Facial heliotrope rash as the initial manifestation of acute myelomonocytic leukemia.

The association of leukocytoclastic vasculitis or dermatomyositis with malignancies has been reported. We describe a patient who developed a skin rash, histologically compatible with dermatomyositis, which during the course of the disease switched to leukocytoclastic vasculitis, which was accompanied with peripheral blood pancytopenia in the absence of any specific pathological manifestation from the bone marrow three years prior to the diagnosis of acute myelomonocytic leukemia (AMML).

Giant cell arteritis presenting as pulseless disease of the upper extremities.

The most frequently recognized clinical features of giant cell arteritis (GCA) derive from the involvement of the cranial arteries. In 10% of patients, however, the aorta and its major branches, are also affected. We report a case of a 53-year-old woman presenting with a fainting episode and diminished pulses in the upper extremities. Histologic examination of the temporal artery revealed features of giant cell arteritis.

Immunohistochemical study of sex steroid hormones in primary liver cancer.

Paraffin-embedded tissue sections from 29 patients with primary liver carcinomas were retrospectively studied for the presence of estradiol and testosterone using the peroxidase-antiperoxidase (PAP) technique. Twenty-seven hepatomas and two cholangiomas were treated with antiestradiol and antitestosterone primary serum. Estradiol was detected in 17 cases and testosterone in 11 cases of hepatomas. The two cases of cholangiocarcinoma were positive for estradiol and negative for testosterone. The immunohistochemical reaction in the tumor cells was mainly cytoplasmic and in a few cases both cytoplasmic and intranuclear. The positivity of the reaction in the tumour cells was compared with that of the adjacent non-neoplastic liver tissue and bile duct cells. Our findings were also analyzed in relation to tumor differentiation and the age and sex of the patients.

Image cytometric DNA analysis and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) expression in transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder.

The proliferation rate as determined by Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen (PCNA) immunostaining and the DNA ploidy status as measured by static cytometry were studied in 70 transitional cell carcinomas of the bladder (TCCB) in relation to grade, stage, and recurrence. The follow-up period was 2 years. A significant difference was observed in PCNA expression among grades I, II, and III (P < 0.02), between superficial (pTa-pT1) and invasive (pT2-pT4) tumors (p < 0. 04), between recurring and non-recurring tumors (p < 0.001), and between tumors of the same grade with and without recurrence (p < 0. 05). A significant difference was also found in the ploidy pattern among grades I, II, and III (p = 0.002), and between superficial and invasive (p = 0.02) and recurring and non-recurring tumors (p < 0. 01). Finally, the recurrence status seems to be strongly influenced by the proliferation rate and ploidy of TCCB (p < 0.001). Our results suggest that the above-studied parameters may offer useful information on the biological behavior of TCCB.