[A Case of Proliferative Cystitis Discovered as Protruding Lesion during Inspection of Secondary Infertility].

A 42-year-old man visited our hospital complaining of secondary infertility. An abdominal ultrasonography screening incidentally revealed a protruding lesion in the bladder. As the lesion extended from the prostatic urethra and bladder neck, there was a possibility of ejaculation dysfunction after resection of the lesion. Therefore, with the patient's informed consent, sperm cryopreservation was conducted for fertility preservation, and subsequently histological examination was performed by partial transurethral resection of bladder tumor. The pathological findings were proliferative cystitis including all three subtypes (glandularis, cystica, and papillary). Cyclooxygenase-2 immunostaining was positive in cytoplasm; weakly positive in cystic and papillary lesions, and strongly positive in glandular lesions. According to a literature review of massive proliferative cystitis, the patient was the 77th case in Japan. Novel postoperative immunological pharmacotherapies with cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors have been introduced in recent years.

Mixed adenoneuroendocrine carcinoma of the non-ampullary duodenum with mismatch repair deficiency: a rare case report.

A non-ampullary duodenal mixed adenoneuroendocrine carcinoma (MANEC), consisting of a conventional adenocarcinoma and a neuroendocrine carcinoma (NEC), is exceedingly rare. Moreover, mismatch repair (MMR) deficient tumors have recently attracted attention. The patient, a 75-year-old woman with epigastric pain and nausea, was found to have a type 2 tumor of the duodenum, which was diagnosed on biopsy as a poorly differentiated carcinoma. A pancreaticoduodenectomy specimen showed a well-defined 50 × 48 mm tumor in the duodenal bulb, which was morphologically composed of glandular, sheet-like, and pleomorphic components. The glandular component was a tubular adenocarcinoma, showing a MUC5AC-positive gastric type. The sheet-like component consisted of homogenous tumor cells, with chromogranin A and synaptophysin diffusely positive, and a Ki-67 index of 72.8%. The pleomorphic component was diverse and prominent atypical tumor cells proliferated, focally positive for chromogranin A, diffusely positive for synaptophysin, and the Ki-67 index was 67.1%. The sheet-like and pleomorphic components were considered NEC, showing aberrant expression of p53, retinoblastoma, and p16. Notably, all three components were deficient in MLH1 and PMS2. We diagnosed a non-ampullary duodenal MANEC with MMR deficiency. This tumor has a unique morphology and immunohistochemical profile, and is valuable for clarifying the tumorigenesis mechanism of a non-ampullary duodenal MANEC.

Mitosis count and number of cancer cells in cases of primary pulmonary adenocarcinoma: Correlations among phosphorylated histone 3, number of cancer cells, nuclear grade, pathologic features and prognosis.

Immunohistochemistry findings for the phosphorylated form of histone 3 (pHH3) have been shown to be a reliable mitosis-specific marker. We evaluated the correlation between pHH3-stained mitotic figures (PHMFs) and clinical outcome, and compared the results with findings for numbers of PHMFs and cancer cells. The primary tumor was obtained from 113 patients with pulmonary adenocarcinomas (≤2 cm maximum dimension). All specimens were stained with pHH3, then the number of cancer cells in each was determined. Cases with a cancer-cell index ≥1000 showed worse recurrence-free survival as compared to those with a value <1000 (P < 0.001). Also, cases with a pHH3 index ≥0.27 showed worse recurrence-free survival as compared to <0.27 (P = 0.001) and cases with a pHH3/cancer-cell index ≥0.001 showed worse recurrence-free survival as compared to <0.001 (P = 0.002). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that pHH3/cancer-cell index was significantly correlated with prognosis, but not Ki-67 index. The number of cancer cells was also strongly correlated with progression of Noguchi's classification and WHO pathologic type. pHH3/cancer-cell index was correlated with prognosis, and those were useful for prognostic evaluation of pulmonary adenocarcinoma patients. Furthermore, cancer cell number was correlated with Noguchi's classification and WHO pathologic type.

L-Type Amino Acid Transporter 1 Immunoreactivity as a Possible Diagnostic and Prognostic Marker of Thymic Carcinoma.

