Tumoral Calcinosis at a Finger Metacarpophalangeal Joint. / Tumoröse Kalzinose ­ Morbus Teutschländer ­ am Ringfingergrundgelenk.

A 51-year-old patient presented with a painful swelling palmar to the metacarpophalangeal joint of the ring finger. A round tumor was detected using X-rays and MRI. After excision, tumoral calcinosis could be verified histologically.

Direct high-pressure Injury of the Palm after Injection of a Capsaicin-filled Gas Pistol. / Direkte Hochdruckinjektionsverletzung mit einer Capsaicin gefüllten Gaspistole in die Hohlhand.

High injection lesions of the hand are among the most serious injuries, with concomitant consequences. These lesions are often underestimated and may entail additional damages if that is the case. Not only the physical impact but also the chemical nature of the substance dictate the treatment.

Pathology in Practice.

In collaboration with the American College of Veterinary Pathologists.

Medial Arterial Calcification: JACC State-of-the-Art Review.

Medial arterial calcification (MAC) is a chronic systemic vascular disorder distinct from atherosclerosis that is frequently but not always associated with diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease, and aging. MAC is also a part of more complex phenotypes in numerous less common diseases. The hallmarks of MAC include disseminated and progressive precipitation of calcium phosphate within the medial layer, a prolonged and clinically silent course, and compromise of hemodynamics associated with chronic limb-threatening ischemia. MAC increases the risk of complications during vascular interventions and mitigates their outcomes. With the exception of rare monogenetic defects affecting adenosine triphosphate metabolism, MAC pathogenesis remains unknown, and causal therapy is not available. Implementation of genetics and omics-based approaches in research recognizing the critical importance of calcium phosphate thermodynamics holds promise to unravel MAC molecular pathogenesis and to provide guidance for therapy. The current state of knowledge concerning MAC is reviewed, and future perspectives are outlined.

Efficacy and safety of glucose, glucose and polidocanol combination, liquid polidocanol and polidocanol foam in the treatment of reticular veins: A randomized study in rabbits.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the efficacy and safety of sclerosing agents injected in dorsal veins of rabbit ears. METHODS: Sixty ears of 30 rabbits were randomly allocated in: 1% liquid polidocanol, 1% polidocanol foam, 0.2% polidocanol-glucose 70% solution, glucose 75% or 0.9% saline. Outcomes included efficacy (luminal occlusion), complications (phlebitis, neovascularization, ulceration at the puncture site, necrosis and local inflammation) and histology (sclerosis, recanalization vein and surrounding tissues inflammation, blood extravasation, recanalization, lymphangiogenesis, destruction of cartilage and neoangiogenesis). RESULTS: Sclerosis was superior in Foam Group (76.9%), but also with 30.7% necrosis (p = 0.003), 46.15% ulceration (p = 0.003), and 69.2% local inflammation (p < 0.0001). Neovascularization were similar. Histology showed 38.5% phlebitis (p = 0.004) and necrosis (p = 0.03) in the foam group. CONCLUSIONS: Sclerosis with foam and liquid polidocanol were superior to the other groups, but specially polidocanol foam at the expense of greater frequency of adverse events.

Early-stage endometrial cancer, CTNNB1 mutations, and the relation between lymphovascular space invasion and recurrence.

INTRODUCTION: Women diagnosed with early-stage (FIGO 1) endometrial cancer, grade 1 and 2 can have a good prognosis. Most of these women can be treated successfully with a hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy and without the additional adjuvant treatment that is accompanied by more risks for complications. However, when recurrence does occur, the consequences can be dire. Accurate decisions must therefore be made by surgeons to avoid either under- or over-treatment. Risk and patient stratification for tailoring treatment still need further improvement. Both histopathology and genetic variants could be integrated into the decision process if relevant factors were identified. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Morphological features and the presence of selected genetic mutations in isolated malignant endometrial epithelial cells from these tumors were analyzed in a strictly defined cohort of FIGO 1, grade 1 and 2 low-risk endometrial cancer. Their presence in this cohort, their relation to recurrence, and the association between histopathological features and mutations were determined. This analysis was performed using archival formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue, complete re-evaluation of histopathological features, laser capture microdissection of epithelial cells, and a polymerase chain reaction-based mutational screening assay. RESULTS: Twenty-one women with recurrence, after initial identification as low-risk endometrial cancer, were compared with 20 matched control women. The histological marker of lymphovascular invasion was significantly associated with recurrence. There was also a very high prevalence of mutations in CTNNB1 gene, occurring in 50% of this cohort. PTEN mutations were also observed in 27.8% of cases and PIK3CA mutations in 22.2%; none of these mutations were significantly related to recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: This study supports the importance of lymphovascular space invasion to identify women with significant risk for recurrence in initially low-risk, early-stage endometrial cancer. It also identifies CTNNB1 as a significant mutation in early-stage disease, and although it may not represent a marker for recurrence its high prevalence in early stage disease could have relevance for both pathogenesis and early treatment.

Medial vascular calcification revisited: review and perspectives.

Vascular calcifications (VCs) are actively regulated biological processes associated with crystallization of hydroxyapatite in the extracellular matrix and in cells of the media (VCm) or intima (VCi) of the arterial wall. Both patterns of VC often coincide and occur in patients with type II diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and other less frequent disorders; VCs are also typical in senile degeneration. In this article, we review the current state of knowledge about the pathology, molecular biology, and nosology of VCm, expand on potential mechanisms responsible for poor prognosis, and expose some of the directions for future research in this area.

