Histological Evaluation of Thyroid Carcinomas: Reproducibility of the «Who» Classification

Aims and Backgrounds

Thyroid carcinomas display several pathologic features, show different behavior and necessitate different treatment; thus correct classification is mandatory.

Methods

The kappa statistic was used as a measure of agreement in a panel of seven pathologists who reviewed 200 cases of thyroid tumors.

Results

Overall agreement was 83 % (k = 68). Good agreement was found for anaplastic (k = 0.85) and papillary carcinomas (k = 0.81); agreement for medullary carcinoma was acceptable (k = 0.80), suboptimal for other (k = 0.67), and poor for follicular carcinoma (k = 0.54).

Conclusions

Central pathology review of thyroid carcinomas is recommended when clinical and epidemiologic trials are planned.

Leukemia and Liver Disease in Childhood: Clinical and Histological Evaluation

Seventy-two consecutive patients with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) who had undergone liver biopsy within 3 months of completing chemotherapy were studied to evaluate histological features after 2 to 3 years of chemotherapy and to correlate liver disease to the treatment schedule, the number of transfused blood units, and the identified etiology. Fibrosis due to antiblastic drugs was the most frequent histological finding. Histological liver disease was not related either to the chemotherapy schedule or the number of transfused blood units. HBV with or without delta virus and HCV infections were related to a more severe histological liver disease. In about 40% patients with chronic liver disease, no etiology was demonstrated. Immunohistochemistry revealed HBcAg in the liver of 3 HBsAg-negative patients. In conclusion, liver biopsy could be useful in patients with persistent abnormal liver function tests after the completion of chemotherapy and in patients with markers for hepatotropic virus infection.

Plasma Cell Granuloma of the Lung (Inflammatory Pseudotumor)

A case of plasma cell granuloma (PCG) of the lung in a 54-year old man is reported. PCG is a rare benign lesion that usually presents as a solitary nodule in the lung (coin lesion) at routine X-ray examination. Microscopically it consists of a granulomatous tissue where the major components are mature plasma cells. The immunohistochemical demonstration of poly-clonality of plasma cells, excluding the diagnosis of plasmacytoma, confirms the inflammatory pseudotumoral nature of this lesion, although the etiology remains obscure. The presence of lymphocytes, histiocytes, macrophages, blood vessels with prominent endothelial cells and peripheral sclero-hyalinized connective tissue may pose problems in the differential diagnosis, with sclerosing hemangioma, pseudolymphoma, nodular amyloidosis, pulmonary hyalinizing granuloma, chronic abscess and neoplasms of true histiocytic origin. The term inflammatory pseudotumor is preferable in describing this type of lesion.

Parafollicular C-Cell Hyperplasia. Report of Three Cases in Primary Thyroid Lymphomas

Three cases of C-cell hyperplasia were observed in a series of 21 cases of primary thyroid lymphoma (PTL). The association is not well understood, since PTL is not included in the group of thyroid diseases which are known to cause C-cell hyperplasia. It may be interpreted as a compensatory reaction to diffuse and rapid destruction of most of the gland, or a « stimulation » related to the production of « bio-humoral » factors by neoplastic cells.

Plexiform fibromyxoma of the gallbladder

We report the unusual case of a plexiform fibromyxoma, occasionally assessed in a lithiasic gallbladder. The full thickness assessment of the gallbladder wall revealed an intra-mural, well demarked multi-nodular tumor (1 cm), consisting of a plexiform growth of spindle cells, included within a fibromyxoid stroma with a rich micro-vascular network. The tumor cells featured no nuclear atypia, nor mitotic activity. At the immunohistochemical profiling, the spindle shaped cells unequivocally featured vimentin, SMA, HHF35, collagen IV, and CD34; no cells expressed CD117, PDGFRA, CD10, desmin, GFAP, EMA, and S-100. Faint STAT6 nuclear expression was observed in isolated tumor cells. The molecular profiling did not revealed any CKIT and PDGFRA genes mutations. The uncommon site of the tumor presentation and its aberrant CD34 expression both confer to the reported case a unique place among the myxoid tumors of the gastrointestinal tract.

RAGE signaling deficiency in rhabdomyosarcoma cells causes upregulation of PAX7 and uncontrolled proliferation

Embryonal rhabdomyosarcomas (ERMSs) show elevated levels of PAX7, a transcription factor that marks quiescent adult muscle stem (satellite) cells and is important for proliferation and survival of activated satellite cells and whose timely repression is required for myogenic differentiation. However, the mechanism of PAX7 accumulation in ERMSs and whether high PAX7 causes uncontrolled proliferation in ERMS remains to be elucidated. The receptor for advanced glycation end-products (RAGE, encoded by AGER) transduces a myogenic and anti-proliferative signal in myoblasts, and stable transfection of the ERMS cell line TE671, which does not express RAGE, with AGER results in reduced proliferation and formation of tumor masses in vivo, and enhanced apoptosis and myogenic differentiation. Herein, we show that RAGE expression is low or absent in human ERMSs. We also show that in ERMS cells (1) PAX7 accumulates owing to absent or low RAGE signaling; (2) elevated PAX7 levels reduce RAGE expression and levels of MyoD and myogenin, muscle-specific transcription factors required for myoblast proliferation arrest and differentiation, respectively; (3) PAX7 supports myoblast proliferation by reducing the levels of MyoD, primarily by promoting its degradation; and (4), when ectopically expressed in ERMS cells, that RAGE upregulates myogenin which upregulates MyoD and downregulates PAX7, with consequent inhibition of proliferation and stimulation of differentiation. Thus, failure to express RAGE and, hence, MyoD and myogenin above a critical level in ERMS cells might result in deregulated PAX7 expression leading to uncontrolled proliferation and, potentially, to rhabdomyosarcomagenesis.

