A Rare Case of Pituicytoma Presenting Cystic Formation

Pituicytoma is a rare solid benign tumor of the sellar and/or suprasellar region originating from the pituicytes of the neurohypophysis or infundibulum, which is not differentiated from a pituitary adenoma that is diagnosed mostly in the sellar and/or suprasellar region. In addition, cystic tumors are very rare and have not been reported due to their solid and hypervascular natures. A 33-year-old man presented with a chronic headache which exacerbated recently. MRI was performed and revealed a cystic tumor in the sellar and suprasellar regions with a small parenchymal island in the cyst compressing the optic chiasm. The endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal approach was used to remove the tumor. Immunohistochemical staining was positive for thyroid transcription factor 1, S-100 protein, and glial fibrillary acidic protein. The pituicytoma was diagnosed based on histologic findings. The authors review herein the literature on clinical presentation, diagnosis, surgical management, and outcome.

Ultrasonographic Findings of a Chondrolipoma Arising from the Left Supraclavicular Region: A Case Report

Chondrolipomas, which are lipomas with chondroid metaplasia, are rare benign soft tissue tumors with no relevant epidemiological reports or radiological information. A limited number of lipomas with osteo/chondroid differentiation have been reported in the literature between 1960 and 2008. Moreover, only few studies have described the radiologic findings of chondrolipomas. Herein, we present a case of chrondrolipoma arising from the left supraclavicular region in a 77-year-old female.

Ultrasonographic Findings of a Chondrolipoma Arising from the Left Supraclavicular Region: A Case Report

Chondrolipomas, which are lipomas with chondroid metaplasia, are rare benign soft tissue tumors with no relevant epidemiological reports or radiological information. A limited number of lipomas with osteo/chondroid differentiation have been reported in the literature between 1960 and 2008. Moreover, only few studies have described the radiologic findings of chondrolipomas. Herein, we present a case of chrondrolipoma arising from the left supraclavicular region in a 77-year-old female.

Histomorphological Factors Predicting the Response to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer / 한국유방암학회지

PURPOSE: There is no standard targeted therapy for the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Therefore, its management heavily depends on adjuvant chemotherapy. Using core needle biopsy, this study evaluated the histological factors of TNBC predicting the response to chemotherapy. METHODS: One hundred forty-three TNBC patients who received single-regimen neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) with the combination of doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, and docetaxel were enrolled. The core needle biopsy specimens acquired before NAC were used to analyze the clinicopathologic variables and overall performance of the predictive model for therapeutic response. RESULTS: Independent predictors of pathologic complete response after NAC were found to be higher number of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (p=0.007), absence of clear cytoplasm (p=0.008), low necrosis (p=0.018), and high histologic grade (p=0.039). In the receiver operating characteristics curve analysis, the area under curve for the combination of these four variables was 0.777. CONCLUSION: The present study demonstrated that a predictive model using the above four variables can predict therapeutic response to single-regimen NAC with the combination of doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, and docetaxel in TNBC. Therefore, adding these morphologic variables to clinical and genomic signatures might enhance the ability to predict the therapeutic response to NAC in TNBC.

Protective Effect of Phosphatidylcholine on Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Acute Inflammation in Multiple Organ Injury

Soybean polyunsaturated phosphatidylcholine (PC) is thought to exert anti-inflammatory activities and has potent effects in attenuating acute renal failure and liver dysfunction. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of PC in protecting multiple organ injury (MOI) from lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Six groups of rats (N=8) were used in this study. Three groups acted as controls and received only saline, hydrocortisone (HC, 6 mg/kg, i.v.) or PC (600 mg/kg, i.p.) without LPS (15 mg/kg, i.p.) injections. Other 3 groups, as the test groups, were administered saline, HC or PC in the presence of LPS. Six hours after the LPS injection, blood and organs (lung, liver and kidney) were collected from each group to measure inflammatory cytokines and perform histopathology and myeloperoxidase (MPO) assessment. Serum cytokines (TNF-alpha, IL-6 and IL-10) and MPO activities were significantly increased, and significant histopathological changes in the organs were observed by LPS challenge. These findings were significantly attenuated by PC or HC. The treatment with PC or HC resulted in a significant attenuation on the increase in serum levels of TNF-alpha and IL-6, pro-inflammatory cytokines, while neither PC nor HC significantly attenuated serum levels of IL-10, anti-inflammatory cytokine. In the organs, the enhanced infiltration of neutrophils and expression of ED2 positive macrophage were attenuated by PC or HC. Inductions of MPO activity were also significantly attenuated by PC or HC. From the findings, we suggest that PC may be a functional material for its use as an anti-inflammatory agent.