L-type amino acid transporter 1 (LAT1) functions to transport large neutral amino acids, such as leucine, isoleucine, valine, phenylalanine, tyrosine, tryptophan, methionine, and histidine. These amino acids are essential for cell growth and proliferation. Many studies have demonstrated LAT1 expression in various types of cancer, and its high expression level was associated with poor prognosis. However, the significance of LAT1 expression in thymic epithelial tumors is controversial. We conducted this retrospective study to investigate the LAT1 immunoreactivity in thymic epithelial tumors and its impact on prognosis. We analyzed 32 patients with thymoma and 14 patients with thymic carcinoma who underwent surgery at our institute. Immunohistochemical analysis was performed using formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded surgical tissues and an anti-LAT1 polyclonal antibody. We thus found that LAT1 immunoreactivity was undetectable in all of the thymoma specimens, regardless of the subtypes of thymoma. By contrast, LAT1 immunoreactivity was consistently detected in the cytosol of thymic carcinoma cells; namely, all 14 thymic carcinoma specimens demonstrated LAT1 immunoreactivity in the cytosol. Among these 14 thymic carcinoma specimens, four carcinoma specimens also showed LAT1 immunoreactivity in the cell membrane. Survival analysis indicated that the thymic carcinoma with the LAT1 membrane signal was associated with poor prognosis, compared with the specimens with the LAT1 cytosol signal. We therefore propose that LAT1 is expressed in the cytosol of thymic carcinoma cells, which could be a diagnostic marker of thymic carcinoma. Moreover, LAT1 expression in the cell membrane is a prognostic marker of thymic carcinoma.

Performance characteristics of prostate-specific antigen density and biopsy core details to predict oncological outcome in patients with intermediate to high-risk prostate cancer underwent robot-assisted radical prostatectomy.

BACKGROUND: Many urologic surgeons refer to biopsy core details for decision making in cases of localized prostate cancer (PCa) to determine whether an extended resection and/or lymph node dissection should be performed. Furthermore, recent reports emphasize the predictive value of prostate-specific antigen density (PSAD) for further risk stratification, not only for low-risk PCa, but also for intermediate- and high-risk PCa. This study focused on these parameters and compared respective predictive impact on oncologic outcomes in Japanese PCa patients. METHODS: Two-hundred and fifty patients with intermediate- and high-risk PCa according to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) classification, that underwent robot-assisted radical prostatectomy at a single institution, and with observation periods of longer than 6 months were enrolled. None of the patients received hormonal treatments including antiandrogens, luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone analogues, or 5-alpha reductase inhibitors preoperatively. PSAD and biopsy core details, including the percentage of positive cores and the maximum percentage of cancer extent in each positive core, were analyzed in association with unfavorable pathologic results of prostatectomy specimens, and further with biochemical recurrence. The cut-off values of potential predictive factors were set through receiver-operating characteristic curve analyses. RESULTS: In the entire cohort, a higher PSAD, the percentage of positive cores, and maximum percentage of cancer extent in each positive core were independently associated with advanced tumor stage ≥ pT3 and an increased index tumor volume > 0.718 ml. NCCN classification showed an association with a tumor stage ≥ pT3 and a Gleason score ≥8, and the attribution of biochemical recurrence was also sustained. In each NCCN risk group, these preoperative factors showed various associations with unfavorable pathological results. In the intermediate-risk group, the percentage of positive cores showed an independent predictive value for biochemical recurrence. In the high-risk group, PSAD showed an independent predictive value. CONCLUSIONS: PSAD and biopsy core details have different performance characteristics for the prediction of oncologic outcomes in each NCCN risk group. Despite the need for further confirmation of the results with a larger cohort and longer observation, these factors are important as preoperative predictors in addition to the NCCN classification for a urologic surgeon to choose a surgical strategy.

Prostate volume and biopsy tumor length are significant predictors for classical and redefined insignificant cancer on prostatectomy specimens in Japanese men with favorable pathologic features on biopsy.

