Distinct genomic profiles of gestational choriocarcinoma, a unique cancer of pregnant tissues.

Little is known about genomic alterations of gestational choriocarcinoma (GC), unique cancer that originates in pregnant tissues, and the progression mechanisms from the nonmalignant complete hydatidiform mole (CHM) to GC. Whole-exome sequencing (20 GCs) and/or single-nucleotide polymorphism microarray (29 GCs) were performed. We analyzed copy-neutral loss-of-heterozygosity (CN-LOH) in 29 GCs that exhibited androgenetic CN-LOHs (20 monospermic, 8 dispermic) and no CN-LOH (one with NLRP7 mutation). Most GCs (25/29) harboring recurrent copy number alterations (CNAs) and gains on 1q21.1-q44 were significantly associated with poor prognosis. We detected five driver mutations in the GCs, most of which were chromatin remodeling gene (ARID1A, SMARCD1, and EP300) mutations but not in common cancer genes such as TP53 and KRAS. One patient's serial CHM/invasive mole/GC showed consistent CN-LOHs, but only the GC harbored CNAs, indicating that CN-LOH is an early pivotal event in HM-IM-GC development, and CNAs may be a late event that promotes CHM progression to GC. Our data indicate that GCs have unique profiles of CN-LOHs, mutations and CNAs that together differentiate GCs from non-GCs. Practically, CN-LOH and CNA profiles are useful for the molecular diagnosis of GC and the selection of GC patients with poor prognosis for more intensive treatments, respectively.

Histogram analysis of apparent diffusion coefficients after neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the changes in the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) histogram during neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) for breast cancer, and to compare the observed changes in pathologically verified responders and non-responders. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty-two patients received NAC followed by surgery. Responders were defined by a tumor cell reduction of at least 30 % using the Miller-Payne grading system. All the patients underwent 3T magnetic resonance with diffusion-weighted imaging (b values of 0 and 750 s/mm2) before the NAC and after the completion of two cycles of NAC. RESULTS: Mean, minimum, 10th, 25th, 50th, and 75th percentile of ADCs significantly increased after NAC and maximum ADC significantly decreased. Skewness became less positive and kurtosis decreased. A tendential, although not statistically significant, higher increase in mean, minimum, 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentiles of ADCs was observed in responders in comparison with non-responders. CONCLUSION: ADC histogram analysis quantitatively demonstrates the alterations during the treatment course.

Comparisons of Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography and Ultrasound Imaging for Detection of Internal Mammary Lymph Node Metastases in Patients With Breast Cancer and Pathologic Correlation by Ultrasound-Guided Biopsy Procedures.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the diagnostic performance of [(18)F]fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) and ultrasound imaging (US) with pathologic results obtained by US-guided biopsy and to evaluate the role of US in detecting internal mammary lymph node (LN) metastases in patients with breast cancer. METHODS: Between January 2008 and December 2012, 37 patients with breast cancer (median age, 51.4 years; range, 40-79 years) underwent US-guided biopsy for suspected internal mammary LN metastases. Medical records, radiologic images, and reports were reviewed and correlated with pathologic results. RESULTS: The positive internal mammary LN metastasis rate was 78.4%. All biopsies were performed safely without major complications. Only 8.1% of obtained samples were unsatisfactory. There were statistically significant differences in lesion size (P = .0002), standardized uptake value on PET/CT (P = .0015), biopsy methods (P = .002), and specimen adequacy (P = .007) between metastatic and benign groups. Of the clinical factorsreviewed, only concurrent distant metastasis was correlated with internal mammary LN metastasis (P< .0001). Sensitivities for detecting internal mammary LN metastases were 76.7%, 96.7%, and 92.9% for initial US examinations, initial US combined with second-look US for initially missed cases, and PET/CT, respectively (P= .017). In a subgroup analysis, the only significant difference found was in sensitivities between initial and combined US (P = .019). In a receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, the area under the curve for PET/CT using standardized uptake criteria (0.87) was higher than that for US using size criteria (0.83); however, this difference was not significant. CONCLUSIONS: Although PET/CT is the best noninvasive method for evaluating internal mammary LN metastases, US is also useful if internal mammary LN evaluation is routine during standard US surveillance of patients with breast cancer. Additionally, US-guided biopsies could be performed immediately on any suspected metastases and yield a high positive rate without serious complications.