Malignant glomus tumour: a case report and review of the literature

Purpose: Glomus tumours are characteristically benign solitary tumours. At our knowledge, about 23 reports are present in literature regarding the malignant counterpart, but only a minority developed metastases. We describe a locally aggressive glomus tumour with lymphnode metastasis.

Patient: The patient was a 40 year-old man presenting a 1.5-cm lesion on the right wrist incompletely excised and a recurrent tumour, 4 × 2 cm in size, removed after 9 months, for which he received radiotherapy. After 2 years he developed an axillary lymphnode metastasis.

Results: Histologically, both tumours (primary and metastasis) were similar. There were sheets and nests of uniform small cells with scant eosinophilic cytoplasm and round to polygonal nuclei; there was some degree of pleomorphism and the mitotic index was high (up to 18 m/10 HPF). The tumour cells were positive for vimentin and smooth muscle actin, but negative for desmin, NSE, Factor VIII, chromogranin, cytokeratin. Remarkably, in the primary, the cells strongly expressed p53 (70%) and MIB-1 (35%).

Discussions: In many reported malignant cases, the histology of the tumour cells suggested that they were malignant, yet the clinical course has been benign. Carefully reviewing the literature, it seems that actually we have enough histological criteria to identify the cases with biological adverse outcome. Those unfortunate cases behave as high grade sarcomas and therefore may deserve an aggressive therapeutic treatment.

Helicobacter pylori and gastroesophageal reflux disease: a cross sectional study

BACKGROUND\

AIMS

Helicobacter Pylori (H. Pylori) is a key pathogenetic factor in gastritis, peptic ulcer disease, gastric carcinoma and lymphoma but its relationship with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is controversial. The aim of the study is to estimate the possible association between the presence of H. pylori and GERD.

METHODOLOGY

In this retrospective study we examined the endoscopy and pathology reports of all the 638 consecutive patients who had upper gastrointestinal endoscopy and adequate mucosal sampling in 2005 in our department at the University of Padova. Yates corrected chi2 test was used to compare the H. Pylori frequency in the different histological groups. Multinomial logistic regression was used to identify possible predictors of H. Pylori infection.

RESULTS

In this selected population 133 patients were affected by H. Pylori infection (20.8%) and 107 were affected by GERD according to Montreal definition. No significant relation between H. Pylori infection and GERD or NERD (non erosive reflux disease) was evidenced. As expected histological gastritis at the examination confirmed to be the strongest predictor of infection with a odds ratio of 39.4 (95% CI 5.4-287.4, p < 0.01). Upper abdominal pain showed to be the only clinical independent predictors for the presence of H. Pylori infection with a odds ratio of 1.5 (95% CI 1.0-2.3, p = 0.04).

CONCLUSIONS

Our study showed that in north eastern Italy there is no association between H. Pylori infection and GERD. On the contrary presence of histological gastritis and upper abdominal pain were confirmed to be significant predictors of H. Pylori infection. No endoscopic characteristic is significantly related to the presence of H. Pylori.

Morphologic Overlap between Infantile Myofibromatosis and Infantile Fibrosarcoma: A Pitfall in Diagnosis

Infantile myofibromatosis (IM) is a distinctive mesenchymal disorder with different clinical forms, including solitary, multicentric, and generalized with visceral involvement. A wide morphologic spectrum is encountered, with the extremes resembling congenital infantile fibrosarcoma (CIFS) and infantile hemangiopericytoma. We report a series of lesions with mixed features of CIFS and IM and compare them in order to further define their clinicopathologic features and the significance of the so-called composite fibromatosis. Seven lesions with unusual overlapping morphologic "composite" features of both IM and CIFS were selected from a series of 106 myofibroblastic lesions. Three cases classified as composite infantile myofibromatoses (COIM) were highly cellular tumors with a diffuse growth of primitive mesenchymal cells and focal features of IM combined with areas resembling infantile fibrosarcoma (IF). Four cases were classified as IF. Three of these exhibited a biphasic pattern with foci resembling IM, including whorls of primitive and spindle cells and perivascular and intravascular projections of myofibroblastic nodules, and the 4th had a close histologic resemblance to a primitive, immature IM. With reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, the ETV6-NTRK3 transcript was absent in 3 COIM and was detected in 3 CIFS; the other CIFS had typical cytogenetic aberrations. On the basis of currently available information, COIM represents a morphologic variant of IM that can mimic IF. Careful histologic evaluation to detect the typical features of IM is essential to avoid classification as IF. Molecular analysis for the ETV6-NTRK3 gene fusion is an important diagnostic tool in this group of lesions.

Expression of maspin in papillary Ta/T1 bladder neoplasms

BACKGROUND

The aim of the present study was to evaluate maspin expression in bladder urothelial papillary neoplasms and test the results for correlation with clinicopathological parameters.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A total of 111 urothelial neoplasms from 66 patients were evaluated: pathological examination of primary tumours disclosed 48 pTa and 18pT1. Fourteen additional biopsies, negative for neoplasm, were collected as control biopsies. For each of the 111 neoplastic samples and for the 14 control cases maspin and MIB1 immunoreactivity was evaluated. The immunohistochemical reactions of the 66 primary neoplasms were used for statistical analysis when the disease-free interval, presence and number of relapses, and progression of the disease were tested, whereas all of the 111 tumors were used when the association between the maspin pattern and histological grade and/or pT were evaluated. Thirty-three patients with primary pTa papillary neoplasms (68.7%) and 11 out of eighteen with pT1 (61%), had subsequent relapses of disease. For maspin immunoreactivity the presence/absence of nuclear staining and the pattern of staining were considered. Four patterns of reactivity were recognized and were used for statistical analyses.

RESULTS

A statistical association was found between the maspin pattern and pT, histological grade and nuclear staining.

