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The American Journal of Dermatopathology Jun 2024Microsecretory adenocarcinoma (MSA) was first described in 2019 as a low-grade salivary gland neoplasm of intraoral origin with distinct histopathologic features and a...
Microsecretory adenocarcinoma (MSA) was first described in 2019 as a low-grade salivary gland neoplasm of intraoral origin with distinct histopathologic features and a characteristic MEF2C::SS18 fusion. Recently, skin was also identified as a primary site for MSA in a report by Bishop et al. Due to its rarity and resemblance to other adnexal tumors, MSA is a challenging diagnosis. Herein, we present a case of cutaneous MSA that was unique for the presence of a significant microcystic component and marked adnexal hyperplasia, which mimicked myxoid microcystic adnexal carcinoma (MAC). A 58-year-old presented with a 1 year history of an enlarging eyelid nodule. Histopathologic analysis revealed dermal tumor composed of small tubules containing inspissated bluish mucinous material. Accompanying marked adnexal hyperplasia and many microcysts were also present. Tumor cells expressed S100 protein, which is distinct from MAC, while p63 immunohistochemistry showed marked loss of myoepithelial labeling, as is common in primary adenocarcinomas. Next generation gene sequencing detected the characteristic MSA fusion protein MEF2c::SS18. We report a novel presentation of MSA that simulated MAC because of the presence of associated microcystic change. The presence of S100 immunopositivity and the identification of MEF2C::SS18 fusion confirmed the diagnosis of cutaneous MSA.
PubMed: 38941552
DOI: 10.1097/DAD.0000000000002788 -
Dermatologie (Heidelberg, Germany) Jun 2024Chronic pruritus affecting primary non-lesional skin (CPNL) manifests as a common symptom across a spectrum of diseases spanning various medical specialties. Given the... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Chronic pruritus affecting primary non-lesional skin (CPNL) manifests as a common symptom across a spectrum of diseases spanning various medical specialties. Given the diverse etiological factors involved, diagnosing the underlying condition poses a significant challenge.
OBJECTIVES
To provide a comprehensive overview of clinical, laboratory, and imaging diagnostics for CPNL.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
A thorough literature search on the diagnostics of chronic pruritus was conducted using PubMed with specific keywords "chronic pruritus AND non-lesional skin", "chronic itch AND non-lesional skin", "chronic pruritus AND diagnostics", "chronic itch AND diagnostics", "CKD-aP", "hepatic pruritus", "cholestatic pruritus", and "myeloproliferative neoplasms AND pruritus".
RESULTS
A systematic diagnostic approach is recommended for patients with CPNL, guided by the prevalence of pruritus-associated diseases. Initial basic diagnostics facilitate a cost-effective and focused evaluation during the initial medical assessment. Information pertaining to underlying diseases can be further refined through specialized diagnostic procedures.
CONCLUSIONS
CPNL often presents a diagnostic dilemma. Adopting a stepwise diagnostic strategy facilitates the identification of underlying etiologies, which is crucial for recognizing diseases and administering pruritus-specific pharmacotherapy.
PubMed: 38940941
DOI: 10.1007/s00105-024-05380-1 -
European Radiology Jun 2024This study aimed to compare the safety and effectiveness of tunneled peripherally inserted central catheters (T-PICC) vs. conventional PICCs (C-PICC) in adult cancer...
OBJECTIVES
This study aimed to compare the safety and effectiveness of tunneled peripherally inserted central catheters (T-PICC) vs. conventional PICCs (C-PICC) in adult cancer patients.
METHODS
A multicentre randomized controlled trial was conducted between April 2021 and January 2022 in seven hospitals in China. 564 participants were randomly assigned to T-PICC or C-PICC. These data were collected and compared: the baseline characteristics and catheterization-related characteristics, periprocedural complications, and long-term complications.
RESULTS
Five-hundred fifty-three participants (aged, 52.6 ± 12.3 years; female, 39.1%) were ultimately analyzed. No significant differences in periprocedural complications were found between the T-PICC and C-PICC groups (all p > 0.05). Compared with C-PICC, T-PICC significantly reduced the incidence of long-term complications (26.4% vs. 39.9%, p < 0.001). Specifically, reduced complications were found in central line-associated bloodstream infection (1.8% vs. 5.1%, p = 0.04), thrombosis (1.1% vs. 4.0%, p = 0.03), catheter dislodgement (4.7% vs. 10.1%, p = 0.01), non-infectious oozing (17.3% vs. 28.6%, p = 0.002), local infection (3.6% vs. 7.6%, p = 0.04), skin irritation (6.1% vs. 10.9%, p = 0.046), and reduced unplanned catheter removal (2.2% vs. 7.2%, p = 0.005). No significant differences were found between T-PICC and C-PICC regarding catheter occlusion (6.5% vs. 5.8%, p = 0.73) or skin damage (2.2% vs. 2.9%, p = 0.58).
