Dose-dependent effects of kefir on colitis induced by trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid in rats.

Evidence suggests that gut microbiota dysbiosis plays a critical role in the initiation and promotion of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Kefir is a fermented dairy product including yeast and bacterial species. We aimed to investigate the effect of kefir on trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS)-induced colitis in rats using two different doses. Fifty-four Wistar rats were divided into six groups. For 14 days, the normal control and colitis control groups were given tap water, kefir10 control, kefir10 colitis, and kefir30 control, and the kefir30 colitis groups were given phosphate-buffered saline containing 10% or 30% kefir, respectively, instead of tap water. Colitis was induced by intracolonically administrating TNBS in the colitis control, kefir10 colitis, and kefir30 colitis groups. On the 14th day, the rats were sacrificed. The weights and lengths of the colons were measured and macroscopically evaluated, and the distal 10 cm segments were subjected to a histopathological examination. The incidence of bloody stool and diarrhea in the kefir10 colitis group was found to be less than the colitis control and kefir30 colitis groups. The colonic weight/length ratio in the kefir10 colitis group was lower than that in the colitis control and kefir30 colitis groups. We detected that the 10% kefir treatment reduced TNBS-induced macroscopic colonic damage, while it was exacerbated by the 30% kefir treatment. No significant difference was observed between the colitis groups in terms of microscopic colonic damage scoring. These results indicate that kefir, with a careful dose selection, may be a useful agent in the treatment of IBD.

Interobserver reproducibility of tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte evaluations in breast cancer.

AIM: Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) have a prognostic value in breast cancer (BC); however, because of the lack of standard evaluation methods, we aimed to assess the interobserver agreement of stromal TILs (sTILs) and intratumoral TILs (iTILs) as well as the effect of hot spot areas and molecular subtyping on the overall agreement. METHODS: The study consisted of 121 haematoxylin and eosin (H and E)-stained slides of invasive BC samples obtained from the pathology archives. The TIL assessment was based on the International TIL Working Group recommendations for the percentage of sTILs and was conducted by four pathologists. The percentage of iTILs, the number of lymphocytes in hot spot areas (iTILs-HS), and the overall interobserver agreement for the molecular subtypes were evaluated. The interclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to assess interobserver agreement among the four pathologists. RESULTS:: The ICC score among the observers for the sTIL percentages was 0.74, and the individual ICC values for each molecular subtype were 0.55, 0.88, and 0.79 for luminal, HER2-positive, and triple-negative tumors, respectively. The compliance value for the iTILs was 0.29 (95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.06-0.48], whereas the compliance value for the iTILs-HS was 0.63 (95% CI = 0.49-0.71). The compliance values for the iTILs-HS subtypes were 0.72, 0.43, and 0.55 for luminal, HER2-positive, and triple-negative tumors, respectively. CONCLUSION: The IWTILG recommendations are reproducible and reliable. The interobserver agreement of the sTIL percentages was considerably higher for the triple-negative and HER2-positive cases than the luminal cases, whereas the interobserver agreement for the assessment of iTILs-HS in tumors was higher for the luminal subtype.

Expression of Cox-2 and Bcl-2 in Paget's disease of the breast.

BACKGROUND: Paget's disease (PD) is a rare form of intraepithelial adenocarcinoma that involves breast and extramammarian tissues. It is often associated with ductal carcinoma in situ and/or invasive ductal cancer. Molecular pathways that play a role in development of Paget's disease are stil unclear. Expression patterns of Cox-2 and bcl-2 were therefore assessed. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients with a histopathological diagnosis of Paget's disease were included in this study. Patient files were analysed retrospectively. RESULTS: Invasive cancer was diagnosed in 35 (76.1%) of the patients, 7 (15.2%) had ductal carcinoma in situ and 4 (8.7%) patients had no associated neoplasm. Twenty four (52.2%) patients showed COX-2 expression in Paget cells whereas no expression was seen in 22 (47.8%) patients. No relation was found between COX-2 expression and the lesion underlying Paget's disease (p=0.518). Bcl-2 expression in Paget cells was found positive in 12 (26.1%) and negative in 27 (58,7%) cases. There was no relation between Bcl-2 expression and the lesion accompanying Paget's disease (p=0.412). No relation was observed between COX-2 expression and Bcl-2 expression (p=0.389). CONCLUSIONS: In breast cancer, COX-2 expression is associated with poor prognostic factors. As COX-2 expression increases the tendency to metastasize also increases. In our study we found a significantly high COX-2 expression in Paget's disease of the breast. We suggest that COX-2 expression and inflammatory processes may play a role in pathogenesis of the Paget's disease of the breast.

