Primary lung cancer complicated by malignant lymphoma in two cases of epstein-barr virus infection.

BACKGROUND: Double cancer is defined as the co-existence of two pathologically distinct cancers. Double cancer consisting of a lung adenocarcinoma and a malignant lymphoma has seldom been reported in time synchronous cases or prior to cases of primary lung cancer, except in those after treatment for malignant lymphoma. CASE PRESENTATION: Case 1 was a 71-year-old woman who was treated at our hospital for chronic hepatitis C, nontuberculous mycobacteria infection, and bronchiectasis. She was diagnosed with a stage IV lung adenocarcinoma (cT1bN2M1b) with a synchronous complicating diffuse large B-cell-type lymphoma. Case 2 was a 62-year-old man who had undergone resection of a stage IB lung adenocarcinoma (pT2aN0M0). Thirty months after the surgery, a diffuse large B-cell-type lymphoma was discovered. In both cases, high antiviral capsid antigen IgG antibody titers were observed. CONCLUSION: Epstein-Barr virus may be associated with the incidence of multiple cancers given the pathological evidence from our two double cancer cases.

Clinicopathological and prognostic significance of mucin phenotype in gastric cancer.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Gastric and intestinal mucin phenotype cell markers are widely expressed in gastric carcinoma cells, irrespective of their tumor histological type. In the present study, we tried to reveal the clinicopathological significance of mucin phenotype in human gastric carcinomas. Moreover, we investigated the clinical significance of RUNX3 in association with mucin phenotype. METHODS: The mucin expression of MUC5AC, MUC6, MUC2, and CD10 was evaluated in 97 gastric carcinomas by immunohistochemistry. Tumors were classified into gastric (G), gastric and intestinal mixed (GI), intestinal (I), and null (N) phenotype according to combination of mucin expression. RESULTS: The rate of G, GI, I, and N phenotype was 40.0%, 38.1%, 10.3%, and 19.6%, respectively. Mucin phenotype was also significantly correlated with several clinicopathological findings. Patients with I phenotype had a significantly poorer prognosis than those with any other phenotypes. They also had a higher rate of postoperative liver metastasis. Multivariate analysis revealed that mucin phenotype was a significant independent prognostic factor. We suggested that Loss of RUNX3 expression might correlate with intestinal phenotype and postoperative outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Mucin phenotype has a significant prognostic value and may be a useful marker for the treatment of human gastric carcinoma.

Prognostic significance of platelet-derived growth factor-BB expression in human esophageal squamous cell carcinomas.

BACKGROUND: Cancer metastases are commonly found in the lymphatic system and tumor lymphangiogenesis requires the interplay of several growth factors. The expression of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-BB and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-C in esophageal cancer was investigated to define their clinicopathological significance. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using immunohistochemistry, the expression of PDGF-BB and VEGF-C was examined, along with lymphatic vessel density (LVD) in 53 patients with esophageal cancer. RESULTS: PDGF-BB and VEGF-C expression was positive in 31 cases (58.5%) and 38 cases (71.7%), respectively, and expression correlated with lymph node metastasis and lymphatic invasion. Furthermore, PDGF-BB expression correlated with the depth of tumor invasion and the size of the tumor, and PDGF-BB-positive patients had a significantly poorer prognosis than PDGF-BB-negative patients. The LVD in positive PDGF-BB or VEGF-C tumors was higher than in negative tumors. CONCLUSION: PDGF-BB may play a pivotal role in lymphangiogenesis and tumor growth in esophageal cancer.

High lymphatic vessel density correlates with overexpression of VEGF-C in gastric cancer.

Lymph node metastasis is one of the most important prognostic factors in malignant tumors. In this study, we investigated vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-C expression in human gastric cancer using immunohistochemical techniques and determined the number of microvessels in peritumoral tissue. VEGF-C expression was positive in 22 of 79 cases (27.8%), and correlated with the presence of lymphatic invasion and lymph node metastasis. We confirmed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) that VEGF-C mRNA expression is observed more commonly in cancer tissues than normal tissues. For 59 gastric tumors, we examined lymphatic vessel density (LVD) using the specific lymphatic vessel endothelial hyaluronan receptor (LYVE) -1 antibody. VEGF-C expression was observed in 10 of 25 cases (40%) that exhibited a high LVD. Furthermore, high LVD exhibited a significant correlation with VEGF-C expression. Our findings suggest that VEGF-C plays a pivotal role for lymphangiogenesis and tumor growth in gastric cancer.