Granular cell ameloblastoma of the jaw. A report of two cases with fine needle aspiration cytology

BACKGROUND: Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) of jaw tumors has not been studied extensively. Ameloblastomas are jaw tumors that show a wide morphologic spectrum and thus may pose some diagnostic difficulties. Of the many types, granular cell ameloblastoma (GCA) is an uncommon variant that possesses distinctive features. To the best of our knowledge, there have been no previous reports on the cytologic findings of GCA. We present two cases diagnosed by FNAC. CASES: Two cases of GCA were diagnosed on cytology and subsequently confirmed on histology. Both patients presented with a large, lytic jaw tumor. FNAC smears showed characteristic granular cells along with spindle and basaloid cells. CONCLUSION: Although GCAs are rare tumors, they possess distinctive features that permit an accurate diagnosis, provided that this entity is kept in mind. This tumor has to be differentiated from cystic odontogenic lesions, epulis and granular cell myoblastoma. An accurate preoperative diagnosis also helps the surgeon to plan more extensive surgery as these tumors show a great propensity for malignant change and metastases.     

Gene expression patterns in human liver cancers

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cause of death worldwide. Using cDNA microarrays to characterize patterns of gene expression in HCC, we found consistent differences between the expression patterns in HCC compared with those seen in nontumor liver tissues. The expression patterns in HCC were also readily distinguished from those associated with tumors metastatic to liver. The global gene expression patterns intrinsic to each tumor were sufficiently distinctive that multiple tumor nodules from the same patient could usually be recognized and distinguished from all the others in the large sample set on the basis of their gene expression patterns alone. The distinctive gene expression patterns are characteristic of the tumors and not the patient; the expression programs seen in clonally independent tumor nodules in the same patient were no more similar than those in tumors from different patients. Moreover, clonally related tumor masses that showed distinct expression profiles were also distinguished by genotypic differences. Some features of the gene expression patterns were associated with specific phenotypic and genotypic characteristics of the tumors, including growth rate, vascular invasion, and p53 overexpression.     

Perivascular epithelioid cell tumor (PEComa) of the uterine cervix associated with intraabdominal "PEComatosis": A clinicopathological study with comparative genomic hybridization analysis

Background  

The World Health Organization recently recognized a family of neoplasms showing at least partial morphological or immunohistochemical evidence of a putative perivascular epithelioid cell (PEC) differentiation. These tumors include angiomyolipoma (AML), clear cell "sugar" tumors of the lung (CCST), lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM), clear cell myomelanocytic tumors of the falciform ligament and distinctive clear cell tumors at various other anatomic sites.     

Fine needle aspiration in myxoid tumors of the soft tissues

Myxoid tumors of soft tissues constitute a histogenetically heterogeneous group of lesions, both benign and malignant, that show an overproduction of mucopolysaccharide substances. A correlative fine needle aspiration (FNA) cytologic and histologic study was performed on 16 such cases (3 intramuscular myxomas, 2 lipoblastomas, 6 myxoid liposarcomas, 4 myxoid malignant fibrous histocytomas [MFHs] and 1 extraskeletal myxoid chondrosarcoma), with electron microscopic examination of the aspirate in 4 cases. FNA of all tumors produced a gelatinous material. Smears from all but one of the tumors had a granular myxoid background substance that stained blue to blue-red with the Diff-Quik stain; the exception was the extraskeletal myxoid chondrosarcoma, whose smears stained intensely blue-red to red. On light microscopy, only lipomatous tumors had distinctive cells with diagnostic value: the lipoblasts. Although the arrangement of lipoblasts in lipoblastomas differed somewhat from that found in myxoid liposarcomas, clinical data were important for making a definitive diagnosis. Intramuscular myxomas generally showed a low cellularity composed of fibroblastlike cells with no cytologic atypia. Myxoid MFHs were composed of fibroblastlike cells and macrophagelike cells; the elongated cells with slight-to-moderate nuclear atypia predominated in tumors of low-grade malignancy, while polygonal or round cells with one or more nuclei and marked nuclear atypia predominated in high-grade tumors. Although extraskeletal myxoid chondrosarcoma was mainly differentiated from low-grade myxoid MFH by its metachromatic matrix, ultrastructural studies showed the distinctive distended cisternae with microtubular aggregates in the extraskeletal myxoid chondrosarcoma, thus contributing to the definitive diagnosis.     

Cytology of neuroectodermal tumors of the brain in crush preparations. A review of 56 cases of deep-seated tumors sampled by CT-guided stereotactic needle biopsy

Fifty-six brain tumors of neuroectodermal origin were sampled by computed tomographic stereotactic needle biopsy. Crush preparations prepared from tiny tissue fragments displayed distinctive cytologic characteristics of different tumor types in 77% of the cases. The adjunctival value of crush preparations to frozen section diagnosis is discussed, and the cytologic features of different types of neuroectodermal brain tumors in crush preparations are illustrated.     