Huge inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor of pleura with concomitant nuchal fibroma.

Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor (IMT) is a rare benign neoplasm. It is a challenging disease because the symptoms and radiologic findings are diverse and nonspecific. Although pulmonary IMT is the most common form, pleural origin is an extremely rare clinical entity. Nuchal fibroma (NF) is another rare benign neoplasm. We report herein a case of pleural IMT with concomitant NF in a 15-year-old girl. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report suggesting an association between IMT and NF, and our case had the largest reported intrathoracic IMT. Moreover, we found a possible association between IMT and increased CA-125 levels.

[Coexistence of multiple gastrointestinal stromal tumors and signet ring cell carcinoma of stomach in a patient with neurofibromatosis type-1: case report]. / Nörofibromatozis Tip-1'li Hastada Multipl Gastrointestinal Stromal Tümör ve Midede Tasli Yüzük Hücreli Karsinom Birlikteligi: Olgu Sunumu.

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors are mesenchymal neoplasias which are derived from Cajal's interstitial cells. The most common site of involvement is the stomach. It may be multiple in patients with Neurofibromatosis Type-1, while the small intestine is the most common location. In this case report, we aimed to present a Neurofibromatosis Type-1 patient, showing coexistence of multiple gastrointestinal stromal tumors in the stomach and small intestine with a signet ring cell carcinoma in the stomach. A 74-year-old female patient with poor appetite, vomiting and stomach ache was admitted to the hospital. After detection of a tumoral lesion with an ulcerated surface in stomach during the upper gastrointestinal tract endoscopic examination, the patient underwent surgery. During the operation, multiple nodular lesions were observed in the serosal surfaces of the small intestine and stomach. Gastrectomy and partial small intestine resection specimens were evaluated and the patient was diagnosed as signet ring cell carcinoma in the stomach, and multiple gastrointestinal stromal tumors in the serosal surfaces of both the stomach and small intestine. Resection specimens of patients with GIST need to be evaluated carefully on macroscopic examination, considering the possible presence of a coexistent tumoral lesion.

Immunohistochemical COX-2 overexpression correlates with HER-2/neu overexpression in invasive breast carcinomas: a pilot study.

Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is a prostaglandin synthase that catalyzes the synthesis of prostaglandin G2 and H2. It has been shown that COX-2 plays an important role in tumorigenesis of different tumor types and it is thought to take part in breast carcinogenesis. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the relationship of immunohistochemical COX-2 expression with clinicopathological parameters, including HER-2/neu overexpression in invasive breast carcinoma (IBC). Our study population comprised 10 normal breasts, 25 ductal carcinomas in situ (DCIS), and 51 invasive breast carcinomas. Immunohistochemical overexpressions of COX-2 and HER-2/neu were investigated in sections of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded blocks by 3 observers. In normal breast, DCIS and IBC, the COX-2 overexpression rate was 0%, 84%, and 58.8%, respectively. In IBC, COX-2 overexpression had a significant relationship with HER-2/neu overexpression (p=0.026) and a high histological grade (p=0.026). COX-2 expression in both DCIS (n=25) and IBC (n=51) was significantly higher than in normal breast tissue (p<0.0001). In addition, the COX-2 expression rate was significantly higher in DCIS than in IBC (p=0.042). Our results indicated that COX-2 overexpression correlates with aggressive phenotypic features, such as HER-2/neu overexpression and high histological grade in IBC. Increased expression of COX-2 in both DCIS and IBC in comparison to normal breast could indicate a role in breast carcinogenesis. COX-2 overexpression may provide a clinically useful biomarker for estimating tumor aggressiveness.