Role of ROC1 protein in the control of cyclin D1 protein expression in skin melanomas

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Avaliação radiográfica de cães com displasia coxofemoral tratados pela sinfisiodese púbica

Avaliou-se a progressão dos sinais radiográficos de cães com displasia coxofemoral ou potencialmente displásicos tratados pela técnica da sinfisiodese púbica. Foram utilizados 14 cães, seis machos e oito fêmeas, com idades entre quatro e seis meses. Após exame físico, procedeu-se ao exame radiográfico para avaliação da articulação coxofemoral, segundo padrão estabelecido pelo Colégio Brasileiro de Radiologia Veterinária. Três deles foram também avaliados pelo método PennHIP. Pelo histórico clínico, nove (64%) animais foram trazidos por manifestarem sinais de dificuldade locomotora com os membros pélvicos, manifestada especialmente por claudicação unilateral ou bilateral e dificuldade de se levantar. Cinco (36%) cães não tinham qualquer sinal clínico, e em quatro (29%) realizou-se o exame radiográfico como prevenção. O sinal físico mais evidente foi dor à palpação da articulação coxofemoral, e dois (14%) cães apresentaram sinal de Ortolani positivo. Com exceção de um cão que apresentou infecção nos pontos cutâneos, todos os demais evoluíram sem complicações no período pós-operatório. Radiograficamente houve progressão das lesões articulares em seis (43%) animais e oito (57%) mantiveram a classificação inicial. Concluiu-se que cães tratados pela sinfisiodese púbica não apresentam melhora dos sinais radiográficos iniciais.

Exame citológico em medicina veterinária: estudo retrospectivo de 11.468 casos (1994-2008)

Foi realizado um estudo retrospectivo dos resultados dos exames citológicos provenientes dos arquivos do Serviço de Citopatologia do Laboratório de Patologia Animal, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Botucatu, São Paulo, entre janeiro de 1994 e dezembro de 2008. do total de 139.986 animais atendidos no Hospital Veterinário da instituição, 11.468 (8,2%) foram encaminhados para exame citológico. Desses diagnósticos, 57,28% corresponderam a lesões neoplásicas, 19,28% a lesões inflamatórias e 14,79% a processos não neoplásicos (imunológicos, degenerativos, hiperplásicos ou displásicos). Não foi possível concluir o diagnóstico por meio do exame citológico em 7,28% dos casos e não haviam informações diagnósticas registradas em 1,37% dos casos. Dentre os animais que mais receberam indicação para exame citológico destacaram-se os caninos (92,06%), seguidos pelos felinos (4,08%), bovinos (1,77%) e equinos (1,30%). Lesoes neoplásicas foram as mais comumente observadas e foram mais prevalentes nos cães (59,18%), afetando principalmente animais com idade média de 119,60 meses e principalmente fêmeas (61,61%). O incremento anual observado ao longo dos 15 anos de aplicação da citologia demonstra que o exame citológico é um método de suma importância para confirmar, sugerir ou afastar o diagnóstico de diversas afecções, inclusive neoplasia, em todas as espécies animais.

Caracterização histomorfológica da atrofia inflamatória proliferativa na próstata canina

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Freqüência de Candida sp. em biópsias de lesões da mucosa bucal

O objetivo desse trabalho foi determinar a freqüência da infecção por Candida sp. em biópsias de lesões da mucosa bucal, assim como associar a presença de Candida sp. com lesões malignas e lesões com vários graus de displasia. Foram utilizadas 832 biópsias da mucosa bucal, previamente incluídas em parafinas, cujos blocos foram obtidos dos arquivos da Disciplina de Patologia da Faculdade de Odontologia de Araraquara da UNESP, no período entre 1990-2001. Três cortes seqüenciais foram corados pelo ácido periódico de Schiff (PAS). do total de biópsias 27,2% foram PAS positivas, dessas 83,25% eram provenientes de pacientes do sexo masculino. Houve associação positiva entre infecção com displasia epitelial leve, moderada, severa, carcinoma espinocelular e hiperqueratose (p < 0,05). Não houve associação entre hiperplasia fibrosa inflamatória, líquen plano, granuloma piogênico (p < 0,05) com infecções fúngicas. A língua foi o sítio mais acometido por infecções em relação a outros sítios (p < 0,05). A partir dos dados quantitativos, concluiu-se que houve correlação positiva de infecção por fungos, lesões displásicas e carcinoma, sendo mais freqüente no sexo masculino. Estes dados não permitem inferir se o fungo causa displasia epitelial e carcinoma, mas confirmam a maior presença de Candida nessas lesões.

