Prospective evaluation in 123 patients of strain ratio as provided by quantitative elastosonography and multiparametric ultrasound evaluation (ultrasound score) for the characterisation of thyroid nodules.

PURPOSE: This study was done to compare quantitative elastosonography and ultrasound analysis in the characterisation of thyroid nodules. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From July 2009 to September 2011, 123 patients with 147 thyroid nodules were included in our study. All patients enrolled had to undergo thyroidectomy because of nodular thyroid disease (goitre or nodules). After preliminary examination with conventional ultrasound (US) and colour Doppler US, the patients were examined with elastosonography, using high-level equipment (Toshiba Aplio XG) and quantitative software (Elasto-Q). Each lesion was characterised using an US score (echogenicity, borders, microcalcifications and colour Doppler pattern), and then by elastosonographic strain ratio. Each patient subsequently underwent thyroidectomy. Histological results were used as the gold standard. RESULTS: Histological examination demonstrated 89 benign and 58 malignant lesions. On average, the strain ratio value was 2.84±2.69 (range, 0.05-14.5; p=0.001). Sensitivity and specificity of the US score were about 56% and 72%, respectively, whereas those of the strain ratio were 93% and 89%, using a cut-off of 2 obtained with receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Elastosonography was more accurate than US and colour Doppler US in characterising thyroid nodules (p=0.002). CONCLUSIONS: Quantitative elastosonography is a useful diagnostic tool in the evaluation of thyroid lesions, and can be used to limit fine-needle aspiration cytology and improve the selection of patients for thyroidectomy.

Pancreas sparing duodenectomy and aortic reconstruction with custom-made bovine pericardial tubular graft for primary aorto duodenal fistula. Case report.

Primary aorto-duodenal fistula (PADF) is a rare life-threatening condition consisting in a direct communication between the abdominal aorta and the gastrointestinal tract without any previous vascular intervention. PADF results most commonly from an abdominal aortic aneurism (AAA) or aortic bacterial/mycotic infection, with the fistula forming between the native aorta and the third or fourth portion of the duodenum. Symptoms are nonspecific and the diagnosis is often delayed after AAA rupture with high rate of morbidity and mortality. We present a case of 69-year-old-male with a history of untreated abdominal aortic aneurysm who came to the attention of the emergency department for Abdominal aortic aneurysm rupture (RAAA). The patient was successfully treated with staged therapy: endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) to control hemorrhage rapidly, followed by pancreas sparing duodenectomy and aortic reconstruction with xenopericardial tube grafts. KEY WORDS: Biological graft, Bovine pericardial tubular graft, Primary aorto-duodenal fistula, Pancreas sparing duodenectomy.

In papillary thyroid carcinoma BRAFV600E is associated with increased expression of the urokinase plasminogen activator and its cognate receptor, but not with disease-free interval.

CONTEXT: It has been suggested that patients with papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) harbouring the BRAF(V600E) mutation have a worse prognosis. We showed in PTC that high levels of urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) and its cognate receptor (uPAR) inversely correlate with disease-free interval (DFI). OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effects of BRAF(V600E) on the expression of uPA and uPAR and to evaluate the prognostic relevance of BRAF(V600E) alone or in combination with uPA and uPAR. DESIGN/SETTING/PATIENTS/INTERVENTION: The case study included 91 patients with PTC. All patients underwent thyroidectomy and radioiodine therapy. Follow-up was available for 75 patients. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The BRAF(V600E) mutation was analysed by sequencing and mutant allele-specific PCR amplification; uPA and uPAR expression by quantitative RT-PCR. RESULTS: BRAF(V600E) was found in 44 of the 91 patients and associated with older age, but not with high-risk clinicopathological features. Urokinase PA and uPAR mRNA levels were higher in tumour tissues by 9·51 ± 1·30 and 4·64 ± 0·44 fold, respectively, compared to normal matched tissues, being significantly higher in BRAF(V600E) -positive patients. In vitro induction of BRAF(V600E) in PCCL3 cells caused a significant increase in both uPA and uPAR mRNAs. Higher levels of uPA and uPAR correlated with lymph node metastases, TNM stage and disease recurrences. Kaplan-Meier and multivariate analyses demonstrated that uPA and uPAR were associated with shorter DFI, while the BRAF(V600E) was not. CONCLUSION: In PTC, BRAF(V600E) induces uPA and uPAR expression. The latter, but not BRAF(V600E) , associates with advanced stages and shorter DFI. If confirmed in larger case studies, they may represent reliable prognostic markers for more accurate risk stratification and postoperative decision-making in patients with PTC.

Aurora kinases are expressed in medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) and their inhibition suppresses in vitro growth and tumorigenicity of the MTC derived cell line TT.

