Prognostic Role of Human Epididymis Protein4 (HE4) in Endometrial Lesions: Study in a Tertiary Care Centre.

Endometrial cancer accounts for 20% of malignant tumours in the female reproductive system. A novel biological marker human epididymis protein4 (HE4) represents an important alternative indicator which may benefit patient mortality. To correlate the immunohistochemical expression of HE4 in different non-neoplastic and neoplastic endometrial lesions and with the WHO grade of the tumours. Our study was a cross-sectional, observational study done in a tertiary care hospital from December 2019 to June 2021 on the hysterectomy sample of 50 patients with a clinical history of abnormal uterine bleeding and pelvic pain. The study showed strong positivity of HE4 in cases of endometrial carcinoma, weak positivity in cases of atypical endometrial hyperplasia, and negativity in cases of endometrial hyperplasia without atypia group. WHO grade 3(50%) and grade 2 (29%) endometrioid adenocarcinoma NOS in our study showed strong positivity for HE4 which was statistically significant (P value = 0.001). In recent studies using overexpression of HE4-related genes, the malignant biological behaviour such as cell adhesion, invasion, and proliferation was enhanced. It was seen in our study that strong positivity of HE4 was seen in all endometrial carcinoma groups and with higher WHO grade. So, HE4 may become a potential therapeutic target for advanced-stage endometrial carcinoma which requires further research. Thus, human epididymis-specific protein 4 (HE4) has been shown to be a promising marker for the detection of endometrial carcinoma patients who could be benefitted from targeted therapy.

Spectrum of pediatric kidney tumours with special references to WT1 immunostain at a tertiary care hospital.

Context or Background: Pediatric renal tumours are the second most common solid tumours in children. The most common in this group is Wilms tumour with mesoblastic nephroma being the 2nd most common tumour in children, younger than 3 months. Aims and Objectives: The present study was conducted to study the epidemiological occurrence of pediatric renal tumours at a tertiary care hospital and to study the diagnostic efficacy of WT1 immunostaining in distinguishing Wilms tumour from other types of renal tumours. Materials and Methods: It was a single institution-based prospective and observational study conducted for 2 years (from October 2013 to September 2015) in the department of pathology in our hospital. A total of 50 cases were enrolled in this study all were below 15 years of age. Results: Nephroblastoma or Wilms tumour was found to be the most common type, occurring in 66% cases. Fourteen out of 33 cases of Wilms tumour showed triphasic components (blastemal, epithelial, and stromal) with Blastemal type Wilms being the second most common (11 cases). WT1 immunostaining was positive in 93.9% cases of nephroblastoma. The highest amount of nuclear positivity noted in blastemal cells followed by epithelial cells. Rhabdomyoblastic differentiation and regressive variant showed nonspecific cytoplasmic staining. Cystic partially differentiated nephroblastoma and diffuse anaplasia type Wilms tumour showed nuclear staining in blastemal cells. Conclusion: The expression of WT1 immunostain was found to be diagnostically significant in differentiating Wilms tumour from other renal tumours.

Sinonasal mass lesions: A clinicopathological study with p63 and p16 immunohistochemical expressions.

Introduction: The worldwide annual incidence of carcinomas of the sinonasal tract is 0.5 to 1.0 patients per 100,000 per year. P63 plays a role in epithelial development and is used as a marker for basal and myoepithelial cells. Expression of p16 occurs as a result of functional inactivation of the retinoblastoma protein (pRb) by the human papilloma virus (HPV) E7 protein. Aims: This study aims to study the histological spectrum of benign and malignant sinonasal mass lesions and to study the immunohistochemical expression of p63 in different type of sinonasal mass lesions. It also aims to ascertain the incidence of high-risk HPV in primary sinonasal mass lesions with p16 immunohistochemistry and delineate the histological spectrum of HPV-related sinonasal lesions. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 80 cases from June 2018 to June 2020 at a tertiary care hospital. Clinical history including demographic parameters were collected in the study proforma. The gross findings of the specimens noted and histopathological examination by H&E staining done. Immunohistochemistry staining for p63 and p16 expression was performed on all cases. Results: Most common age group affected was 41-60 years with male:female ratio of 1.67:1. Nonneoplastic lesions (38.7%) comprised majority of the cases followed by benign neoplastic lesions (31.3%) and malignant neoplastic lesions (30%). Among the malignant neoplastic lesions, p63 showed positive expression in 75% (p = 0.005) and p16 showed positive expression in 41.7% (p = 0.023). Among benign and nonneoplastic lesions, p63 showed positivity in 21.4% (p = 0.000) and p16 showed positivity in 44.6% (p = 0.040). Conclusion: We analyzed p63 and p16 expression in varied lineages like carcinomas, papillomas, and neuroectodermal differentiation arising from the sinonasal tract and also in relation to other clinicopathological parameters. This study revealed p63 expression was associated more with the squamous cell carcinomas and nasopharyngeal carcinomas. Sinonasal tract malignancies are also associated with HPV infections that are identifiable by p16 immunostaining and, thus, could provide new prospects in identifying any definite biological and clinical characteristics associated with HPV as well as advancement in the targeted therapies for this patient population.