CONCLUSION

In papillary urothelial neoplasms, maspin has a pattern of distribution that is associated with the histological grade and pathological stage, and this probably reflects its different activities in the neoplastic process.

Expression pattern of squamous cell carcinoma antigen in oesophageal dysplasia and squamous cell carcinoma

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the tissue expression of squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCCA) in oesophageal dysplasia and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) with reference to its clinico-pathologic and prognostic significance. Immunohistochemistry using SCCA polyclonal antibody was performed on SCCs from 61 surgical oesophagectomies. Fifteen cases of low-grade dysplasia (LGD) and 37 non-coexistent high-grade dysplasia (HGD) were also sampled from these materials, together with sixteen chronic cases of oesophagitis. SCCA immunoreactivity was present in the maturative compartments of all normal epithelia and oesophagitis. LGDs showed no SCCA immunoreactivity in the dysplastic proliferative component but only in the superficial normal layers. In 94.6% of HGDs, no SCCA immunoreactivity was detected throughout the thickness of the epithelium. In SCCs, SCCA expression higher than 25% was found in 54% of cases. SCCA positivity showed an inverse correlation with histological grade, whereas no statistically significant correlation was found with TNM classifications, stage, or survival. SCCA is not expressed in early oesophageal carcinogenesis but, in SCC, it represents an indicator of histologic differentiation. In differentiated SCC, SCCA may represent a negative factor for cancer invasiveness, through inhibition of proteases.

Spindle cell tumor with EWS-WT1 transcript and a favorable clinical course: a variant of DSCT, a variant of leiomyosarcoma, or a new entity? Report of 2 pediatric cases

We report 2 intra-abdominal tumors originally diagnosed as leiomyosarcomas, occurring in adolescents, one as a second malignancy after a Hodgkin lymphoma. Both tumors exhibited unusual morphologic features characterized by spindle cells arranged in sheets or in fascicles, devoid of the typical desmoplastic stroma. Cytokeratins and mesenchymal markers, including smooth muscle actin, desmin, and muscle specific actin, were coexpressed in the tumor cells, whereas EMA was negative. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis showed an EWS-WT1 fusion transcript. Both patients are alive and in complete remission at 3 and 13 years after diagnosis, respectively. These tumors raise a variety of diagnostic possibilities. They could represent intra-abdominal desmoplastic small round cell tumor, with histologic features of epithelioid leiomyosarcoma or an unusual subtype of leiomyosarcoma with an EWS-WT1 transcript. Alternatively, they could represent an unrecognized subgroup of tumors with spindle cell morphology, bearing the same translocation as desmoplastic small round cell tumor, but characterized by a more favorable clinical course.

Maspin expression in adenocarcinoma of the ampulla of Vater: relation with clinicopathological parameters and apoptosis

AIM

Maspin is a unique serine proteinase inhibitor which has tumor suppressor activity. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of maspin in ampullary adenocarcinomas, its correlation with apoptosis and its value as a prognostic marker.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Twenty-three cases of ampulla of Vater adenocarcinoma were collected from archival material. For each sample, maspin, M30, p53 and Mib1 immunohistochemical reactivity were evaluated and results compared with clinicopathological parameters.

RESULTS

A statistical relation was found between nuclear maspin and M30 (Spearman's Q = 0.46, p = 0.02), and p53 (Kruskal-Wallis = 0.03); a trend was found between nuclear maspin and pT (Kruskal-Wallis = 0.09), and pM (Mann-Whitney = 0.08) and pN status (Fisher's mid-point test: p = 0.070).

CONCLUSION

The present study evaluated the role of maspin in ampullary adenocarcinomas and for the first time demonstrated its association with apoptosis, tumor growth and metastasis.

Nuclear maspin detection in renal cell tumours: possible diagnostic role and correlation with p53 status

AIMS

To investigate the presence of maspin in renal tumours in an attempt to improve our understanding of the underlying mechanism of renal carcinogenesis and for diagnostic purposes.

METHODS AND RESULTS

We examined 122 renal neoplasms of varying histological types and immunohistochemically investigated maspin and p53 expression. All clear cell carcinomas (CC) were negative for maspin, whereas oncocytomas (OC), papillary renal cell carcinomas (PC), chromophobe carcinomas (CPC) and, at least focally, collecting duct carcinomas (CDC) stained positively. We found that p53 positivity had a statistically significant correlation with metastasis (P=0.009) in CC and maspin showed a significant inverse correlation with the presence of metastasis in PC and CDC (P=0.02).

CONCLUSIONS

The detection of maspin may be useful for differential diagnostic purposes and suggests a different underlying mechanism in the development of the various histological types of renal carcinomas.

An unusual case of malignant pilocytic astrocytoma occurring in the eye

Pilocytic astrocytoma is a central nervous system neoplasia that arises during pediatric age. Only few cases have been documented in patients older than 50 years old. It is a low-grade lesion that can rarely undergo malignant changes presenting the histologic features of a high-grade glioma. We report a case of a pilocytic astrocytoma arising in the eyeball of a 53-year-old man affected by glaucoma that underwent malignant evolution.

Three cases of pancreatic serous cystadenoma and endocrine tumour

AIMS

To report three cases of serous cystadenoma and endocrine tumour in the same pancreas, to review the literature and to evaluate the clinicopathological features of the tumours.

CASES

Three women (71, 57 and 31 years old) were admitted to hospital, two for diseases unrelated to the pancreas and the third for increasing obstructive jaundice in von Hippel-Lindau disease. Preoperative examination showed two distinct lesions in the first patient and only cystic lesions in the other two.

RESULTS

Histological examination of the pancreas showed one serous oligocystic adenoma associated with a benign, well-differentiated endocrine tumour, one serous oligocystic adenoma associated with an endocrine microadenoma, and a von Hippel-Lindau-related cystic neoplasm with a well-differentiated endocrine carcinoma.