BACKGROUND: Gleason pattern 3 less often has molecular abnormalities and often behaves indolent. It is controversial whether low grade small foci of prostate cancer (PCa) on biopsy could avoid immediate treatment or not, because substantial cases harbor unfavorable pathologic results on prostatectomy specimens. This study was designed to identify clinical predictors for classical and redefined insignificant cancer on prostatectomy specimens in Japanese men with favorable pathologic features on biopsy. METHODS: Retrospective review of 1040 PCa Japanese patients underwent radical prostatectomy between 2006 and 2013. Of those, 170 patients (16.3%) met the inclusion criteria of clinical stage ≤ cT2a, Gleason score (GS) ≤ 6, up to two positive biopsies, and no more than 50% of cancer involvement in any core. The associations between preoperative data and unfavorable pathologic results of prostatectomy specimens, and oncological outcome were analyzed. The definition of insignificant cancer consisted of pathologic stage ≤ pT2, GS ≤ 6, and an index tumor volume < 0.5 mL (classical) or 1.3 mL (redefined). RESULTS: Pathologic stage ≥ pT3, upgraded GS, index tumor volume ≥ 0.5 mL, and ≥ 1.3 mL were detected in 25 (14.7%), 77 (45.3%), 83 (48.8%), and 53 patients (31.2%), respectively. Less than half of cases had classical (41.2%) and redefined (47.6%) insignificant cancer. The 5-year recurrence-free survival was 86.8%, and the insignificant cancers essentially did not relapse regardless of the surgical margin status. MRI-estimated prostate volume, tumor length on biopsy, prostate-specific antigen density (PSAD), and findings of magnetic resonance imaging were associated with the presence of classical and redefined insignificant cancer. Large prostate volume and short tumor length on biopsy remained as independent predictors in multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Favorable features of biopsy often are followed by adverse pathologic findings on prostatectomy specimens despite fulfilling the established criteria. The finding that prostate volume is important does not simply mirror many other studies showing PSAD is important, and the clinical criteria for risk assessment before definitive therapy or active surveillance should incorporate these significant factors other than clinical T-staging or PSAD to minimize under-estimation of cancer in Japanese patients with low-risk PCa.

A Case of Bullous Pemphigoid with Significant Infiltration of CD4-Positive T Cells during Treatment with Pembrolizumab, Accompanied by Pembrolizumab-Induced Multi-Organ Dysfunction.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) activate T cells, causing immune-related adverse events (irAEs). Skin manifestations are common among irAEs, but ICI-associated bullous pemphigoid (BP) is rare. Inhibiting programmed death (PD)-1 signaling, in addition to causing epitope spreading, may disrupt B and T cell balance, causing excessive autoantibody production against the skin's basement membrane, leading to BP. A 70-year-old woman developed late-onset multi-organ irAEs, including diarrhea, thyroid dysfunction, and BP, while receiving pembrolizumab, a PD-1 inhibitor. This highlights the long-term risk of irAEs, which can occur 2-3 years after starting ICIs. In cases of multi-organ irAE, C-reactive protein levels and neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio are often low. These characteristics were observed in our case. Few papers address multiple organ involvement, highlighting the need to consider irAEs in a multi-organ context. While it is known that drug-induced skin reactions worsen as blood eosinophil counts increase, in our case, the eosinophil count remained normal, suggesting that ICI-associated BP might have been controlled without discontinuing the ICI and through tapering of low-dose oral prednisone treatment. Additionally, in this case, significant CD4-positive T cell infiltration was observed in the immunostaining examination of the blisters, indicating that severe CD4-positive T cell infiltration induced by the ICI might have led to multi-organ involvement, including severe diarrhea. Few reports focus on blood eosinophil counts in BP cases or discuss CD4 and CD8 immunostaining in BP cases. Therefore, future research should explore the relationship between blood eosinophil counts, immunostaining results, and the prognosis of irAEs, including BP, in treatment courses.

Normocomplementemic Urticarial Vasculitis Following Influenza Vaccination: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Urticarial vasculitis is characterized by persistent urticarial lesions lasting over 24 h. Urticarial vasculitis is often triggered by medications, infections, and autoimmune disorders. However, vaccinations against viral and bacterial pathogens have recently been documented to induce urticarial vasculitis. We describe the case of a 67-year-old woman who was presented with an extensive erythematous and purpuric rash without systemic symptoms 3 days after an influenza vaccination. She was diagnosed with normocomplementemic urticarial vasculitis based on clinical findings, normal complement levels, and histopathological findings of leukocytoclastic vasculitis. After receiving oral histamines, she showed complete resolution 3 months after receiving the influenza vaccination. Although vaccination-associated vasculitis is common, urticarial vasculitis following vaccinations is rare. We reviewed 13 cases of urticarial vasculitis following a wide range of vaccines, including those against Bacillus Calmette-Guérin, serogroup B meningococcus, influenza, and coronavirus disease. We conducted a comprehensive review of various aspects, including age, sex, past medical history, type of vaccination, number of vaccinations, onset time, cutaneous symptoms, place of eruption, systemic symptoms, laboratory disorders, treatment period, and treatment of urticarial vasculitis. Two patients developed hypocomplementemic urticarial vasculitis after vaccination, and both experienced systemic symptoms such as arthralgia and fever. In this review, no significant differences were found in the data, which may be attributed to the small number of cases. The mechanisms underlying the induction of urticarial vasculitis by vaccines remain unknown; however, in addition to immune complex deposition and complement activation due to vaccine components, molecular mimicry may trigger urticarial vasculitis by producing vaccine-derived pathogenic antigen antibodies. This case study emphasizes the need for heightened awareness and further investigation of urticarial vasculitis as a rare adverse effect of vaccination.

