Glomus tumors of the fingers: Expression of vascular endothelial growth factor.

Glomus tumors are uncommon, benign, small neurovascular neoplasms derived from glomus bodies in the reticular dermis. Glomus bodies are found throughout the body to regulate body temperature and skin circulation; however, they are concentrated in the fingers and the sole of the foot. The typical presentation is a solitary nodule in the subungual or periungual area of the distal phalanx. The primary treatment of choice is surgical removal. We investigated expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) using immunohistochemistry in glomus tumors of the fingers. All five glomus tumor samples were positive for VEGF expression. VEGF immunoreactivity was largely localized to the cytoplasm of tumor cells, suggesting a contribution of VEGF to the vascularization of glomus tumors.

Alveolar Soft Part Sarcoma of Urinary Bladder Occurring as a Second Primary Malignancy: A Case Report and Literature Review.

We report a case of bladder alveolar soft part sarcoma in an 18-year-old Thai male patient who had been treated with testicular radiation and systemic chemotherapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia with testicular relapse. He presented with recurrent dysuria and gross hematuria. Cystoscopy revealed a 2-centimeter irregular sessile mass at the bladder base adjacent to left ureteral orifice. Transurethral resection of the tumor was performed. The histopathological diagnosis was alveolar soft part sarcoma. Chest and abdominal computed tomography showed no evidence of metastasis. He was treated with partial cystectomy and left ureteral reimplantation with negative surgical margin. No evidence of recurrence was found during a 28-month follow-up period with surveillance cystoscopy and computed tomography of the chest and abdomen.

Spontaneous acetabular periprosthetic fracture in a patient continuously having zoledronic acid.

Zoledronic acid has been used for prevention of osteolytic and osteoblastic bone metastasis. This case report illustrates an undesirable consequence from prolonged usage of zoledronic acid in bone metastasis prevention. Periprosthetic acetabular fracture in a patient treated with zoledronic acid for 7 years was reported. The clinical presentation, radiographic and pathological results were described. This is a rare complication after total hip arthroplasty which should not be ignored especially in patients who received long term bisphosphonate.

Oncogenic osteomalacia caused by phosphaturic mesenchymal tumours in the proximal and shaft of the tibia: a case report.

Oncogenic osteomalacia is caused by a small mesenchymal tumour characterised by phosphaturia, hypophosphatemia, decreased serum vitamin D3 level, and osteomalacia. Phosphaturic mesenchymal tumour of the mixed connective tissue type (PMTMCT) is the commonest subtype and usually involves a single site. We report a case of PMTMCT involving the left proximal and shaft of the tibia in a 42-year-old man.

Total sacrectomy for low-grade malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumour: a case report.

We report on a 58-year-old woman who underwent total sacrectomy and spinopelvic reconstruction for a low-grade malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumour involving the sacrum. One week later, she developed deep wound infection, and the entire spinopelvic reconstruction was removed. At the 36-month followup, the patient had no pain and was able to walk with a walking frame. There was no sign of recurrence or metastasis.

Computed tomography-guided core needle biopsy versus incisional biopsy in diagnosing musculoskeletal lesions.

PURPOSE. To compare computed tomography (CT)- guided core needle biopsy (CNB) with incisional biopsy in diagnosing musculoskeletal lesions. METHODS. 62 men and 50 women aged 12 to 83 (mean, 45) years who underwent a CT-guided CNB were compared with 31 men and 33 women aged 9 to 81 (mean, 53) years who underwent an incisional biopsy. All specimens had final pathology report to compare with. Comparisons were made in terms of (1) diagnostic rate, (2) accuracy in distinguishing benign from malignant lesions, (3) accuracy in distinguishing low- from high-grade sarcomas, (4) accuracy for histological diagnosis, and (5) complication and repeated biopsy rates. RESULTS. The diagnostic rate of CT-guided CNB and incisional biopsy was not significantly different (92.9% vs. 96.9%, p=0.33), nor were the accuracy in distinguishing benign from malignant lesions (100% vs. 98.4%, p=0.37), the accuracy in distinguishing low- from high-grade sarcomas (100% vs. 100%, p=1.00), the accuracy for specific diagnosis (75.9% vs. 85.2%, p=0.17), the repeated biopsy rate (6.3% vs. 4.7%, p=0.75), and the complication rate (0.9% vs. 4.7%, p=0.14). The accuracy for specific diagnosis was higher for bone than soft-tissue lesions for both CT-guided CNB (87.0% vs. 59.5%, p=0.002) and incisional biopsy (87.0% vs. 77.3%, p=0.43). The accuracy of CT-guided CNB for specific diagnosis of benign soft-tissue tumours as well as infection and inflammation was relatively low. CONCLUSION. CT-guided CNB is safe, easy to perform, efficient, and less invasive, and should be considered as a first-line biopsy for musculoskeletal lesions.