CONCLUSIONS

Serous cystadenoma associated with endocrine tumour shows some clinicopathological differences with respect to the two tumours considered separately, and with respect to von Hippel-Lindau-related cases, although there is no convincing evidence at present to justify considering this association as a separate entity.

Primitive Myxoid Mesenchymal Tumor of Infancy

Soft tissue sarcomas in the first year of life are rare, and the most common sarcomas in infancy are embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma, Ewing sarcoma/primitive neuroectodermal tumor, congenital infantile fibrosarcoma, and primitive sarcomas such as undifferentiated sarcoma. In this study, we report 6 cases of a primitive myxoid mesenchymal tumor of infancy (PMMTI), which previously may have been included under the diagnostic categories of congenital-infantile fibrosarcoma or infantile fibromatosis. PMMTI occurred in 6 infants, 3 of whom had a congenital presentation of a soft tissue mass. All patients were otherwise healthy. The tumors occurred on the trunk, extremities, and head and neck. Grossly, the tumors were nonencapsulated and had a multinodular appearance with focal infiltrative growth, a white fleshy cut surface, and a tumor diameter ranging from 2 to 15 cm. Histologically, a diffuse growth of primitive spindle, polygonal, and round cells occurred in a myxoid background. The tumor cells were arranged in a vaguely nodular pattern with peripheral collagenized stroma, higher cellularity at the periphery, and a delicate vascular network in the background. Immunohistochemically, the tumors displayed diffuse reactivity for vimentin and no reactivity for smooth muscle actin, muscle specific actin, desmin, S-100 protein, or myogenin. Electron microscopy documented a poorly differentiated fibroblastic proliferation. Four cases tested negative for the ETV6-NTRK3 gene fusion by RT-PCR. One tumor had a complex karyotypic abnormality with rearrangements involving chromosomes Y, 9, and 3. Three patients had recurrences or metastasis treated with a combination of surgery and chemotherapy. One patient is alive with persistent locally aggressive disease, 2 are alive with no evidence of recurrence, 1 had a recurrence treated surgically without further follow-up information, 1 patient died with persistent tumor and sepsis 6 weeks after diagnosis, and 1 patient was lost to follow-up. The morphologic appearance combined with the ultrastructural features and absence of the typical gene rearrangement of congenital-infantile fibrosarcoma are unique, and we propose that PMMTI represents a new category of pediatric fibroblastic-myofibroblastic tumor.

Expression of survivin, p53, and caspase 3 in Barrett's esophagus carcinogenesis

The regulation of apoptosis, as a distinctive form of programmed cell death, in multistep Barrett's esophagus (BE) carcinogenesis is poorly understood. The aim of this study was to investigate, in the intestinal metaplasia-dysplasia-carcinoma sequence, the role of survivin, an inhibitor of apoptosis; the p53 protein, a tumor suppressor gene involved in cell cycle control; and caspase 3, a protease-inducing apoptosis and inhibited by survivin. Immunohistochemical expression was tested in 40 cases of BE, including 11 low-grade and 19 high-grade dysplasias (HGD), and samples were obtained from 40 surgical specimens of esophagectomy performed for HGD or Barrett's adenocarcinoma. To define the deregulation time of the proteins, overexpression was evaluated in relation to the proliferative and/or maturative compartment. In BE, cytoplasmic expression of survivin and caspase 3 (100% of cases) was significantly higher than expression of p53 (25%). The latter increased with increasing grade of dysplasia. In BE, the expression of survivin, p53, and caspase 3 mainly involved the proliferative compartment, whereas in LGD and HGD, the 3 proteins were coexpressed in both proliferative and maturative compartments. These results indicate that survivin overexpression is an early event in the proliferative compartment of BE, preceding both p53 accumulation and dysplastic changes. Cytoplasmic survivin location may indicate an initial antiapoptotic, more than proliferative, role in the early phases of Barrett carcinogenesis. Expression of caspase 3 in BE and dysplasia may be ascribed to accumulation of the nonactivated form, as the antibody used detects both cleaved and uncleaved caspase 3.

Utility of the immunohistochemical detection of FLI-1 expression in round cell and vascular neoplasm using a monoclonal antibody

FLI-1 nuclear transcription factor has been proposed as a useful tool in the differential diagnosis of small round cell sarcomas. Recently, FLI-1 has been reported as the first nuclear marker of endothelial differentiation. However, its clinical use has been hampered by major interpretation problems, due to the presence of background staining as well as staining variation between different lots of the same antiserum. In this study, a novel monoclonal antibody raised against the carboxyl terminal of the FLI-1 protein (clone GI146-222, BD Pharmingen) was tested in a series of small round cell and vascular neoplasms. Furthermore, in order to assess FLI-1 specificity, we analyzed its expression in a series of common epithelial and nonepithelial malignancies. In total, 15 Ewing's sarcomas, 10 rhabdomyosarcomas, 5 desmoplastic small round cell tumors, 10 synovial sarcomas, 10 high-grade pleomorphic sarcomas, 10 malignant melanomas, 5 Merkel's carcinomas, 10 colonic adenocarcinomas, 10 breast carcinomas, 10 lung adenocarcinomas, 20 angiosarcomas, 5 epithelioid hemangioendotheliomas, 10 Kaposi's sarcomas and 10 benign hemangiomas, were stained. A strong FLI-1 immunoreactivity was detected in all Ewing's sarcomas and vascular neoplasms, highlighting the high sensitivity of FLI-1 monoclonal antibody. However, 2/5 Merkel's carcinomas and 1/10 malignant melanomas showed a strong nuclear immunostaining, suggesting that FLI-1 may not be so helpful in the differential diagnosis of cutaneous Ewing's sarcoma. In addition, a weak immunoreactivity was found in 3/5 Merkel cell carcinomas, 3/10 synovial sarcomas, 5/10 malignant melanomas, 6/10 lung adenocarcinomas and in 1/10 breast carcinomas. In contrast, all the rhabdomyosarcomas, desmoplastic small round cell tumors, high-grade pleomorphic sarcomas and colonic adenocarcinomas tested were negative. Importantly, in contrast with previous studies, no background staining was observed. Our results indicate that FLI-1 monoclonal antibody can be reliably applied to the differential diagnosis of small round cell neoplasms of soft tissue, and confirm its important role as nuclear marker of endothelial differentiation, mainly helpful in those cases in which technical artifacts are seen by using the traditional membranous and cytoplasmic endothelial markers.

