Characteristic endoscopic findings of gastrointestinal malignant lymphomas other than mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma.

Background and study aims: The gastrointestinal (GI) tract is the most common site of extra-nodal involvement for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). The features of GI NHLs remain unclear. The aim of this study was to clarify endoscopic characteristics of GI NHLs. Patients and methods: We retrospectively analyzed the morphological characteristics of 63 GI malignant lymphomas other than mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma. Lesions were diagnosed between 2005 and 2020. Macroscopic findings were classified into five subtypes: superficial (S); protruding without ulcer (P); protruding with ulcer (PU); fungating (F); and multiple nodules (MN). Results: Thirty-one lesions in the stomach were classified as S type in 3 cases (9.6%), P type in 6 (19%), PU type in 13 (42%), and F type in 9 (29%). In the stomach, the ulcerated phenotype was more frequent for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) (89.5%) than for other histological types (41.7%; P = 0.01). In the intestine, 23 tumors were classified as S type in 4 cases (17%), P type in 1 (4%), PU type in 6 (26%), F type in 1 (4%), and MN in 11 (48%). Eleven of the 14 cases (78.6%) of intestinal follicular lymphoma lesions showed MN type. In the colon, eight tumors were classified as S type in 2 cases (25%), P type in 2 (25%), PU type in 1 (13%), and F type in 3 (38%). Conclusion: We have clarified the endoscopic features of GI NHL using macroscopic classifications. The ulcerated phenotype was the most frequent endoscopic finding for DLBCL.

Hashimoto's disease is a frequent comorbidity and an exacerbating factor of chronic spontaneous urticaria

BACKGROUND: The precise pathogenesis of chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) remains unknown. However, an important association between CSU and autoimmune disorders such as Hashimoto's disease (HD) has been reported. We investigated the frequency of HD as a comorbidity of CSU and the prevalence rate of autoreactivity among CSU patients with HD. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The presence of thyroid autoantibodies and the levels of thyroid hormones were examined in 40 CSU patients who showed urticaria symptoms for >4 weeks. Patients who were diagnosed with HD, including subclinical ones, and were in need of treatment received thyroid therapy, and the changes in their urticarial symptoms were observed. An autologous serum skin test (ASST) was also performed to examine the relation of CSU with autoreactivity. RESULTS: Eleven of the 40 CSU patients were diagnosed with HD, and 4 of the 5 patients who received and completed thyroid therapy showed considerable remission of urticarial symptoms during and after treatment. In addition, the rate of positive ASST results tended to be higher in CSU patients with HD (5 of 7) than in those without HD (2 of 6). CONCLUSIONS: The comorbidity rate of HD in CSU patients was high, and such patients tended to have a positive ASST. Thyroid therapy in CSU patients with HD can lead to a considerable remission of urticarial symptoms, which may suggest that HD is possibly involved in the aetiology of CSU, or is at least a potential exacerbating factor for CSU

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Hashimoto's disease is a frequent comorbidity and an exacerbating factor of chronic spontaneous urticaria.

BACKGROUND: The precise pathogenesis of chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) remains unknown. However, an important association between CSU and autoimmune disorders such as Hashimoto's disease (HD) has been reported. We investigated the frequency of HD as a comorbidity of CSU and the prevalence rate of autoreactivity among CSU patients with HD. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The presence of thyroid autoantibodies and the levels of thyroid hormones were examined in 40 CSU patients who showed urticaria symptoms for >4 weeks. Patients who were diagnosed with HD, including subclinical ones, and were in need of treatment received thyroid therapy, and the changes in their urticarial symptoms were observed. An autologous serum skin test (ASST) was also performed to examine the relation of CSU with autoreactivity. RESULTS: Eleven of the 40 CSU patients were diagnosed with HD, and 4 of the 5 patients who received and completed thyroid therapy showed considerable remission of urticarial symptoms during and after treatment. In addition, the rate of positive ASST results tended to be higher in CSU patients with HD (5 of 7) than in those without HD (2 of 6). CONCLUSIONS: The comorbidity rate of HD in CSU patients was high, and such patients tended to have a positive ASST. Thyroid therapy in CSU patients with HD can lead to a considerable remission of urticarial symptoms, which may suggest that HD is possibly involved in the aetiology of CSU, or is at least a potential exacerbating factor for CSU.

Gamma-irradiation deregulates cell cycle control and apoptosis in nevoid basal cell carcinoma syndrome-derived cells.