Hypertrophy of the ligamentum flavum in lumbar spinal canal stenosis is associated with increased bFGF expression.

PURPOSE: A prospective study was undertaken to investigate basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) expression in hypertrophic ligamentum flavum (LF) from patients with lumbar spinal canal stenosis (LSCS) and to determine whether there was a correlation of bFGF expression with LF thickness. METHODS: Twenty patients with lumbar spinal canal stenosis were enrolled in this study. bFGF mRNA and protein expressions in LF were analyzed using quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), immunohistochemistry, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), respectively. The thickness of LF was measured by axial T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging. RESULTS: Expression of bFGF was substantially higher in the hypertrophic LF group than in the control group (P < 0.001) as quantified by quantitative real-time PCR. In immunohistochemical study, bFGF was positively stained on the fibroblasts within hypertrophic LF compared to nonpathologic LF of controls. Subsequent ELISA analysis revealed that bFGF concentration in the hypertrophic LF group was remarkably higher than that in the control group (P = 0.003). The thickness of LF in the hypertrophic LF was significantly greater than that in the control group (P < 0.001). LSCS patients with greater severity of LF hypertrophy had significantly higher bFGF levels in the LF tissues (P < 0.001). Furthermore, the bFGF concentration exhibited a positive correlation with the LF thickness (r = 0.974, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that the increased expression of bFGF is associated with the hypertrophy of ligamentum flavum in patients with LSCS.

Giant cell tumor of the distal phalanx of the biphalangeal fifth toe: a case report and review of the literature.

Giant cell tumor of the distal phalanx of a toe is rather unusual. We report an unusual case of giant cell tumor arising at the distal phalanx of the left biphalangeal fifth toe in a 13-year-old boy. This was treated successfully with curettage and packing with bone substitution.

Incidence of osteonecrosis from histopathological study following fracture neck of femur.

This prospective study was aimed to evaluate the incidence of osteonecrosis in Thai patients with fracture neck of femur Forty-three patients who had sustained fracture were enrolled in the present study. The overall incidence of osteonecrosis was 72.1%. Incidence of osteonecrosis was 53.3% among patients who underwent surgery within 1 week after injury and 82.1% among those who underwent surgery after that time but there was no statistical difference (p-value = 0.07. Regarding displacement of fracture, the present study found the incidence of osteonecrosis was 100% among patients with undisplaced (Garden type 1 and 2) fractures and 60.0% and 76.9%, respectively among those with displaced fractures (Garden type 3 and 4). Most histological changes according to Ficat and Arlet Method of undisplaced fractures were stage 1 and 2 and the displaced fracture was stage 2. It reveals a high rate of osteonecrosis following fracture neck of femur but mostly in early reversible change. There was no significant statistical difference regarding age, duration, type of fracture, and co-morbidity.

Expression of E-cadherin and syndecan-1 in axillary lymph node metastases of breast cancer with and without extracapsular extension.