Treatment Response Evaluation of Breast Cancer after Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy and Usefulness of the Imaging Parameters of MRI and PET/CT.

This study was aimed to evaluate the ability of imaging parameters measured on dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI), diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI) and positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) to serve as response markers in breast cancer after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). In 20 patients with breast cancer, DCE-MRI and DWI using a 3 T scanner and PET/CT were performed before and after NAC. DCE-MRI was analyzed using an automatic computer-aided detection program (MR-CAD). The response imaging parameters were compared with the pathologic response. The areas under the curve (AUCs) for DCE-MRI using MR-CAD analysis, DWI and PET/CT were 0.77, 0.59 and 0.76, respectively. The combination of all parameters measured by MR-CAD showed the highest diagnostic performance and accuracy (AUC = 0.77, accuracy = 90%). The combined use of the parameters of PET/CT with DCE-MRI or DWI showed a trend toward improved specificity and negative predictive value (100%, 100%, accuracy = 87.5%). The use of DCE-MRI using MR-CAD parameters indicated better diagnostic performance in predicting the final pathological response compared with DWI and PET/CT, although no statistically significant difference was observed. The combined use of PET/CT with DCE-MRI or DWI may improve the specificity for predicting a pathological response.

Progression of naive intraepithelial neoplasia genome to aggressive squamous cell carcinoma genome of uterine cervix.

Although cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) is considered a neoplasia, its genomic alterations remain unknown. For this, we performed whole-exome sequencing and copy number profiling of three CINs, a microinvasive carcinoma (MIC) and four cervical squamous cell carcinomas (CSCC). Both total mutation and driver mutation numbers of the CINs were significantly fewer than those of the MIC/CSCCs (P = 0.036 and P = 0.018, respectively). Importantly, PIK3CA was altered in all MIC/CSCCs by either mutation or amplification, but not in CINs. The CINs harbored significantly lower numbers of copy number alterations (CNAs) than the MIC/CSCCs as well (P = 0.036). Pathway analysis predicted that the MIC/CSCCs were enriched with cancer-related signalings such as cell adhesion, mTOR signaling pathway and cell migration that were depleted in the CINs. The mutation-based estimation of evolutionary ages identified that CIN genomes were younger than MIC/CSCC genomes. The data indicate that CIN genomes harbor unfixed mutations in addition to human papilloma virus infection but require additional driver hits such as PIK3CA, TP53, STK11 and MAPK1 mutations for CSCC progression. Taken together, our data may explain the long latency from CIN to CSCC progression and provide useful information for molecular diagnosis of CIN and CSCC.

Background parenchymal enhancement in breast MRIs of breast cancer patients: impact on tumor size estimation.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether the degree of background parenchymal enhancement affects the accuracy of tumor size estimation based on breast MRI. METHODS: Three hundred and twenty-two patients who had known breast cancer and underwent breast MRIs were recruited in our study. The total number of breast cancer cases was 339. All images were assessed retrospectively for the level of background parenchymal enhancement based on the BI-RADS criteria. Maximal lesion diameters were measured on the MRIs, and tumor types (mass vs. non-mass) were assessed. Tumor size differences between the MRI-based estimates and estimates based on pathological examinations were analyzed. The relationship between accuracy and tumor types and clinicopathologic features were also evaluated. RESULTS: The cases included minimal (47.5%), mild (28.9%), moderate (12.4%) and marked background parenchymal enhancement (11.2%). The tumors of patients with minimal or mild background parenchymal enhancement were more accurately estimated than those of patients with moderate or marked enhancement (72.1% vs. 56.8%; p=0.003). The tumors of women with mass type lesions were significantly more accurately estimated than those of the women with non-mass type lesions (81.6% vs. 28.6%; p<0.001). The tumor of women negative for HER2 was more accurately estimated than those of women positive for HER2 (72.2% vs. 51.6%; p=0.047). CONCLUSION: Moderate and marked background parenchymal enhancement is related to the inaccurate estimation of tumor size based on MRI. Non-mass type breast cancer and HER2-positive breast cancer are other factors that may cause inaccurate assessment of tumor size.

Comparison of the inhibitory effect of gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist, selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM), antiprogesterone on myoma cell proliferation in vitro.

