Lymphocytic Infiltration as a Prognostic Factor in Patients With Colon Cancer.

Host-defense mechanisms may have an important role in predicting the outcome of colorectal cancer patients. We designed our study to evaluate the possible prognostic significance of the presence of lymphocytic infiltration (LI) and subgroups of lymphocytes (CD3 and CD20) in the primary tumors. We randomly selected 195 patients operated for colorectal carcinoma from a larger cohort of 1527 patients with colorectal cancer. Histological slides were blindly reevaluated for the presence of LI that was graded 0 to 3. Immunohistochemical phenotyping of the lymphocytes was performed only for tumors with LI score 3 and included antibodies CD3 and CD20. CD3 and CD20 immunostaining were graded in the same manner as LI. The mean duration of follow-up was 63.8 months. The distribution of patients with colorectal cancer according to LI scores was as follows: score 0, 20/195 (10.2%); score 1, 61/195 (31.3%); score 2, 78/195 (40%); and score 3, 36/195 (18.5%). There was no correlation between any clinicopathological pattern and LI. Score 3 staining for CD3 was more common than for CD20 (64.7% vs 8.8%, P < .0001). Prominent lymphocytic infiltration (score 3) was associated with better disease-free survival (P = .062). Recurrence was diagnosed among 2/22 (9.1%) patients with prominent CD3 staining versus 62/171 (36.2%) of all other patient groups (P = .054) and they correspondingly had better disease-free survival (P = .018). It seems we can identify a group of patients with colorectal cancer who have an excellent prognosis according to a single immunological test unrelated to other known prognostic factors.

COX2 expression in high-grade breast cancer: evidence for prognostic significance in the subset of triple-negative breast cancer patients.

COX2 expression correlates with high-grade breast cancer, but the clinical significance and possible prognostic influence in these patients have not been studied in depth. Our goal was to evaluate the significance of COX2 expression in a group of patients with high-grade breast cancer. Three hundred and three patients (median age 55; age range 25-95 years) with high-grade breast cancer entered this retrospective study. Mean follow-up was 65.2 months (4-179 months). COX2 expression was studied by immunohistochemistry. The distribution of patients with high-grade tumors according to staining for COX2 was as follows: score 0-28/303 (9.3 %); score 1-101/303 (33.3 %); score 2-114/303 (37.6 %); score 3-60/303 (19.8 %). Patients with score 2 and 3 were classified as COX2 positive (174 of 303 patients (57.4 %). There was no correlation between any clinicopathological pattern, ER, PR, Her2 status and COX2 expression. In the group of patients with triple-negative breast cancer, the 5-year disease-free survival rate was 58.3 % for patients with COX2 expression compared with 83.9 % for patients without COX2 expression (P = 0.042). COX2 expression did not provide any prognostic significance for the other biological subtypes of breast cancer with high-grade histological features.

The estrogen receptors in the papillary carcinoma of the thyroid gland.

In this study, the objective was to evaluate the presence of estrogen receptors alpha and beta (ERalpha and ERbeta) in cases of papillary carcinoma of the thyroid gland and to assess the practicality of this test. Immunohistochemical stains were performed for both ERalpha and ERbeta, for evaluation of immunoreactivity in 90 papillary carcinomas. Three variables were evaluated in each sample: the intensity of the staining both nuclear and cytoplasmatic, and the spread of the stain over the sample. None of the histological samples showed immunoreactivity for ERalpha. Positive immunoreactivity results for ERbeta were found in tissue samples in 66.6% (60 cases). The study shows that ERbeta has no significant specification for differentiation between papillary carcinoma and other malignant lesions of the thyroid, while ERalpha is undetectable in this lesion. The ER testing in cases of papillary carcinoma of the thyroid gland is nonspecific and might be not necessary.

Diagnostic value of estrogen receptors in thyroid lesions.

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to evaluate the presence of estrogen receptors (ER) alpha and beta in various thyroid lesions and to assess the practicality of this test. MATERIAL/METHODS: Immunohistochemical stains were performed for both ERalpha and ERbeta, for evaluation of immunoreactivity in 296 thyroid tissue samples that consisted of 150 goiters, 90 papillary carcinomas, 19 follicular adenomas, 15 Hurtle cell adenomas, 6 Hashimoto thyroiditis, 5 anaplastic carcinomas, 4 medullary carcinomas, 4 follicular carcinomas, 2 Hurtle cell carcinomas, and 1 squamous cell carcinoma of the thyroid. Three variables were evaluated in each sample: The intensity of the staining both nuclear (1) and cytoplasmic (2), and the spread of the stain over the sample (3). RESULTS: None of the histologic samples showed immunoreactivity for ERalpha. Positive immunoreactivity results for ERbeta were found in tissue samples from all of the different groups of diagnoses, both benign and malignant lesions as well as in normal thyroid tissue. No significant difference was found between the various thyroid lesions. CONCLUSIONS: The study shows that ERbeta is the only ER detectable in thyroid tissue. However, ERbeta expression has no significant specifications for differentiation between benign and malignant lesions of the thyroid. ERalpha is undetectable in the thyroid. Further investigations are necessary mainly in the laboratory immunohistochemical workup.

Are estrogen receptors alpha detectable in normal and abnormal thyroid tissue?

The aims of this study is to evaluate the presence of estrogen receptors alpha (ERα) in thyroid lesions and to assess the practicality of this test in view of numerous disagreements on the subject. Immunohistochemical stains were performed for ERα, for the evaluation of immunoreactivity in 296 pathological thyroid tissue samples. We evaluated the intensity of the nuclear and cytoplasmatic staining and the spread of the stain over the sample. Thirty cases of the breast cancer served as a control group. None of the histological thyroid samples showed immunoreactivity for ERα. No difference was found between the various lesions in regard to this absence. The ERα rate of expression in the breast cancer samples was 60%. The ERα is undetectable in the histological samples of benign and malignant thyroid lesions. Further investigation is necessary in the laboratory immunohistochemical workup in order to exclude a possibility of non-specific staining.

G-CSF induces stem cell mobilization by decreasing bone marrow SDF-1 and up-regulating CXCR4.

Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) induced hematopoietic stem cell mobilization is widely used for clinical transplantation; however, the mechanism is poorly understood. We report here that G-CSF induced a reduction of the chemokine stromal cell derived factor 1 (SDF-1) and an increase in its receptor CXCR4 in the bone marrow (BM), whereas their protein expression in the blood was less affected. The gradual decrease of BM SDF-1, due mostly to its degradation by neutrophil elastase, correlated with stem cell mobilization. Elastase inhibition reduced both activities. Human and murine stem cell mobilization was inhibited by neutralizing CXCR4 or SDF-1 antibodies, demonstrating SDF-1 CXCR4 signaling in cell egress. We suggest that manipulation of SDF-1 CXCR4 interactions may be a means with which to control the navigation of progenitors between the BM and blood to improve the outcome of clinical stem cell transplantation.