Molecular profiling and utility of cell-free DNA in nonsmall carcinoma of the lung: Study in a tertiary care hospital.

BACKGROUND: Lung carcinoma accounts to the most common cause of cancer globally. Optimal management of nonsmall cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) requires prognostic biomarkers that help in targeted therapy and identification of tumor subsets with a distinctive molecular profile that can foretell response to therapy. Quantitative analysis of circulating cell-free DNA is considered as a possible aid for lung cancer screening. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The main aim of our study was detection of the clinicopathological spectrum of NSCLC, immunohistochemical (IHC) study of lung adenocarcinoma with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK), and molecular expression of EGFR mutation using Formalin fixed paraffin embedded tissue (FFPE) and cell-free DNA (cfDNA) from blood samples. MATERIALS AND METHODS: It was a prospective and observational study conducted in the Department of Pathology in association with the Department of Chest Medicine in a tertiary care hospital for 18 months, done on 50 patients. Histological subtyping of lung carcinomas was done, followed by IHC analysis using P40, thyroid transcription factor (TTF1), EGFR, and ALK. Molecular analysis for EGFR mutation was done using FFPE and cfDNA from the patient's blood samples. RESULTS AND ANALYSIS: On histological subtyping, majority (66%) of the cases were found to be adenocarcinoma. All adenocarcinoma (66%) cases show TTF1 positivity and all squamous cell carcinoma (32%) cases show P40 positivity. All the ALK-positive (6%) cases were never smokers and histologically diagnosed as adenocarcinoma. About 58% of the NSCLC cases were found to be EGFR IHC positive. Formalin-fixed paraffin tissue (FFPE) showed EGFR mutation in 32% cases, of which majority were deletion (19, 28%) and rest (4%) of the cases involving mutation in exon 21. From cfDNA, mutations were noticed in 16% of the cases where majority involved deletion 19 (12%), whereas the rest of the cases were positive for missense mutation in exon 21 of the EGFR gene (2%) and compound heterozygous mutation involving deletion 19 and missense mutation for exon 21 (2%). On correlation of EGFR mutation studies from FFPE with that of cfDNA analysis, the study was statistically significant (P = 0.000). CONCLUSION: This study reports clinicopathological, immunochemical, and molecular analysis of EGFR among NSCLC cases. EGFR mutation detection from cfDNA has its advantage of being a noninvasive technique to avoid rebiopsy in cases of the progressive disease to detect resistance to a drug and emergence of a newer mutation. Mutation detection from FFPE samples still remains the gold standard for targeted therapy using EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors. ALK rearrangement detection using IHC serves as an adjunct to EGFR diagnosis.

Role of EGFR and HER-2/NEU Expression in Gall Bladder Carcinoma (GBC).