Uterine myomas are the most common gynecologic tumor in women of reproductive age. Treatment options of uterine myomas consist of surgical, medical and interventional therapy such as uterine artery embolization or myolysis. Given that it is the most common type of tumor in women of reproductive age, the treatment of uterine myomas must prioritize uterine conservation. There are several drugs for medical treatment of uterine myoma such as gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist, selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) and antiprogesterone. The objective of this study was to compare the effect of GnRH agonist, SERM, and antiprogesterone in the treatment of uterine myomas in vitro. The effect of drugs was evaluated through the cell viability assay in cultured leiomyoma cells, western blot analysis of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), and BCL-2 protein expression. As a result, mifepristone single-treated group represents the most significant reduction in myoma cell viability and proliferation. When pretreated with leuprolide acetate, raloxifene shows more significant reduction in myoma cell viability and proliferation than mifepristone. This study suggests one of the possible mechanisms how medications act on uterine myoma, especially at the molecular level.

Clinicopathological implications of human papilloma virus (HPV) L1 capsid protein immunoreactivity in HPV16-positive cervical cytology.

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to investigate the expression of human papilloma virus (HPV) L1 capsid protein in abnormal cervical cytology with HPV16 infection and analyze its association with cervical histopathology in Korean women. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We performed immunocytochemistry for HPV L1 in 475 abnormal cervical cytology samples from patients with HPV16 infections using the Cytoactiv(®) HPV L1 screening set. We investigated the expression of HPV L1 in cervical cytology samples and compared it with the results of histopathological examination of surgical specimens. RESULTS: Of a total of 475 cases, 188 (39.6%) were immunocytochemically positive and 287 (60.4%) negative for HPV L1. The immunocytochemical expression rates of HPV L1 in atypical squamous cells of unknown significance (ASCUS), low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSIL), high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL), and cancer were 21.8%, 59.7%, 19.1%, and 0.0%, respectively. LSIL exhibited the highest rate of HPV L1 positivity. Of a total of 475 cases, the multiple-type HPV infection rate, including HPV16, in HPV L1-negative cytology samples was 27.5%, which was significantly higher than that in HPV L1-positive cytology samples (p = 0.037). The absence of HPV L1 expression in ASCUS and LSIL was significantly associated with high-grade (≥ cervical intraepithelial neoplasia [CIN] 2) than low-grade (≤ CIN1) histopathology diagnoses (p < 0.05), but was not significantly different between HPV16 single and multiple-type HPV infections (p > 0.05). On the other hand, among 188 HPV L1-positive cases, 30.6% of multiple-type HPV infections showed high-grade histopathology diagnoses (≥ CIN3), significantly higher than the percentage of HPV16 single infections (8.6%) (p = 0.0004) CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrates that the expression of HPV L1 is low in advanced dysplasia. Furthermore, the absence of HPV L1 in HPV16-positive low-grade cytology (i.e., ASCUS and LSIL) is strongly associated with high-grade histopathology diagnoses. The multiplicity of HPV infections may have an important role in high-grade histopathology diagnoses (≥ CIN3) in HPV L1-positive cases.

Differential DNA copy number aberrations in the progression of cervical lesions to invasive cervical carcinoma.

Host genomic alterations in addition to human papillomavirus (HPV) are needed for cervical precursor lesions to progress to invasive cancer because only a small percentage of women infected by the virus develop disease. However, the genomic alterations during the progression of cervical lesions have not been systematically examined. The aim of this study was to identify differential genomic alterations among cervical intraepithelial neoplasia CIN1, CIN2, CIN3 and cervical squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Genomic alterations were examined for 15 cases each of CIN1, CIN2, CIN3 and SCC by array-based comparative genomic hybridization (array CGH). The chromosomal regions showing significant differential in DNA copy number aberrations (DCNAs) among CIN1, CIN2, CIN3 and SCC were successfully identified by resampling-based t-test. The chromosomal regions of 5q35.3 and 2q14.3 showed significant DCNAs between CIN1 and CIN2, and between CIN2 and CIN3, respectively, while a significant difference in DCNAs between CIN3 and SCC was observed at 1q24.3, 3p14.1, 3p14.2, 5q13.2, 7p15.3, 7q22.1 and 13q32.3. In addition, the status of DCNAs in 1q43, 2p11.2, 6p11.2, 7p21.1, 7p14.3, 10q24.1, 13q22.3, 13q34 and 16p13.3 was conserved throughout the progression of CIN to SCC. The presence of differential and common DCNAs among CIN1, CIN2, CIN3 and SCC supports that the CIN progression may include continual clonal selection and evolution. This approach also identified 34 probe sets consistently overexpressed when amplified, suggesting an unbiased identification of candidate genes in SCC during cervical cancer progression.

