Fluorescent in situ hybridization as a screening test for HER2 amplification in G2 and G3 breast cancers of lobular and ductal histotype and metastases.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH), as a screening test, in moderately- (G2) or poorly- (G3) differentiated breast cancers of the ductal (IDC) and lobular (ILC) histotypes and distant metastases. HER2 FISH was performed on 486 G2 and 477 G3 both of IDC and ILC histotypes and in 241 metastases. A significant difference in the HER2 amplification was observed between G2 (14.8%) and G3 (31.9%), with no difference according to the histotype. However, the rate of amplification increased to 36% in the G2/hormone receptor-negative cases as compared to 10.6% in the G2/receptor-positive cases (p<0.0001). HER2 was amplified in 17% of metastases with some differences depending on the location. These data suggest that the HER2 FISH analysis may be an effective screening test in breast cancer metastases and G3 tumors, irrespective of the hormone receptor status or presence of lymphovascular invasion.

Analytical Challenge in Postmortem Toxicology Applied to a Human Body Found into a Lake after Three Years Immersion.

The body of a 30-year-old woman was found in Como lake at a depth of about 120 meters in her own car after 3 years of immersion. The aim of this study was to evaluate psychoactive drugs as well as alcohol biomarkers in biological matrices. The following analyses were initially performed: GC-MS systematic toxicological analysis on biological fluids and tissues; GC-MS analysis of drugs of abuse on pubic hair; direct ethanol metabolite determination in pubic hair by LC-MS/MS. After 7 years, the samples, that had been stored at -20°C, were re-analyzed and submitted to an LC-MS/MS targeted screening method, using multiple reaction monitoring mode. These analyses detected citalopram (150-3000 ng/mL), desmethylcitalopram (50-2300 ng/mL), clotiapine (20-65 ng/mL), and ethyl glucuronide (97 pg/mg). The methods showed an acceptable reproducibility, and the concentrations of citalopram and desmethylcitalopram calculated through the two analytical techniques did not significantly differ in biological fluids.

Primary pleural epithelioid angiosarcoma. A case report and review of the literature.

Malignant vascular tumors are uncommon sarcomas that arise from endothelial cells of small blood vessels and may affect every organ. Pleural localization is very exceptional, and only 48 cases have been reported in the English literature to date. Even if etiological factors implicated in the development of vascular sarcomas are still unclear, the strongest association with the disease was a history of chronic tuberculous pyothorax, observed only in Japanese patients, while prior radiotherapy and occupational exposure to asbestos have been reported in few Western cases. The mean age at diagnosis was 58 years, and the male to female ratio was 6:1. The overall prognosis was poor, and most of the patients died of disease soon after diagnosis. Histological features and clinical presentation often cause several problems in the differential diagnosis, particularly with mesothelioma and metastasis from poorly differentiated carcinomas. Immunohistochemistry plays an important role in identifying these rare entities, confirming the endothelial origin of the neoplasm with the expression of at least one of the vascular markers CD31, CD34, or factor VIII-related antigen. We report herein a further case of a 62-year-old man who presented with progressive dyspnea and bilateral massive hemothorax. The overall pathological and immunohistochemical features of the pleural specimens supported the diagnosis of epithelioid angiosarcoma.