HER-2/Neu and Hormone Receptor Analysis in Breast Carcinomas and Their Association with Clinicopathologic Parameters.

OBJECTIVE: Invasive breast carcinomas of no special type (IC-NST) are the heterogeneous tumours showing distinct prognostic features even in patients with similar clinicopathological characteristics. To date, many clinicopathological data have been analyzed to make a guess about prognosis and to determine treatment modality. In this study, HER-2/neu status was analyzed by using both immunohistochemical (IHC) and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) methods, and its correlations with hormone receptor status and clinicopathological parameters were investigated. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was included 112 female patients with diagnosis of IC-NST. FISH for HER-2/neu was applied in only primary tumour tissues, while IHC analyses for HER-2/neu, estrogen (ER) and progesterone receptors (PR) were applied on both primary and metastatic lymph node foci. The results were compared with appropriate statistical methods. RESULTS: Our rates of HER-2/neu overexpression and gene amplification in the overall study group were 22.3 and 25%, respectively. In the metastatic group, these rates were higher than those of the overall study group (34% and 40%, respectively). Gene amplification rate of the axilla positive group was 40%, while this rate in non-metastatic group was 6.7% (p=0.015). Overexpression and amplification results were compliant (χ2=77,591, p<0.001). The concordance rates in HER-2/neu negative and overexpression groups were 95.3% and 88%, respectively. Our false negativity rate was 4.7%. While 36% of score 3+ cases were ER positive, 67.1% of HER-2/neu negative cases showed ER positivity (p=0.01). The increase of gene amplification rate in ER negative cases over 50 years age was more than two times and statistically significant (p=0.014). CONCLUSION: The concordance rates between the results of IHC and FISH in the HER-2 negative and the overexpression categories were compatible with the literature and lower than the literature, respectively. In the case of ER negativity, the patient's age over 50 years was associated with a higher rate of gene amplification.

Comparison of Routine Histopathological Examination Results in Children and Adults After Tonsillectomy and/or Adenoidectomy.

OBJECTIVE: Tonsillectomy and/or adenoidectomy is one of the most common otolaryngologic surgical procedures. There is still an ongoing debate as to whether or not histopathological examination should be performed in which cases after these surgeries. The aim of this study is to compare the histopathologic examination results of routine tonsillectomy and/or adenoidectomy surgical specimens of children and adults. METHODS: The routine histopathological examination results of patients who had adenoidectomy and/or tonsillectomy between April 2010 and April 2017 in Tokat State Hospital were evaluated from medical records retrospectively. The results were compared in terms of malignancy between children and adult patients. RESULTS: A total of 1849 histopathological examination results were included in the present study. Of the patients, 1574 were children, and 275 were adults. All of the patients who underwent adenoidectomy were diagnosed with reactive lymphoid hyperplasia. Of the 1356 patients who underwent tonsillectomy, only two were detected with malignancies. These two patients were adults. CONCLUSION: While routine histopathologic examination is necessary for every case in adult population, risk factors should be considered in pediatric patients after tonsillectomy and/or adenoidectomy.

Bursa formation with scapular osteochondroma in hereditary multiple exostosis.

Osteochondroma is the most common benign bone tumour present multiple hereditary exostosis (HME). Scapular osteochondroma associated with pain and bursitis is rarely reported in literature. Here, we describe a 49-year-old male with the diagnosis of HME who was admitted to the Department of Thoracic Surgery with a painful and rapidly enlarging mass behind the left scapula. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging indicated a large bursa formation associated with chest wall mass. Pre-operatively, the mass was diagnosed as osteochondroma and resected. Pathological findings confirmed that mass was a large bursa formation due to scapular osteochondroma without any evidence of malignancy. Osteochondroma should be considered in differential diagnosis of chest wall tumours located at this specific site. We discuss this rare complication of HME and emphasize the importance of early diagnosis and differentiation from malignant transformation of osteochondroma.

One-stage combined thoracic ancient schwannomas total removal and coronary artery bypass.

