Vertebral bone metastasis in breast cancer: a case report.

BACKGROUND: We report here a case of a 66-year-old woman with a very aggressive form of breast carcinoma, having both liver and bone dissemination points. CASE DESCRIPTION: The patient was admitted for a rapid onset disk-herniation-like syndrome, but which on further investigation proved to be in fact a metastatic case of breast cancer. We found evidence of disseminations at least in the lumbar vertebral bodies and the liver. Pathological analysis of the available vertebral metastasis revealed a HER2+ molecular pattern, accordingly to the newly evolving molecular typing of breast cancers. Despite a rapid treatment instauration, the patient reacted poorly to taxanes and octeoclast inhibitors, and died after less than 11 months from admitting to the hospital. CONCLUSIONS: This is a rare case of an aggressive breast carcinoma identified initially after the vertebral metastases themselves that induced a non-specific symptomatology.

Immunohistochemical nuclear staining for p53, PCNA, Ki-67 and bcl-2 in different histologic variants of basal cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Basal cell carcinoma is the most common form of human cancer. Increased expression of p53 has been found in the majority of basal cell carcinomas (BCCs); however, UV-light-induced signature mutations are present in only about 50% of cases. Increased nuclear staining with an immunohistochemical marker of proliferation and apoptosis has been correlated with aggressive behavior in BCC. OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to correlate markers expression of apoptosis (p53 and bcl-2) and cell proliferation (Ki-67 and PCNA) with histological indicators of tumor severity. METHODS: We used immunohistochemical stains for p53, PCNA, and Ki-67, in superficial, nodular and sclerosing BCC, to determine whether the staining patterns differ in these different histologic variants of BCC. RESULTS: Bcl-2 expression was significant in basal cell carcinomas said to be aggressive (morpheaform and nodular types). Of the studied tumors, 66.7% (n=14) strongly expressed p53. Our results show a greater expression of Ki-67 in nodular and superficial basal cell carcinoma. PCNA showed a strong expression in all types of tumors. CONCLUSION: Studies employing molecular and genetic biology techniques, associated with histomorphology, lead to the identification of risk factors in the development of more recurring and aggressive lesions.