Ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration biopsy of parathyroid gland and lesions.

BACKGROUND: Parathyroid gland and their tumors comprise a small proportion of non-palpable neck masses that are investigated by ultrasound (US) guided fine needle aspiration biopsy. We reviewed our institution's cases of US guided FNAB of parathyroid gland and their lesions to determine the role of cytology for the preoperative diagnosis of parathyroid gland and their lesions. METHOD: All cases of FNAB of parathyroid gland and lesions in the last 10 years were reviewed in detail with respect to clinical history and correlated with the histopathologic findings in available cases. The cytologic parameters that were evaluated included cellularity assessed semiquantitatively as scant, intermediate or abundant (<50, 51-500 or >500 cells), cellular distribution (loose clusters, single cells/naked nuclei, rounded clusters, two- and three-dimensional clusters, and presence of prominent vascular proliferation), cellular characteristics (cell size, nuclear shape, presence/absence of a nucleolus, degree of mitosis, amount of cytoplasm, and appearance of nuclear chromatin), and background (colloid-like material and macrophages). Immunostaining for parathyroid hormone (PTH) was performed on selected cases using either destained Pap smears or cell block sections. RESULTS: Twenty cases of US-guided FNAB of parathyroid glands and their lesions including 13 in the expected locations in the neck, 3 in intrathyroid region, 3 in thyroid bed, and 1 metastatic to liver were studied. Majority of the cases showed intermediate cellularity (51-500 cells) with round to oval cells that exhibited a stippled nuclear chromatin, without significant pleomorphism or mitotic activity. The cells were arranged in loose two dimensional groups with many single cells/naked nuclei around the groups. Occasionally macrophages and colloid like material was also encountered. There was no significant difference in the cytomorphologic features between normal gland, hyperplasia adenoma, or carcinoma. Immunocytochemical analysis for PHT was performed for 14 cases (6 destained smears and 8 cell blocks) which showed distinct cytoplasmic positivity. CONCLUSION: US-guided FNAB is a useful test for confirming the diagnosis of not only clinically suspected parathyroid gland and lesions but also for detecting parathyroid glands in unexpected locations such as in thyroid bed or within the thyroid gland. Although there is significant overlap in the cytomorphologic features of cells derived from parathyroid and thyroid gland, the presence of stippled nuclear chromatin, prominent vascular proliferation with attached epithelial cells, and frequent occurrence of single cells/naked nuclei are useful clues that favor parathyroid origin. Distinction of the different parathyroid lesions including hyperplasia, adenoma, and carcinoma cannot be made solely on cytology. Immunostaining for PTH can be performed on destained Pap smears and cell block sections which can be valuable for confirming parathyroid origin of the cells.

Correlation of histopathologic findings with clinical outcome in necrotizing fasciitis.

BACKGROUND: Necrotizing fasciitis is an uncommon disease with high morbidity and mortality rates. Little is known about the role of histopathologic examination in disease prognosis. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted to determine what correlations, if any, exist between the histopathologic features of resected tissue in patients with necrotizing fasciitis and clinical outcome. RESULTS: Eighty-two cases of necrotizing fasciitis that occurred between January 1990 and December 2002 were identified. Histopathologic findings were available for review in 63 cases. A novel histopathologic classification scheme, based on hematoxylin-eosin and Gram stain results, was developed. The classification scheme included 3 stages: stage I, characterized by an intense neutrophilic response and an absence of bacteria in infected tissue; stage II, characterized by the presence of a moderate-to-severe neutrophilic response and positive Gram stain results or by minimal to absent neutrophilic response with a negative Gram stain result; and stage III, characterized by the presence of few or no polymorphonuclear leukocytes and a Gram stain result positive for bacteria during histopathologic examination. Patients with stage I findings had a significantly lower risk of death than patients with stage III findings (7.1% vs. 47%; odds ratio [OR], 0.1; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.01-0.8; P=.03). Patients with stage II findings had a significantly lower mortality rate than patients with stage III findings (14.2% vs. 47%; OR, 0.2; 95% CI, 0.04-0.9; P=.04). Due to the small number of deaths (n=11) in patients for whom histopathologic examination of resected tissue was performed, multivariate analysis was not done. CONCLUSIONS: Results of this study suggest that histopathologic findings may correlate with clinical outcome in cases of necrotizing fasciitis. Because the histopathologic scheme is based on results of commonly available stains, it could be easily adopted for use in other institutions that could further evaluate its usefulness as a prognostic tool.

