy revealed a membranous endobronchial tumour obstructing most of the left main bronchus.

The pathogenesis and pathology of idiopathic pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis.

Idiopathic pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis (IPPFE) is a rare subtype of idiopathic interstitial pneumonias that consists of elastofibrosis involving the lung parenchyma and pleural collagenous fibrosis predominantly located in the upper lobes. IPPFE has various distinct clinical and physiological characteristics, including platythorax and a marked decrease of forced vital capacity with an increased residual volume on a respiratory function test. The concept of IPPFE is now widely recognized and some diagnostic criteria have been proposed.

Malignant peritoneal mesothelioma: prognostic significance of clinical and pathologic parameters and validation of a nuclear-grading system in a multi-institutional series of 225 cases.

Malignant peritoneal mesothelioma historically carried a grim prognosis, but outcomes have improved substantially in recent decades. The prognostic significance of clinical, morphologic, and immunophenotypic features remains ill-defined. This multi-institutional cohort comprises 225 malignant peritoneal mesotheliomas, which were assessed for 21 clinical, morphologic, and immunohistochemical parameters.

Development of mesothelioma in situ and its progression to invasive disease observed in a patient with uncontrolled pleural effusions for 15 years.

Mesothelioma in situ (MIS) has recently been investigated as a distinct phase of mesothelioma carcinogenesis. The diagnostic criteria proposed for MIS include a loss of BRCA1-associated protein 1 (BAP1) expression detected by immunohistochemistry (IHC). However, the length of time that MIS typically remains an in situ lesion before progression to invasive disease is still unclear.

Serum latent transforming growth factor-β binding protein 4 as a novel biomarker for idiopathic pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis.

Background: Idiopathic pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis (IPPFE) is a rare idiopathic interstitial pneumonia characterized by an upper lobe-dominant interstitial increase in predominantly elastic fibers. The accumulation of cases has resulted in a refinement of the disease concept, but there are no blood biomarkers to aid in the diagnosis or prediction of a progressive phenotype among PPFE patients. Several organizers, including latent transforming growth factor-β binding protein 4 (LTBP-4), are known to be involved in elastogenesis.

HEG1, BAP1, and MTAP are useful in cytologic diagnosis of malignant mesothelioma with effusion.

Background: The specificity and sensitivity of HEG1 for malignant mesothelioma (MM) is high. The use of BAP1/MTAP immunohistochemistry (IHC) is recommended to separate benign and malignant mesothelial proliferations. We determined how ancillary techniques can be used for the cytological diagnosis of MM with effusion.

Comprehensive Molecular and Pathologic Evaluation of Transitional Mesothelioma Assisted by Deep Learning Approach: A Multi-Institutional Study of the International Mesothelioma Panel from the MESOPATH Reference Center.

Introduction: Histologic subtypes of malignant pleural mesothelioma are a major prognostic indicator and decision denominator for all therapeutic strategies. In an ambiguous case, a rare transitional mesothelioma (TM) pattern may be diagnosed by pathologists either as epithelioid mesothelioma (EM), biphasic mesothelioma (BM), or sarcomatoid mesothelioma (SM). This study aimed to better characterize the TM subtype from a histological, immunohistochemical, and molecular standpoint.

Remodeling of the pulmonary artery in idiopathic pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis.

Idiopathic pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis (IPPFE) is a rare subtype of idiopathic interstitial pneumonia that consists of alveolar septal elastosis and intra-alveolar collagenosis, which is predominantly located in the upper lobes. The aim of this study was to examine the remodeling of the pulmonary arteries in patients with IPPFE. This study included 18 patients with IPPFE, 24 patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), and 5 patients without pulmonary disease as controls.

Localized biphasic malignant peritoneal mesothelioma presenting as a rectal tumor.

An 84-year-old male presented with bloody stool. On digital rectal examination, a large and firm tumor was palpated in the anterior wall of the rectum at 2 cm from the anal verge. The colonoscopy revealed an ulcerated mass with smooth margins in the anterior wall of the rectum.

Ln-γ 2 chain of laminin-332 is a useful marker in differentiating between benign and malignant sclerosing adnexal neoplasms.

Aims: Laminin (Ln)-γ 2, one of the chains of Ln-332, is a marker of invasive tumours and is frequently expressed as a monomer in malignant tumours. Desmoplastic trichoepithelioma (DTE), some types of basal cell carcinoma (BCC) (infiltrating and morphoeic BCC) and microcystic adnexal carcinoma (MAC) belong to a group of tumours known as sclerosing adnexal neoplasms (SAN) that are frequently difficult to differentiate and often require immunohistochemistry for diagnosis. The aim of this study was to assess the usefulness of Ln-γ 2 expression in the differential diagnosis of DTE, infiltrating/morphoeic BCC, MAC and syringoma.