ABSTRACT
The identification of hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC) is important not only for the patient, but also for family members who are at increased risk of developing cancer. To determine if measuring various pathobiologic features of the colon carcinomas is useful in separating sporadic from HNPCC tumors, the authors studied tumor tissues from 46 patients with HNPCC and compared them to 70 with sporadic colorectal carcinoma. Parameters investigated included DNA ploidy (flow cytometry), AgNOR count (by silver staining), microvessel density (immunohistochemistry), p53 and K-ras expression, and grade-related parameters. Diploid tumors were more frequent in patients with HNPCC (65% vs 40%, P < .02), thus confirming previous observations concerning such an association. Higher AgNOR counts and greater AgNOR areas were observed in sporadic tumors than in HNPCC (5.2 +/- 1.5 vs 4.5 +/- 1.8, P < .01). Hereditary tumors tended to be less vascularized, whereas oncogene expression and grade-related parameters did not show appreciable differences between the two types of tumors. In conclusion, some of the investigated parameters may contribute to defining the biologic profile of HNPCC. In addition, these findings support the clinical impression of a more favorable outcome that is frequently seen in HNPCC patients.
Subject(s)
Colorectal Neoplasms, Hereditary Nonpolyposis/genetics , Colorectal Neoplasms, Hereditary Nonpolyposis/pathology , Colorectal Neoplasms/pathology , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Aneuploidy , Chi-Square Distribution , Colonic Neoplasms/blood supply , Colonic Neoplasms/genetics , Colonic Neoplasms/pathology , Colorectal Neoplasms/blood supply , Colorectal Neoplasms/genetics , Colorectal Neoplasms, Hereditary Nonpolyposis/blood supply , Diagnosis, Differential , Female , Flow Cytometry , Genes, p53 , Genes, ras , Humans , Lymphocytes, Tumor-Infiltrating , Male , Middle Aged , Neovascularization, Pathologic , Nucleolus Organizer Region/pathology , Pedigree , Prognosis , Silver StainingABSTRACT
42 cervico-vaginal out of 20,000 smears were singled out with extraneous structures of vegetable kind. Botanic analysis showed fragments of tracheae, fibres, etc., and mainly many pollen grains. The reports, accompanied by a set of pictures, are showed. Some hypotheses are presented concerning their origin. Some suggestions are proposed in order to reduce this kind of contamination which, mainly because of pollens, may lead to erroneous diagnoses.
