Sclerosing stromal tumor of the ovary: a case series and review of literature

Sclerosing stromal tumor of the ovary is a rare benign sex-cord stromal tumor that affects primarily young females. In a series of six patients (mean 24,6, median 19 years) findings of six MRIs and one CT were analyzed. Unilateral tumors ranging from 6 to 8 cm were found in all patients. The tumors were well encapsulated and polylobulated. The morphology was mixed solid and cystic in three and solid in three patients. In CT, a hypervascular tumor with centripetal enhancement was seen. In MRI T₂ weighted imaging showed low signal intensity of the solid tissue in all cases and low diffusion-weighted imaging signal of the solid tissue in high b-value diffusion-weighted imaging in three patients. Contrast enhancement was avid with extension from the periphery in all patients. Knowledge of these distinct radiological features of sclerosing stromal tumor is important, as in the Ovarian-Adnexal Reporting and Data System risk classification system this may be scored as Ovarian-Adnexal Reporting and Data System 5. Because of its non-aggressive clinical course, pre-operative imaging assists to avoid unnecessary extensive surgery and to preserve the patient’s fertility by only resecting the tumor and preserving the ovary. Sclerosing stromal tumor of the ovary presents pathognomonic features in MRI that allow a specific pre-operative diagnosis and selecting candidates for fertility-sparing surgery.

Zinc Gluconate Induces Potentially Cancer Chemopreventive Activity in Barrett's Esophagus: A Phase 1 Pilot Study

BACKGROUND

Chemopreventive effects of zinc for esophageal cancer have been well documented in animal models. This prospective study explores if a similar, potentially chemopreventive action can be seen in Barrett's esophagus (BE) in humans.

AIMS

To determine if molecular evidence can be obtained potentially indicating zinc's chemopreventive action in Barrett's metaplasia.

METHODS

Patients with a prior BE diagnosis were placed on oral zinc gluconate (14 days of 26.4 mg zinc BID) or a sodium gluconate placebo, prior to their surveillance endoscopy procedure. Biopsies of Barrett's mucosa were then obtained for miRNA and mRNA microarrays, or protein analyses.

RESULTS

Zinc-induced mRNA changes were observed for a large number of transcripts. These included downregulation of transcripts encoding proinflammatory proteins (IL32, IL1β, IL15, IL7R, IL2R, IL15R, IL3R), upregulation of anti-inflammatory mediators (IL1RA), downregulation of transcripts mediating epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) (LIF, MYB, LYN, MTA1, SRC, SNAIL1, and TWIST1), and upregulation of transcripts that oppose EMT (BMP7, MTSS1, TRIB3, GRHL1). miRNA arrays showed significant upregulation of seven miRs with tumor suppressor activity (-125b-5P, -132-3P, -548z, -551a, -504, -518, and -34a-5P). Of proteins analyzed by Western blot, increased expression of the pro-apoptotic protein, BAX, and the tight junctional protein, CLAUDIN-7, along with decreased expression of BCL-2 and VEGF-R2 were noteworthy.

CONCLUSIONS

When these mRNA, miRNA, and protein molecular data are considered collectively, a cancer chemopreventive action by zinc in Barrett's metaplasia may be possible for this precancerous esophageal tissue. These results and the extensive prior animal model studies argue for a future prospective clinical trial for this safe, easily-administered, and inexpensive micronutrient, that could determine if a chemopreventive action truly exists.

Hot Spot TERT Promoter Mutations Are Rare in Sporadic Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Neoplasms and Associated with Telomere Length and Epigenetic Expression Patterns

