Helicobacter pylori is undetectable in intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm.

BACKGROUND: About half of the world population is infected with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), a bacterium associated with gastric cancer and considered to be a risk factor for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Whether the bacterium is associated with intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm, believed to be a precursor of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, is unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of H. pylori DNA in tissue sections of intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm. METHODS: The presence of H. pylori DNA was tested in a retrospective controlled study of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded pancreatic tissues from 24 patients who underwent surgery for intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm. Histologically normal tissues surrounding neoplasms were used as control. H. pylori DNA was evaluated after deparaffinization, DNA extraction, and purification, and results were evaluated statistically. RESULTS: Samples were collected from 13 males and 11 females with mean age 59 years (range 44-77), and consisted of 19 cases of main-duct and three cases of branched-duct intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm. Two patients were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and main-duct intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm. H. pylori DNA was not detected either in intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm tissue, or in surrounding normal tissue. CONCLUSIONS: Although H. pylori has been implicated in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, it may not play a key role in the development of intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm.

Pulmonary cryptococcosis within a pulmonary carcinoma-review of reported cases.

An asymptomatic 71-year-old man was admitted for evaluation of a pulmonary tumor. Chest computed tomography revealed a cavitary tumor in the apical segment of the right lung. Histopathological examination of the resected lung revealed pulmonary cryptococcosis within a papillary adenocarcinoma. Macroscopic and histopathological findings speculated that papillary adenocarcinoma preceded pulmonary cryptococcosis.

Influence of spices on the bacterial (enzyme) activity in experimental colon cancer.

In the presence of a known colon carcinogen, 1,2-dimethyl hydrazine (DMH), the activity of beta-glucuronidase was found to be significantly increased in the distal colon, distal intestine, liver and colon contents and the activity of mucinase was increased in both the colon and fecal contents when compared to control rats. Chilli (Capsicum annum L., Solanaceae) administration also showed an increase when compared to control rats, whereas supplementation with cumin (Cuminum cyminum L., Apiaceae) and black pepper (Piper nigrum L., Piperaceae) in the presence of DMH, showed more or less similar values as that of the control rats. The increase in beta-glucuronidase activity may increase the hydrolysis of glucuronide conjugates, liberating the toxins, while the increase in mucinase activity may enhance the hydrolysis of the protective mucins in the colon. Thus cumin and black pepper may protect the colon by decreasing the activity of beta-glucuronidase and mucinase. Histopathological studies also showed lesser infiltration into the submucosa, fewer papillae and lesser changes in the cytoplasm of the cells in the colon in cumin and black pepper groups when compared to the DMH and chilli treated animals.

Three histologically different tiny gastric cancers developing adjacent to each other, resected endoscopically in a single mucosal piece.

In this report, we describe a case with triple tiny cancers of the stomach developing adjacent to each other and resected endoscopically in a single mucosal piece. The three cancers differed from each other histologically. The surrounding mucosa was atrophic pyloric gland mucosa with moderate to severe intestinal metaplasia. Both histological and serological examinations were negative for Helicobacter pylori. Each of the three cancer lesions was positive for mutant p53 product immunohistochemically. None of the cancers were positive for Epstein-Barr virus sequence in an in situ hybridization analysis. These lesions suggest that certain local conditions in the gastric mucosa can result in carcinogenesis of different histological types of gastric cancers.

Epstein-Barr virus and gastric remnant cancer.

BACKGROUND: Carcinoma arising in the gastric remnant many years after partial gastrectomy for benign disease, referred to as gastric remnant cancer (GRC) is well known, and many causal explanations have been proposed. Elsewhere, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) involvement has been demonstrated in a small but significant fraction of gastric cancers, and evidence has been presented suggesting that, in positive cases, EBV may have played a causal role. The present report is concerned with EBV involvement in GRC in particular. METHODS: Paraffin sections from 48 cases of GRC were studied by EBER-1 in situ hybridization. RESULTS: Thirteen cases (27.1%) showed uniform hybridized signals restricted to the carcinoma cells in contrast to no hybridization in the normal mucosa, intestinal metaplasia, or hyperplastic epithelium. The prevalence of EBV involvement in GRC was significantly higher (P < 0.0001) than in gastric carcinomas from 1825 nonremnant cases; the difference remained highly significant even when the comparison was restricted to nonremnant cancers arising in the cardia and middle stomach, for which EBV-positive rates were highest. CONCLUSION: The EBV may play an important role in the carcinogenesis of GRC.

[Cytomegaloviral inclusions detected in the seminal vesicle, ductus deferens and lungs in an autopsy case of lung cancer].

We report a case of cytomegalovirus infection of the seminal vesicle and ductus deferens in a 32-year-old Japanese man with papillary adenocarcinoma of the lung. Although the lungs are usually a target organ of cytomegalovirus infection, most organs can be involved. However, the male reproductive system has rarely been reported infected with the virus. H.E. sections of our case showed cytomegaloviral inclusions in many ductal epithelia of the seminal vesicle and ductus deferens as well as macrophages of the lungs. Immunohistochemistry using monoclonal antibody to cytomegalovirus disclosed viral antigenicity in these infected cells. Electron microscopy recovered enlarged infected cells packed with viral nucleocapsids approximately 100 nm in size. These nucleocapsids were enveloped in the cytoplasm and consistent with the Herpesviridae family. To our knowledge, our case is the first report of cytomegalovirus infection of the seminal vesicle and ductus deferens in the English and Japanese literature.

Establishment and characterization of a new murine mammary tumor cell line, BALB/c-MC.

A new murine mammary tumor cell line (BALB/c-MC) was established from a spontaneous mammary tumor in a 17-mo.-old female mouse of the low mammary cancer strain BALB/cHe. The cell line was derived from a papillary adenocarcinoma. In monolayer culture the line exhibits a pavementlike arrangement of cells and forms "domes" or "hemicysts" as the cells become confluent. The cell line rapidly forms tumors when transplanted into young syngeneic BALB/cHe mice. The subcutaneous injection of 10(6) cells resulted in the development of mammary tumors (typical papillary adenocarcinomas) in 33 of 37 (87%) recipients within 2 to 3 mo. after injection. These mammary tumors also metastasize to lung [14 of 33 (42%) of recipients] during this time. The number of chromosomes in this cell line is hyperdiploid (average of 43, range 39 to 44).

C-type virus particles in urethan-induced pulmonary and renal carcinomas, in cell-graft-transmitted carcinosarcomas, and in filtrate-induced lymphomas in mice.

Repeated injections of urethan into suckling BALB/c mice induced multiple papillary adenocarcinomas in the lungs and kidneys. When the pulmonary tumors were transplanted i.p. by cell graft into 6 suckling BALB/c mice, they induced disseminated carcinosarcomas within the peritoneal cavity in all inoculated animals. Tumors resulting from the transplantation of tumor cells were used for preparation of filtered extracts. The filtrates were inoculated into 6 suckling BALB/c mice and induced generalized malignant lymphomas in all animals. The primary urethan-induced pulmonary and renal tumors, the carcinosarcomas that resulted from i.p. cell transfer, and also the generalized malignant lymphomas induced by inoculation of filtered extracts contained C-type virus particles. Theoretically, it could be assumed that both the primary urethan-induced pulmonary and renal tumors, as well as the cell-graft-induced peritoneal carcinosarcomas, contained the C-type virus particles as passengers, not necessarily related etiologically to the tumors in which they were found. It is quite likely, however, that these virus particles were etiologically related to the filtrate-induced malignant lymphomas in which they were also found.