FNA Cytology in pediatric small cell glioblastoma.

Small cell glioblastoma is a high anaplastic variant of GBM characterized by a monomorphic proliferation of small or medium cells with oval nuclei and scanty cytoplasm. CASE STUDY: The cytologic findings of a small cell glioblastoma in 11-year-old male and histologic features of the tumor using immunocytohistochemistry are reported. CONCLUSION: The accurate preoperative diagnosis of a small cell glioblastoma is crucial to developing a curative surgical plan. Cytology- confirmed by histology- provides a convenient, safe and effective approach to solving a challenging differential diagnosis.

Cytology of Pericardial Effusion due to Malignancy.

BACKGROUND: Malignant pericardial effusion occurs in one tenth of all cancers. It is a very serious disorder that is mainly a secondary process due to metastasis because primary neoplasms of the pericardium such as mesotheliomas, sarcomas being exceedingly rare [corrected]. Pericardial effusion specimens are uncommon and to the best of our knowledge the current study is the largest systematic evaluation of pericardial fluid cytology performed to date. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Pericardial effusion specimens from 145 patients collected over a 25 [corrected] year period were studied by cytology [corrected]. The minimum pericardial fluid volume used for adequate cytologic diagnosis in these patients was more than 60 mL. RESULTS: Cytological diagnosis revealed malignant pericardial exudates in 100% of the studied patients [corrected]. CONCLUSIONS: Cytology provides an immediate and accurate means of diagnosis. Immunocytology is very important in the diagnostic evaluation.

EUS - Fine- Needle Aspiration Biopsy (FNAB) in the Diagnosis of Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma: A Review.

Solid masses of the pancreas represent a variety of benign and malignant neoplasms of the exocrine and endocrine tissues of the pancreas. A tissue diagnosis is often required to direct therapy in the face of uncertain diagnosis or if the patient is not a surgical candidate either due to advanced disease or comorbidities. Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) is a relatively new technology that employs endoscopy and high-frequency ultrasound (US). EUS involves imaging of the pancreatic head and the uncinate from the duodenum and imaging of the body and tail from the stomach. It has been shown to be a highly sensitive method for the detection of pancreatic masses. It is superior to extracorporeal US and computed tomographic (CT) scans, especially when the pancreatic tumor is smaller than 2-3 cm. Although EUS is highly sensitive in detecting pancreatic solid masses, its ability to differentiate between inflammatory masses and malignant disease is limited. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) brushing, CT-guided biopsies, and transabdominal ultrasound (US) have been the standard nonsurgical methods for obtaining a tissue diagnosis of pancreatic lesions, but a substantial false-negative rate has been reported. Transabdominal US-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy (US-FNAB) has been used for tissue diagnosis in patients with suspected pancreatic carcinoma. It has been shown to be highly specific, with no false-positive diagnoses. With the advent of curvilinear echoendoscopes, transgastric and transduodenal EUS-FNAB of the pancreas have become a reality EUS with FNAB has revolutionized the ability to diagnose and stage cancers of the gastrointestinal tract and assess the pancreas. Gastrointestinal cancers can be looked at with EUS and their depth of penetration into the intestinal wall can be determined. Any suspicious appearing lymph nodes can be biopsied using EUS/FNAB. The pancreas is another organ that is well visualized with EUS. Abnormalities such as tumors and cysts of the pancreas can be carefully evaluated using EUS and then biopsied with FNAB. There are many new applications of EUS using FNAB. Researchers are looking to deliver chemotherapeutics into small pancreatic cancers and cysts. Nerve blocks using EUS/FNAB to inject numbing medicines into the celiac ganglia, a major nerve cluster, are now routinely performed in patients with pain due to pancreatic cancer. The aim of this study is to perform a review of the literature regarding the usefulness of EUS/FNAB in the diagnosis of pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

Fine Needle Aspiration Biopsy (FNAB) in the Diagnosis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Review.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth more common cause of cancer and the third leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. Despite advances in surgical and non surgical modalities in the treatment of HCC, a number of controversies regarding appropriate diagnostic procedures continue to evolve. A consensus statement from the European Association for the study of Liver Diseases (EASL) has been formulated to help clinicians standardize diagnostic approaches. In nodules greater than 2 cm diameter in size, diagnosis can be made if any 2 imaging studies (ultrasonography, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging or hepatic arteriography) show increased vascularity. Alternatively only one imaging study with an Alpha fetoprotein level more than 400ng/mL is diagnostic. Fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) should be performed in cases of indeterminate radiology and in lesions sized between 1 and 2 cm. The aim of this review is to familiarize pathologists in the FNAB diagnosis of HCC in an appropriate and timely fashion.