Review of T Helper 2-Type Inflammatory Diseases Following Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Treatment.

Immune checkpoints are mechanisms that allow cancer cells to evade immune surveillance and avoid destruction by the body's immune system. Tumor cells exploit immune checkpoint proteins to inhibit T cell activation, thus enhancing their resistance to immune attacks. Immune checkpoint inhibitors, like nivolumab, work by reactivating these suppressed T cells to target cancer cells. However, this reactivation can disrupt immune balance and cause immune-related adverse events. This report presents a rare case of prurigo nodularis that developed six months after administering nivolumab for lung adenocarcinoma. While immune-related adverse events are commonly linked to T helper-1- or T helper-17-type inflammations, T helper-2-type inflammatory reactions, as observed in our case, are unusual. The PD-1-PD-L1 pathway is typically associated with T helper-1 and 17 responses, whereas the PD-1-PD-L2 pathway is linked to T helper-2 responses. Inhibition of PD-1 can enhance PD-L1 functions, potentially shifting the immune response towards T helper-1 and 17 types, but it may also influence T helper-2-type inflammation. This study reviews T helper-2-type inflammatory diseases emerging from immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment, highlighting the novelty of our findings.

Gastric carcinoma of the fundic gland type developed 32 years after Helicobacter pylori eradication for duodenal ulcer: a case report.

Introduction: Gastric cancer has been reported to occur with mild to moderate mucosal atrophy, particularly after the eradication of Helicobacter pylori (HP) more than 10 years previously. However, no conclusion has been reached on how many years of esophagogastroduodenoscopy should be performed after HP eradication. Presentation of case: This was a case of gastric carcinoma of the fundic gland type (GCFGT) 32 years after the eradication of HP, which is the longest posteradication period reported. A 62-year-old male patient was diagnosed with GCFGT after HP eradication and regular esophagogastroduodenoscopy, which revealed a white raised lesion on the anterior wall of the upper part of the body. Endoscopic submucosal dissection was performed for GCFGT, and the vertical and horizontal margins were negative. Clinical discussion: In this case, HP was eradicated in 1990, and GCFGT developed 32 years later. To the best of our knowledge, this is the longest case in which gastric cancer appeared after HP eradication. HP eradication therapy for a duodenal ulcer was first reported in 1990, supporting that this is the longest case. Conclusions: This is the first case of gastric cancer more than 20 years after the eradication of HP. The endoscopic findings of this case are typical of GCFGT and may be useful when encountering such cases in the future. Therefore, the risk of gastric cancer should be considered for an extended period even after the eradication of HP, and regular esophagogastroduodenoscopy is recommended even after the eradication of HP.

Castleman disease and mimickers: Clinicopathological findings of atypical lymphoproliferative disorders associated with autoimmune disease.

Atypical lymphoproliferative disorders (LPDs) related with autoimmune disease (AID) show marked clinicopathological diversity, which are defined as three distinct clinicopathological subtypes such as those resembling Castleman disease (CD), atypical paracortical hyperplasia with lymphoid follicles (APHLF), and atypical lymphoplasmacytic and immunoblastic proliferation (ALPIB). We studied excisional biopsy specimens from 31 patients with atypical LPDs associated with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and Sjögren syndrome (SjS). The lesions in these 31 cases were classified into 6 (19.4%) cases resembling CD, 14 (45.2%) cases of APHLF, and 11 (35.5%) cases of ALPIB. Five cases (83.3%) resembling CD were in the active stage with systemic symptoms and multicentric lymphadenopathy. Thirteen cases (92.9%) of APHLF showed systemic symptoms, multicentric lymphadenopathy and abnormal laboratory findings. Histologic findings for cases resembling CD were rare in patients with RA and SjS. In AID patients, histologic findings for cases resembling CD or APHLF findings correlated with disease activity and multicentric lymphadenopathy. Six cases (54.5%) of ALPIB were in the active phase with systemic symptoms and multicentric lymphadenopathy. ALPIB tended to be unrelated to AID activity, especially in the majority of patients with no abnormal laboratory findings. Atypical LPDs associated with AID is a group of diseases that may be overdiagnosed and overtreated. The diagnosis of atypical LPDs associated with AID requires an understanding of the histological findings as well as a comprehensive assessment of the presence of systemic symptoms, the distribution of lymphadenopathy, and abnormal laboratory findings.