Aggressive angiomyxoma: a second case of metastasis with patient's death

Aggressive angiomyxoma is a rare tumor that predominates in the female genital tract. Multiple relapses may occur in adjacent organs and tissues, but metastases have not been reported. We present a case of aggressive angiomyxoma in a young woman with multiple local recurrences that metastasized to the lungs, killing the patient. We document this case and report a similar one, found in the literature, of a postmenopausal woman with pulmonary and mediastinic metastases. These cases may expand the current concepts of potential behavior of aggressive angiomyxoma.

Pediatric-type sarcomas in adult patients

Sarcomas included in the broad group of small round-cell tumors (SRCT) and some non-SRCT lesions that typically are seen in pediatric-age patients can rarely occur in adults. However, there are differences in the anatomic sites that are involved and the prognosis in these two patient groups. The diagnosis of pediatric-type sarcomas in adults is often challenging because of the unusual contextual clinical setting and morphologic features. Immunohistochemical studies have greatly facilitated this process. Moreover, limited biomolecular studies that have been conducted have demonstrated comparable cytogenetic alterations in adults and children with pediatric-type tumors. They also have raised interesting questions concerning possible biological bases for differences in clinical behavior in the two cohorts. This review focuses on the morphological, immunohistochemical, and molecular characteristics of childhood-type sarcomas that affect adults, with emphasis on possible pitfalls in differential diagnosis.

Rhabdomyosarcoma in infants younger than one year old: a report from the Italian Cooperative Group

BACKGROUND

The management of rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) in patients age < 1 year is particularly problematic and requires a tailored therapeutic approach. We report on the Italian Cooperative Group's 20-year study of 50 children with RMS who were age < 1 year at diagnosis.

METHODS

Patients were treated using multimodality therapeutic approaches that were based on three consecutive protocols. Chemotherapy was administered to all patients, with dosages calculated according to body weight; calculated doses subsequently were reduced by 33-50%. Radiotherapy was administered to 10 patients.

RESULTS

With a median follow-up of 76 months, 5-year event-free survival and overall survival rates were 42.3% and 61.7%, respectively. Local recurrence was the major reason for treatment failure. In particular, the local recurrence rate was high in patients who warranted radiotherapy but received none due to their age. Completeness of surgery and nodal involvement were the most significant prognostic factors. After a suitable reduction in dosage was made, acute toxicity was no different from what has been observed in older children. The most relevant toxic event was cardiotoxic death in a newborn (n = 1).

CONCLUSIONS

The current study confirmed that the outcome for infants with RMS is less satisfactory than for older children and that infants with RMS require more careful monitoring and specific treatment guidelines. The absence of local control is the major cause of treatment failure; aggressive conservative surgery should be encouraged, but more radiotherapy may be advisable in selected cases. Intensive chemotherapy is essential; a 33% dose reduction may ensure adequate tolerance. In addition, patients age < 3 months should not receive anthracyclines.

A short course of dissection for second-year medical students at the School of Medicine of Padova

A "Short course of dissection" was introduced in 1999 for the second-year medical students at the University of Padova. The course aims to offer a direct experience of practical anatomy despite a shortage of time for anatomy courses and lack of availability of cadavers. The course is optional and is planned for 40 students, subdivided into eight working groups. It consists of five sessions on the following topics: the viscera of the male pelvis; the viscera of the female pelvis; the kidney, the testis and spermatic cord; the thorax and abdomen; the brain. Each session lasts 3 hours and is organized as follow: (A) Theory: Teacher: concise review of the systematic and topographic anatomy of the selected topic (20 min); Students: analysis of a dissection guide (20 min). (B) Practice: Students: identification of the viscera and vascular and nervous structures, through inspection and palpation (15 min); step-by-step dissection following the worksheet (80 min); presentation of the visceral blocks as prosections under a closed-circuit telecamera (anatomical variability) (30 min); Teachers and students: three-dimensional conceptualization tests (15 min). At the end of the 2000 and 2001 courses, a questionnaire was administered to the students and the results confirm the usefulness of dissection for developing a three-dimensional knowledge of anatomy. In our opinion the main guidelines in planning a short course of dissection are: (1) selection of the topics, aimed at allowing experience of the gross anatomy of single viscera, fascia and serosa as well as the evaluation of the topographical relationships between parts of different systems including the local vessels and nerves; (2) preparation of a worksheet, presenting in 10-15 points concise instructions for the step-by-step progression from inspection to palpation and dissection of the anatomical structures of the visceral block; (3) direct dissection, brief and selective, by students; (4) clinical correlation; (5) motivational teachers, who stimulate the active involvement of students in "learning by doing" and also "learning how to do".

Leiomyosarcoma at the site of an ileal neobladder: a heretofore unreported occurrence

We report a case of leiomyosarcoma arising from the intestinal side of an orthotopic ileal neobladder in a male patient 2 years after surgery for papillary urothelial carcinoma of the bladder.