Background Gall bladder carcinoma (GBC) is the most common malignancy of the biliary tract. Being known for its geographical and racial variations, and compared with the global statistics, its incidence is higher in the Indian subcontinent, mainly in the northern and eastern regions, accounting for 80 to 95% of cases. Aims and Objectives This study was conducted to evaluate the clinic-pathological spectrum and expression of EGFR and HER-2/NEU in GBCs and to understand their relation to prognosis, paving the way for targeted therapies for better treatment outcomes and patient survival. Materials and Methods This is a prospective study performed in a tertiary care hospital in 30 resected specimens of GBC cases recorded in our Department of Pathology from November 2017 to November 2019. Clinical history including the radiological reports and demographic parameters were included in the study pro forma. Immunohistochemical (IHC) staining for EGFR and HER-2/NEU was performed on all the selected cases. Clinicopathologic parameters like age, sex, histologic type, perineural, and lymphovascular invasion were compared and correlated with EGFR and HER-2/NEU status. Results Expression of EGFR was found in 93.33% of cases, which showed a highly significant correlation with histological tumor type ( p = 0.000). HER-2/NEU expression was found in 56.66% of cases, which also showed a significant correlation with histological tumour type ( p = 0.021). We found most of the cases with strong EGFR immunoreactivity (3+) were poorly differentiated tumors and most of the cases showing weak immunoreactivity for EGFR (1+) were well-differentiated. Conversely, in case of HER-2/NEU immunoreactivity, strong staining (3+) was seen in well-differentiated tumors and weak staining (1+) in poorly differentiated tumors. A significant correlation was also found between EGFR and HER-2/NEU expression ( p = 0.000) and between cholelithiasis and EGFR expression ( p = 0 .033). Conclusion EGFR is expressed in most cases of GBC. Its expression is more in poorly differentiated carcinomas as compared to the well-differentiated carcinomas, whereas HER-2/NEU expression is more in well-differentiated carcinomas. Therefore, they may serve as independent prognostic factors and also as targets for molecular therapy in GBCs.

A study on genetic polymorphism of RET proto-oncogene in Hirschsprung's disease in children.

BACKGROUND: Hirschsprung's disease (HD) is a genetic disorder with a complex pattern of inheritance. Some single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are identified to be associated with the risk of Hirschsprung's Disease (HSCR). AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to know the association between the rearranged during transfection (RET) proto-oncogene polymorphism and HD and to characterize the SNPs of RET proto-oncogene affecting HD. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was conducted in the Department of Pathology in association with the Department of Pediatric Surgery. Blood samples were collected from the patients diagnosed with confirmed HD and from age- and sex-matched controls. This case-control study consisted of 53 HSCR cases and 50 controls. Genotypes of rs1800860 and rs1800861 were analysed in by polymerase chain reaction amplification and sanger sequencing. Associations with the risk of HSCR were estimated by odds ratio (OR) and their 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) using. RESULTS: We observed that in the case of rs1800860A > G genotype AG was not associated with the increasing risk of disease (OR with 95% CI = 0.568 [0.238-1.356]) while genotype GG was associated with increasing the risk of the disease (OR with 95% CI = 2.278 [0.967-5.366]). In the case of rs1800861G > T genotype GT was associated with lowering the risk of the disease (OR with 95% CI = 0.230 [0.0981-0.539]) while genotype TT was associated with increasing the risk of the disease (OR with 95% CI = 9.647 [3.830-24.302]). The difference in the genotypic distribution of GT and TT at rs1800861G > T between Short segment disease (SSD) cases and Long Segment Disease (LSD) and total colonic aganglionosis was made by Fisher's exact test and it was statistically significant (P = 0.0476 and 0.0054). CONCLUSION: The results of this study support the hypothesis that variations in RET pathway might play an important role in the development of HSCR.

Prognostic Utility of Cyclin D1 in Invasive Breast Carcinoma.

Invasive breast carcinoma is the most common cancer among women worldwide. Increase in early detection of breast carcinoma by different diagnostic modalities led to decrease in cancer-related mortality and morbidity. Multiple factors and genes are implicated in breast cancer pathogenesis. Cyclin D1 is an important cell cycle regulatory protein involved in carcinogenesis of various human cancers including breast cancer. Aims of the present study were to evaluate the prognostic importance of cyclin D1 expression in invasive breast carcinoma and its correlation with other prognostic and predictive factors. Patients undergoing mastectomy for breast carcinoma were selected from January 2016 to June 2017 in a tertiary care hospital. Clinical history including demographic parameters was collected in the study pro forma. Immunohistochemical staining for ER, PgR, HER2 and cyclin D1 was performed on all cases. The clinicopathological parameters like age, tumour size, histologic grade, histological type, lymphovascular invasion, axillary lymph node metastasis, ER, PgR and HER2 status were compared and correlated with cyclin D1 expression. Cyclin D1 expression found in 60% cases of breast carcinoma. Expression of cyclin D1 showed a highly significant correlation with histological grade (p = 0.000). Cyclin D1 expression showed significant correlation (p = 0.000) with molecular subtypes. There was also significant correlation between cyclin D1 expression and ER (p = 0.000) and PgR (p = 0.010) status. This study revealed significant cyclin D1 expression in low grade, well-differentiated breast cancer. Therefore, we found cyclin D1 as a favourable prognostic marker in breast carcinoma.