GLUT1 endothelial reactivity distinguishes hepatic infantile hemangioma from congenital hepatic vascular malformation with associated capillary proliferation.

Hepatic vascular lesions in pediatric patients have overlapping definitions and a plethora of confusing terminology. The so-called hepatic infantile hemangioendothelioma (IHE) frequently coexists and shares some biological features with cutaneous juvenile hemangioma (CJH). To clarify the nature of hepatic vascular lesions in pediatric patients and to investigate the association between IHE and CJH, we reviewed the clinical features, imaging findings and histopathology of 19 cases of hepatic vascular lesions diagnosed at our institution over the last 33 years. Immunohistochemical stains for a battery of endothelial markers, including GLUT1, were performed. Our results indicate that there are two fundamentally different hepatic vascular lesions in infants and young children: GLUT1-positive hepatic infantile hemangioma (HIH) and GLUT1-negative hepatic vascular malformation with capillary proliferation (HVMCP). The finding of consistent GLUT1 immunoreactivity of endothelial cells in HIH not only offers a powerful tool to distinguish HIH from HVMCP, but also provides immunophenotypic evidence of the similar biological origins of CJH and HIH.

Cdx2 as a marker for neuroendocrine tumors of unknown primary sites.

The transcription factors CDX1 and CDX2 are homeobox genes that regulate development of the epithelium of the small and large intestine. A few studies have shown that Cdx2 protein expression is useful in the diagnosis of adenocarcinomas as well as neuroendocrine tumors of the small and large intestine. To examine the utility of Cdx2 in recognizing neuroendocrine tumors of unknown primary sites, we analyzed 224 primary and metastatic neuroendocrine tumors by immunohistochemistry. The specificity of the antibody reaction was confirmed by Western blotting. Cdx2 antibody stained all primary and most metastatic midgut carcinoid tumors. A few rectal and pulmonary carcinoids were positive, while gastric carcinoids were negative for Cdx2. One of five small cell carcinomas (20%) of the colon was positive for Cdx2, while all pulmonary small cell carcinomas were negative. Neuroendocrine tumors of the pituitary, parathyroid, medullary thyroid carcinomas, paragangliomas, pheochromocytomas and Merkel cell carcinomas were all negative for Cdx2. Western blot analysis of seven cases showed a 40 kDa band in both primary and metastatic midgut carcinoid tumors. These results indicate that Cdx2 can be very useful in recognizing metastatic neuroendocrine carcinomas of unknown primary sites, especially when they are derived from the small intestine.

Immunocytochemical evaluation of estrogen receptor on archival Papanicolaou-stained fine-needle aspirate smears.

The availability of limited fine-needle aspirate smears necessitates the selection of immunocytochemical (IC) methods that allow reuse of Pap-stained smears to assess the estrogen receptor (ER) status of breast carcinoma. The objective of the current study was to compare IC evaluation of ER status on FNA smears by three methods: 1) ER-ICA using H222 monoclonal antibody performed on slides fixed in formaldehyde-methanol-acetone; 2) destained Pap slides using 1D5 antibody; and 3) Pap-stained slides without destaining using the same 1D5 antibody. Two representative Pap smears of breast carcinoma were selected from 48 cases of breast carcinoma in which ER was previously evaluated by ER-ICA. One of these Pap smears was used as such and the other was destained prior to immunostaining by a modified ABC method using 1D5 monoclonal antibody. The number of cells with positive nuclear staining was expressed as a percentage and the intensity of staining was semiquantitatively scored on a scale of 1+ to 3+. The degree of agreement between the three methods was evaluated statistically by weighted kappa statistics. Thirty cases (63%) showed varying degrees of positive staining while 18 cases (38%) were entirely negative by all three methods. Significant discrepancies in the number of cells with positive staining and in the intensity of staining between the three methods occurred in 40% and 23% of the cases and was mainly due to a reduction in the number of cells with positive staining and the intensity of staining using Pap slides in comparison to ER-ICA. Weighted kappa agreement of the percentage of cells with positive staining using Pap-stained slides and destained Pap-slides in comparison to ER-ICA was 0.75 and 0.64, respectively, and that for the intensity of staining was 0.75 and 0.66, respectively. Therefore, IC evaluation of ER using Pap-stained smears as such or destained Pap smears compared favorably with ER-ICA. However, Pap-stained smears used as such for ER immunostaining showed a slightly better agreement with ER-ICA than destained Pap smears. Because significant differences in ER-IC staining can occur with any of the immunocytochemical methods, a negative result is less reliable as an indicator of true ER status than a positive result.