MYCN expression in human rhabdomyosarcoma cell lines and tumour samples

The MYCN oncogene encodes a phosphoprotein that acts as a transcription factor and is involved in the regulation of cell proliferation and differentiation in normal as well as in cancer cells.MYCN amplification and expression have been reported in various tumours, including neuroblastoma and lung cancer, but little is known about its expression in human rhabdomyosarcoma. MYCN expression and amplification were studied in five alveolar and five embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma cell lines and in 19 tumour biopsies. All the cell lines studied expressed MYCN RNA, as demonstrated by northern blot analysis and RT-PCR, but the oncogene was amplified in only one. Similarly, MYCN protein was detected in all cell lines by western blot analysis, with higher levels of expression in alveolar than in embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma cells. RT-PCR analysis of tumour samples demonstrated 18/19 cases positive for MYCN RNA. Although MYCN expression was higher in alveolar than in embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma cell lines, no clear relationship between histology and level of MYCN expression could be established in this tumour series. These data suggest that MYCN expression is a common feature of rhabdomyosarcoma, independent of gene amplification and without a clear relationship with specific histological and clinical features.

Telomerase activity, Ki-67, cyclin D1 and A expression, and apoptosis in solitary fibrous tumors: additional features of a predictable course?

Solitary fibrous tumors (SFTs) are infrequent soft tissue neoplasms which are usually benign and surgically curable. However, their behavior is not always predictable, although several clinical and pathological criteria of malignancy have been established. In many cancers, including some soft tissue tumors, telomerase activity (TA) has been shown to be a new reliable pathological marker of malignancy. Overexpression of some cyclins is associated with higher degrees of malignancy and predictive of the clinical course. In this study, we evaluated TA, mitotic and apoptotic indices (MI, AI), and the expression of Ki-67, cyclins D1 and A in five typical and two clinicopathologically atypical SFTs, the latter two of which had also recurred. High TA was demonstrated in the two atypical cases, which also showed a higher labeling index to Ki-67, as well as higher cyclin D1 and A expression, and either none or very few apoptoses. We suggest that TA, Ki-67, cyclin expression, and AI be evaluated in SFTs as possible adjunctive pathological criteria of behavior.

Undifferentiated sarcoma of the liver in childhood: a curable disease

BACKGROUND

Undifferentiated (embryonal) sarcoma of the liver (UESL) is a rare childhood hepatic tumor, and it is generally considered an aggressive neoplasm with an unfavorable prognosis.

METHODS

The Soft Tissue Sarcoma Italian and German Cooperative Groups enrolled 17 children with UESL in studies conducted between 1979 and 1995. They were treated using the same multimodal approach as for patients with sarcomas including conservative surgery at diagnosis, multiagent chemotherapy, and second-look operation in cases of residual disease. Radiotherapy was occasionally used (2 of 17 patients).

RESULTS

Twelve patients are alive with follow-up ranging from 2.4 to 20 years. Eight underwent complete tumor resection either at diagnosis or after preoperative chemotherapy, and all are currently alive. After initial chemotherapy tumor reduction was evident in six of nine evaluable cases. Overall three patients died of disease and one of a surgical complication. One child died in second complete remission for a non-disease-related cause.

CONCLUSIONS

The current prognosis of UESL no longer should be regarded as poor. Modern multimodal treatment and supportive therapy have improved survival.

Follicular dendritic cell tumor of the mediastinum

Follicular dendritic cell tumor (FDT) is a rare neoplasm usually occurring in the laterocervical lymph nodes, but presentations elsewhere are also well documented. We report a case of FDT in a 48-year-old man with myasthenia gravis, in whom a slow-growing mediastinal mass that had been surgically excised manifested after 3 years with a local recurrence in the same site. The lesion was aspirated and cytology showed a tumor composed of groups of oval or elongated cells intermingled with several mature small lymphocytes. On histology, the tumor was highly cellular with abundant perivascular lymphocytic infiltration; large cells with pale, eosinophilic cytoplasm and round nuclei, arranged in fascicles often showed a storiform pattern. Occasional binucleated cells were also present. A panel of antibodies showed positivity only for CD21 and CD35, and a weak response to S-100. Electron microscopy showed that the layer cells had convoluted nuclei and elongated interdigitating processes with desmosome-like junctions. The definitive diagnosis of FDT can be concluded only with positive immunostaining for CD21 and CD35. However, in the presence of a mixed population of lymphocytes and larger eosinophilic cells the hypothesis of FDT should always be considered.

Leiomyosarcoma of the Oropharynx and Neurogenic Tumors in a Young Patient With Turner's Syndrome

PATIENT

A case of Turner's syndrome developing a leiomyosarcoma of the oropharynx and metachronous neurogenic tumors (mediastinal 'ganglioneuroblastoma intermixed', subcutaneous neurilemoma) is described.

DISCUSSION

To our knowledge, this case is the second reported leiomyosarcoma in a patient with Turner's syndrome. Also the site of involvement (palate and oropharynx) is particularly unusual for the already rare leiomyosarcomas in the young age.

Childhood leiomyosarcoma: a report from the soft tissue sarcoma Italian Cooperative Group

BACKGROUND

Only a few reports on the clinical features and management of childhood leiomyosarcoma are available. To contribute additional information on the management of this rare tumor, we report on a series of 16 pediatric patients treated from 1982 to 1998 by the Soft Tissue Sarcoma Italian Cooperative Group.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Primary surgery was conservative in all but two patients, and consisted of biopsy--three cases, non-radical excision--four, and radical resection--nine (involving a primary re-excision in 4 of 9). In two cases secondary radical surgery was performed after primary chemotherapy. Chemotherapy was administered to 9 of 16 patients, radiotherapy to three.

RESULTS

After a median follow-up of seven years (range 3-18), the five-year event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival were 56.3% and 72.9%, respectively; 12 of 16 patients were alive (nine of them in continuos complete remission). Univariate analysis was performed to compare EFS according to different subgroups: size represented the most significant prognostic factor.