Varicocele and a vascular tumor in the testis.

A 50-year-old man presented a rare morphological constellation: a left-sided varicocele (stage 3) and a vascular rich Sertoli cell tumor.

Arterial microcalcifications in the breast mimicking malignancy.

Microcalcifications in the breast are highly suggestive of malignancy; they can occur in many pathological conditions. A 36-years-old nondiabetic woman came to the gynaecologist with a suspect palpable mass in the upper outer quadrant of the right breast. Histopathological examination confirmed a calcification of a small artery (diameter: 0.45 mm). Arterial calcifications can mimic a malignant lesion in the breast.

[Anal metastasis from a lung cancer]. / Métastase anale d'un cancer broncho-pulmonaire.

We report an anal metastasis from a lung cancer which was diagnosed on symptoms mimicking an acute anal abcess. The diagnosis was based on specific immunohistochemistry.

Oral anticoagulant treatment: friend or foe in cardiovascular disease?

Calcification is a common complication in cardiovascular disease and may affect both arteries and heart valves. Matrix gamma-carboxyglutamic acid (Gla) protein (MGP) is a potent inhibitor of vascular calcification, the activity of which is regulated by vitamin K. In animal models, vitamin K antagonists (oral anticoagulants [OACs]) were shown to induce arterial calcification. To investigate whether long-term OAC treatment may induce calcification in humans also, we have measured the grade of aortic valve calcification in patients with and without preoperative OAC treatment. OAC-treated subjects were matched with nontreated ones for age, sex, and disease. Calcifications in patients receiving preoperative OAC treatment were significantly (2-fold) larger than in nontreated patients. These observations suggest that OACs, which are widely used for antithrombotic therapy, may induce cardiovascular calcifications as an adverse side effect.

Reliability of differentiating human coronary plaque morphology using contrast-enhanced multislice spiral computed tomography: a comparison with histology.

BACKGROUND: Initial clinical results indicate that multislice spiral computed tomography (MDCT) might be useful for the noninvasive characterization of human coronary plaque morphology by determining tissue density within the lesions. This seems to be of clinical relevance, because coronary artery disease might be detected at an early stage before calcifications occur and noncalcified plaques that may be more likely to rupture could also be visualized noninvasively. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the reliability of contrast-enhanced MDCT in differentiating human atherosclerotic coronary plaque morphology by comparing it with the histopathologic gold standard. METHODS AND RESULTS: Twelve human hearts were scanned postmortem using an MDCT (Somatom Volume Zoom; Siemens, Forchheim, Germany) high-resolution computed tomography scanner to detect atherosclerotic coronary plaques. Density measurements were performed within detected plaque areas. The exact location of each plaque was marked at the surface of the heart to assure accurate histopathologic sectioning of these lesions. The plaques were classified according to a modified Stary classification. Seventeen plaques were identified by MDCT. Six plaques were histopathologically classified as lipid rich (Stary III/IV), 6 plaques as intermediate (Stary V), and 5 plaques as calcific (Stary VII). Lipid-rich plaques had a mean density on MDCT of 42 +/- 22 Hounsfield units (HU), intermediate plaques had a mean density of 70 +/- 21 HU, and calcific plaques had a mean density of 715 +/- 328 HU. ANOVA analysis revealed a significant difference in plaque density between the 3 groups (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: The comparison with histopathology confirms that tissue density as determined by contrast-enhanced MDCT might be used to differentiate atherosclerotic plaque morphology.

Análisis de 2.058 pacientes con neoplasia intraepitelial cervical / Analysis of 2.058 patients with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia

Este estudio investiga el comportamiento de diferentes grados de neoplasia intraepitelial cervical (cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, CIN) incluyendo la relación estadística entre progresión persistencia y regresión en un gran número de pacientes. El estudio se realizó a partir de 5.782 resultados citológicos e histopatológicos de la investigación del cáncer cervical de 2.058 pacientes con CIN. Se comparó el comportamiento de diferentes lesiones de CIN y se analizaron estadísticamente las tasas de progresión, regresión y persistencia. Se detectó CIN en 5.778 muestras; 4 casos demostraron un carcinoma microinvasor del cérvix uterino. El 23 por ciento de CIN se asoció al papilomavirus humano (human papillomavirus HPV). Para todas las lesiones CIN, se observó una tasa de progresión del 12,9 por ciento. La tasa de progresión hacia la malignidad fue de 0,07 por ciento. La tasa de progresión más elevada fue para CIN I (41,9 por ciento). La progresión a CIN III/CIS fue significativamente superior para CIN II (14,5 por ciento) que para CIN I (7,5 por ciento) (test chi-cuadrado: p < 0,001). Según el estado de HPV, detectamos una progresión significativamente menor de CIN II HPV positivo (5,7 por ciento) que CIN II HPV negativo (11,6 por ciento) (test chi-cuadrado: p<0,0001). La neoplasia intraepitelial cervical en progresión es un proceso continuo. La progresión del CIN I se produce con mayor frecuencia a través de CIN II; asimismo CIN III/CIS se desarrolla más a menudo a partir del CIN II. Sin embargo, el 7,5 por ciento del CIN I mostró una progresión muy rápida hacia CIN III/CIS. Para estudiar este fenómeno se requiere investigaciones adicionales. Así mismo, se detectó una tasa notablemente baja de regresión para el CIN I y una tasa de progresión baja inesperada de CIN II HPV positivo