Expression of MUC5AC and Trefoil Peptide 1 (TFF1) in the Subtypes of Intestinal Metaplasia.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Alterations of the expression pattern of mucins and trefoil peptides have been described in gastric adenocarcinomas and in their precursor lesions. The aim of this study was to determine the progression patterns of intestinal metaplasia (IM) subtypes by analyzing the expression patterns of TFF1 and MUC5AC in different subtypes of IM of the stomach. METHODS: Endoscopic gastric biopsies of the antrum and body were obtained from patients with dyspepsia and endoscopic IM. Alcian blue/periodic acid-Schiff staining and the high iron diamine technique were used to classify the subtypes of IM. Immunoreactivity for MUC5AC and TFF1 was estimated in different types of IM. RESULTS: IM was detected in 128 samples from 80 patients; type I was found in 48 samples, type II was found in 37 samples, and type III was found in 43 samples. There was a gradual decrease in MUC5AC and TFF1 expression during the progression of IM from type I to type III via the type II intermediate. CONCLUSIONS: This downregulation of MUC5AC and TFF1 expression may challenge the sequential progression of IM from type I to type III via the type II intermediate, and it might be associated with gastric carcinogenesis.

Leiomyoma of the nipple diagnosed by MRI.

Leiomyoma of the nipple is a rare, benign, non-epithelial tumor that is thought to arise from smooth muscle fibers in the subareolar tissue of the breast. We report an unusual case of leiomyoma of the nipple in a 32-year-old woman in whom the diagnosis was made by ultrasound-guided core needle biopsy. She came to our hospital complaining of a recently enlarged nipple with discharge and erosion in the region of the left nipple-areolar complex. This mass was evaluated by mammography, ultrasonography, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of a leiomyoma of the nipple examined by MRI. MRI showed an oval mass with circumscribed margins that appeared as an intermediate signal intensity on both T1- and T2-weighted images. A dynamic MRI study showed a rim-enhancing oval mass with delayed persistent enhancement. Ultrasound-guided core needle biopsy revealed spindle cell proliferation consistent with leiomyoma of the nipple.

Synchronous clear cell adenocarcinoma of the cervix and endometrioid carcinoma of the endometrium.

Synchronous primary malignant neoplasms of uterus are uncommon. Patients with synchronous cervical and endometrial cancers are even rarer. We describe a case of cervical clear cell carcinoma and endometrial adenocarcinoma occurring simultaneously in a 54-year-old woman presenting with intermittent vaginal bleeding. The concept of synchronous primary malignancies of the genital tract is also reviewed in this report.

Cervical adenoid basal carcinoma associated with invasive squamous cell carcinoma: a report of rare co-existence and review of literature.

Cervical adenoid basal carcinoma (ABC) rarely can harbor associated malignancies like adenoid cystic carcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), which express markedly different prognosis from a pure ABC, making an appropriate biopsy essential to provide a clear diagnosis and therapeutic plan. We report a 64-year-old asymptomatic lady with an abnormal cervical cytology, who underwent a conization to reveal an ABC with overlying microinvasive SCC. Doubtful resection margins led us to perform radical hysterectomy with lymph node dissection. Subsequent pathological examination showed a true invasive SCC co-existing with ABC, with invasion of the parametrium. Unlike the indolent course of many pure ABC patients, the prognosis of 11 previously reported co-existing invasive SCC with ABC patients appears to depend on the SCC component. Our case reiterates the importance of adequate biopsy with careful interpretation to cover the possibility of a co-existent malignancy. Besides, it presents an argument in favor of radical surgery for the primary treatment of suspicious associated malignancy, and supports adjuvant treatment according to the unfavorable extent of the co-existent invasive carcinoma.

Primary acinic cell carcinoma of the breast: a case report with an immunohistochemical and ultrastructural studies.

