Study of the action of tamoxifen on the mammary gland epithelium of premenopausal patients by lysosome quantification.

Tamoxifen is an antiestrogen drug widely utilized for the adjuvant hormonal treatment of breast carcinoma. Its use in the primary prophylaxis of this disease is currently being proposed. Although the drug has few side effects, its precise action on breast tissue that has not undergone neoplastic transformation has not been fully elucidated. This prospective, randomized study assessed the estrogen activity of tamoxifen on the mammary gland epithelium of premenopausal patients using a quantitative analysis of mammary epithelium lysosome identified by the cytochemical technique of GOMORI for acid phosphatase and by light microscopy. Tamoxifen significantly increased the number of lysosomes only during the secretory phase of the menstrual cycle. We concluded that the early effect of the drug on normal mammary tissue is synergistic with the effect of estrogen during the premenopausal period.

Leiomyoma of the breast. A case report.

A rare case of leiomyoma of the breast is reported, with a discussion of the clinical aspects and of the differential diagnosis. Excluding tumors originating from the areolar-papillary complex and the skin, this neoplasm is extremely rare, with only 11 cases reported so far. The histogenesis of the lesion is still controversial.

Proximal humeral ossification center of the fetus: time of appearance and the sensitivity and specificity of this finding.

Ultrasonographic examinations were performed on 1,000 pregnant women between the 28th and 40th weeks of gestation who had been seen at a private clinic. For all women the date of last menstruation was known, and none had obstetrical or clinical-surgical complications. All were singleton pregnancies, and cases of fetal malformation were excluded from the study. The proximal humeral epiphyseal ossification center was visualized significantly frequently after the 38th week (P < 0.001). With respect to a gestational age of more than 38 weeks, its specificity was elevated (99%), as also were its positive (91%) and negative (93%) predictive values. Its sensitivity, however, was low (58%). Routine determination of the proximal humeral ossification center is a valuable aid for the estimation of gestational age in the third trimester.

Primary lymphoma of the breast.

We describe a case of primary lymphoma of the breast which clinically mimicked a phyllodes tumor. The diagnosis and treatment of this rare neoplasm are discussed. The lymphomas, neoplasias of the immune system, comprise a large group of proliferative diseases of the lymphoreticular tissue which are classified into two histological types, i.e., Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin. Primary lymphomas of the breast are quite rare, with an incidence ranging from 0.4 to 0.53% of all malignant breast tumors (2). They are characterized by uni- or bilateral involvement of the breast, with or without homolateral axillary lymphadenopathy, and by the absence of lymphatic disease at another site (7). We report here a case of primary non-Hodgkin lymphoma of the left breast and we discuss its clinical aspects and the treatment instituted.

Sex variation at the time of sonographic appearance of the proximal tibial epiphyseal ossification center.

The time of sonographic appearance of the proximal tibial epiphyseal ossification center and its sexual variation was assessed in 659 normal pregnancies. Proximal tibial center appears between 34-37 weeks gestation. In female fetuses, it appears between 34-35 weeks and in males, between 35-36 weeks (P < 0.001). There was a tendency of female proximal tibial center appearance to precede male appearance, by approximately one week. This difference, however, didn't show statistical significance.