[Anatomic-clinical presentation. Testicular teratocarcinoma with thoracic-abdominal adenopathy]. / Présentation anatomo-clinique. Térato-carcinome testiculaire avec adénopathies thoraco-abdominales.

This case report of a young man with a testicular germ cell-teratoma tumor illustrates the necessity of a multidisciplinary sequential approach to ensure chance of cure. The outcome of patients with advanced germ cell tumor depends on the optimal clinical management. Residual masses are frequent, and their histology can be different than the initial one (i.e., only residual mature teratoma cells or necrosis-fibrosis). Therefore a second surgery on residual masses with curative intent, may be important to optimalize the treatment and follow up.

[Congenital cystic adenomatoid degeneration of the lung and ventricular trigeminism at adult age. Is there a cause-effect relation?]. / Dégénérescence adénomatoïde kystique congénitale du poumon et trigéminisme ventriculaire á l'âge adulte. Peut-on trouver une relation de cause á effet?

Adenomatoid cystic malformations of the lung are usually diagnosed during the perinatal period. Its occurrence in adults is rare, this being the fifth case reported in literature. Improved follow-up techniques and in utero treatment have considerably improved prognosis. Differential diagnosis of pulmonary cysts should thus include this entity at all ages. Recurrent infection is usually the inaugural sign although all neighboring organs, including the heart, may be involved due to compression or extension of the inflammation. Clinical diagnosis is suggested by radiographic findings and is confirmed at pathology as surgery is generally indicated.

Neuroblastoma in a dwarfed newborn. Possible clue to the chromosomal localization of the gene for achondroplasia?

The authors report a premature achondroplastic child with connatal neuroblastoma. Though this association could be coincidental, we suggest that a microdeletion inducing a contiguous gene syndrome involving the locus of neuroblastoma suppressor gene could be an alternative hypothesis. The gives a working hypothesis for the localization of the gene for achondroplasia.

In vitro influence of estradiol or progesterone on the thymidine labeling indices of human benign breast tumors.

Using an in vitro tritiated thymidine (3H-dThd) nuclear labeling followed by autoradiography, the effects of 17-beta-estradiol (E2) or progesterone (Pg) on cell proliferation were studied in 22 human benign breast tumors, i.e. 7 fibroadenomas 8 fibrocystic dysplasias 4 gynecomastias and 3 phyllodas. Small tumor fragments were incubated in a chemically-defined medium without serum and were hormonally stimulated in vitro. The procedure used allowed discrimination between weak labeling, suggestive of DNA repair mechanism, and strong labelling, suggesting a true DNA synthesis (S phase). Taking this into account, our results have shown that both estradiol and progesterone can induce in vitro cell replication of both ER+PgR+ and ER-PgR- human breast fibroadenoma, without affecting those of fibrocystic dysplasia, gynecomastia and phylloda. Progesterone, but not estradiol, might significantly decrease DNA repair mechanism in fibrocystic dysplasia, according to the Pg-induced decrease of nuclear incorporation of small amounts of 3H-dThd. We have thus characterized a dynamic test of hormone dependence which permits in vitro study of the hormonal sensitivity of human benign breast tumors, as well as that of any other human neoplasm. This test could be of great value to help clinicians to diagnose and treat hormone-dependent neoplasms properly. Its clinical relevance is now under study.

Influences of dihydrotestosterone, testosterone, estradiol, progesterone, or prolactin on the cell kinetics of human hyperplastic prostatic tissue in organ culture.

In an effort to characterize the hormone sensitivity of human benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) maintained in organ cultures for 12-72 h, the influence of 5-alpha-dihydrotestosterone (DHT), testosterone (T), 17-beta-estradiol (E2), progesterone (Pg), or prolactin (PRL) was assessed on the cell proliferation rate of 25 BPH specimens by the use of tritiated thymidine incorporation followed by autoradiography. Significant increases in the thymidine-labeling index (TLI: percentage of labeled nuclei) were observed in glandular tissue after a 36-h incubation period in presence of DHT, E2, Pg, or PRL in 52%, 44%, 28%, and 60% of BPH cases, respectively. Nonparametric statistics (Spearman and Kendall rank correlation tests) have shown that 1) the steroid-induced TLI increases are dependent on the basal rate of cell proliferation, while the PRL-induced effect is independent of it, and 2) all the steroid-mediated effects on BPH TLI are correlated together, whereas they seem to be independent of the PRL-induced TLI increase. When T was compared with DHT on nine BPH specimens, three were found to be sensitive to both hormones, and two responded to DHT only. We propose that our study methods are suitable as a means to assess the hormone sensitivity of individual cases of BPH and possibly prostatic tumors.