Correlation of Gankyrin oncoprotein overexpression with histopathological grade in prostate cancer

Prostate cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer among men worldwide. Identifying new prognostic and predictive biomarkers will help stratification of prostate cancer patients for a better treatment. Gankyrin is a novel oncoprotein which regulates cell cycle and protein degradation. Gankyrin overexpression correlated with the malignant phenotypes and promotes the tumorigenicity and metastasis in many cancers. However, there are not any reports on the role of Gankyrin in prostate cancer. Therefore, this study was designed to investigate the expression of Gankyrin in prostate cancer and analyze its correlation with some clinicopathological characteristics. We characterized the expression of gankyrin in fifty five prostate cancer specimens and twenty non-cancerous tissues by immunohistochemical staining and the results were correlated with clinical characteristics and pathological parameters.Results showed that Gankyrin was expressed in 41 of 55 (74%) prostate cancer patients and its expression was significantly higher than corresponding adjacent normal tissues (p<0.001). Gankyrin overexpression was significantly correlated with histopathological tumor grade, Gleason score and tumor differentiation (P=0.002). These findings showed that Gankyrin is mainly overexpressed in high grade prostate tumors so it may have a significant role in prostate cancer progress and it May serve as a useful biomarker for the identification of aggressive prostate cancers.

Ischemic colitis due to antiphospholipid antibody syndrome

Introduction

Portal system ischemia may present insidiously which may aggravates the prognosis.

Case presentation

A 26-year old man presented with watery diarrhea and generalized abdominal pain for 3 months. On physical examination, moderate splenomegaly was noticeable. Stool exam and culture was negative except for blood in stool. Colonoscopy was in favor of inflammatory bowel disease although the patient symptoms have worsened despite treatment. Abdominopelvic computed tomography (CT) showed thromboses in portal and superior mesenteric veins and as the ill patient evolved signs of peritonitis, he underwent laparotomy during which, total colectomy was performed due to significant bowel necrosis. The cause of venous thrombosis of the portal system revealed to be Factor V Leiden and the presence of antiphospholipid syndrome.

Conclusion

High mortality rates of portal and mesenteric thromboses despite therapy urge the need for early clinical suspicion, careful assessment of the differential diagnoses and timely treatment for fewer adverse events. Although the therapeutic plan is challenging, anticoagulation, angiography and surgical resection increase survival.

Prolonged survival of a patient with pelvic recurrence of ovarian malignant mixed mullerian tumor after chemoradiotherapy

Introduction:

Malignant Mixed Mullerian Tumor (MMMT) is a very rare tumor, accounting for less than 1% of all ovarian cancers.

Case Presentation:

We present a 64-year-old woman with stage III MMMT of ovary that was treated with platinum-based chemotherapy after optimal cytoreductive surgery. After 25 months of being disease free, she had a pelvic recurrence and a good response to chemoradiotherapy.

Conclusions:

Optimal cytoreductive surgery and chemotherapy may be the best treatment in MMMT but more discussion and experiences are needed regarding the effectiveness of radiotherapy.

The prevalence of Epstein-Barr virus infection in head and neck non-Hodgkin's lymphomas in Khorasan, northeast of Iran

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the frequency and possible role of Epstein-Barr virus infection in non-Hodgkin's lymphomas of the oral cavity and maxillofacial region in Khorasan (Northeast of Iran).

METHODS

The cross-sectional retrospective study assessed the frequency of Epstein-Barr virus infection in non-immunosuppressed non-Hodgkin's lymphoma cases of the oral cavity and maxillofacial region. Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue sections from 34 cases of head and neck non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (17 low-grade B-cell lymphoma, 14 diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, and 3 peripheral T cell lymphoma) were selected as a case group, and 10 normal lymph node sections were considered as a control group. Polymerase chain reaction was used to detect the EBV-DNA in tissue specimens. SPSS 16 was used for statistical analysis of the data.

RESULTS

EBV-DNA was detected in 26.5% of NHL samples. Among NHLs, Epstein-Barr virus was found to be positive in 50% cases with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and 11.8% of low grade B-cell lymphomas. Epstein-Barr virus was not detected in any cases of peripheral T-cell lymphoma.

CONCLUSION

Although it seems that Epstein-Barr virus appears to be an etiological factor in some subtypes of non-Hodgkin's lymphomas, especially in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, more researches should be done to investigate the relationship between Epstein-Barr virus infection and head and neck non-Hodgkin's lymphomas.

Mast cell density and angiogenesis in oral dysplastic epithelium and low- and high-grade oral squamous cell carcinoma

OBJECTIVE

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is one of the 10 most common malignant tumors and SCC accounts for approximately 94% of all oral malignancies. The risk of malignant transformation in dysplastic lesions is greater than that of normal oral mucosa. The definite roles of mast cells and angiogenesis in OSCC have been under debate. The aim of this study was to compare mast cell count (MCC) and microvessel density (MVD) among normal oral mucosa, oral dysplastic epithelium and low- and high- grade OSCC.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A total of 42 specimens of OSCC (21 high- and 21 low-grade) were collected, along with six normal and 22 dysplastic oral mucosa. The mean MCC and MVD, as well as the correlation between them, were evaluated by immunohistochemical staining.

RESULTS

Statistically significant increases in mean MCC and MVD were observed between normal oral mucosa and epithelial dysplasia, normal oral mucosa and OSCC and epithelial dysplasia and OSCC (P < 0.05), but there were no statistically significant differences in MCC and MVD between low- and high-grade OSCC. Also, the Spearman's correlation coefficient showed a significant correlation between MCC and MVD (r = 0.727, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

The significant correlation found between MCC and MVD is in agreement with the idea that mast cells promote tumor progression via upregulation of angiogenesis. MCC and the degree of angiogenesis can potentially be used as indicators of the evolution of SCC from epithelial dysplasia.