CONCLUSION
T-PICC is safe and effectively reduces long-term complications.
CLINICAL RELEVANCE STATEMENT
The tunneled technique is effective in reducing PICC-related long-term complications. Thus, it is recommended for cancer patients at high risk of PICC-related complications.
TRIAL REGISTRATION
The registration number on https://www.chictr.org.cn/ is ChiCTR2100044632. The name of the trial registry is "A multicenter randomized controlled study of clinical use of tunneled vs. non-tunneled PICC".
KEY POINTS
Cather-related complications are associated with the technique of catheterization. Compared with conventional PICC, tunneled PICC reduced catheter-related long-term complications. Tunneled PICC placement provides an alternative catheterization method for cancer patients.
PubMed: 38940828
DOI: 10.1007/s00330-024-10852-y -
Bioinformatics (Oxford, England) Jun 2024Multimodal profiling strategies promise to produce more informative insights into biomedical cohorts via the integration of the information each modality contributes. To...
MOTIVATION
Multimodal profiling strategies promise to produce more informative insights into biomedical cohorts via the integration of the information each modality contributes. To perform this integration, however, the development of novel analytical strategies is needed. Multimodal profiling strategies often come at the expense of lower sample numbers, which can challenge methods to uncover shared signals across a cohort. Thus, factor analysis approaches are commonly used for the analysis of high-dimensional data in molecular biology, however, they typically do not yield representations that are directly interpretable, whereas many research questions often center around the analysis of pathways associated with specific observations.
RESULTS
We develop PathFA, a novel approach for multimodal factor analysis over the space of pathways. PathFA produces integrative and interpretable views across multimodal profiling technologies, which allow for the derivation of concrete hypotheses. PathFA combines a pathway-learning approach with integrative multimodal capability under a Bayesian procedure that is efficient, hyper-parameter free, and able to automatically infer observation noise from the data. We demonstrate strong performance on small sample sizes within our simulation framework and on matched proteomics and transcriptomics profiles from real tumor samples taken from the Swiss Tumor Profiler consortium. On a subcohort of melanoma patients, PathFA recovers pathway activity that has been independently associated with poor outcome. We further demonstrate the ability of this approach to identify pathways associated with the presence of specific cell-types as well as tumor heterogeneity. Our results show that we capture known biology, making it well suited for analyzing multimodal sample cohorts.
AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION
The tool is implemented in python and available at https://github.com/ratschlab/path-fa.
Topics: Humans; Bayes Theorem; Proteomics; Factor Analysis, Statistical; Gene Expression Profiling; Melanoma; Algorithms; Computational Biology
PubMed: 38940152
DOI: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btae216 -
Frontiers in Bioscience (Landmark... Jun 2024This study investigated the mechanism by which tazarotene-induced gene 1 (TIG1) inhibits melanoma cell growth. The main focus was to analyze downstream genes regulated...
BACKGROUND
This study investigated the mechanism by which tazarotene-induced gene 1 (TIG1) inhibits melanoma cell growth. The main focus was to analyze downstream genes regulated by TIG1 in melanoma cells and its impact on cell growth.
METHODS
The effects of TIG1 expression on cell viability and death were assessed using water-soluble tetrazolium 1 (WST-1) mitochondrial staining and lactate dehydrogenase release assays. RNA sequencing and Western blot analysis were employed to investigate the genes regulated by TIG1 in melanoma cells. Additionally, the correlation between expression and its downstream genes was analyzed in a melanoma tissue array.
RESULTS
TIG1 expression in melanoma cells was associated with decreased cell viability and increased cell death. RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq), quantitative reverse transcription PCR (reverse RT-QPCR), and immunoblots revealed that TIG1 expression induced the expression of Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER) stress response-related genes such as Homocysteine-responsive endoplasmic reticulum-resident ubiquitin-like domain member 1 (HERPUD1), Binding immunoglobulin protein (BIP), and DNA damage-inducible transcript 3 (DDIT3). Furthermore, analysis of the melanoma tissue array revealed a positive correlation between expression and the expression of , , and . Additionally, attenuation of the ER stress response in melanoma cells weakened the impact of TIG1 on cell growth.
CONCLUSIONS
TIG1 expression effectively hinders the growth of melanoma cells. TIG1 induces the upregulation of ER stress response-related genes, leading to an increase in caspase-3 activity and subsequent cell death. These findings suggest that the ability of retinoic acid to prevent melanoma formation may be associated with the anticancer effect of TIG1.