Annexin A1 subcellular expression in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Antiestrogen therapies affect tissue homeostasis of the gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus) female prostate and ovaries

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

A study of actinic cheilitis treatment by two low-morbidity CO(2) laser vaporization one-pass protocols

Therapeutic approaches to chronic actinic cheilitis focus on the removal or destruction of diseased epithelium. The CO(2) laser has become an important therapeutic alternative, achieving clinical resolution in around 90% of patients. Although many laser physical parameters have been reported, some are known for their low potential for scar induction without compromising the success of the results. The aim of this clinicohistological study was to compare the therapeutic responses to two low-morbidity protocols involving a single laser pass. A total of 40 patients with chronic multicentric and microscopically proven disease were randomly submitted to two conservative CO(2) laser protocols using a bilateral comparative model. The degree of histological atypia of the epithelium was determined in 26 patients both pre- and postoperatively for both protocols. Other histological phenomena were assessed in addition to this central analysis parameter. Clinical recurrence occurred in 12.5% of patients for each protocol, together with a significant reduction in the degree of epithelial atypia (p < 0.001), which was occasionally complete. However, no difference was found between the protocols (p > 0.05). Using these morphological parameters it was not possible to determine whether postoperative epithelial atypias in part of the sample were reactive or residual in nature. A few patients may show minor postoperative lesions. Due to their potential to achieve clinical and importantly microscopic resolution, the studied protocols may be used for mild through moderate dysplastic epithelium and clinically diffuse disease.

Allelic imbalance studies of chromosome 9 suggest major differences in chromosomal instability among nonmelanoma skin carcinomas

CONTEXTO: Vários estudos de perda de heterozigozidade na região 9p21-p22, que abriga os genes supressores tumorais CDKN2a/p16INK4a, p19ARF e p15INK4b, têm sido realizados em uma ampla série de tumores humanos, incluindo os melanomas familiares. Perdas e ganhos em outras regiões do cromossomo 9 também têm sido observados com freqüência e podem indicar mecanismos adicionais no processo de tumorigênese dos carcinomas basocelulares da pele. OBJETIVO: Investigar o equilíbrio alélico existente na região 9p21-p22 em carcinomas basocelulares. TIPO DE ESTUDO: Análise molecular de marcadores de microssatélites em tumores e controles. LOCAL: Dois serviços de dermatologia de atendimento terciário em universidades públicas de São Paulo e o Laboratório de Genética Molecular do Câncer da Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Brasil. PARTICIPANTES: Examinamos 13 casos benignos, incluindo 4 queratoses solares, 3 queratoacantomas, 3 nevos melanocíticos, 2 doenças de Bowen e 1 neurofibroma cutâneo, além de 58 tumores malignos da pele: 14 de células escamosas, 40 carcinomas basocelulares e 4 melanomas; em pacientes consecutivamente encaminhados à clínica de Dermatologia da Unicamp e que concordaram em participar do estudo. VARIÁVEIS ESTUDADAS: O tumor principal e uma porção normal de pele não-adjacente foram removidos cirurgicamente de pacientes que consecutivamente procuraram os ambulatórios de dermatologia da Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP) e da Universidade Estadual de São Paulo (Unesp), São Paulo, por causa de lesões cutâneas. Extraímos DNA tanto de tecido tumoral como do correspondente tecido normal de cada paciente. Para amplificar regiões de repetição polimórfica de microssatélites do cromossomo 9, foram utilizados quatro pares de primers, sendo dois deles destinados à região 9p21-p22. RESULTADOS: Identificamos oito casos (20%) de desequilíbrio alélico entre os carcinomas basocelulares, sendo dois casos de perda de heterozigozidade e seis casos de instabilidade de microssatélite na região 9p21-p22. Outros marcadores também mostravam anormalidades em três destes tumores, enquanto nenhuma alteração foi detectada entre os casos benignos e nos outros tumores malignos. CONCLUSÃO: Esta dependência fenotípica sugere que existem diferenças importantes no comportamento das formas mais comuns de tumores cutâneos não-melanocíticos em relação à sua tendência para instabilidade de microssatélite no cromossomo 9. Considerando-se que os genes CDKN2a/p16INK4a, p19ARF e p15INK4b não parecem responsáveis pelas anormalidades observadas, outros genes em 9p21-p22 podem estar envolvidos na etiopatogenia e na progressão dos carcinomas basocelulares.

