Ruptured vasa previa in velamentous cord insertion placenta.

Ruptured vasa previa is rare but usually catastrophic if delivery is not imminent. We present a case of ruptured vasa previa in velamentous cord insertion placenta. The fetus survived despite 6 h of a venous rupture because of the tamponade effect from fetal head engagement. Defects in the vessel wall architecture were revealed by histopathologic examination and might be responsible for the vessel rupture. Prenatal sonographic identification of cord insertion site into the placenta is encouraged as standard of practice to prevent this accident.

Biologic markers in ductal carcinoma in situ and concurrent infiltrating carcinoma. A comparison of eight contemporary grading systems.

The relevance of 8 contemporary classification and grading systems for ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) of the breast was examined in 100 tumors by comparing DCIS grade with grade of the concurrent infiltrating ductal carcinoma (IDC). Besides tumor size and nodal status, the immunohistochemical parameters in both lesions were compared, including estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, c-erbB-2 protein, E-cadherin, vimentin, Ki-67 (MIB1), and p27. Nuclear grading of DCIS alone or in combination with architectural pattern and necrosis showed the best correlation with grade of the invasive component. There also was a positive correlation between every biologic marker expressed in DCIS and in the concurrent IDC, supporting a clonal relationship. Biologic markers varied between the different grades of DCIS. DCIS is heterogeneous, and the progression of DCIS to IDC may be from low-grade DCIS to low-grade IDC and high-grade DCIS to high-grade IDC. This concept is different from the conventional model held for intraepithelial neoplasia in the cervix, vulva, vagina, and skin, in which there is increasing severity of in situ atypia (dysplasia) before the development of stromal invasion.

Upregulation of tumour associated antigen RCAS1 is implicated in high stages of colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND: RCAS1 (receptor binding cancer antigen expressed on SiSo cells) is a tumour associated antigen. It is involved in immune evasion by tumour cells, by binding to receptors on cells involved in the immune response, such as T cells and natural killer cells, and inducing apoptosis. High expression of RCAS1 has been demonstrated immunohistochemically in tumours of the cervix, breast, lung, and stomach; however, the expression of RCAS1 has never been investigated in colorectal cancer. AIMS: To investigate the expression of RCAS1 in colorectal cancer and identify at which stages of colorectal carcinogenesis it is expressed. METHODS: Sixty surgically resected colorectal cancer specimens obtained from Rajavithi Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand were studied. RCAS1 expression was detected immunohistochemically using monoclonal anti-RCAS1 antibody. RCAS1 mRNA expression was also investigated by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction in the freshly isolated tissues, and serum RCAS1 was measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: Staining for the RCAS1 protein was intense in high stages of colorectal cancer, but weak in normal tissues. The RCAS1 mRNA results correlated with the immunohistochemistry results. Positive serum RCAS1 concentrations were found in 10 of 18 patients with stage II disease and 12 of 32 with stage III and IV, but not in patients with stage I disease. All lymph node and liver metastases showed high expression of RCAS1 protein. CONCLUSIONS: RCAS1 appears to be upregulated in high stages of colorectal cancer, both in the serum and the tissue. RCAS1 expression might be a useful additional criterion for staging this cancer.

Immunostaining of cell preparations: a comparative evaluation of common fixatives and protocols.

Immunostaining of cytologic preparations has been beset by problems of inconsistency, high background staining, and the requirement of different fixatives for different antigens. This study sought to identify a universal fixative and a simple fixation protocol suitable for a wide range of tissue antigens commonly employed for cytologic diagnosis. In an analysis of 23 fixation protocols involving acetone, acetone/methanol, acetone/formalin, glutaraldehyde, ethanol, methanol, and formal saline, fixation in 0.1% formal saline overnight at 27 degrees C followed by 10 min fixation in 100% ethanol produced the most consistent and optimal preservation of immunoreactivity which could be further enhanced by pre-treatment with microwaves for epitope retrieval. Blocking of endogenous peroxidase was not necessary with this fixation protocol. Provided the smears were well air-dried (for at least 14 hr) prior to immersion in formal saline, there was no need to employ adhesive-coated glass slides. The smears could be kept at 27 degrees C (room temperature) for at least 7 days and at -70 degrees C for 5 wk without loss of immunoreactivity as air-dried smears or after fixation in formal saline. One hundred percent acetone and 100% ethanol produced good morphology and immunoreactivity but a high level of background staining, whereas acetone-based mixtures resulted in inconsistent immunostaining.

Immunostaining of estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, MIB1 antigen, and c-erbB-2 oncoprotein in cytologic specimens: a simplified method with formalin fixation.

An effective but simple fixation protocol for the immunocytochemical staining of cytologic smears for estrogen and progesterone receptors, the Ki-67 antigen (using MIB1 antibody), and c-erbB-2 protein is described. One hundred twenty-seven smears from a variety of malignant and benign breast lesions showed good preservation of antigenicity when subjected to the following fixation protocol: Freshly made smears were air-dried for 20 min to 14 h at 22 degrees C before immersing in 10% buffered formalin for 2-14 h. Immunostaining followed microwave-stimulated epitope retrieval. There was strong concordance of staining with corresponding tissue sections in 15 cases of malignant tumors (ER: r = 0.7381; PR: r = 0.6684; MIB1: r = 0.7234). Immunostaining staining, when delayed for 5-10 days in about half the smears, showed no noticeable difference in reactivity, attesting to effective storage of the formalin-fixed smears at room temperature.

A comparative study of cell proliferation markers in breast carcinomas.

Aims-To investigate the tumour cell proliferative index obtained by immunostaining of paraffin wax sections of 30 cases of breast carcinoma with monoclonal antibodies MIB1, KiS1 and KiS5, and polyclonal Ki67 antisera to the Ki67 antigen and 19A2 and PC10 antibodies to proliferating cell nuclear antigen and the possible correlation between these indices and that of monoclonal Ki67 antibody in frozen sections of the same tumours.Methods-All tumour samples had been uniformly fixed and processed and sections were subjected to microwave antigen retrieval before immunostaining in all instances except for monoclonal Ki67 antibody which was used in cryostat sections. Tumour cell proliferative indices were evaluated by two independent examiners, each counting 500 tumour cells with the aid of a cross-hatched grid.Results-Proliferative indices obtained with MIB1, polyclonal Ki67, KiS1, and KiS5 correlated with those obtained with monoclonal Ki67 in frozen sections. Proliferative indices obtained with monoclonal 19A2 and PC10 showed no correlation with those of monoclonal Ki67 antibody. The staining obtained with MIB1 was the most intense and the easiest to read.Conclusions-Monoclonal antibodies MIB1, KiS1 and KiS5 and polyclonal Ki67 antiserum appear to be suitable substitutes for monoclonal antibody Ki67 in the assessment of tumour cell proliferative index. As these reagents are all immunoreactive in paraffin wax sections, they overcome the requirement for frozen tissue for immunostaining with monoclonal Ki67.