Evaluation of prognostic utility of Ki-67, P53, and O-6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase expression in pituitary tumors.

BACKGROUND OR CONTEXT: Pituitary adenoma (PA) is the most common pathology of the pituitary gland. Pituitary tumors were historically considered benign, however, from recent advances in pathological and molecular analyses, numerous prognostic markers have been identified, allowing a better characterization of tumor behavior and prediction of response to treatment and recurrences. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: Evaluation of the epidemiological occurrence of pituitary tumors in our center and prediction of the benign, aggressive, or malignant nature of the tumor with the help of immunohistochemical markers (IHC) Ki-67, P53, and O-6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) along with radiology. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective study was done in 33 cases. Patients with clinically suspected pituitary tumors and related symptoms and signs are referred from the endocrine outpatient department and subsequently operated at the neurosurgery department were selected. We have studied the clinical features, radiology, histopathology, and IHC with the help of Ki-67, P53, and MGMT of PA over 2 years. RESULTS: We have 94% (31/33) cases of PA among them 94% (29/31) cases are macroadenoma. The IHC was conducted on 30 cases (excluding 1 case of pituitary apoplexy) where Ki-67, p53, and MGMT have been used for IHC in order to analyze the prognosis of the PA, irrespective of the immunological subtype of the PA. In our study, only 13% (4 patients) had MGMT score 0 and 2 patients, among these 4 patients having above cutoff level of Ki-67 and p53 value, considered as aggressive (in case of Ki-67 >3% and >50% in case of p53). When comparing MGMT expression with recurrence, a high degree of significance was found (Mann-Whitney U-test, P = 0.0038). Most of the recurrent tumors (6/9) had MGMT score 1 or below and most of the nonrecurring tumor had MGMT score 2 or above. When comparing MGMT expression with aggressiveness, a high degree of significance was found (Mann-Whitney U-test, P < 0.0001). Finally, combining the radiological Ki-67, p53, and MGMT values, two cases of aggressive adenoma have been seen in our study, the remaining being benign adenomas (WHO classification 2004). We did not encounter any case of pituitary carcinoma. MGMT did not show any significant correlation with radiological grading and histology. CONCLUSION: The benign, aggressive, or malignant nature of PA can be effectively predicted with the help of IHC, such as Ki-67, p53, and MGMT. This helps in better patient management and predicts recurrences and prognosis.

Evaluation of diagnostic utility of imprint cytology in paediatric renal tumours with special references to Ki 67 proliferative marker.

BACKGROUND: Pediatric renal neoplasms comprise about 7%-8% of all neoplasms in children. Wilms tumour (WT) is the most common among pediatric renal tumours. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The study was undertaken to study the epidemiological occurrence of pediatric renal tumours in a tertiary care hospital and to ascertain the validity and reliability of touch smear imprint cytology in intraoperative diagnosis of renal tumours and correlate with subsequent histopathological diagnosis and to assess the expression of proliferation marker Ki-67 in different components and stages of WT. MATERIALS AND METHODS: It was a single-institution-based prospective and observational study, conducted for 2 years (from October 2013 to September 2015) in the department of pathology at our hospital. A total of fifty cases were enrolled in this study, all were below 15 years of age. RESULTS: Imprint cytology showed sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic accuracy of 83%, 98%, and 95.74%, respectively, in diagnosing benign and malignant renal tumours. There was statistically significant correlation of imprint cytology with confirmatory histopathological examination of excision specimen (P < 0.001). Immunohistochemical analysis of Ki-67 was done in all WT cases. Epithelial component had higher proliferative index than blastemal component with P = 0.0082, which was highly statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Imprint cytology is found to be a less expensive, simple, and rapid method, which can be used as an adjunct to histopathology. Correlation between proliferation index as measured with Ki-67 antibody and tumour stage was found. Ki-67 is thus a relevant marker for assessing the proliferative activity.

Spectrum of meningioma with special reference to prognostic utility of ER,PR and Ki67 expression.