Cryptococcal Prostatitis Forming Caseous and Suppurative Granulomas Diagnosed by Needle Biopsy: A Case Report.

Cryptococcal granulomatous prostatitis is extremely rare, and there have been few reports of its diagnosis by prostate needle biopsy. The patient, an 81-year-old man, was receiving immunosuppressive treatment for rheumatoid arthritis. He had an oropharyngeal ulcer, and it was diagnosed alongside a methotrexate-related diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. A systemic imaging examination revealed a prostatic tumor-like mass clinically suspected to be prostatic cancer, and a needle biopsy was performed. The biopsy specimen showed various types of inflammatory cell infiltration, and suppurative granuloma and caseous granuloma were observed. Both granulomas showed multiple round and oval organisms that were revealed with Grocott methenamine silver staining. Acid-fast bacilli were not detected by Ziehl-Neelsen staining. We histologically diagnosed granulomatous prostatitis caused by Cryptococcus infection. Caseous granulomas often develop in the prostate after bacillus Calmette-Guerin immunotherapy for bladder cancer, although the possibility of cryptococcal granulomatous prostatitis should also be considered.

Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging in differentiating the invasiveness of small lung adenocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with several sequences may provide a valuable additional modality for evaluating the grade of invasiveness lesions. Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI) represents the biological characteristics of tissues. PURPOSE: To retrospectively evaluate the usefulness of DWI for evaluating the invasiveness of small lung adenocarcinomas. MATERIAL AND METHODS: From May 2005 to June 2008, 46 patients with lung adenocarcinomas measuring 2 cm or less across the greatest dimension underwent a preoperative MRI study followed by surgery at the Gunma Prefectural Cancer Center. Fourteen of the tumors were bronchioloalveolar carcinomas (so-called Noguchi's type A+B group), 26 were adenocarcinomas with mixed subtypes (type C group) and six were other histological subtypes of adenocarcinomas (type D+E+F group). The mean signal intensities of a lesion (DWI) and the spinal cord (SC) were analyzed in the region of interests (ROIs), and the mean DWI/SC ratio was then calculated with the value of DWI divided by the value of SC. RESULTS: The calculated mean DWI/SC ratio for the lesions were as follows: 0.448±0.261 (mean±standard deviation [SD]) for type A+B group, 0.963±0.465 for type C group, and 0.816±0.291 for type D+E+F group. The mean DWI/SC ratio of type A+B group was significantly lower than that for the type C (P = 0.0005) or type D+E+F groups (P = 0.0117). CONCLUSION: DWI may thus provide useful supplementary information before determining the surgical strategy, including a limited resection.

The development of new instruments (NT forceps) for video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery.

A new type of forceps (NT forceps) was developed in November 2007, designed for dividing connective tissues and for holding tissue together. These forceps measure 32 cm in length and are made of stainless steel. The insides of the forceps have atraumatic dispositions because longitudinal notches are placed on them. Therefore, they can grasp important soft organs such as the lung, azygos, and pulmonary vein. In addition, the acral forceps also possess carbide chips with cross notches. They can therefore hold vessel tape, sutures, etc. There are two types of forceps, which are curved at different angles, either a sharp angle or a slight angle. The forceps can be used for dividing and holding tissue while performing basic surgical manipulations, especially during an operation using a video-assisted procedure with a mini-thoracotomy. These forceps are useful tools for performing technical manipulations for standard operations, such as a lobectomy.

[Thymic metastasis of laryngeal cancer].