CONCLUSIONS

Complete surgical resection is the mainstay of treatment for leiomyosarcoma. The role of both adjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy has yet to be established, and awaits cooperative multicentric studies.

MAGE, BAGE and GAGE gene expression in human rhabdomyosarcomas

MAGE, BAGE and GAGE genes encode tumor-associated antigens that are presented by HLA class I molecules and recognized by CD8(+) cytolytic T lymphocytes. These antigens are currently regarded as promising targets for active, specific tumor immunotherapy because MAGE, BAGE and GAGE genes are expressed in many human cancers of different histotype and are silent in normal tissues, with the exception of spermatogonia and placental cells. MAGE, BAGE and GAGE gene expression has been extensively studied in different tumors of adults but is largely unknown in many forms of pediatric solid cancer. Using RT-PCR, we analyzed MAGE-1, MAGE-2, MAGE-3, MAGE-4, MAGE-6, BAGE, GAGE-1,-2 or -8 and GAGE-3,-4,-5,-6 or -7b gene expression in 31 samples of pediatric rhabdomyosarcoma, the most frequent form of malignant soft tissue tumor in children. MAGE genes were expressed in a substantial proportion of patients (MAGE-1, 38%; MAGE-2, 51%; MAGE-3, 35%; MAGE-4, 22%; MAGE-6, 35%), while expression of BAGE (6%); GAGE-1, GAGE-2 and GAGE-8 (9%); and GAGE-3, GAGE-4, GAGE-5, GAGE-6 and GAGE-7B (16%) was less frequent. Overall, 58% of tumors expressed at least 1 gene, and 35% expressed 3 or more genes simultaneously. Our data suggest that a subset of rhabdomyosarcoma patients could be eligible for active, specific immunotherapy directed against MAGE, BAGE and GAGE antigens.

All-trans retinoic acid and interferon-alpha in the treatment of a patient with resistant metastatic osteosarcoma

BACKGROUND

A boy age 14 years who was in complete remission from Stage IIB small cell osteosarcoma, which was misdiagnosed as Ewing sarcoma and consequently was treated, developed inoperable lung metastases when he was off therapy. He received second-line treatment for recurrent Ewing sarcoma, including chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and obtained only a temporary response. A compassionate treatment with all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) and interferon-alpha (IFNalpha) was then undertaken.

METHODS

The patient initially was treated according to the national SE91 protocol for nonmetastatic Ewing sarcoma. After a bilateral pulmonary recurrence, he received second-line chemotherapy and irradiation of the largest metastasis, with a temporary partial response. The patient was then treated with a combination of oral ATRA (90 mg/m(2) for 3 days per week) and subcutaneous IFNalpha (3 x 10(6) U/m(2) 5 days per week) for 4 months. The same therapy also was administered for the control of residual disease after surgery for a total duration of 1 year of ATRA/IFN treatment. During the first 3 weeks of therapy, ATRA pharmacokinetics were studied.

RESULTS

After progression of the patient's disease, despite the administration of first-line and second-line chemotherapy, combined treatment with ATRA/IFNalpha yielded a partial remission, which allowed surgical resection of the largest metastasis. The same therapy was effective in preventing tumor recurrence after incomplete removal of the remaining metastases. Treatment was well tolerated, and the patient is in stable complete remission 14 months after the end of therapy. The pharmacokinetics results confirmed the indication of an intermittent schedule for oral ATRA therapy.

CONCLUSIONS

ATRA/IFNalpha treatment may be considered as an alternative approach in the treatment of patients with metastatic osteosarcoma who have disease that is resistant to conventional chemotherapy and in the treatment of patients with minimal tumor residue.

Pleuropulmonary blastoma: management and prognosis of 11 cases

BACKGROUND

Pleuropulmonary blastoma (PPB) is a rare and aggressive malignant tumor that affects children and adults. This neoplasm is histologically characterized by primitive blastema and a malignant mesenchymal stroma that often demonstrates multidirectional differentiation. Despite the introduction of multimodal therapy, the prognosis of patients with PPB remains poor.

METHODS

In the current study the authors reported on PPB cases from a national retrospective search performed in 18 Italian Associations for Pediatric Hematology and Oncology centers. Clinical data, surgical notes, pathologic findings, and summaries of chemotherapy and radiotherapy were obtained from reports and correlated with outcome by standard statistical methods.

RESULTS

The series included 11 patients (7 boys and 4 girls) with a median age of 32 months. Respiratory distress was the most common clinical symptom. In three patients the PPB developed from other primary dysplastic diseases: cystic adenomatoid malformation in one case and congenital lung cysts in the other two cases. Five patients experienced disease recurrences (local recurrence in three patients and distant metastasis in two patients, within the central nervous system and an intraocular location, respectively). Patients with a type 2 histologic pattern and/or pleural involvement were found to have a worse outcome compared with patients without such features. Event free survival at 2 years from the time of diagnosis was 45% for all patients. Overall survival at 2 years was 72% for all patients.

CONCLUSIONS

PPB is an aggressive neoplasm of early childhood and to the authors' knowledge no adequate therapy has been defined to date for patients with PPB. After making the diagnosis, the main goal of therapy should be radical surgery, even in patients with microscopic residual disease. Because the response to chemotherapy is poor, the authors' experience suggests that chemotherapy should be given with local radiotherapy in the majority of patients.

Unusual second malignancies following radiation therapy: subcutaneous pleomorphic rhabdomyosarcoma and cutaneous melanoma. Two case reports

BACKGROUND

Among nonepithelial second neoplasms which are known to be induced by irradiation, rhabdomyosarcomas are extremely rare, and melanomas are infrequent. We report a high-grade sarcoma with rhabdomyoblastic differentiation, which appeared 30 years after megavoltage irradiation for an endometrial adenocarcinoma, and a malignant melanoma which arose after 6 years in the irradiation field of a fibrosarcoma.