BACKGROUND: Extracapsular extension of axillary lymph node (ECE) has significantly increased the risk of locoregional and distant recurrence in breast cancer patients. OBJECTIVE: Identify markers with high biological aggressiveness since it may serve as a prognostic indicator or adjunct to standard treatment. MATERIAL AND METHOD: The authors immunostained 115 axillary lymph nodes of invasive ductal carcinoma with syndecan-1 and E-cadherin. RESULTS: The presented data shows a significantly higher number of positive lymph node (8.48 vs. 4.15; p < 0.0001) and larger primary tumor size (3.53 vs. 2.79; p = 0.0029) in ECE patients. Sixty-one cases had node positive and without evidence of ECE, 54 cases had ECE. Syndecan-1 was found to be of significantly high expression (p = 0.001). There was no significant difference in the expression of E-cadherin during progression into extracapsular area (p = 0.12). CONCLUSION: E-cadherin displays high expression in nodal breast cancer metastases that may have re-expression and has coordinate function with syndecan-1 while invading to the surrounding fatty tissue. The protein is, therefore, likely to play a role in the invasiveness and aggressiveness.

Development of acellular dermis from porcine skin using periodic pressurized technique.

In this work, a new method for producing acellular dermis (ADM), a natural scaffold used for dermal replacement, from porcine skin was developed. Fresh porcine skin from local slaughterhouse was dehaired by sodium sulphide following by epidermis removal using glycerol. After fat removal by chloroform/methanol (2/1 v/v) solvent, cellular components were removed using enzymatic treatment incorporated with a periodic pressurized technique. The effects of enzyme type (trypsin and dispase II) and periodic pressurized conditions on the efficiency of cell removal were investigated. When periodic pressure was applied, enzymatic treatment time could be shorten since the enzyme solution was able to penetrate into tight dermis. As a result, cells could be easily removed from porcine skin as noticed quantitatively by DNA assay and qualitatively by H&E staining. When enzyme refreshment was introduced into the decellularized process, the percentage of cell removal was further enhanced. This ensured that no inhibitions effect from the removed cells on enzyme-substrate interaction. Moreover, short-time enzymatic treatment with periodic pressurized technique could prevent the disruption of dermal structure, as observed by SEM. Dispase II can be used to remove cell better than trypsin in the periodic pressurized technique. However, in vivo study indicated that numerous fibroblast from the host tissue infiltrated into ADM prepared using both enzymes. Neo-collagen and neo-capillaries were produced in both implanted ADMs. The result elucidated that the use of periodic pressurized technique with enzymatic treatment has a high potential to be a new method to produce ADM for skin tissue engineering.

Paraurethral leiomyoma: a case report.

A paraurethral leiomyoma is a rare benign hormone-dependent tumor of mesenchymal origin. A 43-year-old woman presented with a palpable mass near the urethral opening with no abnormal urinary symptom. Simple excision was performed Histopathological diagnosis was paraurethral leiomyoma with confirmation by immunohistochemical study. Further hormonal study of the tumor yielded positive estrogen and progesterone receptor expression, suggesting conservative treatment with gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist or antagonist may have a role as an alternative treatment in an inoperable case.

Integrated criteria of fine-needle aspiration cytology and radiological imaging for verification of breast cancer in nonpalpable lesions.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the accuracy of using radiologic, cytologic and integrated radiologic and cytologic criteria in diagnosis of nonpalpable breast lesions. MATERIAL AND METHOD: From January 2003 to May 2004, a prospective study of performing fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) was carried out at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital on female patients with nonpalpable or vaguely palpable lumps that needed ultrasound localization for the direction and depth. RESULTS: There were 162 lesions from 150 patients, consisting of 29 malignant neoplasms (17.9%) and 133 benign lesions (82.1%). Of the 107 classified as subcentimeter focal lesions (< 1 x 1 cm2 in size), two of radiological malignancy were false and two others were falsely negative by cytology. While the 23 large/ill-defined lesions (> 1.5 x 1.5 cm2 in size), one hiding malignant lesion adjacent to a prominent intraduct papilloma was missed. Two others had falsely negative cytologic diagnosis. The integrated criteria achieved accuracy and sensitivity of 97.5% and 93% compared with the cytology, 96.3% and 82.8% and the better scenario of radiology, 95.7% and 82.8% respectively. CONCLUSION: The integrated criteria provide the most accuracy rate and sensitivity rate for detection of malignancy in nonpalpable breast lesions.

