c-MET as a Potential Resistance Mechanism to Everolimus in Breast Cancer: From a Case Report to Patient Cohort Analysis.

BACKGROUND: We describe in a patient with breast cancer the change in c-MET expression during everolimus treatment, opening a better understanding of the resistance to everolimus and a role for cabozantinib. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate c-MET as a potential predictive biomarker for everolimus efficacy in breast cancer. METHODS: We first selected a patient with breast cancer with a long-lasting response to everolimus and retrospectively profiled biopsies that were taken before everolimus initiation (Biopsy 1) and at progression on everolimus (Biopsy 2) using amplicon sequencing and immunohistochemistry. We then retrospectively evaluated c-MET expression in a cohort of patients with breast cancer treated with everolimus. RESULTS: While not expressed in Biopsy 1, c-MET was highly expressed in Biopsy 2, suggesting a role for c-MET in breast cancer progression. Cabozantinib resulted in a rapid radiological response in this patient. Twenty-nine patients were included (12 c-MET-positive and 17 c-MET-negative patients) in the second part of the study. Baseline c-MET expression was associated with higher tumor grade, higher frequency of visceral metastases, and lower endocrine sensitivity. The c-MET-positive patients presented with a shorter progression-free survival (6.1 vs 10.5 months, respectively; p = 0.002) and a lower response rate (0% vs 12%) to everolimus, compared with c-MET-negative patients. CONCLUSIONS: c-MET could play a role in the resistance to everolimus and its inhibition should be evaluated in breast cancer.

Study of the omnidirectional photonic bandgap for dielectric mirrors based on porous silicon: effect of optical and physical thickness.

We report the theoretical comparison of the omnidirectional photonic bandgap (OPBG) of one-dimensional dielectric photonic structures, using three different refractive index profiles: sinusoidal, Gaussian, and Bragg. For different values of physical thickness (PT) and optical thickness (OT), the tunability of the OPBG of each profile is shown to depend on the maximum/minimum refractive indices. With an increase in the value of the maximum refractive index, the structures with the same PT showed a linear increment of the OPBG, in contrast to the structures with the same OT, showing an optimal combination of refractive indices for each structure to generate the maximum OPBG. An experimental verification was carried out with a multilayered dielectric porous silicon structure for all the three profiles.

[Membranous glomerulonephritis complicating hepatocellular carcinoma]. / Glomérulonéphrite extra-membraneuse paranéoplasique compliquant un carcinome hépato-cellulaire.

We report the case of a 65-Year-old man with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma related to alcoholic cirrhosis who was hospitalised for oliguric renal failure. Investigations showed a severe nephrotic syndrome related to paraneoplastic membranous glomerulonephritis. The patient's course was temporarily stabilized with loop diuretics and dialysis but the patient died of hemoperitoneum from a ruptured tumor.

[Lipomatous pleomorphic adenoma of the parotid]. / Adénome pléomorphe lipomateux de la parotide.

Lipomatous tumors rarely occur in the salivary glands. We report an unusual case of lipomatous pleomorphic adenoma in a 47-year-old man. The patient had no significant medical history and presented with a well circumscribed nodule measuring 3 cm in the right parotid. Histologically, the tumour was predominantly composed of sheets of mature fat cells. Rare myoepithelial cells and exceptional tubules were intermingled with the mature adipose tissue. One year after surgery the patient was alive without recurrence. In conclusion, it is a rare neoplasm who needs to be recognized and discussed with true fatty tumors and lipomatosis.

[Carcinosarcoma of the scalp]. / Carcinosarcome du scalp.

A 41-year-old patient had a large and quick growing tumor of the scalp, known during many years. The histopathologic and immunohistochemical evaluations lead to the diagnosis of a cutaneous carcinosarcoma or sarcomatoid carcinoma. In spite of the surgical treatment, the evolution was rapidly fatal with widespread metastasis. From data of the literature, we discuss the diagnosis and histogenesis of this rare cutaneous tumor.

