[Simultaneous cardiac and thoracic operations]. / Simultane Herz- und Lungenoperationen.

BACKGROUND: Optimal surgical strategy in patients with combined disease of heart (mainly ischemic heart disease or critical valve disease) and other thoracic organs (mainly pulmonary carcinoma) is still controversial. METHODS: From 1997 to 2004, 13 simultaneous cardiac and thoracic operations were performed in 13 patients. Most of them were necessary for combinations of symptomatic coronary artery disease (CAD) and bronchogenic carcinoma (BCA). PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS: 11 patients showed CAD, mean preoperative LVEF was 44 %. SURGICAL PROCEDURE: Surgical exposure was performed via sternotomy in 10 patients, the rest of the patients underwent thoracotomy. Seven patients were operated on cardiopulmonary bypass, the others underwent an off-pump procedure. Eleven patients underwent CABG, mean number of anastomoses were 2.1 (range 1-4), two patients underwent aortic valve replacement. One patient underwent radical removal of pulmonary adenocarcinoma with local expansion into the left atrium. For the lung cancer lobectomy was necessary in 8, pneumectomy in 1, extirpation of multiple metastases in 1, resection of the trachea in 1 patient. Histological diagnosis was epidermoid carcinoma in 6, adenocarcinoma in 3, undifferentiated carcinoma in 1, metastasis of Grawitz tumor in 1, pneumoconiosis in 1 patient. RESULTS: No patient died in hospital. One patient had to be re-explored for bleeding. Mean blood loss, duration of intubation and length of hospital stay were not different from other patients who underwent cardiac operation only. CONCLUSION: In accordance with the majority of the data published in the literature, combined procedures did not negatively influence hospital morbidity and mortality. Simultaneous operations eliminate the necessity of a second operation and do not delay the postoperative oncological therapy. Long-term results are primarily determined by histological diagnosis and by the extent of the tumor.

[Solitary fibrous tumor of the pleura--description of two cases with features of malignancy]. / Solitární fibrózní tumor pleury--popis dvou prípadu s rysy malignity.

Two cases of solitary fibrous tumor of the pleura with features of malignancy are described. In the first case, the tumor macroscopically showed noncircumscribed growth. Microscopically, on low power examination, the tumor was characteristically "patternless", with alternation of cellular areas and hypocellular, prominently collagenized areas. There was an infiltrative growth present at the margins. Cytological atypias were not present. In the second case, the tumor was macroscopically circumscribed. Microscopically, on low power examination, the tumor had characteristical "patternless" appearance again. Pleomorphic cells with high mitotic activity dominated in cellular areas on high power examination. The infiltrative pattern of growth was not present at the margins. Both tumors were classified as malignant solitary fibrous tumors of the pleura, or fibrosarcomas of the pleura. The criteria of malignancy for solitary fibrous tumor are discussed.

Amplification and overexpression of HER-2/neu in invasive ductal carcinomas of the pancreas and pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasms and the relationship to the expression of p21(WAF1/CIP1).

