Effects of acetylsalicylic acid and acetic acid solutions on VX2 liver carcinoma in rabbits: in vivo analysis

OBJETIVO: Analisar os efeitos das soluções de aspirina e de ácido acético, in vivo, em fígado de coelhos portadores de tumor hepático VX2, verificando o efeito histolítico e anatomo-patológico das soluções e eventuais alterações bioquímicas hepáticas. MÉTODOS: Utilizou-se 48 coelhos, divididos em 2 protocolos experimentais(3 e 4), subdivididos em 3 grupos cada. Após 4 dias da implantação do tumor no fígado, procedeu-se a laparotomia mediana, com injeção de 0,4 ml da solução de aspirina (5,0%), de ácido acético (5,0%) e solução salina; o sacrifício ocorreu apos 24 horas (protocolo 3) e 11 dias (protocolo 4); avaliou-se o peso, evolução clinica, dosagens bioquímicas, cavidade abdominal e torácica e microscopia do fígado. RESULTADOS: Não foram observadas alterações na evolução clinica, peso e nas dosagens bioquímicas, apenas elevação da fosfatase alcalina no grupo controle do protocolo 4. Observamos desaparecimento do tumor em ambos os protocolos. CONCLUSÃO: As soluções de ácido acético e ácido acetilsalicílico acarretam destruição do tumor hepático experimental.

Outcome of superficial squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus: a clinicopathological study

PURPOSE: To analyze the clinicopathological features and outcome of patients with pathologically proven superficial squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus. METHODS: A total of 234 consecutive cases of esophageal carcinoma in a 15-year period were reviewed. RESULTS: Superficial esophageal cancer was found in five patients (2.1%). They were four men and one woman and the mean age was 52.5 years. Smoking and alcohol were the main risk factors. Achalasia due to Chagas disease occurred in one patient and a second primary tumor developed in the larynx in another patient. Four patients underwent esophagectomy and one patient received chemoradiotherapy. The histopathologic diagnosis was of squamous cell carcinoma in all cases. Intramucosal tumor (Tis) was identified in three cases and superficially invasive carcinoma in two cases. Four patients are free of disease with survival times of two, four, six and nine years. The patient who developed laryngeal cancer died six years after esophagectomy. CONCLUSION: Long-term survival in patients with esophageal cancer is related to early diagnosis. Therefore, a less aggressive surgical approach, such as endoscopic resection, may be a good option for these patients, if depth of tumor invasion can be accurately predicted by the new imaging tools.

Terapêutica no carcinoma de células escamosas cutâneo em gatos

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Paracoccidioidomicose em paciente com carcinoma do colo uterino

Os autores relatam caso de paciente do sexo feminino com paracoccidioidomicose, associada a carcinoma do colo uterino estádio IIIB. Paracoccidioidomicose, associada à neoplasia, ocorre entre 0,16% a 14,1% segundo diferentes séries de casos. em casos com neoplasia disseminada a infecção fúngicas pode apresentar comportamento oportunístico

Expression of p53, Ki-67, and CD31 in the vaginal margins of radical hysterectomy in patients with stage IB carcinoma of the cervix

