High IL-23+ cells infiltration correlates with worse clinical outcomes and abiraterone effectiveness in patients with prostate cancer / 亚洲男科学杂志(英文版)

Individualized treatment of prostate cancer depends on an accurate stratification of patients who are sensitive to various treatments. Interleukin-23 (IL-23) was reported to play a significant role in prostate cancer. Here, we aimed to explore the clinical value of IL-23-secreting (IL-23+) cells in prostate cancer patients. We evaluated interleukin-23A (IL-23A) expression in The Cancer Genome Atlas database and retrospectively enrolled 179 treatment-naïve metastatic prostate cancer patients diagnosed in our institute between June 2012 and December 2014. IL-23+ cells were stained and evaluated via immunohistochemistry. Further, survival and multivariate Cox regression analyses were conducted to explore the prognostic value of IL-23+ cells. We found that IL-23A expression correlated with disease progression, while IL-23+ cells were clearly stained within prostate cancer tissue. Patients with higher Gleason scores and multiple metastatic lesions tended to have more IL-23+ cell infiltration. Further analyses showed that patients with higher levels of IL-23+ cells had significantly worse overall survival (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.996, 95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 1.812-4.955; P = 0.001) and a higher risk of developing castration resistance (HR = 2.725, 95% CI: 1.865-3.981; P = 0.001). Moreover, subgroup analyses showed that when patients progressed to a castration-resistant status, the prognostic value of IL-23+ cells was observed only in patients treated with abiraterone instead of docetaxel. Therefore, we showed that high IL-23+ cell infiltration is an independent prognosticator in patients with metastatic prostate cancer. IL-23+ cell infiltration may correlate with abiraterone effectiveness in castration-resistant prostate cancer patients.

Prognostic value of PTEN in de novo diagnosed metastatic prostate cancer / 亚洲男科学杂志(英文版)

The purpose of our study is to investigate the prognostic value of phosphatase and tensin homolog on chromosome 10 (PTEN) expression in patients with de novo metastatic castration naïve prostate cancer (mCNPC). A total of 205 patients with mCNPC at Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center (Shanghai, China) were retrospectively examined. Immunohistochemical staining of PTEN was performed on prostate biopsy samples of these patients. Associations among clinicopathological features, patient survival and PTEN protein expression were analyzed. PTEN loss occurred in 58 of 205 (28.3%) patients. Loss of PTEN was significantly correlated with high metastatic volume (P = 0.017). No association between PTEN expression and Gleason score was observed. Patients with PTEN loss had significantly shorter progression-free survival (PFS, P < 0.001) and overall survival (OS, P < 0.001) compared with patients with intact PTEN expression. Multivariate analysis showed that elevated alkaline phosphatase, high metastatic volume and PTEN loss were independent poor prognostic factors for PFS. The Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (ECOG PS)#8805; 2 and PTEN loss were independent poor prognostic factors for OS. The adjusted hazard ratio of PTEN loss for PFS and OS was 1.67 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.14-2.43, P = 0.008) and 1.95 (95% CI: 1.23-3.10, P = 0.005), respectively. PTEN loss was also significantly associated with shorter PFS (P = 0.025) and OS (P < 0.001) in patients with low-volume metastatic disease. Our data showed that PTEN loss is an independent predictor for shorter PFS and OS in patients with de novo mCNPC.

Superficial acral fibromyxoma of finger: report of a case with review of literature / 中华病理学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the clinicopathologic characteristics, immunophenotype and differential diagnosis of superficial acral fibromyxoma (SAF).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The clinical, pathologic and immunohistochemical features of a case of SAF occurring in left middle finger was studied, with review of literature.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The patient was a 62-year-old male who presented with a solitary painful nodule located in the distal aspect of his left middle finger. The nodule lied close to the nail bed and deep to the underlying periosteum. Grossly, the tumor was poorly circumscribed, measured 2 cm in greatest dimension and had a greyish-white cut surface and rubbery consistency. On low-power examination, the tumor was centred in the dermis and displayed a vague lobular pattern. The tumor cells were spindled to stellate in shape and associated with myxoid matrix. Focal fascicular or loose storiform patterns were also noted. A delicate vascular network was identified in the myxoid stroma. Mast cells were readily observed. On high-power examination, the tumor cells were relatively bland-looking and showed at most a mild degree of nuclear atypia. Mitotic figures were rare and coagulative tumor necrosis was absent. Immunohistochemical study showed that the tumor cells were positive for vimentin, CD34 and CD99. Focal staining for CD10 was also demonstrated. Other immunomarkers including actins, desmin and epithelial membrane antigen were negative.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>SAF is a distinctive soft tissue tumor occurring mainly in the digits of adults. Awareness of this entity is helpful in distinguishing SAF from other myxoid soft tissue tumors occurring there. Complete excision with clear resection margins is the mainstay of treatment.</p>