Extranodal extension in regional lymph nodes is associated with outcome in patients with renal cell carcinoma.

PURPOSE: The 2002 American Joint Committee on Cancer pN classification for renal cell carcinoma is based on the number of positive regional lymph nodes. We examined the associations of pathological features of lymph node metastases with patient outcome to improve the prognostic accuracy of the current classification. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We studied the records of 2,076 patients treated with radical nephrectomy for unilateral, sporadic pM0 renal cell carcinoma between 1970 and 2000. There were 34 patients with metastasis in a single regional lymph node (pN1) and 35 with metastases in more than 1 lymph node (pN2). Pathological features of lymph node metastases, including the number and percent of positive lymph nodes, total number of lymph nodes removed, grade, necrosis, extranodal extension, and largest dimension and surface area of metastases were determined by 2 urological pathologists (HHD and JCC). RESULTS: There was no statistically significant association between the pN classification and death from renal cell carcinoma (pN2 vs pN1 RR 1.05, 95% CI 0.62 to 1.79, p = 0.846). However, patients with extranodal extension were twice as likely to die of renal cell carcinoma than patients in whom metastases did not extend outside of the lymph node capsule (RR 2.02, 95% CI 1.18 to 3.45, p = 0.010). The 5-year cancer specific survival rate was 18% and 35% in patients with and without extranodal extension, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: We believe that a pN classification based on the presence or absence of lymph node metastases with a notation regarding the presence or absence of extranodal extension represents a significant improvement in the prognostic accuracy of the current pN classification.

Renal medullary carcinoma: a report of 2 cases and review of the literature.

Renal medullary carcinoma is a recently described aggressive neoplasm of the kidney. With the exception of 2 patients, all other reported cases have been associated with sickle cell hemoglobinopathies, mainly sickle cell trait and hemoglobin SC disease. Renal medullary carcinoma is a highly malignant tumor with evidence of angiolymphatic and distant metastasis at the time of diagnosis. No specific genetic abnormality has been identified in this neoplasm despite its close association with a genetic disease. We describe 2 cases of renal medullary carcinoma, one associated with hemoglobin SC disease, and the other with what we believe to be the first reported case associated with sickle cell disease.

Pediatric hepatic angiosarcoma: case report and review of the literature.

Pediatric hepatic angiosarcoma (PHAS) is a rare tumor, which usually presents as a rapid enlargement of the liver. To date, surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy have not improved the poor prognosis of PHAS with only three survivors reported. The histology of PHAS is distinct from adult angiosarcoma, because PHAS displays hypercellular whorls of sarcomatous cells, or "kaposiform" spindle cells, in addition to the general features of angiosarcoma. We report a case of PHAS that was treated with vascular ablation, chemotherapy, and liver transplantation. Lung metastases occurred 14 months posttransplant.

MALT Lymphoma in Children: Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma predominantly occurs in adults, and is rare in children. We report a case of MALT lymphoma involving minor salivary gland of the lip in an otherwise healthy 12-year-old boy. This is the second case report of MALT lymphoma of minor salivary gland in an immunocompetent child. Of 24 cases of MALT lymphomas in children reported in the English literature, parotid MALT lymphomas in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patients and H. pylori infection-associated gastric MALT lymphomas are the most common. As in adult cases, most MALT lymphomas in the pediatric age group are localized and follow an indolent clinical course, respond well to therapy, and have an excellent outcome.