Fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis of atypical melanocytic proliferations and melanoma in young patients.

Morphologic heterogeneity among melanocytic proliferations is a common challenge in the diagnosis of melanoma. In particular, atypical melanocytic lesions in children, adolescents, and young adults may be difficult to classify because of significant morphologic overlap with melanoma. Recently a four-probe fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) protocol to detect chromosomal abnormalities in chromosomes 6 and 11 has shown promise for improving the classification of melanocytic lesions. We sought to determine the correlation between FISH results, morphology, and clinical outcomes in a series of challenging melanocytic proliferations in young patients. We retrospectively performed the standard four-probe FISH analysis on 21 melanocytic neoplasms from 21 patients younger than 25 years of age (range 5-25 years, mean 14.6 years) from Stanford University Medical Center who were prospectively followed for a median of 51 months (range 1-136 months). The study cohort included patients with 5 confirmed melanomas, 2 melanocytic tumors of uncertain malignant potential (MelTUMPs), 10 morphologically challenging atypical Spitz tumors (ASTs), and 4 typical Spitz nevi. FISH detected chromosomal aberrations in all five melanomas and in one MelTUMP, in which the patient developed subsequent lymph node and distant metastasis. All 10 ASTs, 4 Spitz nevi, and 1 of 2 MelTUMPs were negative for significant gains or losses in chromosomes 6 and 11q. Our findings demonstrated a strong correlation between positive FISH results and the histomorphologic impression of melanoma. This finding was also true for the MelTUMP with poor clinical outcome. Therefore FISH may serve as a helpful adjunct in the classification of controversial melanocytic tumors in young patients.

Clinical-pathologic correlation: vitrectomy with epiretinal and internal limiting membrane peel.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: To correlate clinical and pathologic findings in vitreoretinal surgeries with epiretinal membrane (ERM) and internal limiting membrane (ILM) peels. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A retrospective review of the clinical and pathologic reports for 698 vitrectomy specimens involving ERM and/or ILM peels from 2008 to 2012. RESULTS: Labeling with clear operative clinical diagnoses--ERM, ILM or both--was available for 520 of 698 cases; 492 cases had a corresponding pathology result. Combined ERM-ILM specimens were the dominant clinical and pathologic diagnosis. Over 43% had differing operative and pathologic diagnoses, with 79.6% of cases labeled as ERMs, 75.0% of cases labeled as ILMs, and 22.1% cases labeled as ERM-ILM demonstrating incongruous specimens on pathology. CONCLUSION: It can be difficult to determine the nature of membranes pre- or intraoperatively. Combined ERM-ILM specimens may be more common than previously recognized, implying that the two membranes are not always distinct and surgically separable.

Screening and rapid molecular diagnosis of tuberculosis in prisons in Russia and Eastern Europe: a cost-effectiveness analysis.

BACKGROUND: Prisons of the former Soviet Union (FSU) have high rates of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and are thought to drive general population tuberculosis (TB) epidemics. Effective prison case detection, though employing more expensive technologies, may reduce long-term treatment costs and slow MDR-TB transmission. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We developed a dynamic transmission model of TB and drug resistance matched to the epidemiology and costs in FSU prisons. We evaluated eight strategies for TB screening and diagnosis involving, alone or in combination, self-referral, symptom screening, mass miniature radiography (MMR), and sputum PCR with probes for rifampin resistance (Xpert MTB/RIF). Over a 10-y horizon, we projected costs, quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), and TB and MDR-TB prevalence. Using sputum PCR as an annual primary screening tool among the general prison population most effectively reduced overall TB prevalence (from 2.78% to 2.31%) and MDR-TB prevalence (from 0.74% to 0.63%), and cost US$543/QALY for additional QALYs gained compared to MMR screening with sputum PCR reserved for rapid detection of MDR-TB. Adding sputum PCR to the currently used strategy of annual MMR screening was cost-saving over 10 y compared to MMR screening alone, but produced only a modest reduction in MDR-TB prevalence (from 0.74% to 0.69%) and had minimal effect on overall TB prevalence (from 2.78% to 2.74%). Strategies based on symptom screening alone were less effective and more expensive than MMR-based strategies. Study limitations included scarce primary TB time-series data in FSU prisons and uncertainties regarding screening test characteristics. CONCLUSIONS: In prisons of the FSU, annual screening of the general inmate population with sputum PCR most effectively reduces TB and MDR-TB prevalence, doing so cost-effectively. If this approach is not feasible, the current strategy of annual MMR is both more effective and less expensive than strategies using self-referral or symptom screening alone, and the addition of sputum PCR for rapid MDR-TB detection may be cost-saving over time.