Frequency and distribution of Epstein-Barr virus infection and its association with P53 expression in a series of primary nodal non-Hodgkin lymphoma patients from South India.

This study investigated the prevalence of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection and its association with P53 expression in a panel of 87 previously untreated nodal non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHLs) from India. Polymerase chain reaction specific for Epstein Barr nuclear antigen 1 (EBNA1) and EBNA-3C was performed on the lymphnode tissue DNA, while P53 expression was analyzed by immunohistochemistry. EBV, predominantly type A strain, was detected in 27/87 (31%) nodal lymphoid malignancies, 11/46 diffuse large B-cell lymphomas, 6/17 follicular lymphoma, 4/6 anaplastic large cell lymphomas (ALCL), 5/11 peripheral T-cell lymphomas (PTCL) and 1/7 lymphoblastic lymphomas. EBV infection was more frequently observed in a specific subset of nodal NHL, suggesting a causative role of EBV infection in the pathogenesis of ALCL and PTCL. There was no significant association between EBV and P53 expression in our series of NHL patients.

C-myc oncoprotein expression and prognosis in patients with carcinoma of the cervix: an immunohistochemical study.

OBJECTIVE: Evaluation of the prognostic significance of c-Myc expression in carcinoma of the cervix. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 132 patients with carcinoma of the cervix presenting at the Cancer Institute in Chennai from 1996-1999 were included in the study. All the cases were treated with a radical course of radiotherapy and had a median follow-up of 36 months. Paraffin blocks obtained from the punch biopsies from the tumours were used for immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: c-Myc nuclear immunoreactivity was observed in 44/132 (33.3%) of tumours. Patients with tumours in Stages 11 B and III B accounted for 112/132 (84.8%) of the cases. Patients with tumours expressing c-Myc nuclear immunoreactivity were found to have more advanced disease; less likely to achieve complete remission (54.5% vs. 78.4%; p < 0.005) and lower disease-free status (52.3% versus 73.8%; p < 0.014). The poor prognostic feature of c-Myc nuclear immunoreactivity was seen in both stage II B (52.9% vs. 76.3%) and stage III B (38.1% vs. 69.4%; p < 0.025). CONCLUSIONS: c-Myc nuclear immunoreactivity is a predictor of poorer response to radiotherapy and poorer disease free status in stage II B and III B carcinoma of the cervix.

Neuregulin 1-alpha expression in locally advanced breast cancer.

The human Neuregulin 1 (NRG1) gene encodes several alternatively spliced ligands that bind to both c-erbB-3 and c-erbB-4, members of the family of type 1 tyrosine kinase growth factor receptors. Antibodies raised to a synthetic peptide recognize selectively the alpha variant of NRG1. The NRG1-alpha isoforms' expression was studied in 115 locally advanced adenocarcinomas of the breast using immunohistochemistry. Absent or low levels of NRG1-alpha were found to be associated with poorer prognosis compared to tumours that had moderate to high levels of the protein.