Papillary adenocarcinoma of the stomach with psammoma bodies: report of two cases. (1/282)

Calcification of gastric carcinoma is unusual and most of the reported cases were of the mucinous type. This report describes two cases of papillo-tubular adenocarcinoma of the stomach with psammomatous calcification confined only to the papillary portion. Calcification was so heavy that specimen X-ray was able to clearly delineate its distribution. Microscopically, the calcification was confined to the papillary carcinoma area and was not found in the area of the tubular adenocarcinoma. Polymorphic calcific bodies were found in the supportive stroma of papillae and extrapapillary spaces as concentrically laminated psammoma bodies. They were also found in tumor cells as minute corpuscles. The mechanism of neoplastic mineralization in these cases seemed different from ontogenic calcification of mucinous gastric carcinoma and we postulated the mechanism of psammomatous calcification which is referred as intracellular calcification.  (+info)

Mucin Hypersecreting Intraductal Papillary Neoplasm of the pancreas. (2/282)

Mucin Hypersecreting Intraductal Papillary Neoplasm is a rare neoplasm that arises from ductal epithelial cells. This entity is distinct from the more commonly known Mucinous Cystadenoma or Mucinous Cystadenocarcinoma. Despite this distinction, it has been erroneously categorized with these more common cystic neoplasms. Characteristic clinical presentation, radiographic, and endoscopic findings help distinguish this neoplasm from the cystadenomas and cystadenocarcinomas. Histopathologic identification is not crucial to the preoperative diagnosis. This neoplasm is considered to represent a premalignant condition and, therefore, surgical resection is warranted. Prognosis, following resection, is felt to be curative for the majority of patients. We present two cases of Mucin Hypersecreting Intraductal Papillary Neoplasm and discuss their diagnosis and surgical therapy.  (+info)

Clinical significance of magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography for the diagnosis of cystic tumor of the pancreas compared with endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography and computed tomography. (3/282)

BACKGROUND: Cystic tumor of the pancreas has been investigated by a variety of imaging techniques. Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) is being widely used as a non-invasive diagnostic modality for investigation of the biliary tree and pancreatic duct system. The purpose of this study was to compare MRCP images with those of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) and computed tomography (CT) in order to clarify the diagnostic efficacy of MRCP for cystic tumor of the pancreas. METHODS: We retrospectively studied 15 patients with cystic tumor of the pancreas that had been surgically resected and histopathologically confirmed. There were five cases of intraductal papillary adenocarcinoma, five of intraductal papillary adenoma, two of serous cyst adenoma, two of retention cyst associated with invasive ductal adenocarcinoma and one of solid cystic tumor. RESULTS: In all cases MRCP correctly identified the main pancreatic duct (MPD) and showed the entire cystic tumor and the communication between the tumor and the MPD. On the other hand, the detection rate by ERCP of the cystic tumor and the communication between the cystic tumor and the MPD was only 60%. Although the detection rates by CT for the septum and solid components inside the cystic tumor were 100 and 90.0%, respectively, those of MRCP for each were 58.3 and 20.0%. CONCLUSION: MRCP is capable of providing diagnostic information superior to ERCP for the diagnosis of cystic tumor of the pancreas. Although MRCP may provide complementary information about the whole lesion of interest, the characteristic internal features of cystic tumor of the pancrease should be carefully diagnosed in combination with CT.  (+info)

Localized amyloidosis in canine mammary tumors. (4/282)

Histopathologic and immunohistochemical examinations were performed on localized amyloidosis associated with mammary tumors in two dogs. These tumors were identified as adenoma and adenocarcinoma. An acellular, amorphous pale eosinophilic material (amyloid) was observed in the lumina of acini lined by neoplastic cells and in the stroma of the tumors. Concentrically laminated pale eosinophilic bodies (corpora amylacea) were also found in the lumina of the acini. Amyloid and corpora amylacea stained positively with Congo red with and without 5% potassium permanganate pretreatment and revealed a green birefringence under polarized light. Corpora amylacea showed an occasional Maltese-cross pattern. Immunohistochemically, amyloid and corpora amylacea usually stained positively with anti-bovine alpha-casein antibody but negatively with anti-human amyloid AA, anti-bovine kappa-light and lambda-light chains, anti-human lactoferrin, anti-human transferrin, anti-human secretory component, and anti-human polyglucosan antibodies. These findings suggested that the amyloid deposition in these canine mammary tumors was related to lactating casein.  (+info)