Overexpression of HER-2/neu was described in pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN) and in invasive ductal adenocarcinoma of pancreas in a variable proportion of cases. The effects of HER-2/neu overexpression on mitogenic signalling and cell cycle progression were studied in breast luminal epithelial cells and mitogen activated protein kinase-dependent induction of p21(WAF1/CIP1) was found to be necessary for G1 phase progression. Overexpression of p21(WAF1/CIP1) was described as an early event in the development of PanIN by Biankin et al. (2001) and this finding was supported by our previous study that, moreover, did not confirm the possible role of activating K-ras mutations in the induction of p21(WAF1/CIP1) overexpression. Relationship between p21(WAF1/CIP1) expression and HER-2/neu status in PanIN lesions and ductal adenocarcinoma of the pancreas was investigated in our study. Expression levels of p21(WAF1/CIP1) and HER-2/neu were examined imunohistochemically and the amplification of HER-2/neu gene was evaluated by fluorescence in situ hybridisation in HER-2/neu overexpressing adenocarcinomas. Fourty nine pancreatic resection specimens from patients with invasive adenocarcinoma were included into the study. A large spectrum of PanIN lesions adjacent to the structures of infiltrating adenocarcinoma was also examined. The possible role of HER-2/neu in an induction of p21(WAF1/CIP1) overexpression was not confirmed and p21(WAF1/CIP1) overexpression seems to be HER-2/neu independent in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma according to our results. Increasing levels of HER-2/neu expression were demonstrated in pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia and in 18.75% of pancreatic adenocarcinoma. The only 2 from 9 HER-2/neu overexpressing adenocarcinomas showed the amplification of HER-2/neu gene. Based on these results, the overexpression of HER-2/neu in pancreatic adenocarcinoma seems to be a result of increased transcription rather than gene amplification. Therefore HER-2/neu represents a good target for therapy of pancreatic adenocarcinoma only in isolated cases.

[Solid pseudopapillary tumor of the pancreas: 5 case reports]. / Solidní pseudopapilární tumor pankreatu: soubor peti prípadu.

Solid pseudopapillary tumor of pancreas belongs to rare tumors of exocrine pancreas, which typically affects young women. In a retrospective study the authors reviewed their experience obtained with five cases of this tumor from 1994 until the present time. The group included four women (from 16 to 47 years, mean age 25 years) and one man (43 years old). Clinical symptoms were characterized by abdominal pain in three cases, two years lasting domed belly and an incidental finding in another case. The palpation examination of epigastrium revealed a palpable tumor, visible in sonographic examination and CT. All patients underwent surgical resection of the tumor. The tumor affected cauda of the pancreas (pancreatic tail) in four cases and head of the pancreas in one case. Histopathological examination established the diagnosis of solid pseudopapillary tumor of pancreas in four cases and solid pseudopapillary carcinoma in one case. A typical immunophenotype of tumorous cells was demonstrated and in four cases there was positivity of progesterone receptor. The progesterone and estrogen receptors were negative in the male patient. Solid pseudopapillary tumor of pancreas is the tumor of low malignancy with excellent prognosis. Correct diagnosis and surgical removal of the tumor results in curing up in most cases.

[Restrictive cardiomyopathy as a manifestation of primary amyloidosis]. / Restriktivní kardiomyopatie jako projev primární amyloidózy.

Primary amyloidosis is a rare disease, cardiac involvement occurs in up to 40% of patients. Diffuse amyloid deposits cause an impairment of myocardial systolic and diastolic function. In this paper we are presenting a case of a 54-year-old woman. The woman was admitted because of progressive fatigue, dyspnoea, chest pain, later she experienced hypotension, dyspepsia, and enterorrhagia. ECG showed decrease in QRS amplitude. We have found an echocardiographic evidence of wall hypertrophy. Right cardiac catheterization showed a restrictive situation. Immunobinding of serum and urine revealed monoclonal kappa light chains. The diagnosis was determined by rectal biopsy. Unfortunately, amyloid deposits caused progressive heart failure, hemorrhage, and death just before the diagnosis of primary amyloidosis could be determined on the basis of results of the immunofixations of serum and urine proteins (detection of the monoclonal light chains kappa) and from biopsy specimens taken from rectum (amyloid deposits).

[Apoptosis and expression of bcl-2 protein in invasive ductal adenocarcinoma of the pancreas]. / Apoptóza a exprese bcl-2 proteinu u invazivního duktálního adenokarcinomu pankreatu.

