Feasibility of immunocytochemical detection of tumor markers (XIAP, phosphohistone H1 and p63) in FNA cellblock samples from head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

One of the major handicaps in contemporary clinical oncology is the inability to predict the responsiveness of any individual's malignancy to specific therapies. The purpose of this study was to test the feasibility of immunocytochemically detecting markers that may be affected by therapy or are predictive of therapeutic responsiveness, including phosphohistone H1 (anti-p-H1 MoAb 12D11) and X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis (XIAP) in small samples obtained via fine-needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy procedure, thus improving therapeutic monitoring. p63, a squamous stem cell regulatory protein, was also examined. These three markers were studied in FNA cell block samples of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Twenty-eight alcohol-fixed formalin-postfixed paraffin-embedded cell-block samples from FNAs of patients with HNSCC were subjected to antigen retrieval and then incubated with anti-XIAP, anti-p-H1, and anti-p63, and developed using EnVision-Plus reagents and diaminobenzidine as chromagen; Granular or heterogeneous cytoplasmic staining for XIAP and nuclear staining for p63 and p-H1 were considered positive. Among the 28 cases studied, the overall positive rates for XIAP, p-H1, and p63 were 60.7%, 96.4%, and 92.8%, respectively. The staining intensity for XIAP: + 70.6%, ++ 23.5%, +++ 0%, and ++++ 5.9%; for p-H1: + 48.1%, ++ 11.1%, +++37.0%, and ++++ 3.7%; and for p63: + 11.5%, ++ 23.1%, +++ 53.9%, and ++++ 11.5%. The expression of p-H1 and p63 appeared to be higher and stronger than that of XIAP in HNSCC. This study demonstrated the feasibility of monitoring expression of three tumor markers using FNA samples. p-H1 and XIAP may be useful for monitoring actions of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors, XIAP-lowering, and/or apoptosis-inducing drugs, respectively. Future studies will focus on the impact of therapies upon these staining profiles.

Solitary splenic metastasis of endometrial carcinoma ten years after hysterectomy. Case report and review of the literature.

Solitary carcinomatous metastases to the spleen are rare. The reports of such cases in the literature usually concern late stages of the disease, with generalized carcinomatosis and metastatic foci in several other organs. Primary tumors that most often metastasize to the spleen are carcinomata of the breast, lung and ovaries, as well as malignant melanomata. Less often, carcinomata of the stomach, large bowel and kidneys are reported to implicate the organ with metastatic disease. The presence of solitary splenic metastasis of endometrial origin however, is extremely rare. We present a case of a 53-year-old female patient who ten years after hysterectomy due to the presence of endometrial carcinoma developed a metastatic focus to the spleen. This focus was diagnosed on the grounds of histology and immunohistochemistry, after splenic excision, to be of endometrial origin. Together with this case presentation, several aspects of the disease and its differential diagnosis are discussed, in correlation with the current literature.