Canine orbital rhabdomyosarcoma: a report of 18 cases.

PURPOSE: To describe clinical and pathological features of canine orbital rhabdomyosarcoma (COR). METHODS: Retrospective review of patients with COR from the archives of the Comparative Ocular Pathology Laboratory of Wisconsin and the University of Wisconsin Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital (1983-2014). RESULTS: Eighteen cases of COR were identified, all diagnosed in an 8-year period (2006-2014). Affected dogs were typically young (range 1-8; median 2 years), and both sexes were equally represented. Common clinical signs included exophthalmos (16/18) with dorsolateral deviation of the globe (10/18) and elevation of the nictitans (12/18). Ultrasonography, performed in nine cases, revealed an orbital mass with mixed echogenicity and posterior globe indentation. Advanced imaging, performed in nine cases, demonstrated a soft tissue mass with variable contrast enhancement and lysis of the orbital bones (5/9). Histologically, all tumors were subclassified as embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma. All neoplasms demonstrated positive immunohistochemical labeling for desmin, and 14/18 were positive for skeletal muscle actin. Follow-up information was available for 15/18 cases. Older dogs, aged 6-8 years, had no clinical signs of recurrence or metastasis 8-13 months postdiagnosis (4/4). Most younger dogs (9/11), aged 1-4 years, were euthanized within 6 months (median 2.5 months) of diagnosis due to recurrence at the surgical site (5/9) and/or metastasis (5/9). CONCLUSIONS: Canine orbital rhabdomyosarcoma is a highly malignant neoplasm in juvenile dogs, but may be amenable to surgical resection in older dogs. This duality in biologic behavior may reflect differences in tissue of origin between juvenile onset tumors and adult onset tumors.

Automated large-scale culture and medium-throughput chemical screen for modulators of proliferation and viability of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neuroepithelial-like stem cells.

The aim of this study was to demonstrate proof-of-concept feasibility for the use of human neural stem cells (NSCs) for high-throughput screening (HTS) applications. For this study, an adherent human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell-derived long-term, self-renewing, neuroepithelial-like stem (lt-NES) cell line was selected as a representative NSC. Here, we describe the automated large-scale serum-free culture ("scale-up") of human lt-NES cells on the CompacT SelecT cell culture robotic platform, followed by their subsequent automated "scale-out" into a microwell plate format. We also report a medium-throughput screen of 1000 compounds to identify modulators of neural stem cell proliferation and/or survival. The screen was performed on two independent occasions using a cell viability assay with end-point reading resulting in the identification of 24 potential hit compounds, 5 of which were found to increase the proliferation and/or survival of human lt-NES on both occasions. Follow-up studies confirmed a dose-dependent effect of one of the hit compounds, which was a Cdk-2 modulator. This approach could be further developed as part of a strategy to screen compounds to either improve the procedures for the in vitro expansion of neural stem cells or to potentially modulate endogenous neural stem cell behavior in the diseased nervous system.

Ten-year follow-up of mammary carcinoma arising in microglandular adenosis treated with breast conservation.

adenosis is a rare proliferative lesion of the breast that may mimic carcinoma grossly and histologically. Although the lesion in its simplest form is benign, it can give rise to carcinoma, which may be found at the time of diagnosis in a minority of cases. Limited follow-up data have indicated no predisposition to develop subsequent carcinoma in patients treated with excisional biopsy for microglandular adenosis when carcinoma was not initially present. Breast conservation has rarely been used in patients with carcinoma arising in microglandular adenosis. We report here the unique 10-year follow-up of a woman who underwent breast conservation treatment for carcinoma that arose in microglandular adenosis.