Severe hypoglycaemia caused by raised insulin-like growth factor II in disseminated breast cancer. (5/282)

A 60 year old woman with disseminated ductal carcinoma of the breast developed non-islet cell tumour induced hypoglycaemia (NICTH). The concentrations of the two insulin-like growth factors, IGF-I and IGF-II, were < 2 nmol/l and 94.1 nmol/l, respectively. The IGF-II to IGF-I ratio was > 47 (normal < 10). Insulin (< 3 mu/l) and C peptide (< 100 pmol/l) were both undetectable.  (+info)

Primary carcinoma of the fallopian tube coexisting with benign cystic teratoma of the ovary. (6/282)

Primary carcinoma of the fallopian tube is a rare malignancy of the female genital tract and infrequently diagnosed before an operation. The majority of patients have extensive disease at the time of diagnosis. We have experienced incidentally a case of a carcinoma of the fallopian tube coexisting with a benign cystic teratoma of the ovary in a 25-year-old woman. We report this case with a brief review of literatures.  (+info)

Potential allogeneic graft-versus-tumor effect in a patient with ovarian cancer. (7/282)

A 33-year-old woman developed progressive ovarian cancer resistant to classical chemotherapy agents. We performed a bone marrow allograft after a myeloablative regimen. During hematological recovery, she developed acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). From this time her tumor diminished progressively. One year post transplant she has limited chronic liver GVHD and is still free of disease. The complete remission of advanced ovarian cancer was probably related to the GVHD which might therefore provide a new treatment option for this disease.  (+info)

Frequent activation of AKT2 and induction of apoptosis by inhibition of phosphoinositide-3-OH kinase/Akt pathway in human ovarian cancer. (8/282)

We previously demonstrated that AKT2, a member of protein kinase B family, is activated by a number of growth factors via Ras and PI 3-kinase signaling pathways. Here, we report the frequent activation of AKT2 in human primary ovarian cancer and induction of apoptosis by inhibition of phosphoinositide-3-OH kinase (PI 3-kinase)/Akt pathway. In vitro AKT2 kinase assay analyses in 91 ovarian cancer specimens revealed elevated levels of AKT2 activity (>3-fold) in 33 cases (36.3%). The majority of tumors displaying activated AKT2 were high grade and stages III and IV. Immunostaining and Western blot analyses using a phospho-ser-473 Akt antibody that detects the activated form of AKT2 (AKT2 phosphorylated at serine-474) confirmed the frequent activation of AKT2 in ovarian cancer specimens. Phosphorylated AKT2 in tumor specimens localized to the cell membrane and cytoplasm but not the nucleus. To address the mechanism of AKT2 activation, we measured in vitro PI 3-kinase activity in 43 ovarian cancer specimens, including the 33 cases displaying elevated AKT2 activation. High levels of PI 3-kinase activity were observed in 20 cases, 15 of which also exhibited AKT2 activation. The remaining five cases displayed elevated AKT1 activation. Among the cases with elevated AKT2, but not PI 3-kinase activity (18 cases), three showed down-regulation of PTEN protein expression. Inhibition of PI 3-kinase/AKT2 by wortmannin or LY294002 induces apoptosis in ovarian cancer cells exhibiting activation of the PI 3-kinase/AKT2 pathway. These findings demonstrate for the first time that activation of AKT2 is a common occurrence in human ovarian cancer and that PI 3-kinase/Akt pathway may be an important target for ovarian cancer intervention.  (+info)