Clinicopathologic correlations of the BRAFV600E mutation, BRAF V600E immunohistochemistry, and BRAF RNA in situ hybridization in papillary thyroid carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: The BRAF(V600E) mutation is the most common genetic alteration in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). The aim of this study is to analyze the clinicopathologic correlations of the BRAF(V600E) mutation, BRAF V600E immunohistochemistry (IHC) and BRAF RNA in situ hybridization (ISH) in PTC. METHODS: This study included 467 patients with PTC who underwent surgical resection. We studied the BRAF(V600E) mutation using real-time PCR and BRAF V600E and BRAF RNA ISH using tissue microarray (TMA). RESULTS: The frequencies of a positive BRAF(V600E) mutation by real-time PCR, positive BRAF V600E IHC, and high BRAF RNA ISH were 84%, 86%, and 70%, respectively, in PTC. Conventional PTC had higher positive rates in all three tests than other histologic types. The BRAF(V600E) mutation, BRAF V600E IHC, low ΔCt, and high BRAF RNA ISH were significantly associated with lymph node metastasis. The BRAF(V600E) mutation was significantly associated with positive immunostaining for BRAF V600E mutant protein (P<0.001) overall, with high BRAF RNA ISH only in the follicular variant (P=0.035). No significant correlation was noted between BRAF V600E IHC and BRAF RNA ISH. The sensitivity of BRAF V600E IHC for the BRAF(V600E) mutation was 95%, and the specificity was 61% overall, 96% and 54% in the conventional type, and 85% and 70% in the follicular variant. CONCLUSIONS: Our results showed that positive BRAF V600E IHC significantly correlated with the BRAF(V600E) mutation. This suggests its clinical utility as a screening tool for the BRAF(V600E) mutation. In addition, a high BRAF RNA ISH score could be a candidate marker of aggressive behavior in BRAF(V600E) mutation-positive cases of PTC.

Correlation of AR, EGFR, and HER2 Expression Levels in Prostate Cancer: Immunohistochemical Analysis and Chromogenic In Situ Hybridization.

PURPOSE: The androgen receptor (AR) plays a central role in prostate cancer. Evidence from several groups indicates that epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) may enhance AR activity in prostate cancer cell lines. This study was designed to investigate the protein expression of AR, EGFR, and HER2 and to determine whether the EGFR and HER2 genes are amplified in prostate cancer tissues. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The protein expression levels of AR, EGFR, and HER2 in a tissue microarray block of 66 prostate cancer samples were investigated by immunohistochemical analysis and chromogenic in situ hybridization was used to determine whether the EGFR and HER2 genes were amplified in these tissues. RESULTS: The AR and EGFR proteins were expressed in 59.1% and 40.9% of prostate cancers, respectively, but their expression levels were not significantly associated with clinicopathologic factors. Of the cases in which tissues were negative for EGFR protein expression, 69.2% were positive for AR protein expression; however, AR protein expression was significantly reduced (44.4%) in tissues in which EGFR protein was expressed. HER2 expression was detected in only 1 case (1.5%). No amplification of the EGFR or HER2 genes was found in prostate cancer specimens. CONCLUSION: This study was limited by small number of subjects, but it can still be inferred that the expression levels of the AR and EGFR proteins are inversely correlated in prostate cancer patients. The potential utility of EGFR and HER2 as prognostic factors or therapeutic targets warrants further study.

Fine needle aspiration biopsy for the diagnosis of thymoma metastatic to the breast: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Extrathoracic metastases of thymomas are extremely rare, with only 9 documented cases in the cytologic literature, and a thymoma metastasis to the breast has not been reported before. Here we report the cytologic findings on fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) for the diagnosis of a case of thymoma metastatic to the breast. CASE: A 73-year-old woman presented with a palpable mass in the right breast. A sonogram revealed a discrete, hypoechoic nodule in the upper inner quadrant of the breast. She had a history of mediastinal thymoma 2 years earlier, which was treated with chemotherapy because of inoperability. FNAB was performed: the cytologic specimen showed epithelial cell clusters with a few entrapped lymphocytes, suggestive of metastatic thymoma. However, the differential diagnosis also included a primary malignancy such as poorly differentiated ductal carcinoma or medullary carcinoma of the breast. Excisional biopsy with additional immunohistochemical staining confirmed the thymoma metastasis. CONCLUSION: An FNAB-based diagnosis of this rare entity can be an appropriate, simple and minimally invasive procedure in the right clinical setting and with the appropriate patient history.

Behavior of toxic metals and radionuclides during molten salt oxidation of chlorinated plastics.

Molten salt oxidation is one of the promising alternatives to incineration for chlorinated organics without the emission of chlorinated organic pollutants. This study investigated the behavior of three hazardous metals (Cd, Pb, and Cr) and four radioactive metal surrogates (Cs, Ce, Gd, and Sm) in the molten Na2CO3 oxidation reactor during the destruction of PVC plastics. In the tested temperature ranges (1143 1223K) and NaCl content (0-10%), the impact of temperature on the retention of cadmium and lead in the molten salt reactor was very small, but that of the NaCl content for their retention was relatively higher. The influence of NaCl accumulation was, however, proven to be practically negligible due to the low-temperature operating characteristics of the molten salt oxidation system. Neither temperature increase nor chlorine accumulation in the MSO reactor reduced the retention of Cr, Ce, Gd, and Sm. Over 99.98% of these metals remained in the reactor. The influence of the temperature on the cesium behavior is relatively large for a chlorine addition, however, over 99.7% of cesium remained in the reactor throughout the entire test. The experimental metal entrainment rate and the entrained metal particle size distribution agree well with the theoretical equilibrium metal distributions.

Genetic relationships of Bacillus anthracis and closely related species based on variable-number tandem repeat analysis and BOX-PCR genomic fingerprinting.

Variable-number tandem repeats (VNTR) analysis and BOX-repeat-based PCR (BOX-PCR) genomic fingerprinting were performed on 25 Bacillus strains to investigate the genetic relatedness of Bacillus anthracis to the closely related species. Based on VNTR analysis, all B. anthracis strains could be assigned to (VNTR)(4), which is the most commonly found type in the world. Interestingly, a (VNTR)(2) was also observed in Bacillus cereus KCTC 1661 and with an exact match to the tandem repeats found in B. anthracis. This finding has never been reported before in the closely related species. According to the BOX-PCR, B. anthracis strains clustered together and separated reliably from the closely related species. However, B. cereus KCTC 1661 was linked to the B. anthracis cluster and showed close relationships with B. anthracis strains. These results indicated that there was a strong correlation between VNTR analysis and BOX-PCR genomic fingerprinting.