Elie Serge Zafrani

Association of focal nodular hyperplasia and hepatic hemangioma

The association between hepatic hemangioma and focal nodular hyperplasia has been occasionally reported. To evaluate the reality of this association, the prevalence of hemangioma was studied in 26 patients with focal nodular hyperplasia by comparison with 27 patients with hepatocellular adenoma. All of these patients underwent surgery, which provided the histologic confirmation of the type of tumor. The presence of hemangioma was assessed by preoperative ultrasonography, dynamic computed tomography, and pathological examination of resected liver specimens. No hemangioma was found in patients with hepatocellular adenoma, but 6 of the 26 patients with focal nodular hyperplasia (23%) had one or two associated hemangiomas that varied in size from 1.5 to 4 cm. All 6 patients having focal nodular hyperplasia and hemangioma were women who had previously used oral contraceptives. None of the patients who had not used oral contraceptives had this association. Moreover, oral contraceptives were taken for a significantly longer period by the women with focal nodular hyperplasia and hemangioma than by those without this association. It is concluded that (a) the association of hemangioma with focal nodular hyperplasia is frequent (23%) and not fortuitous, and (b) prolonged administration of oral contraceptives may facilitate the recognition of this association, possibly by affecting the growth of these tumors.

Bone marrow histologic and immunohistochemical findings in peripheral. T-cell lymphoma: A study of 38 cases.

The histologic and immunohistochemical findings in bone marrow (BM) biopsies from 38 patients with peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL) are reported. Routine light microscopy showed that BM involvement was unequivocal in 12 cases and questionable in 14 cases. There was no histologic evidence of lymphoma in the remaining 12 cases. Immunohistochemistry performed on BM frozen sections demonstrated the T-cell origin of the infiltrating lymphoid cells in 24 of the 26 patients with unequivocal or questionable involvement. The malignant nature of these cells was suggested by demonstration of an aberrant T-cell phenotype identical to that observed in the other sites of involvement. In addition, in four of the 12 cases with apparently normal BM at routine light microscopy, immunohistochemistry revealed a minimal but phenotypically abnormal T-cell population, suggesting mild infiltration by lymphoma. These combined histologic and immunohistochemical data documented a high incidence (73%) of BM involvement by PTCL. In addition, a very peculiar sinusal pattern of BM involvement was found in five patients who presented an unusual type of hepatosplenic T-cell lymphoma expressing the gamma delta T-cell receptor. The present study demonstrates the high incidence of BM involvement by PTCL and emphasizes the value of frozen section immunohistochemistry to establish this diagnosis, especially when routine light microscopy findings are questionable.

Idiopathic biliary ductopenia in adults: a report of five cases.

The clinical and pathological findings of five adult cases of idiopathic nonsyndromatic paucity of interlobular bile ducts are reported. Patients were 18-32 years old at the onset of the disease; four presented with pruritus and/or jaundice and one with bleeding of the esophageal varices. Two patients were siblings. Serum alkaline phosphatase counts ranged from 1 to 16 times the upper normal value, and total bilirubin counts ranged from 0.6 to 8.8 mg/dL (10 to 150 mumol/L). Initial liver biopsy showed portal and periportal fibrosis with cholangiolar proliferation and reduction in the number of interlobular bile ducts. Antimitochondrial antibodies were absent, and bile ducts were normal after opacification. The patients were observed for 3-11 years. Repeated liver biopsies in the five patients showed progression of the lesions, with development of biliary type cirrhosis in four. Two of the four patients with cirrhosis died of hepatic failure 3 and 11 years after onset of the disease. In the two other cases, liver transplantation was performed successfully. These cases suggest that chronic cholestasis with marked ductopenia resembling the nonsyndromatic paucity described in infancy and childhood may reveal itself at an adult age. This disorder, possibly familial, may rapidly progress to severe and even fatal liver disease and could be a new indication for liver transplantation.

Comparison between conjugate and non-conjugate immunoperoxidase procedures with special reference to intracellular penetration. Application to albumin localization in rat hepatocytes

Three immunoenzymatic methods, peroxidase-labelled antibody, peroxidase-labelled immunoglobulin Fab fragment and unlabelled antibody peroxidase-antiperoxidase methods were compared for albumin localization in rat hepatocytes. On liver cryostat sections observed with light microscopy, the peroxidase-antiperoxidase method was the most sensitive, since albumin was detectable at high dilutions of the primary layer antiserum. Penetration of the conjugated and non-conjugated antibodies into liver tissue was evaluated by electron microscope examination of ultrathin transverse sections cut from cryostat sections. The best penetration and staining of hepatocellular organelles were obtained with peroxidase-labelled Fab fragments.