A 70-year-old man visited the Department of Head and Neck Surgery with a chief complaint of dysphagia. A tumor was observed in the epiglottis and vocal cord, and was diagnosed as squamous cell carcinoma by biopsy. Computed tomography (CT) showed a tumor mainly in the vocal cord. CT scans revealed a tumor centered on the vocal cord, with bilateral cervical lymph node metastases and a well-circumscribed 20-mm tumor in the anterior mediastinum. Fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) showed uptake in the primary lesion, left cervical lymph nodes, and anterior mediastinal tumor, which suggested a lymph node metastasis but did not exclude thymoma. The patient underwent video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) resection of the anterior mediastinal tumor with total laryngectomy, total thyroidectomy, and bilateral cervical lymph node dissection. The final pathological diagnosis was laryngeal cancer (glottic cancer, pT4aN2M1, pStage IVC) with thymic metastasis (presenting as an anterior mediastinal tumor). Thymic metastasis of laryngeal cancer is rare, and appears difficult to preoperatively differentiate from other mediastinal tumors.

Antitumor effect of dimethyl itaconate on thymic carcinoma by targeting LDHA-mTOR axis.

AIMS: Thymic carcinoma is a rare type of cancer without an established standard pharmaceutical treatment. This study investigated the antitumor effect of dimethyl itaconate (DI), a cell-permeable derivative of itaconate, on human thymic carcinoma cell line. MAIN METHODS: Human thymic carcinoma cell line Ty82 was used to evaluate the effect of DI on cell viability. Western blotting and immunohistochemistry were performed to determine the molecular mechanism of antitumor effects of DI on Ty82. KEY FINDINGS: DI suppressed cell growth and promoted apoptosis of Ty82. The suppressive effect of DI on Ty82 was mediated by the downregulation of lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA), and the subsequent decrease in the activity of mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR). DI exhibited synergistic antitumor effects with a specific inhibitor of large neutral amino acid transporter 1 (LAT1), an amino acid transporter currently being investigated as a novel target for cancer therapy. SIGNIFICANCE: Our findings demonstrate that DI is a novel potential strategy for thymic carcinoma treatment.

Fluvastatin is effective against thymic carcinoma.

AIMS: Thymic carcinoma is a rare epithelial tumor, for which, optimal pharmacotherapeutic methods have not yet been established. To develop new drug treatments for thymic carcinoma, we investigated the effects of fluvastatin-mediated pharmacological inhibition of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMGCR) on thymic carcinoma. MAIN METHODS: Thymic carcinoma tissue was surgically excised and HMGCR expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry. Ty82 human thymic carcinoma cells were treated with fluvastatin (1-10 µM) and their growth was monitored. KEY FINDINGS: HMGCR was expressed on carcinoma cells but not on normal epithelial cells in thymic tissue. Inhibition of HMGCR by fluvastatin suppressed cell proliferation and induced the death of Ty-82 human thymic carcinoma cells. Fluvastatin mediated its antitumor effects by blocking the production of geranylgeranyl-pyrophosphate (GGPP), an isoprenoid that is produced from mevalonate and binds to small GTPases, which promotes cell proliferation. SIGNIFICANCE: Fluvastatin showed marked antitumor effects on thymic carcinoma. The results suggest that the statin has clinical benefits in thymic carcinoma management.

Plasmacytoid urothelial carcinoma of renal pelvis with positive zinc finger E-box-binding homeobox 1: a case report.

BACKGROUND: The tumor transformation mechanism of a plasmacytoid urothelial carcinoma remains unexplained. We describe the case of a plasmacytoid urothelial carcinoma of the renal pelvis in which the expression of zinc finger E-box-binding homeobox 1 (ZEB1), a key nuclear transcription factor in an epithelial-mesenchymal transition, is involved in tumor transformation. CASE PRESENTATION: The patient had a left nephrectomy with the clinical diagnosis of left pelvic renal cancer. The resected specimen showed that the tumor surface comprised a noninvasive papillary urothelial carcinoma with the carcinoma in situ, and the invasive area comprised a plasmacytoid urothelial carcinoma characterized by the presence of single dyscohesive malignant cells that resembled plasma cells in a loose myxoid stroma. The noninvasive urothelial carcinoma was positive for cytokeratin and E-cadherin, and negative for vimentin and ZEB1. In contrast, the invasive plasmacytoid urothelial carcinoma was positive for cytokeratin and also vimentin and ZEB1, and negative for E-cadherin. Additionally, this component was immunoreactive for CD138 and CD38 that are immunohistochemical markers for plasma cells. CONCLUSION: We suggest that ZEB1 is involved in the plasmacytoid transformation by repressing the E-cadherin in a plasmacytoid urothelial carcinoma.