The nevoid basal cell carcinoma syndrome (NBCCS) is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by nevi, palmar and plantar pits, falx calcification, vertebrate anomalies and basal cell carcinomas. It is well known in NBCCS that gamma-irradiation to the skin induces basal cell carcinomas or causes an enlargement of the tumor size, although the details of the mechanism remain unknown. We have established lymphoblastoid cell lines from three NBCCS patients, and we present here the first evidence of abnormal cell cycle and apoptosis regulations. A novel mutation (single nucleotide deletion) in the coding region of the human patched gene, PTCH, was identified in two sibling patients, but no apparent abnormalities were detected in the gene of the remaining patient. Nevertheless, the three established cell lines showed similar features in the following analyses. Flow cytometric analyses revealed that the NBCCS-derived cells were accumulated in the G2M phase after gamma-irradiation, whereas normal cells showed cell cycle arrest both in the G0G1 and G2M phases. The fraction of apoptotic cells after gamma-irradiation was smaller in the NBCCS cells. The level of p27 expression markedly decreased after gamma-irradiation in the NBCCS cells, although the effects of the irradiation on the expression profiles for p53, p21 and Rb did not differ in normal and NBCCS cells. These findings may provide a clue to the molecular mechanisms of tumorigenesis in NBCCS.

Argyrophilic Nucleolar Organizer Regions of Breast Tumors: Assessment of Aspirated Cytological Materials.

To investigate the correlation between argyrophilic nucleolar organizer regions (Ag-NORs)and the malignant potential of breast tumors, we analyzed Ag-NORs of cytological specimens obtained from 190 patients with various types of breast disease by preoperative aspiration biopsy. The average number of Ag-NORs per nucleus was defined as the Ag-NOR score. The Ag-NOR score was 5.7 +/- 1.7 in the group of women with breast carcinoma (n =70), 2.6= 0.4 in the group with fibroadenoma (n= 54) and 2.9= 0.6 in the group with mastopathy (n= 66). The level was significantly higher in breast carcinoma than in each benign disease(P < 0.001 in both cases). The score was 6.5 +/- 2.3 in the group with four or more metastatic lymph nodes (n = 21), 5.2+/- 1.2 in the group with one to three metastatic lymph node (n= 10) and 5.1+/- 1.1 in that with no metastatic lymph node (n = 39);the score was significantly (P < 0.05) higher in the groups with four or more metastatic lymph modes than in the other groups, respectively. Thus, a correlaton was observed between the Ag-NOR score and lymph node status. These data suggest that a higher Ag-NOR score reflects high-grade malignancy.

Cytological evaluation of the effects of chemotherapy on metastatic liver cancer.

We present a method for the cytological evaluation of the therapeutic effects of various treatments on unresectable metastasis in the liver from colorectal cancer. A degeneration index (DI) for cancer cells obtained by aspiration was determined in 17 patients before and after treatment. The relationships of the rate of tumor reduction and of the post-treatment survival period to the treatment-induced changes in DI were studied. The treatment-induced change in DI was represented by the difference between the pretreatment DI and the posttreatment DI. The treatment-induced change in DI was significantly correlated with the rate of tumor reduction (r = 0.794, P < 0.001). The survival rate was significantly higher in patients with higher changes in DI than in patients with lower changes (P < 0.05). The change in the DI of cancer cells seems to be a useful parameter for evaluating the effects of chemotherapy on unresectable liver metastases from colorectal cancer.

In vitro study of the binding of terbium to tryptophan by 1H-NMR and fluorescence spectroscopy.

Terbium (Tb), a rare earth element having an ionic radius similar to that of Ca2+, is used as an antagonist of Ca2+. Recently, we found that when giant axon membrane of a loligo treated with Tb was excited at 290 nm, where tryptophan (Trp) gives absorption mechanism, emits fluorescence of Tb at 490 nm and 545 nm in addition to that of Trp at 345 nm. The present study was undertaken to locate on the Trp molecule the interaction between Trp and Tb by carrying out in vitro binding experiments with Tb and Trp and the molecular mechanism was analyzed by 1H-NMR spectroscopy and fluorescence spectroscopy. Fluorescence spectroscopy showed that Tb and Trp are combined at a molecular ratio close to 1:1. 1H-NMR spectroscopy revealed that Tb interacts with the amino group at the alpha-position and the imido group of the indole ring of Trp. Since all amino groups of Trp are involved in peptide linkages in vivo, it seems likely that the binding of Tb to Trp is undertaken by the imido group of the indole ring.