Abnormal expression of bcl-2 and bax in rat tongue mucosa during the development of squamous cell carcinoma induced by 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide

4-Nitroquinoline 1-oxide (4NQO)-induced rat tongue carcinogenesis is a useful model for studying oral squamous cell carcinoma. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of bcl-2 and bax during tongue carcinogenesis induced by 4NQO. Male Wistar rats were distributed into three groups of 10 animals each and treated with 50 ppm 4NQO solution through their drinking water for 4, 12 or 20 weeks. Ten animals were used as negative control. Although no histological changes were induced in the epithelium after 4 weeks of carcinogen exposure, bcl-2 and bax were over-expressed (P < 0.01) in all layers of the 'normal' epithelium. The expression levels were the same in all layers of epithelium for both the antibodies used (bcl-2 or bax). In dysplastic lesions at 12 weeks following carcinogen administration, the levels of bcl-2 and bax expression did not increase when compared to negative control with the immunoreactivity for bcl-2 being restricted to the superficial layer of epithelium. In well-differentiated squamous cell carcinoma induced after 20 weeks of treatment with 4NQO, bcl-2 was expressed in some cells of tumour islands. on the other hand, immunostaining for bax was widely observed at the tumour nests. The labelling index for bcl-2 and bax showed an increase (P < 0.05) after only 4 weeks of 4NQO administration. In conclusion, our results suggest that abnormalities in the apoptosis pathways are associated with the development of persistent clones of mutated-epithelial cells in the oral mucosa. Bcl-2 and bax expression appears to be associated with a risk factor in the progression of oral cancer.

Surgical treatment of erythroleukoplakia in lower lip with carbon dioxide laser radiation

Erythroplakia is considered to represent a premalignant condition and is felt to be at high risk to progress to oral cancer development. When the lesion presents with red and white mucosal alterations concomitantly, the term erythroleukoplakia is used. However, in erythroleukoplakia lesions, the red or erythroplakia areas have been shown to be most likely to demonstrate dysplastic changes compared to the white hyperkeratotic areas. We present a case of patient with erythroleukoplakia involving the lower lip that was treating with carbon dioxide laser radiation (CO2) with 0.8 mm focus, 5 W, power density of 2.5 W/cm(2) in continuous. After the surgery, the vaporized surface was protected with a fibrinolisine + chloramphenicol cream. To date, after 6 months, there has been no clinically evident recurrence on the vermilion area. The functional and esthetic results observed were judged to be excellent.