RET proto-oncogene expression of papillary thyroid carcinomas in Thai patients.

BACKGROUND: Ret proto-oncogene activation has been found in papillary thyroid carcinoma with different frequencies according to geographic location. The rate of expression ranges from 0-100 percent in the literature. This gene expression has also been studied in many Asian countries but it has never been studied in Thailand. OBJECTIVE: To study the frequency of the RET expression and their roles in predicting prognosis of papillary thyroid carcinoma among Thai patients treated at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand. MATERIAL AND METHOD: One hundred and one cases of papillary carcinomas were studied with immunohistochemistry for RET antibodies. All slides with routine staining were reviewed to classify cell variants and record other prognostic parameters such as size, multicentricity, extrathyroid invasion. The clinical data such as age and sex were also included for analyses. RESULTS: Forty-seven of the total 101 cases (46.5%) showed positive RET protein staining. The mean age among patients with RET negative neoplasms was 43.9 years compared with 39.8 years in RET positive group (p = 0.16). The average size of the tumors without RET expression was 2.5 cm, slightly larger than the RET positive tumors (2.1 cm)(p = 0.26). Extrathyroid invasion of the RET-positive tumors was found to be 33.2 percent while the RET negative neoplasms had 38.8 percent of this feature (p = 1). According to AMES score, the RET positive cases had only 11 percent of high-risk tumors, whereas the RET negative group comprised 23.1 percent of high-risk malignancies (p = 0.20). There was no significant difference in RET expression among cell variants (p = 1). CONCLUSION: The study of 101 papillary thyroid carcinomas at the King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital disclosed high frequency of RET expression (46.5%) and this is the only data among Thai patients that has ever been documented in the literature. Although, the gene expression in the tumor tends to be associated with good prognostic features but it was not distinct enough to be statistically significant.

Expression of CyclinD1, p27kp-1, and bcl-2 in plexiform neurofibroma with and without malignant transformation in neurofibromatosis type 1.

Plexiform neurofibroma (PNF) has a low potential to undergo malignant transformation. Identification of markers associated with tumor progression is important since it may serve as prognostic indicators or adjuncts to standard pathological examination. In the present study, the authors immunostained 20 neurofibromatosis type I-associated PNFs with cyclinD1, p27kip-1, and bcl-2. Six of the cases had progressed into malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST), and the transitional area of each sample was also stained separately in order to identify protein(s) associated with tumor progression. Cyclin D1 was found to be significantly increased in the transitional zone, compared to the ordinary PNF (p = 0.007). The protein is, thus, likely to play a role in the malignant transformation. There was no significant difference in the expression of p27kip-1 and bcl-2 during the malignant progression of PNF.

Neurological deficit from metastatic low grade liposarcoma.

Myxoid liposarcoma is a malignant soft tissue tumor with a relatively indolent natural history. It commonly occurs in the extremities with extrapulmonary metastatic potential. Round cell liposarcoma, recently, is widely agreed to be the aggressive counterpart of the myxoid liposarcoma, mostly arising in adverse, local recurrence, and metastatic lesions. Metastatic liposarcoma with pure myxoid element is unusual. The authors report an extremely rare case of a 47-year-old Thai male patient having a metastatic pure myxoid liposarcoma to the thoracic vertebrae, one year after primary tumor documented on the left thigh. Histology of the primary and metastatic sites shows only myxoid pattern. Round cell feature was not documented. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the second case report of metastatic myxoid liposarcoma without round cell morphology.

Congenital nasopharyngeal immature teratoma: a first case report in Thailand.

The authors report the very rare case of a congenital immature teratoma arising from the nasopharyx in a full term female neonate. The tumor also extended to the oral cavity, particularly the right tonsillar fossa without intracranial involvement leading to upper airway obstruction and secondary Escherichia coli pneumonia. The immature part of the tumor in the head and neck region is not a poor prognostic indicator and chemotherapy is useless. In the presented case, the mass was widely excised without postoperative complications. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case in Thailand.