Topics: Humans; Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress; Melanoma; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Survival; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; Cell Death; Apoptosis; Cell Proliferation; Membrane Proteins
PubMed: 38940043
DOI: 10.31083/j.fbl2906233 -
Frontiers in Bioscience (Landmark... Jun 2024This study investigated the impact of salvianolic acids, derived from Danshen, on melanoma cell growth. Specifically, we assessed the ability of salvianolic acid A (Sal...
BACKGROUND
This study investigated the impact of salvianolic acids, derived from Danshen, on melanoma cell growth. Specifically, we assessed the ability of salvianolic acid A (Sal A) to modulate melanoma cell proliferation.
METHODS
We used human melanoma A2058 and A375 cell lines to investigate the effects of Sal A on cell proliferation and death by measuring bromodeoxyuridine incorporation and lactate dehydrogenase release. We assessed cell viability and cycle progression using water soluble tetrazolium salt-1 (WST-1) mitochondrial staining and propidium iodide. Additionally, we used a phospho-kinase array to investigate intracellular kinase phosphorylation, specifically measuring the influence of Sal A on checkpoint kinase-2 (Chk-2) via western blot analysis.
RESULTS
Sal A inhibited the growth of A2058 and A375 cells dose-responsively and induced cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase. Notably, Sal A selectively induces Chk-2 phosphorylation without affecting Chk-1, thereby degrading Chk-2-regulated genes and . However, Sal A does not affect the Chk1-Cdc25C pathway.
CONCLUSIONS
Salvianolic acids, especially Sal A, effectively hinder melanoma cell growth by inducing Chk-2 phosphorylation and disrupting G2/M checkpoint regulation.
Topics: Humans; Checkpoint Kinase 2; cdc25 Phosphatases; Melanoma; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Proliferation; Lactates; Caffeic Acids; Signal Transduction; Phosphorylation; Cell Survival
PubMed: 38940031
DOI: 10.31083/j.fbl2906213 -
Oncoimmunology 2024The need for reliable biomarkers to predict clinical benefit from anti-PD1 treatment in metastatic melanoma (MM) patients remains unmet. Several parameters have been...
The need for reliable biomarkers to predict clinical benefit from anti-PD1 treatment in metastatic melanoma (MM) patients remains unmet. Several parameters have been considered in the tumor environment or the blood, but none has yet achieved sufficient accuracy for routine clinical practice. Whole blood samples from MM patients receiving second-line anti-PD1 treatment (NCT02626065), collected longitudinally, were analyzed by flow cytometry to assess the immune cell subsets absolute numbers, the expression of immune checkpoints or ligands on T cells and the functionality of innate immune cells and T cells. Clinical response was assessed according to Progression-Free Survival (PFS) status at one-year following initiation of anti-PD1 (responders: PFS > 1 year; non-responders: PFS ≤ 1 year). At baseline, several phenotypic and functional alterations in blood immune cells were observed in MM patients compared to healthy donors, but only the proportion of polyfunctional memory CD4+ T cells was associated with response to anti-PD1. Under treatment, a decreased frequency of HVEM on CD4+ and CD8+ T cells after 3 months of treatment identified responding patients, whereas its receptor BTLA was not modulated. Both reduced proportion of CD69-expressing CD4+ and CD8+ T cells and increased number of polyfunctional blood memory T cells after 3 months of treatment were associated with response to anti-PD1. Of upmost importance, the combination of changes of all these markers accurately discriminated between responding and non-responding patients. These results suggest that drugs targeting HVEM/BTLA pathway may be of interest to improve anti-PD1 efficacy.
Topics: Humans; Melanoma; Male; Receptors, Immunologic; Female; Middle Aged; Aged; Programmed Cell Death 1 Receptor; Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor, Member 14; Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors; Adult; Treatment Outcome; CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes
PubMed: 38939518
DOI: 10.1080/2162402X.2024.2372118 -
Cureus May 2024Hidradenoma papilliferum (HP) is a benign adnexal tumor, commonly affecting the anogenital region of middle-aged women. Clinically, HP typically presents as a...
Hidradenoma papilliferum (HP) is a benign adnexal tumor, commonly affecting the anogenital region of middle-aged women. Clinically, HP typically presents as a slow-growing, unilateral, well-circumscribed, smooth skin-colored cystic dermal nodule, usually growing less than 1 cm in size. Reports of ectopic HP are exceedingly rare but have been identified in areas containing modified apocrine gland structures, most commonly on the head and neck, and have included ceruminous glands of the external ear canal, the Moll glands of the eyelid, mammary glands of the breast, maxillofacial region and areas on the scalp. To the best of our knowledge, there is only one case of ectopic HP located on the external ear canal reported in English literature. We present a second case of draining ectopic HP located on the conchal bowl of the external ear canal.
