The canonical wnt pathway in gastric carcinoma / Via canônica do wnt no carcinoma gástrico

ABSTRACT Background : It is believed that the Wnt pathway is one of the most important signaling involved in gastric carcinogenesis. Aim : To analyze the protein expression of canonical and non-canonical Wnt pathways in gastric carcinoma. Method : The immunohistochemistry was performed in 72 specimens of gastric carcinomas for evaluating the expression of Wnt-5a, FZD5, GSK3β, axin, CK1, ubiquitin, cyclin D1 and c-myc. Results : There were significant differences for cytoplasm and nucleus ubiquitin for moderately and well differentiated tumors (p=0.03) and for those of the intestinal type of the Lauren classification (p=0.03). The absence of c-myc was related to Lauren's intestinal tumors (p=0.03). Expression of CK1 in the cytoplasm was related to compromised margin (p=0.03). Expression of cyclin D1 protein was more intense in male patients (p=0.03) There was no relation of the positive or negative expression of the Wnt-5a, FZD5, GSK3 and Axin with any clinicopathological variables. Conclusion: The canonical WNT pathway is involved in gastric carcinoma.

RESUMO Racional : Acredita-se que a via Wnt é uma das mais importantes da sinalização envolvidas na carcinogênese gástrica. Objetivos : Analisar a expressão das proteínas das vias Wnt canônicas e não-canônicas no carcinoma gástrico e relacionar sua expressão com as variáveisclinicopatológicas. Método : Foram coletadas 72 amostras de carcinoma gástrico, e áreas representativas do tumor foram selecionadas para o Tissue Microarray. Imunoistoquímica foi realizada para avaliar a expressão de Wnt-5a, FZD5, GSK3β, axina, CK1, ubiquitina, ciclina D1 e c-myc. Resultados : Houve diferenças significativas para a expressão de ubiquitina no citoplasma e núcleo para tumores moderadamente e bem diferenciados (p=0,03) e para aqueles do tipo intestinal da classificação de Lauren (p=0,03). A expressão negativa da proteína c-myc no citoplasma foi relacionada aos tumores intestinais de Lauren (p=0,028). A expressão positiva de CK1 no citoplasma das células neoplásicas foi relacionada a tumores com margens cirúrgicas livre de envolvimento neoplásico (p=0,03). A expressão positiva da proteína ciclina D1 foi maior nos tumores dos homens (p=0,03). Não houve relação da expressão positiva ou negativa das proteínas Wnt-5a e FZD5 no citoplasma ou núcleo com quaisquer variáveis clinicopatológicas. O mesmo foi observado para GSK3β e Axin. Conclusões : A relação da expressão das proteínas da via canônica com as variáveis epidemiológicas e tumorais sugere sua participação na carcinogênese gástrica. Por outro lado, a ausência da relação das expressões das proteínas da via não-canônica sugere sua não participação na carcinogênese gástrica.

Expression of ?-catenin and c-myc during human common bile duct development: a possible role in the morphogenesis of the common bile duct

β-catenin and c-myc play important roles in the development of tissues and organs. However, little is known about their expression patterns during the development of the human common bile duct. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect β-catenin and c-myc expression in common bile duct samples from postmortem tissues of 14 premature infants and 6 spontaneously aborted fetuses. The expression of β-catenin and c-myc was also analyzed by Western blot. The samples were divided into four groups based on the stage of human fetal development: 12, 13-27, 28-37, and >37 weeks. The Image-Pro Plus v. 6.0 image analysis software was used to calculate the mean qualifying score (MQS). At fetal stages 12, 13-27, 28-37, and >37 weeks, MQS of β-catenin were 612.52±262.13, 818.38±311.73, 706.33±157.19, and 350.69±110.19, respectively. There was a significant difference in MQS among the four groups (ANOVA, P=0.0155) and between the scores at >37 and 13-27 weeks (Student-Newman-Keuls, P<0.05). At fetal stages 12, 13-27, 28-37, and >37 weeks, the MQS of c-myc were 1376.64±330.04, 1224.18±171.66, 1270.24±320.75, and 741.04±219.19, respectively. There was a significant difference in MQS among the four groups (ANOVA, P=0.0087) and between the scores at >37 and 12 weeks, >37 and 13-27 weeks, and >37 and 28-37 weeks (all P<0.05, Student-Newman-Keuls). Western blots showed that β-catenin and c-myc expression were significantly higher in fetal than in postnatal control duct tissue (P<0.05). c-myc and β-catenin are involved in the normal development of the human common bile duct.

