Ganglioglioma with glioblastoma component.

Ganglioglioma with a glioblastomatous component and high-grade atypia of neuronal cells are extremely rare findings. In this paper, we report the case of a 60-year-old man who presented with a tumor of the left temporal lobe. Hematoxylin-Eosin stained slides revealed a complex tumor with features of glioblastoma and marked atypia of neuronal cells. Glial cells were highlightened by antibodies to GFAP and neuronal cells by chromogranin and synaptophysin markers. There was an accumulation of p53-positive cells. There was a high Ki-67 labelling index (19%).

Spermatic cord mixed liposarcoma. Case report and review of the literature.

A 75-years-old man presented with a clinical diagnosis of hydrocele. Grossly examination revealed a large (14x8x9 cm) tumor. Histologically, the tumor had a mixed pattern, with major pleomorphic and a minor sclerosing well-differentiated component. The anatomo-clinical features, the prognosis and the principles of treatment of this rare condition are shortly discussed.

Anorectal melanoma. Case report and review of the literature.

We report a case of primary anorectal melanoma, a very rare malignant tumor in this localization. The patient, a 57-year-old female, complained for one year of symptoms, which were attributed to hemorrhoids. An abdomino-perineal resection was performed. Pathologic examination revealed an anorectal melanoma with numerous lymph node metastases and an unusual metastatic deposit in a uterine leiomyoma. The pathogenesis, pathology, principles of treatment and prognosis of this entity are briefly discussed.

Vaginal superficial myofibroblastoma. Case report and review of the literature.

Superficial myofibroblastoma of the lower female genital tract is a rare, recently described tumor, which has a distinctive clinico-pathological profile. We report a 63-year old patient who presented with a polypoid vaginal mass. Histopathological examination revealed a moderately cellular tumor composed of bland spindled and stellate cells. Immunohistochemical investigations showed reactivity for vimentin, desmin and CD34. This tumor should be differentiated from other mesenchymal lesions, which may arise in this area.

Collision adenocarcinoma--carcinoid tumor of the colon. Case report and review of the literature.

Collision tumors are extremely rare and raise interesting problems related to histogenesis. In this paper we report a case of collision tumor of the colon and review the literature related to this subject.

Retroperitoneal synovial sarcoma.

Retroperitoneal synovial sarcomas are very rare. The authors describe a 39-year-old male with a primary retroperitoneal synovial sarcoma showing a monophasic pattern. Immunohistochemically, the tumor cells were positive for cytokeratin AE1/AE3, epithelial membrane antigen, vimentin, S-100 protein, CD99 and calretinin. The differential diagnosis, clinical evolution and principles of treatment are shortly discussed.

Primary chondroblastic osteosarcoma of the breast. Case report and review of the literature.

Primary osteosarcomas of the breast are rare tumors. We report a 58-year-old woman who presented with a left breast lump suggestive of phyllodes tumor. A sectorectomy was performed and histological examination revealed a chondroblastic osteosarcoma, an unusual finding. Two months later she underwent a mastectomy. A review of the literature revealed the divergency of therapeutic options.

Signet-ring prostatic carcinoma. Case presentation and review of the literature.

The authors present the case of a 71 years old man with the histopathological diagnosis of a signet-ring prostatic carcinoma, examined in usual and special stains as PAS and mucicarmin. The literature, the clinical aspect, the microscopic features, and the pathogenesis concerning this subject are reviewed.

Computer-based image analysis of nucleoli in prostate carcinoma.

The authors have evaluated the nucleoli in 37 cases of prostatic carcinoma. The increase in Gleason's grade 1 correlated with an increase in the percentage of nucleolated nuclei. The increase in the percentage of bi- and trinucleolated nuclei was accompanied by a decrease of the uninucleated nuclei. The values of morphometrical parameters studied in the individual nucleoli (area, perimeter, diameters) increased in Gleason grade 2 tumors as compared with grade 1 tumors. In tumors higher grades there was, however, a progressive decrease of these values.

Morphometric investigations on bone giant cell tumors.

The authors have studied 12 cases of bone giant cell tumors and have shown that the increase in aggressiveness is accompanied by higher values of mitotic activity and nuclear features (area, perimeter, long and short axes), which might be useful for grading the bone giant cell tumors.

Carcinosarcoma (malignant mesodermal mixed tumor) or urinary bladder.

The authors report a case of carcinosarcoma (malignant mesodermal mixed tumor of the urinary bladder. We discuss the histological criteria of positive and differential diagnosis, the histogenesis, as well as their biological behavior.

Nucleolar organizer regions (AgNORs) in intraepithelial neoplasia of the uterine cervix.

