Detection of Survivin and COX-2 in Thyroid Carcinoma: Anaplastic Carcinoma Shows Overexpression of Nuclear Survivin and Low COX-2 Expression

BACKGROUND: Overexpression of survivin, a member of the inhibitors of apoptosis protein, has been reported in various carcinomas, and its interaction with cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) results in accelerated tumor progression. The purpose of this study is to investigate the immunohistochemical expression of survivin and COX-2 in benign and malignant thyroid tissues and to define its association with pathologic and clinical features. METHODS: We examined expression of survivin and COX-2 by immunohistochemistry in 334 benign and malignant thyroid tissues and evaluated their clinical significance. RESULTS: Expression of survivin showed an increase along the spectrum of thyroid carcinoma progression; rarely positive in adenomatous goiter, moderately positive in papillary carcinoma, and strongly positive in anaplastic carcinoma (AC). Papillary microcarcinoma revealed the highest COX-2 positivity and AC demonstrated the lowest positivity among thyroid cancers. Node negative carcinomas showed higher COX-2 expression than node positive tumors. Survivin expression did not correlate with COX-2. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that survivin overexpression may be related to the pathogenesis of AC and can be a predictor of disease progression. COX-2 may be involved in the early phase of thyroid carcinoma.

Detection of SV40 Large T Antigen in Malignant Lymphomas

BACKGROUND: The association of simian virus 40 (SV40) with certain types of human cancers, including malignant lymphomas, has been a topic of interest for some time. Although the virus is distributed worldwide, its incidences vary according to the specific types of tumors, and the epidemiological areas. The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of SV40 in malignant lymphomas among Korean patients. METHODS: One hundred seventy three cases of malignant lymphomas were evaluated by immunohistochemical staining for SV40 large T antigen (TAg), using an extremely sensitive, tyramide based, catalyzed signal amplification method. RESULTS: From 158 non-Hodgkin's lymphomas, including 115 diffuse large B-cell lymphomas, and 15 Hodgkin's lymphomas, none of the cases were positive for SV40 TAg. CONCLUSIONS: SV40 does not appear to be related to the pathogenesis of malignant lymphomas among Koreans.