Galectin-3 Immunohistochemical Expression in Thyroid Neoplasms.

BACKGROUND: Galectin-3 has been implicated in the regulation of cellular growth, differentiation and malignant transformation in various organs including thyroid gland. It has been extensively studied as an immunohistochemical (IHC) marker in thyroid malignancy. AIM: To evaluate the diagnostic role of Galectin-3 (Gal-3) in differentiating malignant from benign thyroid neoplasm. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this observational study we evaluated Gal-3 expression in a spectrum of malignant (30) and benign (20) thyroid neoplasms. The final common diagnosis arrived at after histopathologic evaluation of H&E stained sections by two pathologist's was considered the gold standard. The malignant neoplasms included Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma (PTC), Follicular Thyroid Carcinoma (FTC), Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma (MTC), insular carcinoma, Anaplastic Thyroid Carcinoma (ATC), and metastatic carcinoma. The benign neoplasms included Follicular Adenoma (FA), Hurthle cell adenoma and hyalinizing trabecular adenoma. IHC staining for Gal-3 was performed for all neoplasms with the polymeric method using lyophilized mouse monoclonal antibody. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Statistical analysis was done using 2x2 contingency table. Chi-square test with Yates correction was used to calculate p-value to ascertain statistical significance. RESULTS: Gal-3 expression was significantly higher in malignant thyroid neoplasms as compared to benign neoplasms (p<0.0001). Gal-3 expression in differentiating malignant from benign neoplasms was found to have sensitivity of 86%, specificity of 85%, positive predictive value of 89.66% and negative predictive value of 80.95%. However, no statistical significance was observed (p=0.4718) when comparing PTC and other malignant lesions in terms of Gal-3 expression. Gal- 3 expression in PTC was found to have sensitivity of 91.3%, specificity of 85%, positive predictive value of 87.5% and negative predictive value of 89.47%. CONCLUSION: Diffuse and strong IHC staining for Gal-3 differentiates malignant from benign tumours. This marker can assist in the diagnosis of thyroid neoplasms with equivocal morphologic features. This study highlights the high sensitivity of Gal-3 for PTC.

Sarcomatoid salivary duct carcinoma of minor salivary gland: a rare case.

A 35-year-old female presented with swelling in the soft palate. Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) revealed pleomorphic adenoma, and on histopathological examination, it was diagnosed as carcinosarcoma/salivary duct carcinoma in the minor salivary gland, which was confirmed by immunohistochemical stains. We report this case for its rarity.

Role of fluorescent microscopy in detecting Mycobacterium leprae in tissue sections.

We compared the sensitivity of the fluorescent method with that of he modified Fite-Faraco method in the detection of Mycobacterium leprae in tissue sections. Fifty-six skin biopsies were obtained from patients having leprosy, particularly the paucibacillary type. Minor alterations were made in the deparaffinization and staining technique, as compared with Kuper and May's method, to obtain optimum fluorescence. Of 56 biopsies studied, 39 showed organisms by the fluorescent method and only 25 showed organisms by the modified Fite-Faraco method. The fluorescent method was found to be more advantageous than the modified Fite-Faraco method, particularly in paucibacillary cases. Fluorescent microscopy has the advantage of speed and ease of screening and reduces observer fatigue. Bacillary positivity rates were higher in the fluorescent method than in the modified Fite-Faraco method in each type of leprosy.

Role of fluorescent microscopy in detecting Mycobacterium leprae in tissue sections

We compared the sensitivity of the fluorescent method with that of he modified Fite-Faraco method in the detection of Mycobacterium leprae in tissue sections. Fifty-six skin biopsies were obtained from patients having leprosy, particularly the paucibacillary type. Minor alterations were made in the deparaffinization and staining technique, as compared with Kuper and May's method, to obtain optimum fluorescence. Of 56 biopsies studied, 39 showed organisms by the fluorescent method and only 25 showed organisms by the modified Fite-Faraco method. The fluorescent method was found to be more advantageous than the modified Fite-Faraco method, particularly in paucibacillary cases. Fluorescent microscopy has the advantage of speed and ease of screening and reduces observer fatigue. Bacillary positivity rates were higher in the fluorescent method than in the modified Fite-Faraco method in each type of leprosy.

Role of modified rapid AFB method in histopathological sections of Hansen's disease.

Leprosy is a chronic debilitating disease. A reliable diagnosis hinges around a good histopathological diagnosis and demonstration of the bacilli in the histopathological section. The usual method performed Modified Fite Faraco Method is time consuming, laborious and less sensitive. It has been our endeavor to devise a more rapid and sensitive method for the diagnosis and bacillary load detection in histopathological sections. The Modified Rapid AFB devised by us is sensitive and time saving which is essential for the pathologist and for the treatment by the Dermatologist. We have studied about 53 cases of different types of Hansen's disease and compared with both Modified Fite Faraco method and Modified Rapid AFB method. The results were found to be very encouraging with the Modified Rapid AFB method.

Leukaemia cases in Central Hospital, Riyadh (Saudi Arabia)

A total of 293 cases of various types of leukaemia admitted in Central Hospital (Riyadh) were studied from January 1981 to December 1988. The incidence of leukaemia was worked out to be 0.13% of the total hospital population during this period. Acute non-lymphocytic leukaemia (ANLL) or acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) group was the most frequent (37.54%), followed by acute lymphocytic leukaemia (24.23%) followed by chronic myeloid leukaemia [corrected] (19.11%), chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) group (18.77%) and lymphosarcoma cell leukaemia (LSCL) (0.35%). Acute leukaemias were further classified into subtypes on the basis of FAB (French-American-British) classification. In ANLL or AML group, the pattern was M2 greater than M4 greater than M3 greater than M6 greater than M1 greater than M5. In ALL group, the pattern was L2 greater than L1 greater than L3. Among FAB subtypes of acute leukaemias, the pattern was L2 greater than M2 greater than M4 greater than M3 greater than M6 greater than M1 and L1 greater than L3 greater than M5. The age range of these patients was 5 years to 80 years; only 9 cases were less than 11 years of age. In childhood and young adults, acute leukaemias (ALL and AML) were the commonest types (particularly ALL was common in childhood), whereas CML was common in adults and CLL in old age. Males dominated the females in all the types of leukaemia (male to female ratio was 2.4:1). Out of 293 leukaemia cases, 149 (51.0%) were Saudi Arabs, the rest were expatriates. AML was found to be the most common type in central, western and southern Saudi Arabia.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)