Emerging human pulmonary dirofilariasis in Hungary: a single center experience.

BACKGROUND: Human pulmonary dirofilariasis (HPD) is rare in Hungary, and it stems from Dirofilaria immitis, mainly transmitted through mosquito bites, with dogs as primary hosts. Despite its prevalence in veterinary settings, human cases are infrequent. Historically, Mediterranean countries report most HPD cases, but sporadic cases occur in temperate European regions. Radiologically, HPD often manifests in a non-specific manner, resembling pulmonary neoplasms, leading to unnecessary surgery and patient distress. METHODS: This study presents a notable case series from Hungary, encompassing a 12-year period, documenting 5 instances of HPD with the aim to provide baseline estimate of occurrence for future comparison. RESULTS: Among the patients studied, all were of middle age (median: 52 years, range: 37-69) and exhibited tumor-like lesions, primarily localized to the right lung, necessitating lobectomy or wedge resection. Histological examination consistently revealed a necrotizing granulomatous response characterized by remnants of helminths, without the presence of ovules. Furthermore, rigorous diagnostic procedures excluded other potential infectious agents through specialized staining techniques. Polymerase chain reaction analysis definitively confirmed the diagnosis of HPD in each case. CONCLUSIONS: This case series highlights HPD as a seldom zoonosis, with a probable escalation in its occurrence within temperate regions. Therefore, clinicians should maintain a heightened awareness of HPD in the differential diagnosis of pulmonary coin lesions. Early recognition and diagnosis are paramount for appropriate management and prevention of potential complications associated with this increasingly recognized infectious entity.

Renal Cell Carcinoma with Clear Cell Papillary Features: Perspectives of a Differential Diagnosis.

Thirty-one cases of low-grade renal cell carcinoma (RCC) with clear cells and tubulopapillary/papillary architecture were analyzed retrospectively with immunohistochemical and genetic markers to gain more experience with the differential diagnosis of such cases. All samples coexpressed CK7 and CA9; the TFE3 or TFEB reactions were negative; the CD10 and the AMACR stainings were negative in 27 cases and 30 cases, respectively. The FISH assays for papillary RCC, available in 27 cases, and deletion of chromosome 3p, available in 29 cases, gave negative results. The results for 3p deletion, VHL gene mutation or VHL gene promoter region hypermethylation testing, along with the diffuse CD10-positivity in 2 cases confirmed 21 cases as clear cell papillary RCC (CCPRCC; CK7+, CA9+; no 3p loss, no VHL abnormality) and 10 cases as clear cell RCC (CCRCC; CK7+, CA9+; no 3p loss, VHL abnormality mutation/hypermethylation present). In CCPRCCs, the representative growth pattern was branching tubulo-acinar, commonly accompanied by cyst formation. The linear nuclear arrangement or cup-shaped staining of CA9 did not necessarily indicate CCPRCC, and the absence of these did not exclude the diagnosis of CCPPRC. One tumor infiltrated the renal sinus; the others exhibited pT1 stage; and metastatic outcome was not recorded. The CCRCC cases were in pT1 stage; 6 exhibited cup-shaped staining of CA9, and 1 displayed lymph node metastasis at the time of surgery. Distant metastatic disease was not observed. In summary, the VHL abnormalities distinguished the subset of CCRCC with diffuse CK7-positivity and no 3p loss from cases of CCPRCC.

Clinicopathological Findings on 28 Cases with XP11.2 Renal Cell Carcinoma.