The authors have studied the AgNORs counts in intraepithelial lesions of the uterine cervix. The following values were obtained (mean +/- SD AgNORs/cell): normal specimens--2.11 +/- 0.98; mild dysplasia--2.83 +/- 1.12; moderate dysplasia--3.42 +/- 1.13; severe dysplasia--3.55 +/- 1.28; carcinoma in situ--4.63 +/- 1.34; glandular extensions of carcinoma in situ--4.64 +/- 0.98. The values in moderate and severe dysplasia were similar, an argument for grouping these categories in the high-grade lesions. AgNORs counts in carcinoma in situ were, however, higher than in severe dysplasia, suggesting a continuous evolution of the neoplastic process.

Study on the nucleolar organiser regions in soft tissue liposarcoma.

The authors studied 24 cases of liposarcoma of soft tissue included in two categories: myxoid liposarcoma and pleomorphic liposarcoma. The 24 tumors were stained by Ploton's method for revealing the nucleolar organiser regions (AgNORs). AgNORs were counted in the nuclei of 100 cells/case. AgNORs in the cells of some cases showed hyperchromasia and an increased size. The results suggest a role of AgNORs as a possible prognostic discriminator of different histological types.

Increasing gallstone prevalence and cholecystectomy rate in a large Romanian town. A necropsy study.

To study whether the increasing prevalence of gallstone disease noted in a 100-year interval in a large Romanian town has continued in recent years, we analyzed all necropsies (5234) performed during 10 years (1983-1992) in Cluj-Napoca. Gallstone disease (GD) was defined as the presence of stones or the absence of the gallbladder due to cholecystectomy. The results obtained were compared to those of the previous 10-year period (1973-1982). We found a significant increase of GD both in men (6.9% to 9.8%) (P < 0.001) and women (17.1% to 21.7%) (P < 0.001). The ratio of women to men with GD decreased as compared to the first time period (1.4/1 vs 1.8/1). The actual age-standardized prevalence of GD was higher than that calculated for the first time period: 7.6% in men (5.0% in 1973-1982) and 16.9% in women (8.4% in 1973-1982) (P < 0.001). The necropsy cholecystectomy rate rose markedly; 42.1% of the GD men and 43.0% of the GD women had undergone operation during their life. The present study indicates a higher prevalence of GD in the Romanian town than previously found. The actual prevalence is comparable with that of other central European countries, but it is less than that found in England, Scotland, or Sweden.

Nucleolar organizer regions (AgNORs) in in situ and invasive components of breast cancers.

The authors have studied the nucleolar organizer regions (AgNORs) (which reflect the cell kinetic activity) in the in situ and invasive components of breast cancers. The mean number of AgNORs/nucleus was 4.18 (s.d.: 1.35) in the in situ compartments and 5.41 (s.d.: 1.90) in invasive areas. The difference between these two groups is statistically significant. The higher proliferative activity in the infiltrating component might be due to the interaction between epithelial cells and the supporting stroma.

Quantification of Grimelius reaction in neuroendocrine tumors of the lung.

The authors have studied the percent area occupied by the Grimelius-positive cells in lung neuroendocrine tumors. The highest values were noted in typical carcinoid tumors: they decreased progressively in atypical carcinoids, small "oat cell" carcinoma and large cell carcinoma. There was, however, a large dispersion of values, especially in the groups of typical and atypical carcinoid tumors. The possible significance of these data in the diagnosis, evaluation of therapeutical results and prognosis is discussed.

Morphometric study of cell populations in primary breast tumors and their lymph node metastases.

The study of nuclear parameters (long and short nuclear axes, nuclear axes ratio, nuclear area) revealed differences both between the primary breast tumors and their lymph node metastases and between the lymph nodes isolated from the same axilla. The results are discussed in terms of tumor progression.

Mixed folliculo-papillary and squamous cell variant of medullary thyroid carcinoma.

A case of thyroid carcinoma with a triple medullary, folliculo-papillary and squamous differentiation is reported. Lymph node metastatic deposits showed folliculo-papillary and squamous cell areas. The problems of histogenesis are discussed.

Composite endocrine cell, typical adenocarcinoma and signet ring carcinoma of the gallbladder.

The authors report a case of composite tumor of the gallbladder which exhibited features of both adenocarcinoma (with typical areas, signet ring cells and clear cells) and endocrine cell carcinoma. The histological picture suggests the origin of both components in a common primitive cell with the capacity to differentiate to different types of metaplastic epithelium and supports the hypothesis of a sequence metaplasia--dysplasia--carcinoma.

Automated estimation of nuclear volume in brain tumors.

The comparative study of the percentage nuclear area in brain tumors by the point-counting technique and digital analysis showed a good correlation between the results obtained. The investigation suggests the possibility of using the volume corrected mitotic index to tumors with uniformly distributed cells.