BACKGROUND: Meningiomas are the most common primary central nervous system neoplasms originating from the arachnoid cap cells and constitute between 13% and 26% of all intracranial tumors. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to analyze the age-, sex-, and site-wise distribution of different histological patterns of meningiomas seen in our center and to assess the status of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and proliferation marker Ki-67 in various grades of meningioma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective study was done in 90 cases. Patients presented with symptoms of headache and seizure and underwent subsequent excision surgery at Neurosurgery Department were taken. We have studied histological typing and grading of the tumors, and immunohistochemical staining was done for ER, PR, and Ki-67. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Two-group comparison was done using Mann-Whitney U-test and Fisher's exact test. Comparison of Ki-67 expression between Grade 1 and Grade 2 meningiomas was determined using Mann-Whitney U-test. Comparison of ER and PR status between different histological grades was done by Fisher's exact test. Two-tailed P < 0.001 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: According to histological type, meningothelial meningioma is most common (38.8%) followed by transitional (22.2%). PR positivity is seen in 96.34% of Grade 1 tumors, and all Grade 2 tumors were PR negative (Fisher's exact test P < 0.001). About 3.66% of Grade 1 and all Grade 2 tumors were positive for ER (Fisher's exact test two-tailed P < 0.001). Mean Ki-67 labeling index (LI) was 2.57 ± 1.674 among Grade I tumors, 7.11 ± 1.084 in Grade II meningiomas. CONCLUSIONS: Most of Grade 1 meningiomas show PRs positivity and lack of ERs positivity. Meningiomas with higher proliferation index and negative PR are very likely to be Grade II or Grade III. Evaluation of ER, PR status, and Ki-67 labeling index (LI) with histological evaluation helps us in providing information about the biologic behavior of meningiomas.

Leydig Cell Tumor of Testis in a Child: An Uncommon Presentation.

Leydig cell tumors (LCTs) are rare testicular tumors. Incidence is 1%-3% of all testicular neoplasms, bilateral in 10%. They are frequently hormonally active, leading to feminizing or virilizing syndromes. LCTs can be either pure or mixed with germ cell tumors or other sex cord-stromal tumors. Here, we are reporting a benign pure LCT in a 6-year-old boy presented with pseudopuberty.

Undifferentiated Uterine Sarcoma: An Uncommon Case Report.

Endometrial Stromal Sarcomas (ESS) are rare uterine malignancy of mesodermal origin. A 65-year-old female presented with postmenopausal bleeding in the Department of Gynaecology in our hospital. Computed Topography (CT) revealed an enlarged uterus with areas of low attenuation. On gross appearance endometrial cavity was distorted with an irregular friable necrotic mass. Histopathologically, it was diagnosed as undifferentiated uterine sarcoma. Rhabdoid, osteoid and cartilaginous differentiation were found along with osteoclast like giant cells. Immunohistochemistry was strongly positive for CD10.

Immunohistochemistry-based comparative study in detection of Hirschsprung's disease in infants in a Tertiary Care Center.

BACKGROUND: Hirschsprung's disease (HD) is the major cause of pediatric intestinal obstruction with a complex pattern of inheritance. The absence of ganglion cells along with an analysis of hypertrophy and hyperplasia of nerves in the nerve plexus of submucosa and muscularis mucosae is regarded as a potential hallmark for its diagnosis. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: This study was undertaken to ascertain the (1) clinical profile, (2) mode of presentation, and (3) to compare the role of calretinin immunostaining with acetylcholinesterase in the diagnosis of HD. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This prospective and observational study was conducted in the Department of Pathology, IPGME & R from June 2014 to May 2015. One hundred and four patients clinically and radiologically diagnosed with HD underwent surgery were included in the study. The data of every patient including age, sex, and presenting symptoms were recorded. Eventually, histopathological, calretinin, and acetylcholinesterase immunohistochemical examination were done. RESULTS: Total numbers of cases studied were 104, which aged between 0 days and 365 days. Male preponderance (76.92%) was noted. The overall sensitivity, specificity, positive, and negative predictive value of acetylcholinesterase were 100%, 86.44%, 84.91%, and 100%, respectively. The concordance of detection of ganglion cells and nerve fibers, and thereby diagnosis of Hirschsprung's and non-HD using calretinin and the gold standard was statistically in strong agreement (κ = 0.749, 95% confidence interval: 0.635-0.863). CONCLUSIONS: Calretinin stands out as the single and indispensable tool that differentiates HD from other mimickers.