Cancer cells activate a telomere maintenance mechanism like telomerase in order to proliferate indefinitely. Telomerase can be reactivated by gain-of-function Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase (TERT) promoter mutations (TPMs) that occur in several cancer subtypes with high incidence and association with diagnosis, prognosis and epigenetics. However, such information about TPMs in sporadic pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms (pNENs) including tumor (pNET) and carcinoma (pNEC) is less well defined. We have studied two hot spot TPMs and telomere length (TL) in pNEN and compared the results with clinicopathological information and proliferation-associated miRNA/HDAC expression profiles. DNA was isolated from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue of 58 sporadic pNEN patients. T allele frequency of C250T and C228T TPM was analyzed by pyrosequencing, relative TL as telomeric content by qPCR. In total, five pNEN cases (9%) including four pNETs and one pNEC were identified with TPMs, four cases with exclusive C250T as predominant TPM and one case with both C250T and C228T. T allele frequencies of DNA isolated from adjacent high tumor cell content FFPE tissue varied considerably, which may indicate TPM tumor heterogeneity. Overall and disease-free survival was not associated with TPM versus wild-type pNEN cases. Binary category analyses indicated a marginally significant relationship between TPM status and longer telomeres (p = 0.086), and changes in expression of miR449a (p = 0.157), HDAC4 (p = 0.146) and HDAC9 (p = 0.149). Future studies with larger patient cohorts are needed to assess the true clinical value of these rare mutations in pNEN.

Feasibility of Kahoot! as a Real-Time Assessment Tool in (Histo-)pathology Classroom Teaching

PURPOSE

New technologies like gamification are continuously integrated into medical education during the last years. However, the benefit and implementation of such gaming platforms are not clearly studied. This analysis assesses the feasibility of Kahoot! regarding simplicity and low-cost performance as a learning/teaching tool for medical education in (histo-)pathology.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In this feasibility pilot study, we developed 36 modules for different benign and malignant tumors, covering four major topics: gastrointestinal tract, dermatology, urogenital tract, and hematology. Each module included histomorphological text-based questions for education of 2nd-year medical students. The online gaming-platform Kahoot! was anonymously implemented before and after "classical" medical education which included discussions of histological slides for each tumor entity using Microsoft PowerPoint-based presentations in combination with microscopical demonstrations. Participating students were invited to a seven-questions evaluation about the online educational approach.

RESULTS

Overall, 23 of 51 students of the study class completed the pre- and the post-evaluation of Kahoot! in one or more organ systems. The percentage of correct answers increased from the initial mean/median of 47.2/45% to 77.2/76.3%. Simultaneously, the time for answering questions decreased by roughly 50% (from mean/median time of 9.1/8.3 seconds to 5.1/4.3 seconds) from pre- to post-assessment. The results were independent of gender; however, there were scoring differences between the different organ systems. Students positively evaluated the routine implementation of the gaming-platform Kahoot! within medical education.

CONCLUSION

Kahoot! is as a simple, direct, and low-cost application in medical teaching improving learning outcomes of pathomorphological topics with high acceptance by students. Kahoot!-based evaluations should be also performed in more advanced topics in the field of histopathology.

Pancreatic cancer in young adults: changes, challenges, and solutions

Despite improvements in multidisciplinary treatments, survival of pancreatic cancer (PC) patients remains dismal. Studies dealing with early onset pancreatic cancer (EOPC) patients are scarce. In this review, we discuss differences between EOPC and late-onset pancreatic cancer based on findings in original papers and reviews with a focus on morphology, genetics, clinical outcomes and therapy. In conclusion, families with a positive history of PC and patients with BRCA 1 or 2 mutations should be monitored. Patients with EOPC usually present with better overall fitness compared to the average PC population, however often with even more aggressive cancer behaviour. Therefore, potent state-of-the-art multi-modal systemic therapies should be applied whenever possible. Large-scale registries and randomized clinical trials dealing with EOPC in regard to distinct biology and outcome are warranted.

HDAC-Linked "Proliferative" miRNA Expression Pattern in Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors

