Papillary carcinoma of the thyroid arising from dyshormonogenetic goiter

A case of thyroid papillary carcinoma associated with dyshormonogenetic goiter is reported. The patient, a 35-year-old male, has been on thyroid hormone therapy since the age of three because of familial dyshormonogenetic goiter. He developed a distinct tumor in the right lobe, which was suggestive of carcinoma upon physical as well as ultrasonographic examination. Total thyroidectomy was performed, since a frozen section disclosed a focus of papillary carcinoma and the possibility of future development of further malignancy in any remaining thyroid tissue was considered. The patient is currently well with complete thyroid hormone supplementation one and a half years after the operation.     

Colloid carcinoma arising in chronic anal fistula

Mucinous carcinoma arising in chronic anal fistula is a rare but grave complication. Some sixty-five cases are reported in the literature. One additional case in a fistula of 47 years' duration is herein reported. The neoplastic glandular epithelium may arise from the rudimentary anal ducts or the bowel mucosa. Direct invasion occurs along the fistulous tract or adjacent tissues. Numerous cystic cavities filled with mucus are formed in the center of the process while an inflammatory reaction of the host tissue is provoked at the periphery. Hence biopsy material from the center of the process is more likely to be accurate than material from the periphery. MALIGNANT DEGENERATION IN A CHRONIC ANAL FISTULA SHOULD BE PROGRESSIVELY SUSPECTED UNDER THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS: Excessive induration, recurrent postoperative induration, the discharge of mucus from a tract and the findings of mucusfilled cystic cavities at surgical excision.     

Squamous cell carcinoma arising in a meningomyelocele.

Squamous cell carcinoma developed in the meningomyelocele of a 25-year-old man. This is the third such case reported. The possibility of malignant disease arising in this congenital defect must be taken into account when treatment is being considered.     

Parathyroid carcinoma: location of pelvic metastases by parathyroid hormone assay

A metastasis from a functioning parathyroid carcinoma was located by PTH radioimmunoassay and selective venous catheterization. The site of the metastasis, verified at autopsy, was in the right side of the pelvis. This is the most distant reported location for metastatic parathyroid carcinoma. The patient''s plasma immunoreactive PTH rose more than twofold in response to induced hypocalcemia. This suggests that relative hypocalcemia, induced therapeutically in such patients, may result in a higher chronic level of PTH secretion.     

Parathyroid carcinoma with occult bone metastases diagnosed by fine needle aspiration cytology

A case with persistent hypercalcemia following complete resection of a primary parathyroid carcinoma is presented. An occult bone metastasis was diagnosed by fine needle aspiration (FNA) cytology of a lytic bone lesion clinically presumed to be a "brown tumor" of hyperparathyroidism. The cytologic features of the metastatic lesion were similar to those of the resected primary lesion and of a previously identified metastasis. The potential usefulness of FNA cytology in this clinical setting is discussed.     

Parathyroid adenoma diagnosed as papillary carcinoma of thyroid on needle aspiration smears

Needle aspiration of a neck mass was performed on a 55-year-old white female with hypercalcemia. The cytologic material showed cohesive clusters of monomorphic hyperchromatic cells resembling follicular cells. Papillary formation and follicle-like arrangements suggested papillary carcinoma of the thyroid. The histopathologic section of the excised mass, however, revealed a parathyroid adenoma. The diagnostic difficulties in differentiating parathyroid adenoma from well-differentiated thyroid carcinoma are discussed. Data published in the literature emphasize similar difficulties, and it is concluded that a final diagnosis can be established only on histopathologic sections.     

Patenting inventions arising from biological research

Patents are the most important way in which researchers can protect the income that might come from ideas or technologies they have developed. This article describes the steps involved and the considerations needed for successful granting of a patent. For instance, inventions must be novel and not obvious, adequately described, and useful, and they should not be disclosed publicly before a patent is applied for.     

Gastritis cystica and carcinoma arising in old gastrojejunostomy stoma.

Gastritis cystica and carcinoma developed 35 years after partial gastectomy and gastrojejunostomy for benign peptic ulcer. Although chronic atrophic gastritis and carcinoma are well recognized complications of gastrojejunostomy, gastritis cystica appears to be rare. The resemblance of the lesion to that of colitis cystica profunda is striking.     

Pathophysiology and management of endometrial hyperplasia and carcinoma.

Endometrial cancer is currently the commonest pelvic malignancy affecting American women, most of whom share the same pathophysiologic basis, that is, unopposed estrogenic stimulation. The initial result of hyperestrogenism is the development of endometrial hyperplasia, which is reversible in most cases by appropriate hormonal therapy. Persistent stimulation eventually leads to atypical hyperplasia with nuclear atypia and invasive carcinoma. Because there is no cost-effective screening method for the detection of endometrial hyperplasia and carcinoma, it is essential to survey the high-risk population with appropriate diagnostic techniques. After diagnosis, therapy should be individualized based on pathologic findings (cell type and histologic grade) and extent of disease (International Federation of Gynaecologists and Obstetricians stage, depth of myometrial invasion, and pelvic and para-aortic lymph node status). Recent studies suggest that sex hormone receptors and nuclear DNA ploidy patterns provide useful prognostic information independent of histologic grade.     

Primary cell cultures arising from normal kidney and renal cell carcinoma retain the proteomic profile of corresponding tissues

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) tissue is composed of a mixture of neoplastic and normal cells, which complicate proteome analysis. The aim of our study was to investigate whether it is feasible to establish primary cell cultures of RCC and of renal cortex maintaining the tissue phenotype along with a more homogeneous and enriched cytological material. Fourteen (82.3%) primary cultures from 17 surgical cases were established and characterized by morphology, growth rate, immunocytochemistry, and molecular analysis performed by Real-time PCR, Western blotting, two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE), and mass spectrometry. Cultures showed >90% cytokeratine-positive epithelial cells. In primary tumor cultures, the molecular phenotype of manganese superoxide dismutase and heat shock protein 27 was the same as that found in tumor tissues with overexpression and increased number of isoforms. Moreover, 27 out 28 specific proteins and their isoforms, present in spots excised from 2-DE gel of cortex or RCC cultures, corresponded to those identified on the 2-DE tissue cortex reference map, suggesting that these primary cultures retain the proteomic profile of the corresponding tissues.