Human papillomavirus (HPV) and Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV) in non small cell lung cancer.

Certain types of human papillomavirus (HPV) induce cancers, especially cervical cancers in women. A meta-analysis of the literature suggests that HPV is also associated with 20%-25% of non small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). Merkel cell Polyomavirus (MCPyV) causes most Merkel cell carcinomas in immunocompromised hosts, and is associated with some squamous carcinomas of skin in immunocompetent individuals. Since both oncogenic viruses appear to involve the tonsils and, therefore, have clear access to the lungs, we examined that the possible association of HPV and MCPyV infections with lung cancers, especially, NSCLC. DNAs were extracted from 51 frozen tissues from 30 lung cancer patients, and examined for the presence of HPV and MCPyV by PCR and DNA sequencing analysis. Clinical data was correlated with the viral status. HPVs were only detected in 5 adenocarcinomas (16.7% of all lung cancers examined). Three were positive for HPV-16, 1 for HPV-11 and 1 had an unknown HPV type DNA. None was identified in benign tissue. MCPyV DNA was detected in 5 NSCLCs (16.7%). Three of the 5 were identified in squamous carcinomas, 1 in adenocarcinoma, and 1 in an unspecified NSCLC. Two additional samples were positive for MCPyV DNA within benign adjacent lung tissue only. In one adenocarcinoma, HPV-11 was identified in an adenocarcinoma, and MCPyV DNA was detected in the adjacent "benign" tissue. HPV and MCPyV were directly associated with 33.3% of NSCLC. Further studies are necessary to determine if polyomavirus and papillomavirus are necessary risk factors for some cases of NSCLC.

Glomus tumor of the ovary masquerading as granulosa cell tumor: case report.

A solid right adnexal mass in a 73-year-old woman bled profusely with mobilization mimicking a granulosa cell tumor. There was almost complete replacement of the ovary by a circumscribed, 4.0 cm tumor with a hemorrhagic, solid cut surface. Morphologic and phenotypic correlation supported a diagnosis of glomus tumor. Large gaping vessels and small sinusoidal-type vessels formed an anastomotic vascular network with an inner endothelial lining (CD31+/CD34+) and an outer layer of glomocytes (actin+/desmin-/inhibin-). The hemangiopericytoma-like vasculature accounted for bleeding during surgery.

Effect of yeast-derived beta-glucan in conjunction with bevacizumab for the treatment of human lung adenocarcinoma in subcutaneous and orthotopic xenograft models.

Human lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Bevacizumab, a monoclonal antibody against vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), in combination with chemotherapy showed significant therapeutic efficacy in human lung cancer patients. However, increased adverse effects limit its clinical utilization. Previous studies demonstrated that polysaccharide beta-glucan significantly augments antitumor monoclonal antibody-mediated efficacy via stimulation of the innate effector neutrophil complement receptor 3. Here, we explored combined beta-glucan with bevacizumab therapy for human lung cancer using murine xenograft models. To that end, human lung adenocarcinomas were screened for membrane-bound VEGF expression. Both subcutaneous and orthotopic lung cancer xenograft models were used to evaluate the combination therapy. We found that PC14PE6 adenocarcinoma cells express membrane-bound VEGF both in vitro and in vivo. Bevacizumab bound to surface VEGF on PC14PE6 cells and activated complement. In the subcutaneous PC14PE6 tumor model, beta-glucan plus bevacizumab showed augmented efficacy in terms of tumor progression and long-term survival compared with bevacizumab-treated alone. These effects were accompanied with massive complement deposition and neutrophil infiltration within tumors. However, this effect was not observed in surface-bound VEGF-negative human lung tumors. Therapeutic efficacy of beta-glucan with bevacizumab was further demonstrated in an orthotopic lung cancer model. Thus, our data suggest that beta-glucan enhances bevacizumab-mediated efficacy and may provide therapeutic benefits for lung cancers with membrane-bound VEGF expression.

Embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma of the uterine cervix in a 41-year-old woman treated with radical hysterectomy and adjuvant chemotherapy.

BACKGROUND: Cervical embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma (ERMS) mostly affects young girls. The current treatment protocols are based on trials done on patients under 21 years old. ERMS in women over 40 is rare, and studies on treatment and outcome are limited. CASE: We report a case of a 41 year-old woman with cervical ERMS who was treated with radical hysterectomy followed by chemotherapy. She is currently disease-free. CONCLUSION: Cervical ERMS in women over the age of 40 can be treated using protocols established for the pediatric population.

Differential expression of cdk inhibitors p16, p21cip1, p27kip1, and cyclin E in cervical cytological smears prepared by the ThinPrep method.

Our objective was to correlate p16, p21cip1, p27kip1, and cyclin E protein expression with the degree of dysplasia on ThinPrep Papanicolaou (Pap) smears using a modified immunoperoxidase staining. Smears read as normal, atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASC-US), low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL), or high-grade SIL (HSIL) were identified and tested for high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV). Additional smears were processed for immunoperoxidase for p16, p21cip1, p27kip1, and cyclin E. Thirty-four smears were satisfactory for study. The p16 was positive in all nine HSIL, in four of nine LSIL, and in one of seven ASC-US. The p27kip1 was positive in all nine HSIL, in eight of nine LSIL, and in one of seven ASC-US. The p21cip1 was positive in all nine HSIL, in one of nine LSIL, and in one of seven ASC-US. Cyclin E was positive in seven of nine HSIL and in one of nine LSIL and in none of the ASC-US smears. Normal smears were negative for all the antigens. There was poor correlation of protein expression and HR-HPV infection. We concluded that p16, p21cip1, p27kip1, and cyclin E can be demonstrated on Pap smears and they are expressed differentially in dysplastic cells, with highest expression in HSIL. The p21cip1 and cyclin E showed the greatest correlation with HSIL.