2020-10-01 2020, Volume 10 Issue 2

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  • research-article
    Monet Stevenson , Hirendra Nath Banerjee , Narendra Banerjee , Kuldeep Rawat , Lin Chen , Myla Worthington , Sasha Hodge , Rayshawn Walker , Mukesh Verma , Fazlul Sarkar , Santosh Mandal

    Considering the prevalence of prostate cancer all over the world, it is desired to have tools, technologies, and biomarkers which help in early detection of the disease and discriminate different races and ethnic groups. Genetic information from the single gene analysis and genome-wide association studies have identified few biomarkers, however, the drivers of prostate cancer remain unknown in the majority of prostate cancer patients. In those cases where genetic association has been identified, the genes confer only a modest risk of this cancer, hence, making them less relevant for risk counseling and disease management. There is a need for additional biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis of prostate cancer. MicroRNAs are a class of non-protein coding RNA molecules that are frequently dysregulated in different cancers including prostate cancer and show promise as diagnostic biomarkers and targets for therapy. Here we describe the role of micro RNA 146a (miR-146a) which may serve as a diagnostic and prognostic marker for prostate cancer, as indicated from the data presented in this report. Also, a pilot study indicated differential expression of miR-146a in prostate cancer cell lines and tissues from different racial groups. Reduced expression of miR-146a was observed in African American tumor tissues compared to those from European Whites This report provides a novel insight into understanding the prostate carcinogenesis.

  • research-article
    Noha F. Elaidy , Hanan Lotfy Mohammed , Mona Salah , Abd el motaleb Mohamed

    Introduction: Endometrial cancer (EC) is one of the most prevalent malignant tumors of the female reproductive system worldwide. Annexins are membrane binding proteins with important role in tumor development and progression. Human Epididymis Protein (HE-4) is a novel marker for gynecolgical tumors. Claudins are proteins of tight junction category playing an important role in cell adhesion and tumor spread. Material and methods: Seventy blocks of paraffin-embedded tissues of endometrial carcinoma cases. Immunohistochemical evaluation of Annexin II, HE- 4 and Claudin-7 staining was performed. Clinical follow-up to all cases was done every three months. Results: Positive Annexin II,HE-4 expression were observed in 88.6% and 77.1% of EC respectively. Significant correlation was found between expression of both Annexin II and HE-4 and FIGO stage, decreased both overall and disease free survival rates. Positive Claudin-7 expression was observed in 40% of EC, with significant correlation with high grade only, however, no correlation with other clinical parameters or survival analysis was detected. Conclusion: Annexin II, HE-4 and Claudin-7 are prognostic factors for endometrial carcinoma and could be used in molecular targeted therapy.

  • research-article
    Jonathan Velazquez-Mujica , Willerd Cadavid , Andrea DonFrancesco , Dicle Aksoyler , Hung-chi Chen

    Plexiform neurofibromatosis is an autosomal dominant and is frequently seen at birth. Surgical excision is asociate to facial nerve damage and profussal bleeding. Sequential multi-layered hemostatic sutures is a technique frequently used in our practice for Arterio-veous malfromations (AVM). 15 patiets with facial plexiform neurofibroma were treated from 2004 to 2020 with surgical excision, in all patients the hemifacial area was affected. Although preoperative embolization is well known as a safe technique to reduce intraoperative bleeding, low rates of serious complications were reported as stroke, ischemic attack and necrosis. The multi-layered hemostatic sutures permit to remove piecewise the tumor avoiding dramatically bleeding in all our procedures, and is based on vessel collapse after mechanical ligation. The sequential multi-layer suture and the retrograde disection of the facial nerve in our practice has decresed the average of iatrogenic damage of nerve, and massive bleeding during the excision of the plexiform neurofibroma.

  • research-article
    Eman T. El-taher , Maha Lotfy Zamzam , Ahmed Mustafa Elzawawy , Wael Abdo Hassan , Marwa A. Suliman

    Objective: The current study was carried out to assess the prognostic value of androgen receptor expression in urothelial carcinoma of the bladder and correlate it to the disease outcome. Methods: Histologically confirmed cases of bladder urothelial carcinoma were studied. Clinical, pathological, and radiological data were collected. Paraffin embedded tissue sections were submitted for hematoxylin and eosin staining, as well as immunohistochemical staining for androgen receptor in tumor cells. Results: Nuclear androgen receptor expression was positive in 75% of the studied histopathological specimens. Additionally, a significant positive association between androgen receptor expression and tumor grade, muscle invasion & tumor size were noticed. Conclusions: There is a significant association between large tumor size, high grade, deep invasion, and expression of Androgen receptor in urothelial bladder carcinoma. Antiandrogen could be an effective chemo preventive or therapeutic approach in treatment of urothelial bladder carcinoma.

  • research-article
    Lisa Anne Sheehan , Greg Mark Britten , Sarah Elizabeth Clark

    This small prospective pilot study of 17 patients evaluated the efficacy of PECS block in preventing both immediate and long term post-operative pain after mastectomy. It describes the technique for performing a PECS blockade and demonstrated very low pain scores in both the peri-operative period and at 6 months.

  • research-article
    Mohammed E. Grawish , Mona Denewar , Rehab A. Ahmed , Amr Abouzid , Doaa AM Esmaeil , Mohamed I. Mourad

    Background and aim: Tumor-stroma ratio (TSR) is the proportion of tumor cells to surrounding stroma. TSR was reported in many carcinomas as an independent strong, prognostic parameter, and could be applied routinely in diagnostic pathology. This study aimed to clarify the association between prognosis and TSR of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and to evaluate its correlations with the clinical stages and histological grades of the studied cases. Materials and Methods: One hundred thirty-nine anti-vimentin stained slides were digitized and analyzed for TSR scoring. TSR was classified as stroma rich (< 50%) and stroma poor ( $\ge 50\mathrm{\%}$ ). Correlations between clinicopathological variables and TSR were assessed. Results: Microscopical examination of the studied cases revealed that 67(48.2%) were stroma-rich and 72(51.8%) were stroma-poor. Overall findings explained that stroma rich group had larger size, higher clinical stage, higher recurrence rate with a low disease free survival (DFS) and worse overall survival (OS) than the stroma poor. Conclusion: The clinical outcomes of stroma rich OSCC is poor as it is associated with decreased OS and DFS of patients. Hence, TSR may be used as a prognostic independent factor for OSCC and thus, TSR can be considered as an important, low cost and valuable parameter that could be used in addition to the TNM status. Moreover, TSR might be helpful for the judgment of prognosis and for the determination of OSCC high-risk patients to treat them individually.