THE PROGNOSTIC SIGNIFICANCE OF P53, BCL2 AND MIB1 EXPRESSIONS RELATED WITH OTHER CLINICOPATHOLOGICAL VARIABLES IN SEROUS OVARIAN CARCINOMAS. A CLINICOPATHOLOGICAL STUDY IN PERITONEAL FLUIDS.

OBJECTIVE: The first cytological study examining the expression of P53, BCL2 and MIB 1 expressions in correlation with other clinicopathological parameters in ascitic fluids of patients with serous ovarian carcinomas. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty women 35-75 years old were diagnosed cytologically and confirmed histologically after operation in the University Hospital of Crete. All carcinomas were serous type and eight(8) of grade I, eighteen (18) of grade II and twenty two (22) of grade III. All carcinomas were staged according to the Figo criteria. Fifteen (15) were of Figo stage III and thirty five (35) were of Figo stage IV. For p53 and bcl-2, staining was evaluated on a semiquantitative scale depending on the number of cells showing positivity. For MIB1, the percentage of positive nuclei was calculated. Main outcome measure(s): The expression of P53, BCL2 and MIB 1 (Ki 67) correlated with tumor grade and Figo stages were estimated by chi-square (χ2). RESULTS: The expression of P53 and MIB1 were found to be statistically significant (p < 0.005) correlated with Figo stage and tumor grade. A statistical significant correlation was also found between BCL2 expression and tumor Grade ( p < 0.005) but not between BCL2 expression and Figo Stage. The study found a high expression of P53 (64%) and MIB1 (72%) and an expression of BCL2 (48%) in ascitic fluid of patients with ovarian carcinoma. A statistically significant correlation between P53 and MIB1 expression correlated with tumor grade and Figo stage (p < 0.005) and a statistically significant correlation between BCL2 expression and tumor grade but no with the Figo stage was found (p < 0.005). There was a positive correlation between P53 and MIB1. No significant association was found between P53 and BCL2 expression or MIB1 labeling index. CONCLUSION(S): Our data show significant differences in the expression of these markers in ovarian tumors and suggest a possible role for these tumor-associated genes as supplemental tools in prognosis and further definition of the biologic potential of these tumors.

Minos as a novel Tc1/mariner-type transposable element for functional genomic analysis in Aspergillus nidulans.

Transposons constitute powerful genetic tools for gene inactivation, exon or promoter trapping and genome analyses. The Minos element from Drosophila hydei, a Tc1/mariner-like transposon, has proved as a very efficient tool for heterologous transposition in several metazoa. In filamentous fungi, only a handful of fungal-specific transposable elements have been exploited as genetic tools, with the impala Tc1/mariner element from Fusarium oxysporum being the most successful. Here, we developed a two-component transposition system to manipulate Minos transposition in Aspergillus nidulans (AnMinos). Our system allows direct selection of transposition events based on re-activation of niaD, a gene necessary for growth on nitrate as a nitrogen source. On average, among 10(8) conidiospores, we obtain up to ∼0.8×10(2) transposition events leading to the expected revertant phenotype (niaD(+)), while ∼16% of excision events lead to AnMinos loss. Characterized excision footprints consisted of the four terminal bases of the transposon flanked by the TA target duplication and led to no major DNA rearrangements. AnMinos transposition depends on the presence of its homologous transposase. Its frequency was not significantly affected by temperature, UV irradiation or the transcription status of the original integration locus (niaD). Importantly, transposition is dependent on nkuA, encoding an enzyme essential for non-homologous end joining of DNA in double-strand break repair. AnMinos proved to be an efficient tool for functional analysis as it seems to transpose in different genomic loci positions in all chromosomes, including a high proportion of integration events within or close to genes. We have used Minos to obtain morphological and toxic analogue resistant mutants. Interestingly, among morphological mutants some seem to be due to Minos-elicited over-expression of specific genes, rather than gene inactivation.