BACKGROUND: The Aurora kinase family members, Aurora-A, -B and -C, are involved in the regulation of mitosis, and alterations in their expression are associated with cell malignant transformation. To date no information on the expression of these proteins in medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) are available. We here investigated the expression of the Aurora kinases in human MTC tissues and their potential use as therapeutic targets. METHODS: The expression of the Aurora kinases in 26 MTC tissues at different TNM stages was analyzed at the mRNA level by quantitative RT-PCR. We then evaluated the effects of the Aurora kinase inhibitor MK-0457 on the MTC derived TT cell line proliferation, apoptosis, soft agar colony formation, cell cycle and ploidy. RESULTS: The results showed the absence of correlation between tumor tissue levels of any Aurora kinase and tumor stage indicating the lack of prognostic value for these proteins. Treatment with MK-0457 inhibited TT cell proliferation in a time- and dose-dependent manner with IC50 = 49.8 ± 6.6 nM, as well as Aurora kinases phosphorylation of substrates relevant to the mitotic progression. Time-lapse experiments demonstrated that MK-0457-treated cells entered mitosis but were unable to complete it. Cytofluorimetric analysis confirmed that MK-0457 induced accumulation of cells with ≥ 4N DNA content without inducing apoptosis. Finally, MK-0457 prevented the capability of the TT cells to form colonies in soft agar. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrate that Aurora kinases inhibition hampered growth and tumorigenicity of TT cells, suggesting its potential therapeutic value for MTC treatment.

The sentinel lymph node in papillary cancer of the thyroid including histological subtype.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this work was to reveal through sentinel node study the intraoperative presence of preoperatively undetected pathological lymph nodes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: At the Surgical Science Department of La Sapienza University of Rome The Authors studied from January 2003 to June 2004 18 patients with papillary carcinoma of the thyroid, who presented no clinical evidence of lymph node metastasis; they performed a total thyroidectomy in all cases, removing and histologically examining all lymph nodes of the upper anterior mediastinum. Where negative they were then subjected to immunohistochemical analysis with Pan Cytokeratin. RESULTS: The method was positive in 10 patients: 2 pure papillary carcinomas, 1 papillary carcinoma with poorly differentiated areas, 1 tall cell papillary carcinoma, 5 sclerosing carcinoma and 1 follicular variant papillary carcinoma; and negative in 8:5 pure papillary carcinomas, 2 sclerosing carcinoma and 1 case of follicular variant papillary carcinoma. Lymph node micrometastasis was found in 2 cases through study with Pan Cytokeratin on final histological examination. CONCLUSIONS: Analysis of the Authors' preliminary data shows that sentinel lymph node detection has 83.3% sensitivity and 100% specificity for Upper Anterior Mediastinum lymph nodes. The Authors can propose two main applications: select for dissection only patients with a positive sentinel node and reduce the number of cases to be subjected to postoperative treatment with iodine ablation, in patients with "low risk" thyroid tumours and negative sentinel nodes.

Bilateral synchronous parathyroid carcinoma in a patient on long-term hemodialysis: presentation of a rare clinical case and review literature.

Synchronous bilateral carcinoma of the parathyroid in subjects undergoing prolonged hemodialysis is an extremely rare pathology. After observing a clinical case, we reviewed the literature on parathyroid carcinoma. We describe the clinical case of a 61-year-old man with synchronous bilateral carcinoma of the parathyroid. He had a long history of terminal renal insufficiency and had been undergoing hemodialysis for about 18 years before being referred to us with a diagnosis of secondary hyperparathyroidism. The patient underwent total parathyroidectomy and total thyroidectomy. The interoperative parathormone assay displayed a 68% decrease in parathyroid hormone (PTH) compared with baseline value, and the histologic examination of the two inferior parathyroid glands revealed the presence of invasive parathyroid carcinoma. After reviewing the case, we hypothesized that in the presence of chronic parathyroid stimulation, the hyperplasia of the gland may subsequently be transformed into carcinoma. In patients undergoing hemodialysis, the predominance of females in cases of carcinoma of the parathyroid might be accounted for by a hormonal mechanism or by statistical artifacts attributable to the small number of case histories available. Further analysis was made of the apparently favorable prognosis of this type of patient compared with sporadic parathyroid carcinomas; the mean follow-up period reported in the literature was 42.2 months, with a relapse rate of 15.8%.

Synchronous bilateral renal tumour: a case report.

We report a case of synchronous bilateral renal carcinoma treated by partial nephrectomy on the right and total nephrectomy on the left. Follow-up at 42 months after surgery showed no recurrence of the disease. The increasing use of diagnostic imaging techniques such as ultrasound tomography, computerised tomography and nuclear magnetic resonance now allows even small-sized renal formations to be identified. Synchronous bilateral renal tumour has a favourable prognosis, especially when compared with single or asynchronous renal tumours. The recommended intervention is total monolateral nephrectomy combined with partial nephrectomy. The treatment of neoplasms at a more advanced stage, of such a nature as to necessitate bilateral nephrectomy or chemotherapy, results in a significant increase in mortality. Recently, biological therapy has been proposed as a more promising short-term option using interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) and gamma.

Sclerosing papillary carcinoma arising in a lingual thyroid: report of a case.

Ectopic lingual thyroid tissue is an uncommon congenital anomaly. Tumors with identical pathological characteristics to those arising in thyroid tissue may be present in ectopic locations, but there are very few cases of malignant ectopic thyroid tumors reported in the literature. We present a review of this phenomenon and report a case of papillary carcinoma of the base of the tongue, located in ectopic lingual thyroid tissue, in a 30-year-old woman. The patient's presenting symptoms were dysphagia and oral bleeding, and we performed radical resection of the neoformation at the base of the tongue with part of the muscles of the floor of the mouth and the body of the hyoid bone, as well as total thyroidectomy. Histological examination revealed a "sclerosing" papillary carcinoma. The patient was treated with 131I and substitutive thyroid hormonal therapy. An ultrasonogram done 5 years later showed bilateral laterocervical lymph node recurrence, which was effectively treated with bilateral laterocervical lymphectomy.