Primary leiomyosarcoma of ovary: A rare malignancy as an incidental finding

Primary leiomyosarcoma (PLMS) of the ovary is extremely rare tumors comprising 1% of ovarian tumors. About 3% of all ovarian malignancies are primary ovarian sarcomas. Only 72 cases have been reported till date. A 57-year-old postmenopausal female presented with abdominal pain for the last 6 months. Ultrasonography and MRI revealed a heterogeneously enhancing solid lobulated mass in the left adnexa abutting the fundus of the uterus and bowel loops. The endometrial cavity was normal. Ovarian markers CA 125, CEA, CA 19.9, and all hematological parameters were within normal limits. LDH was near normal (284 IU/ml). The specimen was sent for frozen section and a diagnosis of malignant spindle cell lesion of ovary was rendered. Histopathology of the ovarian mass revealed intersecting fascicles of tumor cells consisting of ovoid to spindle-shaped cells having a moderate amount of cytoplasm. Bizarre and atypical cells were seen singly dispersed and in small aggregates along with the brisk mitotic activity. Focal areas of necrosis and hemorrhage were also noted. Immunohistochemistry showed strong positivity for smooth muscle actin and Caldesmon while focal positivity for Desmin and Epithelial Membrane Antigen (EMA) was noted. The lesion was negative for Inhibin, Calretinin, and CD 117 and S100. The final diagnosis of primary ovarian Leiomyosarcoma was given based on histopathology and Immunohistochemistry. PLMS of the ovary are rare incidental findings in postmenopausal women. These are highly malignant tumors and carry a poor prognosis. Hence, early diagnosis and surgical treatment with cytoreduction improve patient survival.

Expression of FLi-1, h-caldesmon and collagen Ⅳ in glomus tumor: a clinicopathologic study / 临床与实验病理学杂志

Purpose To explore the expression of FLi-1,h-caldesmon and collagen Ⅳ in glomus tumor and possible relationship between different histological types and clinical-pathological characteristics.Methods Immunohistochemistry of EnVision method was used to detect the expression of FLi-1,h-caldesmon and collagen Ⅳ in 35 cases of glomus tumor under microscope,and the relationship between different histological types and clinical-pathological characteristics was analyzed.Results The pathological morphology of tumor cells was round or polygonal,patchy distribution in blood vessels or arranged in a ring around the blood vessels.The tumor cell boundary was clear and the shape was regular,gradual transition between tumor cells and spindle smooth muscle cells was sometimes visible.The positive rate of FLi-1,h-caldesmon and collagen Ⅳ in 35 cases of glomus tumor were 58.6％,97.1％ and 100％ respectively.Different histological types of glomus tumors had no correlation with the sex of patient and the size of tumor,but had correlation with the age of patient.Vimentin and SMA were positive for glomus tumors by immunohistochemistry in 35 cases.CD34 was positive in 2 cases.Desmin positive was found in 1 case.EMA,S-100,CgA,CD68 and CD99 were negative.Conclusion h-caldesmon and collagen Ⅳ are the markers for glomus tumor diagnosis,and FLi-1 can serve as a good auxiliary reference marker.

The transfection of caldesmon DNA into primary cultured rat aortic vascular smooth muscle

Caldesmon (CaD), one of microfilament-associated proteins, plays a key role in microfilament assembly in mitosis. We have investigated the effects of overexpression of the high molecular weight isoform of CaD (h-CaD) on the physiology of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). Rat aortic VSMCs were stably transfected with plasmids carrying a full length human h-CaD cDNA under control of cytomegalovirus promoter. The majority of the overexpressed h-CaD appears to be localized predominantly on cytoskeleton structures as determined by detergent lysis. The overexpression of h-CaD, however, does not decrease the level of endogenous low molecular weight isoform of CaD. h-CaD overexpressing VSMCs (h-CaD/VSMCs) show a decreased growth rate than that of vector-only transfected cells when determined by (3H)thymidine uptake and cell counting after fetal bovine serum (FBS) stimulation. h-CaD/VSMCs were smaller than vector-transfected cells by 18% in cell diameter. These data suggest that overexpression of h-CaD can inhibit the poliferation and the cell volume of VSMCs stimulated by growth factors and that the gene therapy with h-CaD may be helpful to prevent the conditions associated with hypertrophy and/or hyperplasia of VSMCs after arterial injuries.