Cytology of meningiomas and neurilemomas in crush preparations. A useful adjunct to frozen section diagnosis

Twenty-three meningiomas and 14 neurilemomas were studied by frozen section and crush-preparations techniques. These two types of tumors displayed distinctive cytologic pictures, permitting a correct identification in all cases. Six cases of deeply seated and unusually located meningioma and neurilemoma with equivocal or erroneous frozen section diagnoses were correctly diagnosed cytologically in the crush preparations.     

人肿瘤干细胞异种移植模型进展

人肿瘤干细胞（human cancer stem cells,CSCs）分离后异种移植至模型内的成瘤特性,为研究肿瘤病因学和制订抗癌策略提供了新的手段和方法。但是,目前人肿瘤干细胞的鉴别离不开移植至异种免疫缺陷鼠内建立肿瘤干细胞的动物模型。本文主要从CSCs的概念、CSCs与肿瘤的关系、CSCs异种移植模型研究进展、模型建立的影响因素、模型建立存在的问题等进行简要综述,为异种移植模型的建立提供参考。     

Fine needle aspiration cytology diagnosis of a cutaneous granular cell tumor in a 7-year-old child. A case report

BACKGROUND: Granular cell tumors are neoplasms of uncertain histogenesis, although a neural origin is favored. Most reports on the cytologic features of granular cell tumors have been on lesions from the breast or respiratory tract. However, there are only a few reports on fine needle aspiration (FNA) cytologic diagnosis of cutaneous or soft tissue granular cell tumors. CASE: A 7-year-old girl presented with a skin lesion on her right forearm of one year's duration. The FNA smears showed sheets and clusters of oval to polygonal cells with an abundant amount of granular cytoplasm. Many single, scattered cells with similar morphology were seen in the background. Immunostaining for S-100 protein showed granular cytoplasmic positivity. The tumor was diagnosed as a benign granular cell tumor. The histopathology report on the excised lesion confirmed the FNA diagnosis. CONCLUSION: The cytopathologic features of granular cell tumors presenting as skin lesions are distinctive enough to allow a correct diagnosis on FNA cytology.     

Diagnosis of metastatic adamantinoma of the tibia by pulmonary brushing cytology

A case of adamantinoma of the tibia metastatic to the lung is reported in which the metastatic lesion was initially diagnosed by pulmonary brushing cytology. The cytologic features, including clusters of small cells with either prominent nucleoli or spindle-shaped hyperchromatic nuclei, appear to be distinctive enough to differentiate this lesion from other metastatic malignant tumors of the lung.     

Cytologic features of islet-cell tumors

Although a number of reports have demonstrated the accuracy of fine needle aspiration (FNA) in the diagnosis of nonendocrine pancreatic carcinomas, the cytomorphology of islet-cell tumors (pancreatic endocrine tumors) is not well defined. This paper describes the cytologic features of three histologically confirmed cases of islet-cell tumors. The three tumors occurred in one man and two women, who were 63, 64 and 70 years of age, respectively. Each patient underwent FNA of pancreatic mass with computed body tomography guidance. The aspirates contained large numbers of tumor cells in two cases and a smaller number in one case. The cells, distributed singly and in small groups, were small and round or polygonal, with scant to more often abundant, dense or granular cytoplasm. The nuclei were often located eccentrically and were round to oval, with smooth nuclear borders and finely stippled chromatin. Many nuclei contained a single nucleolus. Multinucleated cells were present and generally contained two or three nuclei. Although the diagnosis of islet-cell tumors in fine needle aspirates is difficult, the cytomorphologic features of these tumors are sufficiently distinctive to suggest the diagnosis, especially when a relatively monomorphic population composed predominantly of single cells is present.     

Know thy neighbor: stromal cells can contribute oncogenic signals

Although the stroma within carcinogenic lesions is known to be supportive and responsive to tumors, new data increasingly show that the stroma also has a more active, oncogenic role in tumorigenesis. Stromal cells and their products can transform adjacent tissues in the absence of pre-existing tumor cells by inciting phenotypic and genomic changes in the epithelial cells. The oncogenic action of distinctive stromal components has been demonstrated through a variety of approaches, which provide clues about the cellular pathways involved.     

Systems biology and cancer stem cells

The identification, purification, and characterization of cancer stem cells holds tremendous promise for improving the treatment of cancer. Mounting evidence is demonstrating that only certain tumor cells (i.e. the cancer stem cells) can give rise to tumors when injected and that these purified cell populations generate heterogeneous tumors. While the cell of origin is still not determined definitively, specific molecular markers for populations containing these cancer stem cells have been found for leukemia, brain cancer, and breast cancer, among others. Systems approaches, particularly molecular profiling, have proven to be of great utility for cancer diagnosis and characterization. These approaches also hold significant promise for identifying distinctive properties of the cancer stem cells, and progress is already being made.     