PubMed: 38939294
DOI: 10.7759/cureus.61237 -
Open Veterinary Journal May 2024Canine transmissible venereal tumor (CTVT) is a widely spread, contagious neoplasm commonly found in dogs. Mostly affects the external genitalia, however, it may also...
BACKGROUND
Canine transmissible venereal tumor (CTVT) is a widely spread, contagious neoplasm commonly found in dogs. Mostly affects the external genitalia, however, it may also exhibit unusual clinical presentations.
AIM
To describe the epidemiology, clinical appearance, cytologic and histopathologic features of dogs with TVT in Morocco.
METHODS
Within the realm of a nation-wide study on canine and feline tumors in Morocco between September 2020 and March 2023, dogs with histologically diagnosed TVT were identified and data on epidemiologic, clinical as well as cytologic, and histologic features were compiled and analyzed.
RESULTS
A total of 64 cases of canine TVT were diagnosed. 52 dogs were cross-breed (81.2%) while 4 Siberian Huskies (6.2%) and 3 German shepherds (4.7%) were the most affected pure-breed dogs. The median age of dogs at diagnosis was 3 years (range, 1-10years) and male gender was more common (male:female ratio; 1.3:1). Tumor was located exclusively in the genital area in 58 cases (90.6%), whereas 6 dogs (9.4%) had an atypical occurrence of TVT with locations including skin and nasal cavity. Cytology allowed for an early diagnosis in 2 cases. Histology revealed no differences between the genital and extragenital forms. Immunohistochemistry was necessary in 4 cases and revealed positive staining for vimentin and Alpha-1-antitrypsin, negative marking for CD3, CD20, and AE1/AE3, and low cytoplasmic labeling for lysozyme.
CONCLUSION
CTVT is a widely distributed neoplasm in Morocco, mostly showing presence in young, cross-breed, and oftentimes stray dogs. An adequate understanding of this tumor's epidemiological features is necessary for its management and eradication.
Topics: Dogs; Animals; Dog Diseases; Morocco; Male; Female; Venereal Tumors, Veterinary; Epidemiologic Studies
PubMed: 38938432
DOI: 10.5455/OVJ.2024.v14.i5.16 -
BMC Women's Health Jun 2024Peutz-Jeghers syndrome (PJS) is characterized by the presence of hamartomatous polyps in the gastrointestinal tract and mucocutaneous pigmentation on the lips, oral... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Peutz-Jeghers syndrome (PJS) is characterized by the presence of hamartomatous polyps in the gastrointestinal tract and mucocutaneous pigmentation on the lips, oral mucosa, nose, fingers, and toes. Synchronous mucinous metaplasia and neoplasia of the female genital tract (SMMN-FGT) refers to the occurrence of multifocal mucinous lesions in at least two sites, including the cervix, uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries, in the female genital tract. SMMN-FGT and PJS are rare diseases with a very low incidence, especially when occurring simultaneously.
CASE PRESENTATION
We report a case in which a woman with a large mass on the left ovary underwent a gynecological surgery and was diagnosed with cervical gastric-type adenocarcinoma and mucinous lesions in the endometrium, bilateral fallopian tubes, and ovary, i.e., SMMN-FGT, by postoperative paraffin pathology. The patient sought medical attention for abdominal distension and enlargement. A gynecological ultrasound revealed a multilocular cystic mass in the pelvis, while serum tumor markers were within normal limits, with mildly elevated carbohydrate antigen 199 and carbohydrate antigen 125 levels. Cervical thin-prep cytology test result was negative. The patient had a family history of PJS with black spots on her skin and mucous membranes since the age of 8 years. She underwent multiple partial small bowel resections and gastrointestinal polypectomy owing to intestinal obstruction and intussusception. She underwent left adnexectomy, hysterectomy, right salpingectomy, greater omental resection, appendectomy and right ovary biopsy, and received six courses of adjuvant chemotherapy with Lopressor plus Carboplatin. Genetic testing revealed a heterozygous serine threonine kinase 11 germline mutation and there were no signs of recurrence during the 18-month follow-up period after treatment.
CONCLUSIONS
This is a rare case in which PJS was complicated by SMMN-FGT. Owing to its extreme rarity, there are no guidelines, but reported cases appear to indicate a poor prognosis. We retrospectively reviewed all cases of collisions between PJS and SMMN-FGT and explored the clinical features, pathological characteristics, diagnosis, treatment methods, and prognosis when the two diseases coexisted. The aim is to deepen the clinicians' understanding of this disease for early detection, diagnosis and treatment.
Topics: Humans; Female; Peutz-Jeghers Syndrome; Metaplasia; Genital Neoplasms, Female; Adenocarcinoma, Mucinous; Ovarian Neoplasms; Adult; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms; Neoplasms, Multiple Primary
PubMed: 38937781
DOI: 10.1186/s12905-024-03184-y