Gastric Adenocarcinoma Associated with Granulomatous Gastritis. Case Report and Review of the Literature

Multinucleated Giant Cells: Current Insights in Phenotype, Biological Activities, and Mechanism of Formation

Monocytes and macrophages are innate immune cells with diverse functions ranging from phagocytosis of microorganisms to forming a bridge with the adaptive immune system. A lesser-known attribute of macrophages is their ability to fuse with each other to form multinucleated giant cells. Based on their morphology and functional characteristics, there are in general three types of multinucleated giant cells including osteoclasts, foreign body giant cells and Langhans giant cells. Osteoclasts are bone resorbing cells and under physiological conditions they participate in bone remodeling. However, under pathological conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis, osteoclasts are responsible for bone destruction and bone loss. Foreign body giant cells and Langhans giant cells appear only under pathological conditions. While foreign body giant cells are found in immune reactions against foreign material, including implants, Langhans giant cells are associated with granulomas in infectious and non-infectious diseases. The functionality and fusion mechanism of osteoclasts are being elucidated, however, our knowledge on the functions of foreign body giant cells and Langhans giant cells is limited. In this review, we describe and compare the phenotypic aspects, biological and functional activities of the three types of multinucleated giant cells. Furthermore, we provide an overview of the multinucleation process and highlight key molecules in the different phases of macrophage fusion.

A study of multinucleated giant cells in esophageal cancer

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the occurrence, abundance, distribution, nature and clinical significance of multinucleated giant cell (MGC) in esophageal cancer.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

MGCs were examined with conventional pathology, immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence in 107 esophageal cancer tissues. The findings were correlated to pathological diagnosis and clinical behavior of the cancers.

RESULTS

MGCs were identified in 31.7% (34/107) of the cases. MGCs were positive for CD11c, CD11b, CD32, CD16, HLA-DR and MMP9, and negative for CD163, CD206 and CD64 giving a molecular profile of proinflammatory M1 but not immunosuppressive M2. MGCs were significantly related to decreased lymph node metastasis (p = 0.011), low pTNM stage (p = 0.044), favorable survival (p = 0.04), squamous cell cancer type rather than other histopathological subtypes (p = 0.020) and associated to better differentiation (p = 0.063).

CONCLUSIONS

MGCs belong to M1 macrophage and perform phagocytosis and scavenging of cancer cells that would benefit patients' survival and could serve as a prognostic marker.

Besieging the Tumoral Sites: Could It Be an Alternative Therapeutic Strategy in Ductal Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma?

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is characterized by its high morbidity, and curative drugs are still lacking. In addition to immunotherapy, other molecular targeted therapeutics, such as stroma depleting agents, have been evaluated, given the abundant desmoplastic stroma that is considered a protective shield for tumor cells. However, the unexpected poor outcome has raised the debate on whether desmoplasia promotes or restrains tumor cell spread. After reviewing these key points in this paper, an approach taking advantage of desmoplasia and immune cells to besiege the tumoral sites will be proposed. Based on the available literature, the feasibility and potential limitations of this strategy will be discussed.

Significance of coexistent granulomatous inflammation and lung cancer

Aims

Coexistence of lung cancer and granulomatous inflammation in the same patient confuses clinicians. We aimed to document the prevalence, clinicopathological features, treatment outcomes and prognosis in patients with coexisting granulomatous inflammation undergoing curative lung resection for lung cancer, in a tuberculosis (TB)-endemic country.

Methods

An observational cohort study of patients with lung cancer undergoing curative resection between 2012 and 2015 in a tertiary centre in Singapore.

Results

One hundred and twenty-seven patients underwent lung resection for cancer, out of which 19 (14.9%) had coexistent granulomatous inflammation in the resected specimen. Median age was 68 years and 58.2% were males. Overall median (range) survival was 451 (22–2452) days. Eighteen (14%) patients died at median duration of 271 days after surgery. The postsurgery median survival for those alive was 494 (29–2452) days in the whole group. Subgroup analysis did not reveal any differences in age, gender, location of cancer, radiological features, type of cancer, chemotherapy, history of TB or survival in patients with or without coexistent granulomatous inflammation.

Conclusions

Incidental detection of granulomatous inflammation in patients undergoing lung resection for cancer, even in a TB-endemic country, may not require any intervention. Such findings may be due to either mycobacterial infection in the past or ‘sarcoid reaction’ to cancer. Although all patients should have their resected specimen sent for acid-fast bacilli culture and followed up until the culture results are reported, the initiation of the management of such patients as per existing lung cancer management guidelines does not affect their outcome adversely.

Pathology of non-Helicobacter pylori gastritis: extending the histopathologic horizons

The development of modern endoscopic techniques, easier and greater access to healthcare, and interest in Helicobacter pylori infection and its implications have all led to a significant increase in upper endoscopies. In turn, gastroenterologists and pathologists have been recognizing an ever-increasing number of patterns of mucosal injury. Consequently, there is now an interest in a wider aspect of non-neoplastic gastric pathology, namely, non-HP (H. pylori) gastritis. In this review, we present major clinico-pathological entities, based on either the salient morphological features or the underlying etiologies.

Pathology of non-infective gastritis

The discovery of Helicobacter pylori and its intimate role in the development of the most common form of chronic gastritis has elicited a much-needed interest in non-neoplastic gastric pathology. This has been paralleled by an increase in upper endoscopic examinations, which allow recognition of novel patterns and distribution of mucosal injury. Numerous attempts at classification have been made, most based on the acuteness or chronicity of gastric mucosal injury. In this review, we will not offer a new classification but present a detailed description of the major clinicopathological entities, based either on the salient morphological features or the underlying aetiologies, i.e. iatrogenic, autoimmune, vascular or idiopathic.

The gastritis connection: prevention and early detection of gastric neoplasms

Most gastric polyps, adenocarcinomas, carcinoids, and B cell lymphomas arise on a gastric mucosa damaged by long-standing chronic gastritis. The most common form of chronic gastritis is caused by infection with Helicobacter pylori. All patients with H. pylori infection develop lymphoid aggregates with germinal centers that interact intimally with the gastric mucosa (mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue [MALT]); these follicles are the condition sine qua non for the development of primary B cell mantle lymphomas, also known as MALT lymphomas. As the infection progresses, atrophy of the gastric mucosa develops in a subset of patients, which is replaced by an intestinal-type epithelium (intestinal metaplasia). On this background, dysplasia and adenocarcinomas of the intestinal type may develop. When atrophy is sufficiently severe to impair acid production, the gastrin-producing cells of the antrum increase their secretion of gastrin and stimulate endocrine cells in the corpus, which may eventually proliferate, become dysplastic, and give raise to carcinoids. This development is more frequent in advanced cases of autoimmune gastritis associated with pernicious anemia. On this background, there is also extensive epithelial hyperplasia and the formation of hyperplastic or inflammatory polyps, a small percentage of which may become dysplastic and progress to adenocarcinoma. Chronic exposure of the corpus mucosa to pancreaticoduodenal secretions ("bile reflux") causes reactive mucosal changes that may predispose to neoplasia. Thus, the progression of inflammation to atrophy to metaplasia, and in some cases chronic chemical injury, may give rise, at different times and under the influence of other, unknown stimuli, to most types of gastric tumors. Other types of gastritis, including lymphocytic and granulomatous gastritis, are rare and have not been associated with gastric neoplasia. Awareness of these associations, appropriate treatment policies, and implementation of endoscopic surveillance programs would dramatically reduce the incidence of most types of gastric neoplasms and would allow the detection of many tumors at a stage when endoscopic resection or conservative treatment would still be possible.