Immune responses to weakly immunogenic virally induced tumors. V. Short in vitro cultivation of YAC changes its antigenic properties.

YAC tumor, a Moloney virus-induced lymphoma of A mice, considerably changes its immunogenic properties following cultivation for 12 to 14 hr in vitro. The cultivated tumor, designated YAC-1, generates anti-YAC and anti-YAC-1 reactive cells, while the original YAC tumor generates suppressor cells with abrogate anti-YAC and anti-YAC-1 cytotoxic responses. In this report, we demonstrate by cold target competition experiments that YAC-1 and YAC tumors have distinctive antigenic structures on their surfaces. We have also found that RBL5, a Rauscher virus-induced lymphoma of C57BL/6 mice, generates anti-YAC, anti-YAC-1, and anti-RBL5 reactive cells in A mice. YAC-1 also generates reactive cells against the allogeneic RBL5 tumor. The total population of antitumor reactive cells was found to contain separate subpopulations directed maximally toward each of the three target tumors. The subpopulation directed toward each tumor was shown to be partially, but not completely, cross-reactive with the other tumors. Further, RBL5 priming and YAC-1 priming were shown to stimulate separate populations of antitumor reactive cells.     

Cytomorphologic features of a polymorphous low grade adenocarcinoma of the palate. A report of 2 cases with immunocytochemistry

BACKGROUND: Polymorphous low grade adenocarcinoma (PLGA) is a histologically low grade tumor of minor salivary gland origin. It is important to differentiate PLGA from other salivary gland tumors with myoepithelial differentiation, such as pleomorphic adenoma, adenoid cystic carcinoma and epithelial myoepithelial carcinoma. Here we report 2 cases of PLGA originating in the palate and describe the cytomorphologic and immunocytochemical features. CASES: The patients were a 55-year-old woman and a 63-year-old man. Both presented with a mass in the palate. Clinically the mass appeared malignant, and resection was performed. Cytologically the tumor cells were composed of sheet clusters, pseudopapillary epithelial clusters, naked cells and stromal components. Immunocytochemically the tumor cells showed strong expression of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and vimentin. CONCLUSION: PLGA may be difficult to distinguish from other salivary gland tumors with myoepithelial differentiation. However, the cytopathologist should be aware of the distinctive cytomorphologic features of PLGA, demonstrating immunopositivity to CEA and vimentin.     

Extraskeletal myxoid chondrosarcoma with intranuclear vacuoles and microtubular aggregates in the rough endoplasmic reticulum. Report of a case with fine needle aspiration and electron microscopy

The findings of fine needle aspiration biopsy cytology, histology, immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy in an extraskeletal myxoid chondrosarcoma of the soft tissue of the thigh detected in a 65-year-old man are described. In addition to the more usual cytologic findings of chondroblasts and pleomorphic mesenchymal cells, this tumor displayed distinctive intranuclear cytoplasmic inclusions and microtubular aggregates in the rough endoplasmic reticulum. Cytologic study made the diagnosis of malignancy, suggesting a myxoid sarcoma; the precise diagnosis was made by the subsequent studies on the resected tumor and resin-embedded samples of the aspirate. The suitability of aspirated material in the differential diagnosis of myxoid soft tissue tumors is discussed.     

Tumor-associated neural differentiation antigens detected on C 1300 neuroblastoma cells by hybridoma monoclonal autoantibodies

Immune isoantisera and hybridoma monoclonal autoantibodies against syngeneic C1300 neuroblastoma (NB) cells were produced from BALB/c mice. Isoantisera were obtained (i) from mice immunized with membrane preparations from cloned NB cells and (ii) from mice bearing NB tumors. After repetitive absorptions on several different syngeneic or allogeneic tumor cell lines and syngeneic normal kidney, liver, spleen, bone marrow, and brain mouse tissue powders, these sera still retained antibodies reacting with tissue-differentiation antigens present on both NB cells and normal nerve sympathetic cells on cryostat whole body sections of neonatal mice. Monoclonal autoantibodies against NB cells were the products of the fusion between plasmacytoma cells and spleen cells from mice bearing syngeneic NB tumors. These anti-NB monoclonal antibodies revealed a restricted spectrum of distinct alloantigenic specificities against syngeneic bone marrow, fetal and adult brain cells, and nerve sympathetic cells present on neonatal rather than adult mice. A mixture of four monoclonal antibodies, recognizing, respectively, an epitope of the Ia complex and three distinctive neuronal-restricted antigens, proved to be a powerful and specific probe for histological immunodiagnosis of neuroblastoma, on cryostat sections of NB tumors, metastases, and tumor-draining lymph nodes.     