The association of co-expression of CD44v4/MMP-9 with different nodal status in high-grade breast carcinoma patients.

BACKGROUND: Breast carcinoma is one of the most common tumors in female patients, and its metastasis is a major cause of death. An experimental model has recently found the association of CD44 with MMP-9 that facilitates tumor cell invasion and metastasis. MATERIAL AND METHOD: The CD44v4 and MMP-9 were performed on tissue in paraffin blocks of 50 cases of high-grade breast carcinoma with node positive and 50 cases with node negative. RESULTS: Increased expression of MMP-9(60%) significantly observed in high-grade breast carcinoma patients with node positive (p = 0. 004), whereas CD44v4 displays no significant difference between the two groups (p-value = 0.81). Significant co-expression of CD44v4+ / MMP-9+ (46%) was observed and correlated with node-positive patients whereas the CD44v4+ / MMP-9- (54%) express in node-negative patient (p-value = 0.01). CONCLUSION: The solely expression of CD44v4 does not associate with node status. MMP-9 plays an important role to enhance breast carcinoma cell invasion and associates with lymph node metastasis. The combined expression of CD44v4 (overexpression) and derangement of MMP-9 expression was significantly associated with nodal status.

The correlation of Tc-99m MIBI scintigraphy and histological response in determining the percentage of tumor necrosis in osteosarcoma after preoperative chemotherapy.

PURPOSE: The most important prognostic factor of osteosarcoma is the percentage of tumor necrosis. Only well trained and experienced musculoskeletal pathologists can count and assess the percentage of tumor necrosis from the resected specimens. The purpose of the present study was to characterize the correlation of Tc-99m MIBI scintigraphy for assessing the percentage of tumor necrosis using postoperative histology as a gold standard. MATERIAL AND METHOD: During September 2002 to August 2004, nine consecutive patients with the diagnosis of conventional osteosarcoma were included in the present study. The osteosarcoma protocol comprises 3 courses of doxorubicin and cisplatin preoperatively followed by wide resection of tumors and another 3 courses of postoperative chemotherapy. The Tc-99m MIBI scintigraphy examination was carried out before commencing chemotherapy and after completing preoperative chemotherapy. The tumor uptake was measured using the tumor to the background ratio (TBR). Comparison of TBR before and after preoperative chemotherapy was used to calculate the alteration ratio which was reported in terms of percentage. All of the resected specimens were sent to the pathological department. The histological assessment of the response to chemotherapy was performed using the standard technique according to the current practice of osteosarcoma from the Mayo Clinic. The percentages of tumor necrosis from histology were also reported. RESULTS: The analysis of the correlation between the reduction of tracer uptake and the postoperative histological response was performed. The correlation and linear regression analysis showed that the two methods had a significant correlation (R = 0.75) regression coefficient (1.172) with p = 0.020 and 0.043, respectively. CONCLUSION: The present study showed that Tc-99m MIBI scintigraphy had a significant correlation with percentage of tumor necrosis from histology. This technique can be used to predict the response of osteosarcoma after preoperative chemotherapy.

Angiomatoid fibrous histiocytoma with pain in a child.

Angiomatoid fibrous histiocytoma (AFH) is a rare soft tissue tumor with low-grade malignancy which occurs chiefly in children and young adults. Mostly, the tumor develops in the extremities or the trunk. The tumor has a relatively rare metastasis and its overall clinical outcome is excellent. The authors present a case of AFH of the subcutis on a left elbow of an 11-year-old boy. Clinically, the tumor appears as a cutaneous nodule with slow growth. Pain and adjacent lymphadenopathy are leading symptoms of the patient. Histological examination shows the classical morphological features of AFH with focal cellular atypia. The tumor has immunoreactivity to vimentin and CD68 but negative to CD34, desmin, CD117 and S-100 protein. Because of its rarity, we report a case with an uncommon clinical presentation in a Thai patient.