Xp11.2 translocation carcinoma is a distinct subtype of renal cell carcinoma characterized by translocations involving the TFE3 gene. Our study included the morphological, immunohistochemical and clinicopathological examination of 28 Xp11.2 RCCs. The immunophenotype has been assessed by using CA9, CK7, CD10, AMACR, MelanA, HMB45, Cathepsin K and TFE3 immunostainings. The diagnosis was confirmed by TFE3 break-apart FISH in 25 cases. The ages of 13 male and 15 female patients, without underlying renal disease or having undergone chemotherapy ranged from 8 to 72. The mean size of the tumors was 78.5 mm. Forty-three percent of patients were diagnosed in the pT3/pT4 stage with distant metastasis in 6 cases. Histological appearance was branching-papillary composed of clear cells with voluminous cytoplasm in 13 and variable in 15 cases, including one tumor with anaplastic carcinoma and another with rhabdoid morphology. Three tumors were labeled with CA9, while CK7 was negative in all cases. Diffuse CD10 reaction was observed in 17 tumors and diffuse AMACR positivity was described in 14 tumors. The expression of melanocytic markers and Cathepsin K were seen only in 7 and 6 cases, respectively. TFE3 immunohistochemistry displayed a positive reaction in 26/28 samples. TFE3 rearrangement was detected in all the analyzed cases (25/25), including one with the loss of the entire labeled break-point region. The follow-up time ranged from 2 to 300 months, with 7 cancer-related deaths. In summary, Xp11.2 carcinoma is an uncommon form of renal cell carcinoma with a variable histomorphology and rather aggressive clinical course.

Prognostic Factors for Renal Cell Carcinoma Subtypes Diagnosed According to the 2016 WHO Renal Tumor Classification: a Study Involving 928 Patients.

The morphotype and grade of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in 928 nephrectomies were reclassified according to the 2016 WHO classification in order to analyze the distribution and outcomes of RCC subtypes in Hungary, to assess whether microscopic tumor necrosis is an independent prognostic factor in clear cell RCC, and to study whether a two-tiered grading (low/high) for clear cell and papillary RCC provides similar prognostic information to that of the four-tiered ISUP grading system. 83.4% of the cohort were clear cell, 6.9% papillary, 4.5% chromophobe, 2.3% unclassified, 1.1% Xp11 translocation, 1.1% clear cell papillary, 0.3% collecting duct and 0.1% mucinous tubular and spindle cell RCCs. RCC occurred in 16 patients with end-stage kidney disease and none of them displayed features of acquired cystic kidney disease-associated RCC. The 5-year survival rates were as follows: chromophobe 100%, clear cell papillary 100%, clear cell low-grade 96%, papillary type 1 92%, clear cell high-grade 63%, papillary type 2 65%, unclassified 46%, Xp11 translocation 20%, and collecting duct 0%. The 5-year survival rates in low-grade and high-grade papillary RCC were 95% and 59%, respectively. In clear cell RCC, only the grade, the stage and the positive surgical margin proved to be independent prognostic factors statistically. Overall, papillary RCC occurred relatively infrequently; microscopic tumor necrosis in clear cell RCC did not predict the outcome independently of the tumor grading; and the assignment of clear cell and papillary RCCs into low-grade or high-grade tumors was in terms of survival no worse than the ISUP grading.

Simultaneous detection of BRCA mutations and large genomic rearrangements in germline DNA and FFPE tumor samples.

The development of breast and ovarian cancer is strongly connected to the inactivation of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes by different germline and somatic alterations, and their diagnosis has great significance in targeted tumor therapy, since recently approved PARP inhibitors show high efficiency in the treatment of BRCA-deficient tumors. This raises the need for new diagnostic methods that are capable of performing an integrative mutation analysis of the BRCA genes not only from germline DNA but also from formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tumor samples. Here we describe the development of such a methodology based on next-generation sequencing and a new bioinformatics software for data analysis. The diagnostic method was initially developed on an Illumina MiSeq NGS platform using germline-mutated stem cell lines and then adapted for the Ion Torrent PGM NGS platform as well. We also investigated the usability of NGS coverage data for the detection of copy number variations and exon deletions as a replacement of the conventional MLPA technique. Finally, we tested the developed workflow on FFPE samples from breast and ovarian cancer patients. Our method meets the sensitivity and specificity requirements for the genetic diagnosis of breast and ovarian cancers both from germline and FFPE samples.