High-dose Chemotherapy and Autologous Stem Cell Rescue in Patients with High-risk Stage 3 Neuroblastoma: 10-Year Experience at a Single Center

High-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell rescue (HDCT/ASCR) was applied to improve the prognosis of patients with high-risk stage 3 neuroblastoma. From January 1997 to December 2006, 28 patients were newly diagnosed as stage 3 neuroblastoma. Nine of 11 patients with N-myc amplification and 5 of 17 patients without N-myc amplification (poor response in 2 patients, persistent residual tumor in 2 and relapse in 1) underwent single or tandem HDCT/ASCR. Patients without high-risk features received conventional treatment modalities only. While 8 of 9 patients underwent single HDCT/ASCR and the remaining one patient underwent tandem HDCT/ASCR during the early study period, all 5 patients underwent tandem HDCT/ASCR during the late period. Toxicities associated with HDCT/ASCR were tolerable and there was no treatment-related mortality. While the tumor relapsed in two of eight patients in single HDCT/ASCR group, all six patients in tandem HDCT/ASCR group remained relapse free. The 5-yr event-free survival (EFS) from diagnosis, in patients with N-myc amplification, was 71.6+/-14.0%. In addition, 12 of 14 patients who underwent HDCT/ASCR remained event free resulting in an 85.1+/-9.7% 5-yr EFS after the first HDCT/ASCR. The present study demonstrates that HDCT/ASCR may improve the survival of patients with high-risk stage 3 neuroblastoma.

Detecção imunoistoquímica das oncoproteínas p21ras, c-myc E p53 no carcinoma hepatocelular e no tecido hepático não-neoplásico / Immunohistochemical detection of p21ras, c-myc and p53 oncoproteins in hepatocellular carcinoma and in non-neoplastic liver tissue

RACIONAL: A hepatocarcinogênese é um processo no qual as alterações genéticas e epigenéticas são bem conhecidas em modelos animais, mas carece de estudos no homem. OBJETIVOS: Analisar a freqüência das oncoproteínas p21ras, c-myc e p53 no carcinoma hepatocelular e no fígado não-neoplásico. Verificar ainda a associação destas oncoproteínas com os padrões e graus histológicos, assim como com as infecções pelos vírus das hepatites B e C. MÉTODOS: Foi analisada por método imunoistoquímico a detecção das oncoproteínas p21ras, c-myc e p53 em 47 casos de carcinoma hepatocelular e no tecido não-neoplásico circunjacente ao tumor (40 casos). RESULTADOS: As oncoproteínas p21ras, c-myc e p53 foram detectadas, respectivamente, em 44,7 por cento, 53,2 por cento e 36,2 por cento dos casos de carcinoma hepatocelular. A imunorreatividade do p21ras e c-myc mostrou uma associação significativa. Contudo, não houve associação significativa entre a detecção do p21ras, c-myc e p53 com os diferentes graus e padrões histológicos, nem tampouco com as infecções pelos vírus das hepatites B e C. A mesma associação significativa entre o p21ras e c-myc foi encontrada no tecido não-neoplásico dos casos de cirrose em relação aos que não apresentaram cirrose, enquanto que o p53 foi negativo em todos os casos. CONCLUSÕES: A imunorreatividade das oncoproteínas p21ras, c-myc e p53 corrobora evidências prévias de sua detecção no carcinoma hepatocelular, o que sugere poder haver participação destas proteínas na hepatocarcinogênese humana. A significativa associação entre as proteínas p21ras, c-myc e p53 no carcinoma hepatocelular e na cirrose pode apontar uma interação entre as mesmas, sobretudo na hepatocarcinogênese pela via da cirrose.

c-Myc expression is related with cell proliferation and associated with poor clinical outcome in human gastric cancer

We underwent protein assay for Myc expression in 76 human gastric cancer tissues using immunohistochemistry. Expression of Myc protein was analyzed according to proliferative indices measured by flow cytometry. Levels of Myc protein expression was evaluated by correlating with biologic and clinical parameters. In 36 (47.4%) of 76 primary gastric cancers, overexpression of Myc was observed. We could observe expression of Myc protein in a significant portion of early gastric cancer (42.9%). Expression of Myc protein was demonstrated to be more frequent in poorly differentiated cancer cells (p=0.043). However, expression of Myc protein had little influence over progress or extent of the disease. Expression of Myc protein was significantly correlated with increased proliferative activity (p=0.032) and patients with high levels of Myc expression had poor disease-free survival. In a certain proportion of human gastric cancer, Myc protein may function as a regulator of cancer cell growth and expression of Myc may represent an aggressive phenotype of gastric cancer.

Three cases of extrapulmonary small cell carcinoma occurring in the prostate, stomach, and pancreas.

Small cell carcinomas are fairly common neoplasms in the lung, but tumors featuring similar histological profiles may occur in extrapulmonary organs. Three cases of small cell carcinomas occurring in the prostate (case 1), stomach (case 2), and pancreas (case 3) are presented. Production of hormones was demonstrated immunohistochemically in all cases. In case 2 alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) was elevated in the serum and observed immunohistochemically in tumor cells. Production of AFP is a distinctive feature, which has not been reported in the pulmonary and extrapulmonary cases of small cell carcinoma. Amplification and/or expression of myc gene family have been suggested to be related to the prognosis of pulmonary small cell carcinoma. Amplification of myc genes was not detected in any of our cases, but c-myc protein was demonstrated immunohistochemically in tumor cells of case 1.