Apoptosis plays a central role in the development and/or progression of cancer. There are several methods for detection of apoptotic cells in tissue sections including light and electron microscopy, in situ nick end-labeling (ISEL), TdT-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) and immunohistochemical detection of proteins associated with apoptosis. Apoptosis was assessed by the monoclonal antibody M30 CytoDEATH (M30), which is specific for neo-epitope in cytokeratin 18 that becomes available at an early caspase cleavage during apoptosis. Expression of bcl-2 protein was evaluated, because bcl-2 protein plays an important role in the regulation of apoptosis. Twenty-six invasive ductal adenocarcinomas of the pancreas were studied immunohistochemically with antibodies M30 and bcl-2. The mean apoptotic index (AI, the percentage of apoptotic cells of the total tumor cells number) was 2.75%. High AI (> 10%) was observed in 4 cases of the 26 pancreatic carcinomas (15%). Protein bcl-2 was expressed in 3 cases (11.5%). The AI did not correlate with the expression of protein bcl-2. In conclusion, the detection of neo-epitope in cytokeratin 18 by monoclonal antibody M30 can be used for quantification of apoptotic cells with immunohistochemical techniques in tissue sections. It is a new approach to evaluate apoptosis in pancreatic carcinomas. The low positivity of bcl-2 expression in pancreatic adenocarcinomas suggests that bcl-2 protein does not play a central role in pancreatic tumorigenesis and cancer progression.

Relationship between K-ras mutation and the expression of p21WAF1/CIP1 and p53 in chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

Overexpression of p21WAF1/CIP1 was recently described as an early event in the development of pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia. Since activating K-ras mutations are described in more than 80% of pancreatic cancers and are known to increase intracellular levels of p21WAF1/CIP1 in experimental models, the possible role of activating K-ras mutations in an induction of the p21WAF1/CIP1 expression was investigated in our study. We examined 71 surgical specimens, 29 of chronic pancreatitis and 42 of invasive ductal adenocarcinoma both having a large spectrum of PanIN (pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia) lesions. Expression of p53 and p21WAF1/CIP1 was examined immunohistochemically and codon 12 K-ras mutational analysis was performed using the very sensitive mutant-enriched PCR-RFLP (polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism) analysis. Our study demonstrated the overexpression of p21WAF1/CIP1 as an early event in the development of pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia in the group of chronic pancreatitis and invasive adenocarcinoma as well. Overexpression of p21WAF1/CIP1 increased progressively from normal ducts through the spectrum of PanIN lesions to invasive carcinomas. The p53 overexpression increased again progressively according to the severity of the lesion and seems to be a later event in the development of pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia if compared to p21WAF1/CIP1 expression. Our results confirmed also the possible p53 independent p21WAF1/CIP1 expression in some PanIN2, PanIN3 lesions and invasive carcinomas. K-ras mutations were not revealed in samples with only low grade PanIN lesions (PanIN1a and PanIN1b). K-ras mutations were detected in 69,4% adenocarcinomas and in only one case of chronic pancreatitis. Two codon 12 K-ras positive pancreatic carcinomas showed K-ras mutations in the surrounding normal pancreatic tissue. In adenocarcinomas, no statistically significant correlation was found between K-ras mutational status and p21WAF1/CIP1 and p53 expression, respectively. The possible role of activating K-ras mutations in an induction of p21WAF1/CIP1 expression was not confirmed in this study.

[Molecular diagnosis in pancreatic carcinoma]. / Príspevek k molekulární diagnostice pankreatického karcinomu.

Present diagnostic possibilities virtually do not make it possible to diagnose early stages of pancreatic cancer. Likewise, it is very difficult to differentiate between pancreatic cancer and chronic pancreatitis. The methods of visualization are insufficiently sensitive and the determination of certain genes could enrich our diagnostic opportunities. Considerable attention in this direction has been devoted to the determination and evaluation of the presence of oncogene K-ras. Our initial experience with the determination of K-ras in preparations from patients with pancreatic cancer or with chronic pancreatitis confirmed that K-ras in an oncomarker associated with adenocarcinoma of pancreas, whereas in patients with chronic pancreatitis it occurs in about 10% of the examined samples.