Establishment and characterization of human ovarian clear cell adenocarcinoma cell line (SMOV-2), and its cytotoxity by anticancer agents

A novel cell line derived from a surgically resected ovarian clear cell adenocarcinoma of 46 year-old Japanese woman was established and designated SMOV-2. Cells of this lineage were continuously propagated in vitro over 44 months and were grown in a mono-layered sheet with a doubling time of 48.2 hours. The histopathology of the transplanted tumor in nude mice showed two distinctive cell types, hobnail cells and clear cells, which demonstrated recognizable characteristics of clear cell adenocarcinoma, as compared to resected original tumors. At the molecular level, SMOV-2 cells had the wild type p53 genes that were free from missence mutations. Anticancer agents (cisplatin and paclitaxel) were examined for cytotoxity against these SMOV-2 cells in vitro. These examinations revealed that the chemotherapy-treated cells had decreased proliferation, cell cycle arrests, and induction of apoptosis by the anticancer agents. As can be gleaned from this research, SMOV-2 is a valuable model to study the mechanism of apoptotic responses of solid tumors to future anticancer agents.     

Cytology of desmoplastic medulloblastoma in imprint smears: a report of 2 cases

BACKGROUND: Desmoplastic medulloblastoma is a rare subtype of medulloblastoma with astroglial differentiation. The cytomorphologic features in intraoperative imprint smears from 2 cases of desmoplastic medulloblastoma are described. CASE REPORTS: A 22-year-old man and 27-year-old woman with a cerebellar tumor underwent craniotomy and tumor resection. The imprint cytologic smears contained cellular zones and nodular hypocellular areas containing astroglial and oligodendrogliallike elements. The cytology was misinterpreted as glial tumors, while the final histologic diagnosis in both cases were desmoplastic medulloblastoma. CONCLUSION: Desmoplastic medulloblastoma shows distinctive cytology in intraoperative smears. However, the occurrence of this rare type in adults and the presence of astroglial elements in imprint smears may cause a cytologic misinterpretation as gliomas.     

Fine needle aspiration of chromophobe renal cell carcinoma

OBJECTIVE: To describe the cytomorphologic findings of chromophobe renal cell carcinoma (CRCC) in order to preoperatively distinguish this rare neoplasm from other primary or secondary tumors arising from the kidney or presenting as retroperitoneal masses. STUDY DESIGN: Clinical data, fine needle aspiration (FNA) and follow-up surgical specimens from 4 patients with CRCC (3 primaries and 1 metastatic to the liver) were reviewed. Electron microscopy was available for 2 histologic specimens. RESULTS: Two tumors (1 primary and 1 metastatic case) were readily identified as CRCC on FNA. The 2 remaining cases were diagnosed as renal cell carcinoma (RCC) consistent with CRCC. All tumors showed aspirates with moderate to high cellularity, with the cells arranged in small clusters and single cells. Neoplastic cells had abundant heterogeneous cytoplasm, a thickened cell membrane, nuclear hyperchromasia, nuclear outline irregularity, significant nuclear size variation, intranuclear inclusions and frequent binucleation. Histology of the 4 renal tumors was characteristic of CRCC, with positivity for Hale's colloidal iron in all cases. Ultrastructurally, characteristic cytoplasmic microvesicles were observed in the 2 cases that we studied. CONCLUSION: In the adequate clinicoradiologic setting, CRCC has distinctive cytologic features that may allow an accurate preoperative FNA diagnosis.     

Mammary Fat of Breast Cancer: Gene Expression Profiling and Functional Characterization

Mammary fat is the main composition of breast, and is the most probable candidate to affect tumor behavior because the fat produces hormones, growth factors and adipokines, a heterogeneous group of signaling molecules. Gene expression profiling and functional characterization of mammary fat in Chinese women has not been reported. Thus, we collected the mammary fat tissues adjacent to breast tumors from 60 subjects, among which 30 subjects had breast cancer and 30 had benign lesions. We isolated and cultured the stromal vascular cell fraction from mammary fat. The expression of genes related to adipose function (including adipogenesis and secretion) was detected at both the tissue and the cellular level. We also studied mammary fat browning. The results indicated that fat tissue close to malignant and benign lesions exhibited distinctive gene expression profiles and functional characteristics. Although the mammary fat of breast tumors atrophied, it secreted tumor growth stimulatory factors. Browning of mammary fat was observed and browning activity of fat close to malignant breast tumors was greater than that close to benign lesions. Understanding the diversity between these two fat depots may possibly help us improve our understanding of breast cancer pathogenesis and find the key to unlock new anticancer therapies.