METHODS

Histology and immunohistochemistry were performed in both cases. In the first case, electron microscopy was also performed. In the second, the previous tumor was re-evaluated.

RESULTS

The first case showed histological, immunohistochemical and ultrastructural features of a rhabdomyosarcoma. In the second case, a lentigoid malignant melanoma was histologically and immunohistochemically demonstrated, whereas the previously resected tumor was a fibrosarcoma negative to melanoma markers.

CONCLUSIONS

Rare cases of rhabdomyosarcomas and melanomas are induced by irradiation, although in some cases other factors (i.e., genetic risk, chemotherapy) may have a prominent etiopathogenetic role in their development. A close follow-up and a careful examination of the irradiated area should facilitate an early diagnosis of these aggressive postradiation second neoplasms.

Desmoplastic small round cell tumour in children and adolescents

BACKGROUND

Desmoplastic small round cell tumour (DSRCT) is a rare highly aggressive neoplasm, and clinical studies are scarce.

PROCEDURE

We report six cases of children and adolescents (median age 14 years, range 6.9-17.5) with DSRCT (5 abdominal, 1 paratesticular) registered by the Italian Cooperative Group (ICG) for soft tissue sarcoma over a 9-year period. Patients received a multidisciplinary treatment, including aggressive initial or delayed surgery and radiotherapy. Chemotherapy regimen was based on the use of ifosfamide, vincristine, dactinomycin, and a few doses of antharacyclines (doxorubicin or epirubicin).

RESULTS

Complete surgical resection was possible only for the paratesticular tumour. Among the patients with abdominal lesions, macroscopically radical excision was possible in only one case. All patients received multidrug chemotherapy, and tumour reduction was obtained in the 4 evaluable patients. No relapses were evident in the irradiated fields in the 4 patients who received radiotherapy. Two patients remained progression-free 22 and 63 months after diagnosis, one is in third complete remission, whereas three died 10-25 months after diagnosis.

CONCLUSIONS

DSRCT is a chemosensitive tumour, but survival rates remain disappointing despite aggressive multimodality therapy. Our results support surgical tumour removal and radiotherapy to achieve local control. Our experience and a review of the literature suggest that patients with localised abdominal tumours or a paratesticular primary may have a better prognosis.

Tumors of the soft tissues composed of large eosinophilic cells

Soft tissue neoplasms composed of large eosinophilic cells include benign and malignant tumors with different degrees of biological aggressiveness. The main histotypes discussed in this review are the heterogeneous group of benign and malignant granular cell tumors with neural and non-neural differentiation, alveolar soft part sarcomas, rhabdomyomas, and rhabdomyosarcomas. The salient anatomic, clinical, morphological, and immunophenotypic features in differential diagnosis with metastatic melanomas, carcinomas, and paragangliomas are discussed separately for each histotype.

Nuclear p53 protein expression in resected hepatic metastases from colorectal cancer: an independent prognostic factor of survival

An association has been reported between nuclear p53 protein expression in tumour cells and a poor outcome in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). In this study we investigated the prognostic significance of nuclear p53 protein expression in CRC liver metastases after curative hepatic resection. The study population consisted of 69 consecutive patients who underwent curative hepatic resection for metastases from CRC at our Institution between February 1987 and October 1993. Immunohistochemical expression of p53 protein was evaluated in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded sections of CRC liver metastases using the monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) D01 and Pab 1801. The Cox proportional hazards model was used in forward stepwise regression to assess the relative influence of different prognostic factors. Forty-four (63.8%) CRC liver metastases were p53-positive. Kaplan-Meier survival curves demonstrated that patients with p53-positive metastases had a median survival of 27 months versus 93 months for patients with p53-negative metastases (P < 0.01). The 3 and 5 years survival rates were 31.5 and 21.0% in patients with p53-positive metastases and 71.8 and 53.1% in patients with p53-negative metastases. At multivariate analysis p53 protein status was the single best predictor of survival (P = 0.0079); the odds ratio of death among patients with p53-positive tumours was 2.53. Nuclear p53 protein expression in hepatic metastases from CRC is an independent prognostic factor of survival following liver resection. These findings may be of clinical importance in the selection of patients more likely to benefit from liver resection and could be used as criteria for stratification in trials on adjuvant therapy.

Hepatoblastoma: DNA nuclear content, proliferative indices, and pathology

Hepatoblastoma (HB) is the most frequent malignant liver tumor in infancy, and both its biological features and its prognostic behavior are still under investigation. DNA content and proliferative activity of the tumor have been considered as biological parameters related to the tumor's aggressiveness. The present study attempts to investigate the possible association between histologic subtype, DNA content, and proliferative indices in HB. DNA content and the proportion of cells in the S-phase were assessed by flow cytometry in 34 cases of HB (14 prior to chemotherapy, 20 after chemotherapy), using formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded archival samples. The proliferative cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) labeling index was also evaluated by immunohistochemistry, and both the flow cytometry (FC) and the immunohistochemical data were correlated with tumor pathology. A significant association was found between histological type, DNA content and the percentage of cells in the S-phase, with aneuploidy and the highest proportions of S-phase cells significantly associated with embryonal tumors. The PCNA labeling index was found to be significantly higher in embryonal than in fetal phenotype. The biological heterogeneity of HB is Confirmed by the different nuclear content of the fetal (diploid) and embryonal (aneuploid) epithelial components of the tumor, also ruling out the likelihood of fetal (diploid) clones deriving from the embryonal (aneuploid) neoplastic cells. Since the highly proliferative neoplastic clones (i.e., embryonal) are thought to be more sensitive to antimitotic drugs, further studies are indicated to determine the relationship between ploidy, proliferative indices and chemoresponsiveness.