Objectives. This study was undertaken to evaluate the expression of p53, Ki-67, and CD31 both in the tumor and in the vaginal margins of radical hysterectomy in patients with stage IB squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix, as an attempt to use these proteins as possible markers for residual tumor in cervical cancer.Methods. Thirty patients with stage IB squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix were submitted to radical hysterectomy (study group), and thirty patients with uterine myoma were submitted to vaginal hysterectomy (control group) and were prospectively studied from November 2001 to September 2002. Tissue samples were taken from the tumor or cervix, anterior vaginal margin (AVM), and posterior vaginal margin (PVM) and were immunohistochemically evaluated by monoclonal antibodies for p53, Ki-67, and CD31. Vaginal samples in which the histological examination showed tumor involvement were excluded from the study.Results. Patient's mean age was 48.7 +/- 10.4 years (27-73 years). The clinical stage was IB1 in 22 patients (73.3%) and IB2 in eight patients (26.7%). The expressions of p53, Ki-67, and CD31 were significantly higher in the tumor than in the benign cervix (P < 0.001). Higher expressions of these markers were noted in the vaginal margins of radical hysterectomy in patients with cervical carcinoma compared to the vaginal margins of control patients. This association was demonstrated for p53 in the AVM proximal (P = 0.045), for Ki-67 in AVM proximal (P < 0.001), AVM distal (P < 0.001), PVM proximal (P = 0.009), and PVM distal (P < 0.001), and for CD31 in AVM proximal (P = 0.003) and AVM distal (P = 0.018). There was no difference in p53, Ki-67, and CD31 expression between the proximal and distal regions of the vaginal margins in patients with carcinoma of the cervix.Conclusion. The expressions of p53, Ki-67, and CD31 were significantly higher in both the histologically positive (cervical tumor) and negative (vaginal margins) tissues of patients who had undergone radical hysterectomy for cervical cancer compared to the benign control tissues. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

DUCTAL CARCINOMA IN-SITU OF THE BREAST - HISTOLOGIC CATEGORIZATION AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO PLOIDY AND IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL EXPRESSION OF HORMONE RECEPTORS, P53, AND C-ERBB-2 PROTEIN

Background. Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) of the breast has been diagnosed increasingly since the advent of mammography. However, the natural history of these lesions remains uncertain. Ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast does not represent a single entity but a heterogeneous group with histologic and clinical differences. The histologic subtype of DCIS seems to have an influence on its biologic behavior, but there are few studies correlating subtype with biologic markers.Methods. The authors studied a consecutive series of 40 cases of DCIS and after its histologic categorization verified its relationship with ploidy using image analysis and analyzing estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), p53 and c-erbB-2 expression using immunohistochemistry.Results. The three groups proposed according to the grade of malignancy were correlated significantly with some of the additional parameters studied, including aneuploidy and c-erB-2 expression. Aneuploidy was detected in 77.5% of cases of DCIS mainly in high and intermediate grade subtypes (100% and 80% vs. 35.7% in low grade) whereas immunoreactivity for c-erbB-2 was detected in 45% of cases of DCIS mainly in the high grade group. Expression of ER and PR were observed frequently in this study (63.9% and 65.7% respectively), but without correlation with the histologic subtype of DCIS, although we found a somewhat significant association between high grade DCIS and lack of ER. p53 protein expression was detected in 36.8% of these cases, but no relationship between this expression and histologic subtype or grading of DCIS was found.Conclusions. These results provide further evidence for the morphologic and biologic heterogeneity of DCIS. Besides histologic classification and nuclear grading, some biologic markers such as aneuploidy and c-erbB-2 expression constitute additional criteria of high grade of malignancy.

Ultrastructure of the excretory duct in the silk gland of the sugarcane borer Diatraea saccharalis (Lepidoptera : Pyralidae)

The excretory duct in the silk gland of the sugarcane borer Diatraea saccharalis consists of two morphologically distinct regions, recognized by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The thin posterior region, adjacent to the glandular region, presents a regular surface. Secretory vesicles containing either electron-dense or fibrillar cuticular-like materials are observed in their apical cytoplasm; the same cuticular materials were detected as extracellular deposits among the microvilli. The short anterior region, near the common duct, exhibits surface protrusions; there are no secretory vesicles in their apical cytoplasm. These results show that only the duct cells at the posterior region are involved in the secretion of the cuticular intima elements. Desmosome-like structures were visualized linking together adjacent microvillar membranes only in the cells of anterior duct region, with unknown function. The transition between the duct and the glandular region is abrupt; the cells of the glandular and posterior duct regions present large amounts of microtubules. Nerve fibers can be observed between the duct cells in their two regions, suggesting that control of silk secretion may occur in the excretory duct via neurotransmitter liberation. (C) 2002 Elsevier B.V. Ltd. All rights reserved.