Acinic cell carcinoma (ACC) of the breast is extremely rare and is characterized by widespread acinar cell-like differentiation. We report of a 39-year-old woman presented with a palpable breast mass with significant morphological, immunohistochemical and ultrastructural findings. Histologically, ACC showed a diffuse glandular infiltrative pattern, with small acinar or glandular structures mixed with solid nests. Neoplastic cells were monotonous proliferation of cells with a granular or clear cytoplasm, resembling acinar cells of the salivary glands or Paneth cells. Both glandular and solid tumor cell populations were strongly positive for lysozyme and α-1-antitrypsin.

Correlation between immunocytochemistry of human papilloma virus L1 capsid protein and behavior of low-grade cervical cytology in Korean women.

AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate the behavior of low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL) in Korean women infected with human papillomavirus (HPV) in relation to the immunocytochemical detection of the HPV L1 capsid protein. MATERIAL AND METHODS: From January 2006 to December 2007, a total of 353 immunocytochemistry tests were performed on specimens from HPV-infected patients with LSIL. Due to exclusions, the study population was reduced to 318. Subjects were monitored at 4-6 month intervals. The regression, persistence, and progression of the cytologic abnormalities of the 318 cases were compared with the results of HPV L1 capsid protein immunocytochemical detection. RESULTS: Of the 137 patients negative for the HPV L1 capsid protein, 38 (27.7%) showed progression to high-grade lesions, 50 (36.5%) showed persistence, and 49 (35.8%) showed regression to normal cytological features. In contrast, of the remaining 181 patients positive for the HPV L1 capsid protein, 15 (8.3%) showed progression to high-grade lesions, 74 (40.9%) showed persistence, and 92 (50.8%) showed regression. The results of immunocytochemical testing for the HPV L1 capsid protein show a linear association with the progression or regression behavior of low-grade cervical cytology in patients infected with HPV (linear by linear association test, P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Immunocytochemical detection of HPV L1 was significantly related with the biological patterns of LSIL in Korean women. Hence, immunocytochemistry for the detection of HPV L1 is beneficial in providing further information for LSIL.

Radiologic findings of lobular carcinoma in situ: mammography and ultrasonography.

PURPOSE: The purpose was to evaluate the mammographic and sonographic (US) features of lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS). Methods. Mammographic and US findings of nine lesions diagnosed pathologically as pure LCIS were analyzed retrospectively according to the American College of Radiology breast imaging reporting and data system (BI-RADS) lexicon. RESULTS: With regards to mammographic findings of LCIS, there were no lesions demonstrated in six cases and a mass in three cases, two of which contained microcalcifications. The most common US findings of LCIS were irregular shape (five cases), ill-defined margins (eight cases), and hypoechogenicity (seven cases). All cases had an elongated shape parallel to the skin or were round (no lesion had a taller-than-wide shape). Two cases were associated with microcalcifications. The final BI-RADS categories were category 3 (probably benign finding) in one case, category 4A (low suspicion of malignancy) in two cases, and category 4B (intermediate suspicion of malignancy) in six cases. CONCLUSIONS: LCIS is frequently mammographically occult, and an incidental finding on routine screening mammograms, usually because of microcalcifications. LCIS, a high-risk lesion, can mimic invasive carcinoma on US.

Ultrasonographic features of benign adenomyoepithelioma of the breast.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ultrasonographic features of benign adenomyoepithelioma of the breast. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between 2005 and 2009, five patients had histologically confirmed adenomyoepithelioma of the breast. We retrospectively evaluated the ultrasonographic findings of the tumors in correlation with the pathology, and reviewed medical records. RESULTS: The clinical manifestations included a palpable mass in three patients, while mammographic screening helped detect abnormalities in two patients. Ultrasonograms showed masses with an oval (n = 3) or irregular (n = 2) shape, with uncircumscribed (n = 4) or relatively well-circumscribed (n = 1) margins, as well as with a hypoechoic (n = 3) or a complex echoic (n = 2) internal echo texture. Three patients had focal ductectasia adjacent to the mass. The ultrasonographic assessments were classified as Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) category 4A, with low suspicion of malignancy in two cases, and as category 4B, with intermediate suspicion of malignancy in three cases. The pathology revealed benign adenomyoepithelioma in all patients. CONCLUSION: Benign adenomyoepitheliomas appear as solid or complex echoic masses with suspicious malignant ultrasonographic features, which may be associated with adjacent ductectasia. Although adenomyoepithelioma is a rare breast tumor, awareness of its sonographic features will be helpful for the differential diagnosis from other tumors.