Calretinin: a valuable marker of normal and neoplastic Leydig cells of the testis.

Sex cord-stromal tumors represent approximately 4% of all testicular neoplasms. Leydig cell tumor (LCT) is the most common entity, followed by Sertoli cell tumor (SCT). Leydig cell tumor histologic diagnosis is usually easy, but occasional forms of LCT could mimic others neoplasms, especially SCT or variants of yolk sac tumor. The aim of this study was to investigate calretinin expression in LCT and SCT of the testis. We evaluated calretinin reactivity in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded sections of 10 LCT, three SCT, five Leydig cell hyperplasia, two Sertoli cell adenomas, eight seminomatous tumors, five nonseminomatous germ cell tumors (mixed tumor), one adenomatoid tumor, and two normal testes using a standard immunohistochemical technique with a microwave-mediated epitope retrieval. All cases of LCT showed a positive staining that was diffuse and intense, constantly cytoplasmic, and sometimes nuclear. A positive strong and diffuse cytoplasmic and sometimes nuclear staining was also observed in Leydig cell hyperplasia and in normal Leydig cells. No staining was seen in two of three cases of SCT, and focal staining was observed in the third case. Only rare scattered cells were weakly immunostained in the Sertoli cell nodules. Seminomatous and nonseminomatous germ cell tumors were negative. Calretinin is an interesting marker of normal and neoplastic Leydig cells of the testis and may be of value in the diagnosis of atypical LCT.

Microcystic transitional cell carcinoma: a report of 2 cases arising in the renal pelvis.

Microcystic transitional cell carcinoma is a rare variant of urothelial carcinoma; to date, it has been described only in the urinary bladder. We report 2 cases of microcystic transitional cell carcinoma arising in the renal pelvis. The first case occurred in a 73-year-old man with a history of superficially invasive transitional cell carcinoma who presented with macroscopic hematuria and anemia. The second case occurred in a 62-year-old woman who had no relevant medical history and presented with hematuria. Computed tomographic scan revealed a tumor of the renal pelvis. In both cases, microscopic examination showed invasive transitional cell carcinoma with prominent cystic features. The cysts were irregular in size and were deeply infiltrative. The cysts were lined by single or multiple layers of cuboidal or flattened cells with minimal cytological atypia. The first patient died of his disease 18 months after presentation. The second patient remained well at her 6-month follow-up examination. Microcystic transitional cell carcinoma is an unusual, deceptively bland variant of urothelial carcinoma, which can mimic benign lesions.

Gastric heterotopia in the nasopharynx.

Heterotopic gastrointestinal mucosa is rare in head and neck area. Most cases are described in oral cavity especially in the floor of the mouth. We present herein the case of an 8-month old infant with a tumor-like mass in the cavum which consisted of an heterotopic gastric mucosa. This case is the first described in this localisation. A brief review of the literature and histopathologic differential diagnoses will be study.

CD30 and CD117 (c-kit) used in combination are useful for distinguishing embryonal carcinoma from seminoma.

Germ-cell tumors are the most common malignant neoplasms of the testis. Seminomatous and non-seminomatous tumors must be differentiated because the treatment and the prognosis are different. In light microscopic examination, seminoma may sometimes be difficult to distinguish from the solid pattern of embryonal carcinoma (EC). Although studies have shown that CD30 was a good marker of embryonal carcinoma and that c-kit was regularly expressed in seminoma, none has described the value of CD30 and CD117 (c-kit) in combination for the differential diagnosis between EC and seminoma. We selected 25 pure seminomas, seven pure ECs, and seven mixed germ-cell tumors composed of seminoma and EC from our archives and studied their immunoreactivity for CD30 and CD117. We observed that 27/35 seminomas were CD117+/CD30-; none of the seminoma was CD117-/CD30+. Conversely, 11/14 ECs were CD30+/CD117- and none was CD30-/CD117+. Our findings suggest that CD117 and CD30 immunohistochemistry used in combination represents a valuable tool for distinguishing seminoma from EC.