[Synovial sarcoma of the tongue. Case report and review of the literature]

Primary synovial sarcoma of the head and neck is a rare entity, nevertheless the literature count on 80 published cases, among them 7 linguals. We contribute with another case: a synovial sarcoma of the tongue, in a 26-year-old man; having a biphasic tumor pattern, with two malignant constituents, epithelial and sarcomatous, similar to other of the same location. Laboratory tests: histochemical, immunohistochemical and electron microscopic were done in order to state the tumor's histogenesis. Our results suggest a pluripotential mesenchymal origin instead of a synovial origin, because the epithelial character of one of the tumor constituents was obviously epithelial.

Prognostic value of p53 protein expression and clinicopathological factors in infiltrating ductal carcinoma of the breast. A study of 192 patients

The p53 gene is located on the short arm of chromosome 17. It encodes a 53-kd nuclear protein (p53) found in scant amounts in normal tissue. Mutations of the p53 gene have been reported in different human tumours. In breast cancer, it has been noted that the overexpression of p53 protein in the nucleus is an indicator of poor prognosis, although there is a high degree of variability, which may be due to different immunohistochemical techniques, varying assessment of results and the type of monoclonal antibody used. This study is an immunohistochemical analysis of p53 expression in 192 cases of infiltrating ductal carcinoma of the breast, correlating it with clinicopathological factors and the clinical course of the disease. Of all the breast-cancer tissue analysed, stains for p53 antibody were found in 87 tumours (45.3%). The results of multivariate analysis show that the independent predictors related to recurrence are tumour size, lymph-node metastasis and p53, while those related to death are necrosis, lymph-node metastasis and p53. In summary, our series showed prognostic significance between the expression of p53 and shorter survival time and disease-free interval for all patients in general as well as those who presented lymph-node metastases at the time of diagnosis.

[A lymphoepithelial cyst of the parotid gland in an advanced stage of HIV infection. A rare association]

Parotid lymphoepithelial cyst is an unusual morbid entity which incidence has been increased lately because of its association to early stages of HIV infection. We report the case of an heterosexual man, 39, ex-addicted to parenteral drugs, HIV positive, stage C3. Its left parotid gland presented with a lump of low rate growth which was with fine needle punctured and aspirate for biopsy and after followed by the mass removal. Cytological and histopathological examination confirmed the diagnosis (lymphoepithelial cyst). The aim for our work is to explain the clinic and pathological features of this condition and emphasize the fact of its possible presentation in positive HIV patients in advanced stages.