CD56 antigen expression and hemophagocytosis of leukemic cells in acute myeloid leukemia with t(16;21)(p11;q22).

The translocation t(16;21)(p11;q22) is rare, occurs with an incidence of 1%, in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), forming TLS/FUS-ERG fusion transcript, and it is known to cause the hemophagocytosis and vacuolation of leukemic cells. As previously reported cases numbered less than 60, we aimed to identify the clinical and genetic aspects of AML with t(16;21). Among 1,277 patients diagnosed with de novo and secondary AML, 12 AML patients with t(16;21) were retrospectively evaluated (0.94%, 12/1,277). AML with t(16;21) expressed CD56 with a median value of 45% (7.8-87%), and the rate of hemophagocytosis plus vacuolation of leukemic cells was 2.9% (2.0-9.0%). CD56 antigen expression showed a correlation with the total rate of hemophagocytosis plus vacuolation, with a correlation coefficient of 0.663 (P = 0.019). AML with t(16;21) expressed CD13, CD33, CD34, CD117, CD56, HLA-DR, and cytoplasmic myeloperoxidase. RUNX1, which regulates a gene for hematopoiesis, is frequently mutated in AML and, in this study, one out of three patients showed the mutation R174Q in RUNX1. All of these 3 patients showed the fusion transcript TLS/FUS-ERG, which was detected by multiplex or nested PCR. AML with t(16;21) showed a very low rate of complete remission after induction chemotherapy (8.3%), and high relapse (75%) and mortality (75%) rates. AML with t(16;21) exhibited a distinct morphology with frequent CD56 expression and a poor prognosis.

Recurrent ovarian granulosa cell tumors: clinical and imaging features.

BACKGROUND: Granulosa cell tumor of the ovary differs from epithelial ovarian tumors in histologic appearance, clinical course and imaging findings. The purpose of this study was to evaluate clinical and imaging features of recurrent ovarian granulosa cell tumors. METHODS: We performed retrospective evaluation of the medical, surgicopathologic records and CT or MR images of 11 patients with pathologically proven recurrent ovarian granulosa cell tumor. RESULTS: The first recurrence of granulosa cell tumor was diagnosed at between 4 months and 18 years after the initial surgical resection of tumor (mean; 9.7 years). Six patients relapsed after 10 years after initial diagnosis. The recurrent tumors were located in the pelvic cavity alone in three patients, extrapelvic peritoneal cavity alone in two, both pelvic and extrapelvic peritoneal cavity in three, and paraaortic retroperitoneal space in three. The imaging appearances of recurrent masses were variable ranging from solid masses to completely cystic masses. CONCLUSION: Recurrent granulosa cell tumor is characterized by late tumor recurrence manifested as a relatively small number of discrete peritoneal or retroperitoneal masses with variable imaging appearances from solid to cystic masses.

Association between cyclooxygenase-2 and matrix metalloproteinase-2 expression in non-small cell lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) contributes to invasiveness of cancer through activation of several matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). Matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) is a proteolytic enzyme that degrades the extracellular matrix, and has been linked to invasion and metastasis. This study aims to assess the correlation of the COX-2 expression and the MMP-2 expression in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). METHODS: We analyzed the protein expressions of COX-2 and MMP-2 by immunohistochemical staining on the tissue array specimens from 204 patients with completely resected NSCLC. A <10% immunostaining of the cancer cells was considered negative, while >10% was considered positive. RESULTS: The COX-2 expression was positive in 68.1% and that of the MMP-2 was positive in 45.6%. The positive expression rate of MMP-2 (52.5%) in the positive COX-2 group was higher than that in the negative COX-2 group (30.8%, P = 0.004). Furthermore, the MMP-2 expression was associated with lymph node involvement, the tumor stage and the histological type. The patients with a positive MMP-2 expression showed a reduced survival (P = 0.048). CONCLUSIONS: The COX-2 expression is associated with the MMP-2 expression in NSCLC patients: the latter may also be associated with tumor progression and reduced survival in NSCLC patients.