Pancreatoblastoma an Unusual Occurrence of a Tumour in Paediatric Age Group: A Case Report.

Pancreatoblastoma, is rare exocrine malignant tumour of childhood. We are reporting a case of three-year-old child presented to our hospital suffering from vague abdominal pain for further examination and treatment. Clinical examination revealed only a palpable abdominal mass. CT Scan revealed a huge complex space occupying lesion 9.1x8.8x9.2cm with large central cystic degeneration and lobulated enhancing peripheral solid components with foci of calcification, seem to arise from body and tail regions of pancreas. Surgery was done and mass was removed. By histopathology and immunohistochemistry it was diagnosed as pancreatoblastoma. The prognosis is very good in paediatric age, lacking evidence of metastatic disease at first presentation. Therefore early diagnosis is needed for specific treatment. The case is being reported because of its rarity.

FNAC Versus Core Needle Biopsy: A Comparative Study in Evaluation of Palpable Breast Lump.

INTRODUCTION: Breast carcinoma is the most common malignant tumour and the leading cause of carcinoma death in women in world. The main purpose of FNAC or CNB of breast lumps is to confirm cancer preoperatively and to avoid unnecessary surgery in specific benign conditions. AIMS AND OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to compare between Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology (FNAC) and Core Needle Biopsy (CNB) in the diagnosis of breast carcinoma with final histological diagnosis from excision specimen as it is gold standard. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective study was done on 50 cases. Patients undergoing all three procedures (Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology and Core Needle Biopsy done at Department of Pathology; subsequent excision surgeries done at Department of General Surgery) were selected. May Grunwald Giemsa (MGG) and Papaniculou (PAP) staining were performed on cytology smears. Haematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) staining was done on both the CNB and tissue specimens obtained from subsequent excision surgeries to see the histological features. RESULTS: FNAC showed sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and diagnostic accuracy were 69%, 100%, 100%, 38.1%, and 74% respectively in diagnosing carcinoma. CNB had sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and diagnostic accuracy of 88.3%, 100%, 100%, 53.3% and 86%. Both FNAC and CNB showed statistically significant correlation with confirmatory HPE of excision specimen (p-value <0.05) in the diagnosis of breast carcinoma. CONCLUSION: Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is a rapid, less complicated, economical, reliable and relevant method for the preoperative pathological diagnosis of breast carcinoma in a developing nation like ours. If the initial FNAC is inadequate, core needle biopsy (CNB) can be a useful second line method of pathological diagnosis in order to minimize the chance of missed diagnosis of breast cancer.

Critical clinical appraisal of the role of computed tomography-guided minimally invasive aspiration cytology in evaluation of retroperitoneal masses.

CONTEXT: Fine-needle aspiration (FNA) is increasing in popularity as a means of diagnosing mass lesions in retroperitoneal area. With use of radiologic guidance for needle placement, this technique is an effective way to obtain diagnostic material. AIMS: The aims of the study were (1) to establish the validity and reliability of fine needle aspiration cytology in preoperative diagnosis of retroperitoneal tumor, and (2) to compare the significance of cytological diagnosis with histopathological report. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: A prospective, cross-sectional hospital-based study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective, cross-sectional study was designed on 45 cases of clinically and radiologically diagnosed retroperitoneal tumor in a tertiary care hospital. Computerized tomography (CT)-guided percutaneous FNA was performed and cytology smears were stained with May-Grünwald-Giemsa stain and conventional Papanicolaou (Pap) stain. Smears were broadly categorized into unsatisfactory, benign, suspicious of malignancy and malignant lesion. The cytological diagnosis was compared with subsequent histopathology report. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Positive and negative predictive values, diagnostic accuracy, chi-square test and others. RESULTS: The total number of cases studied was 45, which include both epithelial tumors and mesenchymal tumors. Age group varied from 15 to 70 years. The overall sensitivity in our study to diagnose benign and malignant tumors by FNA cytology is 86% and the specificity is 96% with positive and negative predictive value of 86% and 96%, respectively. Diagnostic accuracy was 93.55% with high statistical significance (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: FNA cytology is a simple, fast, reliable and less expensive method for diagnosis of various retroperitoneal neoplasms.

Correlation of cytohistlogical expression and serum level of ca125 in ovarian neoplasm.