Ancient schwannoma is a rare variant of neural tumors though rarely seen in the thorax. The combination with coronary artery diseases is also rare. Here we describe a 66 year-old male who had undergone one-stage combined surgery for thoracic ancient schwannomas removal and coronary artery disease. The masses were, respectively, 13 cm in the middle mediastinum and 5 cm in diameter originating from the intercostal nerve. The tumors were successfully removed using sternotomy, and then a coronary artery bypass grafting was performed. Here we discuss this rare tumor in relation to the relevant literature.

Cavernous hemangioma of the rib: a case report.

Cavernous hemangioma of the bone is an uncommon benign vascular tumor, generally occurring in the spine or skull but extremely rare in the rib. We report the case cavernous hemangioma of the rib treated by surgical resection after CT and MR findings.

Investigation of the effects of heparin and low molecular weight heparin on E-cadherin and laminin expression in rat pregnancy by immunohistochemistry.

BACKGROUND: Heparin and low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) are used widely to improve the pregnancy outcome in women with thrombophilia, miscarriage, recurrent miscarriage and fetal death. This study was designed to investigate the effects of heparin and LMWHs, enoxaparin and tinzaparin, on E-cadherin and laminin expression in placental and decidual tissues in rat pregnancy. METHODS: Wistar albino female rats (n = 48) were randomly assigned to four study groups (normal saline, heparin, enoxaparin and tinzaparin) in the preconceptional period. Tissue sections of placenta and decidua were immunohistochemically examined for the expression of E-cadherin and laminin. RESULTS: E-cadherin placental staining score of heparin group was significantly lower and E-cadherin decidual staining score of heparin and enoxaparin groups were significantly lower than control group. There were no significant differences in placental and decidual laminin staining scores among the study groups. CONCLUSIONS: Heparin and enoxaparin can reduce E-cadherin expression but not laminin expression in rat pregnancy. They might modulate trophoblast invasion. We suggest that this is the possible underlying mechanism involving in improvement of trophoblast invasion by the use of heparin and LMWH in patients with the history of miscarriage.

The intratumoral microvessel density and expression of bFGF and nm23-H1 in colorectal cancer.

It has previously been reported that intratumoral microvessel density (IMD), and the expression of bFGF and nm23-H1 are useful prognostic markers in colorectal cancer (CRC). In this study, a total of 100 CRCs were evaluated histopathologically, and IMD, bFGF and nm23-H1 expression were assessed by immunohistochemistry. IMD of patients increased with grade and stage, and this increase was statistically significant (p<0.05). A significantly higher incidence of high bFGF expression scores was also associated with increasing grade and stage (p<0.05). However, there was no significant difference between the grades in nm23-H1 expression (p=0.234). nm23-H1 expression occurred with lower incidence in stages C1, C2 and D than in stages B1 and B2 (p<0.05). Thus, a negative correlation was found between nm23-H1 expression and stage or lymph node metastasis (LNM) (p<0.05). IMD and bFGF expression were positively correlated with grade, stage, LNM, and lymphovascular invasion. Although positive correlation was found between IMD and bFGF, nm23-H1 expression negatively correlated with both of them. As a result, in clinical practice, increased IMD and bFGF expression and decreased nm23-H1 expression may provide valuable information in characterizing the malignant phenotype.

Osteoblastoma of the mandible with root resorption: a case report.

This article reviews the clinical behavior, histologic features, differential diagnosis, and treatment of a benign osteoblastoma. Benign osteoblastoma is a rare tumor constituting 1% of all primary bone tumors. Only 15% of osteoblastomas occur in the skull and jaw bones. The most common clinical presentation is a painful or tender swelling. A case is presented of a 21-year-old female who had noted discomfort for approximately 2 years, and the pain was not relieved by any analgesic. The choice of treatment was local excision and curettage. In this case, root resorption of the adjacent tooth, which is not a characteristic behavior of osteoblastoma, is seen.