PCDHB15 as a potential tumor suppressor and epigenetic biomarker for breast cancer.

Breast cancer is among the most frequently diagnosed cancer types and the leading cause of cancer-related death in women. The mortality rate of patients with breast cancer is currently increasing, perhaps due to a lack of early screening tools. In the present study, using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) breast cancer dataset (n=883), it was determined that methylation of the protocadherin ß15 (PCDHB15) promoter was higher in breast cancer samples than that in normal tissues. A negative association between promoter methylation and expression of PCDHB15 was observed in the TCGA dataset and breast cancer cell lines. In TCGA cohort, lower PCDHB15 expression was associated with shorter relapse-free survival times. Treatment with the DNA methyltransferase inhibitor restored PCDHB15 expression in a breast cancer cell line; however, overexpression of PCDHB15 was shown to suppress colony formation. PCDHB15 methylation detected in circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) isolated from serum samples was higher in patients with breast cancer (40.8%) compared with that in patients with benign tumors (22.4%). PCDHB15 methylation was not correlated with any clinical parameters. Taken together, PCDHB15 is a potential tumor suppressor in cases of breast cancer, which can be epigenetically silenced via promoter methylation. PCDHB15 methylation using cfDNA is a novel minimally invasive epigenetic biomarker for the diagnosis and prognosis of breast cancer.

Role of endoscopic sonography in the diagnosis of a fish bone perforation of the gastric wall resulting in a submucosal pseudotumor.

We report the case of a 72-year-old woman with a fish bone-induced granulation tissue in the gastric wall that was initially diagnosed as a submucosal tumor by panendoscopy. High-frequency endoscopic ultrasonography identified the linear calcified fish bone embedded in a heterogeneous mass.

Appendiceal hemorrhage -- an uncommon cause of lower gastrointestinal bleeding.

Lower gastrointestinal bleeding is a common disease among elderly patients. The common sources of lower gastrointestinal bleeding include vascular disease, Crohn's disease, neoplasms, inflammatory bowel disease, hemorrhoids, and ischemic colitis. Lower gastrointestinal bleeding arising from the appendix is an extremely rare condition. We report a case of appendiceal hemorrhage in a young male. Diagnosis was made by multidetector computerized tomography during survey for hematochezia. The patient recovered well after appendectomy. The histological finding revealed focal erosion of appendix mucosa with bleeding.

Second primary lung carcinoma in patients with first primary breast carcinoma: two case reports and review of the literature.

INTRODUCTION: Patients undergoing complete treatments of breast carcinoma can be found with pulmonary nodules during the follow up period. Either metastasis from breast carcinoma or second primary bronchogenic carcinoma should be considered as a possible diagnosis. CASE PRESENTATIONS: Two female patients with ages of 66 and 64, underwent modified radical mastectomy for breast carcinoma 5 and 2 years ago, were found with single pulmonary nodule, 1.0 cm and 0.8 cm from the left lower and right upper lobe. There was no other site of metastasis being noted after systemic survey. Wedge resections through video assisted thoracic surgery were performed and one of them underwent lobectomy and mediastinal lymph node dissection after the primary lung carcinoma being proved pathologically (thyroid transcription factor 1 and cytokeratin 7 positive). The dissected lymph node in this patient is negative for malignancy. They underwent low dose chemotherapy postoperatively because of increased risk of tumor occurrence for these patients. Patients with smoking or irradiation history usually favor the diagnosis of second primary lung carcinoma. However, these two treated breast carcinoma cases, which didn't have smoking or irradiation history, developed second primary lung carcinomas. It is relatively rare reported before. CONCLUSIONS: Pulmonary nodules in patients with prior breast carcinomas were usually regarded as metastatic lesions. However, the possibility of second primary still cannot be excluded, especially to the solitary type. Video assisted thoracic surgery can provide early and accurate diagnosis as well as effective treatment.