UNLABELLED: Context or Background: CA125 is a biomarker that has potential utility across the spectrum: risk assessment, early detection, diagnosis, prognosis, monitoring and therapy. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to establish the validity and reliability of correlation of CA125 serum level with immunochemistry expression in imprint cytology and tissues for diagnostic purpose. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective study was done on 50 cases of clinically and radiologically diagnosed ovarian tumor. Imprint smears were made intraoperatively from fresh samples and stained with M.G.G. stain for air dried smears and Papanicoloau stain for alcohol fixed smears. Stained smear was assessed and compared with subsequent histopathology report. Preoperative blood samples were obtained from all patients and sent for the assay of serum CA125 levels. Analysis of CA125 immunochemistry expression in imprint cytology and tissue was done and correlated with preoperative serum blood CA125 levels. RESULTS: Significant positive correlation was found between elevated serum CA125 levels and cytohistological expression of CA125. Overall sensitivity was 100%, specificity was 86%, positive predictive value was 74% and negative predictive value 100%. Diagnostic accuracy was 90% with high statistical significance (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: We considered 35 U/mL as the cut-off value when evaluating serum CA125 ovarian cancer. Patients with high serum levels show good cytohistological expression.

Impact of image guided fine needle aspiration cytology in diagnosis of pediatric hepatic mass and cytohistologic concordance.

BACKGROUND: Pediatric hepatic mass is a heterogeneous group of benign and malignant lesions. Percutaneous fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) can be utilized as a diagnostic modality to assess the nature of radiologically demonstrated hepatic lesions and thus facilitate individualized treatment. AIMS AND OBJECTIVE: The objective of the present study was to determine the diagnostic accuracy of percutaneous FNAC of pediatric liver masses, a procedure that is less invasive than open biopsy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective, observational study was carried out in the Department of Pathology in collaboration with Department of Pediatric surgery and Radio-diagnosis including 31 pediatric patients presenting over last two years (June 2011 to May 2013) with focal hepatic lesion on ultrasound and computed tomography (CT) scan. FNAC was carried out under image guidance and cytodiagnosis was reached after appropriate staining. By comparing with histopathology reports, diagnostic accuracy of cytology was evaluated. RESULT: Among 31 cases included in the study, 51.6% cases were cytologically benign and hemangioma was the most common benign lesion. Hepatoblastoma was the most accounted malignant tumour (12.9%). FNAC provided 94% sensitivity and 92% specificity in diagnosing benign and malignant tumours. Overall diagnostic accuracy was 93.10%. No significant complication was noted. CONCLUSION: Percutaneous FNAC under image guidance is an effective diagnostic tool for diagnosis of primary and metastatic tumours of liver in pediatric patients.

RP-HPLC method for simultaneous estimation of bisoprolol fumarate and hydrochlorothiazide in tablet formulation.

A simple, precise and stability-indicating HPLC method was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of bisoprolol fumarate and hydrochlorothiazide in pharmaceutical dosage form. The method involves the use of easily available inexpensive laboratory reagents. The separation was achieved on an Inertsil ODS 3V (25cmx4.6mm) 5microm column with isocratic flow. The mobile phase at a flow rate of 1.0mLmin(-1), consisted of 0.1M potassium dihydrogen phosphate buffer and acetonitrile (70:30, v/v). The UV detection was carried out at 228nm. A linear response was observed over the concentration range 2.5-50microgmL(-1) of bisoprolol fumarate and the concentration range 6.25-125microgmL(-1) of hydrochlorothiazide. Limit of detection and limit of quantitation for bisoprolol fumarate were 0.01 and 0.03microgmL(-1), respectively and for hydrochlorothiazide were 0.01 and 0.05microgmL(-1), respectively. The method was successfully validated in accordance to ICH guidelines acceptance criteria for specificity, linearity, accuracy, precision, robustness, ruggedness and system suitability. Individual drugs (bisoprolol fumarate and hydrochlorothiazide), their combinations and the tablets were exposed to thermal, photolytic, hydrolytic and oxidative stress conditions. The resultant stressed samples were analyzed by the proposed method. The method gave high resolution among the degradation products and the analytes. The peak purity of analyte peaks in the stressed samples was confirmed by photodiode array detector. The method was used for accelerated stability study on marketed and in-house formulations. The analysis concluded that the method was selective for simultaneous estimation of bisoprolol fumarate and hydrochlorothiazide and was stability-indicating.