Epigenetic factors are essentially involved in carcinogenesis, tumor promotion, and chemoresistance. Two epigenetic key players are miRNAs and histone deacetylases (HDACs). As previously shown by own theoretical databank analysis, the crosstalk between miRNAs and HDACs is relevant in different human chronic diseases and cancerogenic pathways. We aimed to investigate a potential connection between the expression of a well-defined subset of "proliferation-associated" miRNAs and the expression of HDACs as well as clinical parameters in pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (pNETs).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Expression levels of miRNA132-3p, miRNA145-5p, miRNA183-5p, miRNA34a-5p, and miRNA449a in 57 pNETs resected between 1997 and 2015 were measured and linked to the immunohistochemical expression pattern of members of the four HDAC classes on human tissue microarrays. All pNET cases were clinically and pathologically characterized according to published guidelines. Correlation analysis revealed a significant association between expression of specific miRNAs and two members of the HDAC family (HDAC3 and HDAC4). Additionally, a linkage between miRNA expression and clinico-pathological parameters like grading, TNM-staging, and hormone activity was found. Moreover, overall and disease-free survival is statistically correlated with the expression of the investigated miRNAs. Overall, we demonstrated that specific miRNAs could be linked to HDAC expression in pNETs. Especially miRNA449a (associated with HDAC3/4) seems to play an important role in pNET proliferation and could be a potential prognostic factor for poor survival. These first data could help, to improve our knowledge of the complex interactions of the epigenetic drivers in pNETs for further therapeutic approaches.

Thermographic real-time-monitoring of surgical radiofrequency and microwave ablation in a perfused porcine liver model

Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and microwave ablation (MWA) are currently the dominant modalities to treat unresectable liver tumors. Monitoring the ablation process with b-mode-sonography is often hampered by artefacts. Furthermore, vessels may cause cooling in the adjacent tumor target (heat-sink-effect) with risk of local recurrence. The present study evaluated infrared-thermography to monitor surgical RFA/MWA and detect heat-sink-effects in real-time. RFA and MWA of perfused porcine livers was conducted at peripheral and central-vessel-adjacent locations, and monitored by real-time thermography. Ablation was measured and evaluated by gross pathology. The mean time for ablation was significantly longer in RFA compared with MWA (8 vs. 2 min). Although mean macroscopic ablation diameter was similar (RFA, 3.17 cm; MWA, 3.38 cm), RFA showed a significant heat-sink-effect compared with MWA. The surface temperature during central RFA near vessels was 1/3 lower compared with peripheral RFA (47.11±8.35°C vs. 68.72±12.70°C; P<0.001). There was no significant difference in MWA (50.52±8.35°C vs. 50.18±10.35°C; P=0.74). In conclusion, thermography is suitable to monitor the correct ablation with MWA and RFA. The results of the current study demonstrated a significant heat-sink-effect for RFA, but not MWA near vessels. MWA reaches consistent surface temperatures much faster than RFA. With further in vivo validation, thermography may be useful to ensure appropriate ablation particularly near vulnerable or vascular structures.

Comprehensive immunohistochemical analysis of histone deacetylases in pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors: HDAC5 as a predictor of poor clinical outcome

Epigenetic factors contribute to carcinogenesis, tumor promotion, and chemoresistance. Histone deacetylases (HDACs) are epigenetic regulators that primarily cause chromatin compaction, leading to inaccessibility of promoter regions and eventually gene silencing. Many cancer entities feature overexpression of HDACs. Currently, the role of HDACs in pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (pNETs) is unclear. We analyzed the expression patterns of all HDAC classes (classes I, IIA, IIB, III, and IV) in 5 human tissue microarrays representing 57 pNETs resected between 1997 and 2013 and corresponding control tissue. All pNET cases were characterized clinically and pathologically according to recent staging guidelines. The investigated cases included 32 (56.1%) female and 25 (43.9%) male pNET patients (total n=57, 47.4% immunohistochemically endocrine positive). Immunohistochemical profiling revealed a significant up-regulation of all HDAC classes in pNET versus control, with different levels of intensity and extensity ranging from 1.5- to >7-fold up-regulation. In addition, expression of several HDACs (HDAC1, HDAC2, HDAC5, HDAC11, and Sirt1) was significantly increased in G3 tumors. Correlation analysis showed a significant association between the protein expression of HDAC classes I, III, and IV and rate of the pHH3/Ki-67-associated mitotic and proliferation index. Furthermore, especially HDAC5 proved as a negative predictor of disease-free and overall survival in pNET patients. Overall, we demonstrate that specific members of all 4 HDAC classes are heterogeneously expressed in pNET. Moreover, expression of HDACs was associated with tumor grading, proliferation markers, and patient survival, therefore representing interesting new targets in pNET treatment.