Bronchial Schwannomas: Clinicopathologic Analysis of 7 Cases

BACKGROUND: It has long been recognized that bronchial schwannomas are extremely rare. As such, diagnosing tumors in this extraordinary location can sometimes be problematic. METHODS: We reviewed seven cases of bronchoscopically or surgically resected endobronchial schwannomas and evaluated their clinical and pathologic features. RESULTS: The present study included five female and two male patients, with ages ranging from 16 to 81 years (mean age, 44.9 years). The clinical presentation varied according to tumor size and location. Patients with more centrally (trachea or main bronchus) located tumors experienced respiratory symptoms (80%) more often than patients with more peripherally (lobar or segmental bronchus) located tumors (0%). Histologically, the tumors were composed of spindle cells that stained with S100 protein. Some of the tumors showed typical Antoni A areas with Verocay body formation. Five of six patients (83.3%) underwent complete tumor removal by rigid bronchoscopy. CONCLUSIONS: Pathologists should consider endobronchial schwannoma in the differential diagnosis of a spindle cell tumor involving the bronchus. Additionally, our results showed that rigid bronchoscopy is an effective tool for tumor removal in endobronchial schwannoma patients.

Correlation of AR, EGFR, and HER2 Expression Levels in Prostate Cancer: Immunohistochemical Analysis and Chromogenic In Situ Hybridization / Journal of the Korean Cancer Association, 대한암학회지

PURPOSE: The androgen receptor (AR) plays a central role in prostate cancer. Evidence from several groups indicates that epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) may enhance AR activity in prostate cancer cell lines. This study was designed to investigate the protein expression of AR, EGFR, and HER2 and to determine whether the EGFR and HER2 genes are amplified in prostate cancer tissues. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The protein expression levels of AR, EGFR, and HER2 in a tissue microarray block of 66 prostate cancer samples were investigated by immunohistochemical analysis and chromogenic in situ hybridization was used to determine whether the EGFR and HER2 genes were amplified in these tissues. RESULTS: The AR and EGFR proteins were expressed in 59.1% and 40.9% of prostate cancers, respectively, but their expression levels were not significantly associated with clinicopathologic factors. Of the cases in which tissues were negative for EGFR protein expression, 69.2% were positive for AR protein expression; however, AR protein expression was significantly reduced (44.4%) in tissues in which EGFR protein was expressed. HER2 expression was detected in only 1 case (1.5%). No amplification of the EGFR or HER2 genes was found in prostate cancer specimens. CONCLUSION: This study was limited by small number of subjects, but it can still be inferred that the expression levels of the AR and EGFR proteins are inversely correlated in prostate cancer patients. The potential utility of EGFR and HER2 as prognostic factors or therapeutic targets warrants further study.

Influence of Exposure to Extremely Low Frequency Magnetic Field on Neuroendocrine Cells and Hormones in Stomach of Rats

Extremely low frequency magnetic fields (ELF-MF) have the ability to produce a variety of behavioral and physiological changes in animals. The stomach, as the most sensitive part of the neuroendocrine organ of the gastrointestinal tract, is crucial for the initiation of a full stress response against all harmful stress. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine whether ELF-MF stimuli induce changes in the activity of neuroendocrine cells, considering their involvement in endocrine or paracrine effect on surrounding cells. The exposure to ELF-MF (durations of 24 h and 1 or 2 weeks, 60 Hz frequency, 0.1 mT intensity) altered the distribution and occurrence of gastrin, ghrelin and somatostatin-positive endocrine cells in the stomach of rats. The change, however, in the secretion of those hormones into blood from endocrine cells did not appear significantly with ELF-MF exposure. Comparing with sham control, ELF-MF exposure for 1 and 2 week induced an increase in BaSO4 suspension propelling ratio of gastrointestinal tract, indicating that ELF-MF affects gastrointestinal motility. Our study revealed that ELF-MF exposure might influence the activity of endocrine cells, an important element of the intrinsic regulatory system in the digestive tract. The pathophysiological character of these changes and the mechanism responsible for neuroendocrine cell are still unclear and require further studies.