Yukihiro Nagata

Fibrosarcoma versus cellular fibroma of the ovary : A comparative study of their proliferative activity and chromosome aberrations using MIB-1 immunostaining, DNA flow cytometry, and fluorescence in situ hybridization

We retrospectively analyzed the proliferative activity and the centromeric copy number of chromosomes 8, 12, and 17 in three cases of fibrosarcoma and eight cases of cellular fibroma of the ovary using MIB-1 immunostaining, DNA flow cytometry, and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) on paraffin-embedded tissue specimens. In our study, both the MIB-1 labeling index (LI) and the proliferative index (% of cells in S + G2 + M phase) in fibrosarcomas were higher than those in cellular fibromas. The FISH analysis demonstrated the sole abnormality of a gain of trisomy 12 cells in all eight cases of cellular fibroma. Both a gain of trisomy 12 cells and a gain of tetrasomy 12 cells were observed in one case of fibrosarcoma. A gain of trisomy 8 cells was observed in all two fibrosarcomas in which signals were detected. By contrast, neither a gain of trisomy 8 cells nor a gain of tetrasomy 12 cells was observed in any of the eight cases of cellular fibroma. Chromosome 17 showed disomy in all eleven cases. On the basis of these findings, a gain of trisomy 8 cells is therefore considered to be an adequately effective marker to distinguish between cellular fibroma and fibrosarcoma of the ovary, and it may also be related to the proliferative activity of fibrosarcoma of the ovary.

Mycoplasma Infection and Infertility

Attempts were made to isolate mycoplasmas from the uterine cervix of infertile women and normal pregnant and nonpregnant women to investigate the relationship of genital mycoplasma infection to infertility. Ureaplasma urealyticum was demonstrated in 63% of patients with infertility, 68% of normal pregnant women, and 62% of normal nonpregnant women. The incidence of Mycoplasma hominis infection was found to be noticeably lower, with corresponding isolation rates of 10%, 11%, and 6%, respectively. The differences in rate of isolation for U. urealyticum and for M. hominis among the three groups did not reach statistical significance. During a follow-up period of more than 12 months without any treatment for mycoplasma infection in the infertile cases, 11 women (27.5%) became pregnant. These included 7 (28%) of 25 women with positive U. urealyticum cultures. The results demonstrate a fairly high incidence of female genital infection with U. urealyticum which, as the data would indicate, cannot be directly associated with infertility.

Angiography of trophoblastic tumors: Analysis of pelvic angiography correlated with microangiography and histopathological examination of uterine specimens

Abstract Pelvic angiography of 61 patients with trophoblastic disease was studied. Twenty-four patients were studied in detail correlating direct 4-fold magnification angiography, microangiography, and histopathological examination. Increased myometrial vessels, central vascular pooling, and central avascularity on pelvic angiograms were confirmed by magnification angiography or microangiography, but the diagnosis of tumor vessels by pelvic angiography was often disproved by microangiography. It is usually possible to detect and diagnose established malignant tumors with pelvic angiography, but there were exceptions which impose limitations to pelvic angiography. Differential diagnosis of chorionepithelioma and destructive mole is not always possible. Central vascular pooling is more suggestive of destructive mole than chorionepithelioma, because diffuse infiltration of contrast media into intervillous spaces which were found on destructive mole were represented as central vascular pooling on pelvic angiograms.