Federica Castri

Apoptotic index or a combination of Bax/Bcl‐2 expression correlate with survival after resection of pancreatic adenocarcinoma

In the present study, the prognostic impact of factors involved in the apoptosis pathway were tested on 67 consecutive patients treated with surgical resection. Included in the study were all patients resected for pancreatic adenocarcinoma from 1988 to 2003. Expression analysis for p53, Bax, and Bcl‐2 were performed by immunohistochemical staining. Apoptotic cells were identified by the TUNEL method. These data were correlated with survival. Sixty‐seven tumor specimens were included in the study. A strong positive correlation was recorded between p53 overexpression and Bax expression levels (P < 0.001). By univariate analysis, overall survival seemed to be improved with Bcl‐2 and Bax expression (respectively, P = 0.0379 and 0.0311). The median survival time in patients with low apoptotic index was better versus those with a high index (P = 0.0127). Lymph node involvement was the only clinico‐pathologic parameter that significantly correlated with overall survival (P = 0.0202). By a multivariate Cox regression analysis, the only immunohistochemical parameter that influenced overall survival was the apoptotic index (P = 0.040). Tumors overexpression of both Bax and Bcl‐2 resulted the strongest independent prognostic factor (P = 0.013). This is the first study to report a statistically significant association of apoptosis to overall survival for pancreatic cancer patients treated with surgical resection. The contemporary overexpression of Bax and Bcl‐2 represents the strongest prognostic factor. J. Cell. Biochem.

Carcinoma of the ampulla of Vater: morphological and immunophenotypical classification predicts overall survival.

Objectives The objective of the study was to verify if histopathological differentiation of ampullary carcinoma after surgical resection may be related to survival. Methods The prognostic role of an accurate histological and immunohistochemical classification has been investigated in a multicentric series of carcinoma of the ampulla of Vater. Immunohistochemical expression of cytokeratin 7 (CK7) and CK20 were analyzed in the different morphological histotypes of ampullary cancers, and results were compared with overall survival. Results Of 72 ampullary cancers, 48.6% were classified as pancreaticobiliary-type carcinomas, 43.1% were classified as intestinal-type carcinomas, and 8.3% were classified as “unusual”-type carcinomas. Cytokeratin 20 was expressed in 28 (90.3%) of the 31 intestinal-type carcinomas, whereas it was always negative in the pancreaticobiliary histotype; CK7 was expressed in 32 (91.4%) of the 35 pancreaticobiliary-type carcinomas and in 18 (58.1%) of the 31 intestinal-type carcinomas. By univariate analysis, overall survival was influenced significantly by pathological T factor, lymph node involvement, and histological/immunohistochemical subtyping. Furthermore, using a multivariate Cox regression model, lymph node metastasis and CK20 were identified as significant independent factors related to prognosis. Conclusion Our results prove the clinical use of ampullary cancer subclassification based on different histotypes and indicate the useful role of the CK7/CK20 expression profile for consistent histopathological classification and prognostic relevance.

Sarcomatoid carcinoma of the adrenal gland: A case report and review of literature.

Reports about adrenocortical carcinomas (AC) mixed with sarcomatous areas are very rare. The terminology and pathogenesis of such biphasic tumors remain controversial. Herein, we report a case of sarcomatoid carcinoma of the adrenal gland in a 75-year-old woman who presented with left abdominal pain of one months standing. The results of abdominal ultrasonography and computed tomography (CT) showed the presence of a large heterogeneous adrenal mass. A left adrenalectomy and complete splenectomy were performed. Histologically, the neoplasm showed areas of adrenocortical carcinoma and areas of sarcomatoid spindle cell proliferation. When examined immunohistochemically, the carcinomatous cells stained positively for S-100 protein, Melan-A protein, and neuron-specific enolase (NSE), and focally for vimentin and the cytokeratin marker MNF 116. Also, the carcinomatous cells were immunoreactive to the monoclonal antibody HMB-45. The sarcomatous component expressed vimentin, as well as other smooth and skeletal muscle markers. Liver metastases appeared 3 months postoperatively. Twelve months after removal of the primary tumor, the patient died of her disease. To the best of our knowledge, only seven cases of adrenal sarcomatoid carcinoma have been reported in the medical literature. We review the reported cases according to the 2004 classification of the World Health Organization (WHO) of lung tumors, and highlight the histogenesis, diagnosis, and clinical course of this very aggressive tumor.

Synchronous Bilateral Testicular Germ Cell Tumor with Different Histology

A rare case of synchronous bilateral testicular germ cell tumor of different histological type is described. We report the case of a 39-year-old man with this unusual condition and discuss the value of the histopathological diagnosis in therapy and prognosis. A thorough review of the literature is also presented, and for the first time the precise histological subtype of each reported tumor, as diagnosed by the authors of the original paper, is illustrated.

MUC2 but not MUC5 expression correlates with prognosis in radically resected pancreatic cancer patients

Introduction: Pancreatic cancer is one of the most aggressive gastrointestinal cancer with less than 10% long-term survivors. The apoptotic pathway deregulation is a postulated mechanism of carcinogenesis of this tumour. The present study investigated the prognostic role of MUC2 and MUC5 apomucin expression in a series of surgically resected pancreatic cancer patients. Material and Methods: All patients affected by pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and treated with surgical resection from 1988 to 2003 were considered for the study. MUC2 and MUC5 expression were evaluated by immunohistochemical staining. Tumour specimens of 59 resected patients were included in the study. Results: By univariate analysis, survival was influenced by MUC2 expression but not by MUC5 expression. The MUC2 overexpression was associated with better prognosis (P=0.003). By a multivariate Cox regression analysis, MUC2 overexpression maintained the prognostic statistical value. In particular, patients with high MUC2 staining showed a longer survival. Moreover the present study does report the absence of a prognostic role of MUC5 expression in this type of cancer. Conclusions: the study demoinstrated the prognostic relevance of MUC2 expression in pancreatic cancer and underlined its potential role as target gene in the field of therapy research.

Unusual clear cell tumors of the jaws – clinical and histopathological considerations: A case report

IntroductionClear cell neoplasms of the jaw are very infrequent and a review of the literature reports only isolated cases of metastatic renal clear cell carcinoma of the jaw.Case presentationA 68-year-old man presented with an osteolytic lesion of the left hemimandible. The first diagnostic hypothesis was a third molar follicular cyst. Surgical treatment consisted of enucleating the lesion preserving the alveolar nerve and extracting of the retained tooth. Unexpectedly, the lesion presented as a solid.ConclusionThe authors report a case of a clear cell neoplasm involving the jaw in which histopathological exam presented an indeterminate histology. The histological characteristics of this tumor make it unique in the international literature.

Correction to: Gastrointestinal juvenile-like (inflammatory/hyperplastic) mucosal polyps in neurofibromatosis type 1 with no concurrent genetic or clinical evidence of other syndromes

The authors regret that the original version of this article, unfortunately, contained an error. The values “1/3 (33%)” reported in the second to last sentence of the Discussion are wrong; the correct values are “2/2 (100%)”. These are presented correctly in this article.