The Correlation between Proliferative Immunohistochemical Markers and Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma Aggressiveness.

Background and Objectives: Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is one of the most common malignancies of the endocrine system. In order to improve the ability to predict tumor behavior, several studies have been conducted to search for surrogate prognostic immunohistochemical tumor markers. Objective: To evaluate the correlation between the intensity of different immunohistochemical marker staining in PTC and the risk for extrathyroidal extension and metastases. Materials and Methods: The study comprised patients who underwent hemi- or total thyroidectomy. Thyroid tissues were immunohistochemically stained for different tumor proliferative markers: Minichromosome maintenance proteins 2 (MCM2), Ki-67 labeling index, E-Cadherin, Neuropilin-1 and Metallothionein. The correlation between the intensity of each marker staining and the final diagnosis (benign neoplasm and PTC) and the correlation between the intensity of each staining and tumor extrathyroidal extension and metastases were evaluated. Results: The study included 66 patients. Staining for Metallothionein, E-Cadherin and MCM2 significantly differed between benign neoplasm (n = 22) and thyroid-confined PTC (n = 21) (p = 0.002, 0.004 and 0.005, respectively), between benign neoplasm and PTC with extrathyroidal extension (n = 11) (p = 0.001, 0.006 and 0.01, respectively), and between benign neoplasm and PTC with metastases (n = 12) (p = 0.01, <0.001 and 0.037, respectively). No staining correlated with extrathyroidal extension. The intensity of E-Cadherin staining was significantly lower in PTC with metastases than thyroid confined PTC and PTC with extrathyroidal extension (p = 0.028 and 0.021, respectively). Conclusions: Immunohistochemical staining for Metallothionein, E-Cadherin and MCM2 significantly distinguished between benign thyroid tumor and PTC. E-Cadherin staining significantly and inversely correlated with the presence of metastases.

Factors Predicting Type I Gastric Neuroendocrine Neoplasia Recurrence: A Single-Center Study.

Type I gastric neuroendocrine neoplasms (gNENs) are associated with atrophic gastritis and have a high recurrence rate, which means frequent endoscopies are required. The objective of this study was to identify factors predicting the local recurrence of type I gNENs. The clinical course and the pathological and biochemical data of patients with type I gNENs treated at Bnai Zion Medical Center between 2006 and 2022 were analyzed retrospectively. Twenty-seven type I gNENs were evaluated. The follow-up period was 41 months (range: 11-288 months). Recurrence of the tumor occurred in 13/27 (48%) patients after 35 months (median (M), interquartile range (IQR): 21-67.5). Serum gastrin levels were significantly higher in patients with recurrent disease versus patients with non-recurrent disease (788 vs. 394 ng/L; p = 0.047), while the Ki-67 index was significantly lower in patients with recurrent disease versus patients with non-recurrent disease (1% vs. 3.5%; p = 0.035). Tumor size, mitotic count, and serum chromogranin A levels did not correlate with recurrence. The present study emphasizes the role of gastrin in the pathogenesis of gNEN recurrence and highlights the debate regarding the ability of the Ki-67 index to predict the clinical course of this disease.

Accelerated Intestinal Epithelial Cell Turnover Correlates with Stimulated BMP Signaling Cascade following Intestinal Ischemia-Reperfusion in a Rat.

INTRODUCTION: Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are a family of proteins that regulate proliferation and differentiation of intestinal epithelial cells. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of BMP signaling following intestinal ischemia-reperfusion (IR) in a rat model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four experimental groups: Sham-24 and Sham-48 rats underwent laparotomy and were sacrificed 24 or 48 hours later, respectively; IR-24 and IR-48 rats underwent occlusion of superior mesenteric artery and portal vein for 30 minutes followed by 24 or 48 hours of reperfusion, respectively. Enterocyte proliferation and apoptosis were determined at sacrifice. BMP-related genes and protein expression were determined using real-time polymerase chain reaction, Western blot, and immunohistochemistry for 48 hours followed by IR. RESULTS: IR rats demonstrated a significant increase in BMP2 (twofold increase, p < 0.05), BMP4 (sevenfold increase), STAT3 (70% increase), BMPR1 (70% increase) messenger ribonucleic acid levels in jejunum and was accompanied by a significant increase in BMP2 and BMP4 protein levels in jejunum (sixfold increase) (Western blot) and upward increase in the number of BMP-positive cells (by immunohistochemistry) in jejunal (48% increase) and ileal (56% increase) villi compared with Sham-48 animals. Elevation in BMP2 and BMP4 levels was associated with increased rates of cell proliferation and increased cell apoptosis. CONCLUSION: Forty-eight hours following intestinal IR in rats, BMP signaling pathway was stimulated. The increase in BMP signaling pathway activity correlates with accelerated cell turnover.

Distribution of estrogen and progesterone receptors isoforms in endometrial cancer.

BACKGROUND: 70-80% of sporadic endometrial carcinomas are defined as endometrioid carcinoma (EC). Early-stage, well differentiated endometrial carcinomas usually retain expression of estrogen and progesterone receptors (ER and PR, respectively), as advanced stage, poorly differentiated tumors often lack one or both of these receptors. Well-described EC prognosis includes tumor characteristics, such as depth of myometrial invasion. Therefore, in the current study, we evaluated the expression profile of ER and PR isoforms, including ER-α, PR-A and PR-B, in correlation to EC tumor histological depth. METHODS: Using immunohistochemistry and image analysis software, the expression of ER-α, PR-A, PR-B and Ki67 was assessed in endometrial stroma and epithelial glands of superficial, deep and extra-tumoral sections of 15 paraffin embedded EC specimens, and compared to 5 biopsies of non-malignant endometrium. RESULTS: Expression of PR-A and ER-α was found to be lower in EC compared to nonmalignant tissue, as the stromal expression was dramatically reduced compared to epithelial cells. Expression ratios of both receptors were significantly high in superficial and deep portions of EC; in non-tumoral portion of EC were close to the ratios of nonmalignant endometrium. PR-B expression was low in epithelial glands of EC superficial and deep portions, and high in the extra-tumoral region. Elevated PR-B expression was found in stroma of EC, as well. CONCLUSIONS: The ratio of ER-α and PR-A expression in the epithelial glands and the stroma of EC biopsies may serve as an additional parameter in the histological evaluation of EC tumor. VIRTUAL SLIDES: The virtual slide(s) for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/1155060506119016.