Programme death ligand 1 expressions as a surrogate for determining immunotherapy in cervical carcinoma patients.

BACKGROUND: The programme death ligand1 and its receptor (PD-1/PD-L1) interaction is a target for blockage by immunotherapy that uses the body's own immune system. Some studies show that PD-L1 expressing tumours are also more aggressive with poor prognosis. This study evaluated the immunohistochemical expression of PD-L1 in uterine cervical carcinomas. Women with cervical cancer would benefit from its use as a marker in therapy and prognosis. METHODS: Hospital-based cross-sectional retrospective study was conducted. The study materials included 183 archived formalin fixed and paraffin embedded (FFPE) tissue blocks with histological diagnosis of cervical carcinoma diagnosed in our facility within a five-year period (January 2012 and December 2016) that met the study criteria. Data were extracted from records in the Department and immunohistochemistry was done using polyclonal antibodies to PD-L1 (GTX104763, Genetex). Obtained data were analysed using SPSS version 23. P < 0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: A hundred and eighty-three cases of cervical cancer were studied. PD-L1 was positive in 57.4% of all cases. The diffuse pattern of staining was the major pattern accounting for 88.5% of positive cases. Poorly differentiated cervical carcinomas are less likely to express PD-L1. Within the histologic types, the squamous cell carcinomas expressed PD-L1 in 58.7%, and 50% of adenocarcinomas were positive. PD-L1 was not expressed in all cases of adenoid cystic carcinomas and basaloid squamous cell carcinomas. CONCLUSION: A significant population of cervical carcinoma expresses PD-L1 by immunohistochemistry. PD-L1 prevalence is lower amongst the poorly differentiated cancers compared to other grades.

Histomorphological assessment of non-neoplastic renal diseases at autopsy: an institutional experience in Southwestern Nigeria.

Background: Autopsy remains an invaluable resource for medical education and establishing diagnosis of diseases that were missed prior to death. Many patients on admission in hospitals suffer kidney diseases that may contribute to their morbidity and/or mortality. The kidneys from autopsies provide opportunity to diagnose and understand some of these non-neoplastic renal lesions. This study aimed to present the frequency of non-neoplastic renal diseases at autopsy. Methods: We conducted a five-year retrospective review of post-mortem records of deceased who had autopsy. Data such as age, sex, cause of death, and kidney lesions were extracted from the post-mortem records and clinical details were gotten from the clinical summaries in the autopsy reports. The kidneys were examined for pathological findings that were then classified into glomerular, tubulointerstitial (tubulointerstitial nephritis and other tubular lesions such as tubular necrosis, casts and fibrosis) and vascular lesions. Results: A total of seventy (70) cases met the inclusion criteria with 91.4% having significant non-neoplastic renal lesions. The mean age of the deceased was 57.7years (18years - 91years). Males accounted for 65.7% of the cases. Glomerular lesions were seen in 84.3% of the cases, tubulointerstitial nephritis in 41.6% of cases, vascular lesions were seen in 30% of the cases and other tubular lesions (such as stones, casts and tubular necrosis) were seen in 52.9% of the cases. Cardiovascular diseases and infections were the major causes of death in these patients, accounting for 40% and 27% respectively. Renal diseases were attributed to immediate cause of death in 10% of the cases. Conclusion: The kidney at autopsy provides a valuable renal pathology educational tool, as a wide range of medical renal lesions can be seen from kidneys examined at post mortem.

Mortality patterns in patients with diabetes mellitus at a Nigerian tertiary hospital: A 10-Year autopsy study.

OBJECTIVES: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a global health problem with associated high morbidity and mortality. This study was a retrospective review of post-mortem examination findings of hospitalised patients with DM for causes of death. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective, cross-sectional autopsy review of all the patients with DM in our hospital between January 2008 and December 2017 was conducted. The causes of death were classified into cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, acute diabetic emergencies, infection, cancers and unnatural deaths. The demographic data and clinicopathological parameters were extracted, and the data were analysed using the SPSS software version 23. RESULTS: A total of 1092 cases of autopsy were done within the study period, of which 91 cases were on patients with diabetes accounting for 8.3%. Infections with sepsis were the major cause of death, accounting for 51.6% followed by cardiovascular diseases (16.5%), cancers (14.3%), acute diabetic emergencies (6.6%) and cerebrovascular accidents (6.6%), with renal complications and road traffic accidents accounting for 2.2% each. Patients' age ranged from 31 to 84 years, with a modal age of 57 years. There was a male predominance with a male-to-female ratio of 1.5:1. Systemic hypertension co-morbidity was statistically significantly more common in patients aged 60 and above (P = 0.035). The most common lesion observed in the kidneys was benign nephrosclerosis (43.2%). CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that majority of our patients with diabetes mellitus die from infections with attendant sepsis. Older patients appear to have co-morbid systemic hypertension. Patient education on infection prevention and prompt treatment might be life-saving.

Histopathological profile of childhood thyroid carcinoma in Ibadan, Southwestern Nigeria.

Background: Thyroid carcinoma is a common endocrine malignancy. It is however rare in childhood and often occurs as a result of radiation exposure or inherited genetic mutations. Most childhood thyroid carcinomas are well differentiated. There are very few epidemiological studies of this disease in Nigeria and our study aimed to determine the frequency in a subset of our population. The study aimed to determine the prevalence and histopathological characteristics of childhood thyroid carcinoma in our environment. Methods: This was a retrospective review of histopathologically diagnosed thyroid carcinoma in children less than 18 years of age in the Department of Pathology, University College Hospital, Ibadan over a 40-year period. Histopathological diagnosis, age, sex and other relevant clinical information were extracted from the hospital records and surgical pathology records of the department. All cases of patients under18 years old had their slides re-examined and reclassified by two pathologists according to the World Health Organization histopathological classification of thyroid tumours. Results: There were 25 cases of thyroid carcinomas seen in children within the study period. Papillary thyroid carcinoma was the most common, accounting for 80% of the cases. Follicular carcinoma accounted for 12%, and medullary and anaplastic carcinoma accounted for 4% each. The mean age at presentation was 13 years. There was a female preponderance with females accounting for 60% of cases. Tumours with distant metastasis made up 20% of the cases. Conclusion: Childhood thyroid carcinomas are rare in our environment, with a minority of cases presenting with metastases.