Computer-assisted analysis of cell proliferation markers in oral lesions

Abnormalities in any component of the cell cycle regulatory machine may result in oral. cancer, and markers of cell proliferation have been used to determine the prognosis of tumor progression. The aim of this study was to determine whether silver-stained nucleolar organizer region (AgNOR) and Ki-67 measurements could improve the assessment of growth rates in oral lesions. Eighty-three oral biopsies were studied, 20 of which were classified as fibrous inflammatory hyperplasia (FIH), 40 as leukoplakia (LKP) and 23 as oral. squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Within the LKP group, 22 out of 29 biopsies were diagnosed as non-dysplastic leukoplakia (LK) and 18 as dysplastic teukoptakia (DLK), presenting discrete, moderate and severe dysplasia. Ki-67 immunotabeting of the lesions increased steadily in the following order: FIH, DLK, LK and OSCC, indicating that Ki-67 is a good marker for predicting the protiferative fraction among benign, premalignant and malignant oral lesions. The median values of AgNOR parameters indicate that the morphometric index gives better results regarding the proliferative rate than the numerical one. A series of linear regressions between AgNOR parameters and Ki-67 showed positive associations. We conclude that a combination of Ki-67 and morphometric AgNOR analyses could be used as an aid in the determination of the protiferative status of oral epithelial. cells in oral cancer. (C) 2007 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Rhabdomyosarcoma in a congenital pigmented nevus

A 7-month-old boy had a giant pigmented lesion involving the trunk and thighs that exhibited many hyperpigmented hairy and verrucous nevi. One of the nevi ulcerated and on histological examination consisted of pleomorphic rhabdomyosarcoma cells that stained for muscle-specific actin (HHF-35), desmin, and myoglobin. Around the tumor, in the dermis, benign pigmented nevus cells were observed. The occurrence of malignant tumors, other than malignant melanoma, in pigmented nevi is rarely described.

Cytologic analysis of alterations induced by smoking and by alcohol consumption

Objective: To analyze cytologically the buccal mucosa of smoking and nonsmoking volunteers to determine what cellular changes are induced by cigarettes and alcohol consumption. Study Design: In order to evaluate cellular changes induced by smoking and alcohol consumption, exfoliative cytology was used for the analysis of mucosal smears obtained from the buccal mucosa of 25 smokers and 25 nonsmokers. The number of cigarettes consumed, duration of smoking, presence or absence of alcohol ingestion, ingested alcohol dose and frequency of consumption, and most frequently used type of alcoholic beverage were determined using a questionnaire. Three smears from each individual stained by the Papanicolaou method were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively under a light microscope by 2 experienced examiners in terms of inflammatory and dysplastic alterations and of the degree of epithelial maturation. Results: Although numerous alterations were observed in smokers they corresponded up to only Papanicolaou class II and were not significantly different from nonsmokers (Mann-Whitney and χ 2 tests, p < 0.05). A higher proportion of inflammatory cells (polymorphonuclear and mononuclear cells) were obtained from smokers as compared to nonsmokers, while the proportion of bacteria was similar in the 2 groups. Conclusion: The findings indicate that even after a short period of cigarette use and alcohol consumption, inflammatory alterations were detectable on exfoliative cytology of the buccal mucosa in a young group, demonstrating the usefulness of cytology for early detection in smokers. © The International Academy of Cytology.

Quantitative cell-cycle protein expression in oral cancer assessed by computer-assisted system

The knowledge of cell-cycle control has shown that the capacity of malignant growth is acquired by the stepwise accumulation of defects in specific genes regulating cell growth. Histologic diagnosis might be improved by a quantitative evaluation of more specific diagnosis biomarkers, which could help to precisely identify pre-malignant and malignant oral lesions. The aim of the present study is to evaluate whether computer-based quantitative assessment of p53, PCNA and Ki-67 immunohistochemical expression, could be used clinically to foresee the risk of oral malignant transformation. This retrospective study was carried out in ninety-five oral biopsies, 27 were classified as fibrous inflammatory hyperplasia, 40 as leukoplakia and 28 as oral squamous cell carcinoma. Sixteen out of the 40 leukoplakia were diagnosed as non-dysplastic leukoplakia, the other 24 being dysplastic leukoplakia, of which 50.0% were classified as moderate to severe dysplasia. Comparison of the four groups of oral tissues showed significant rises in p53 and Ki-67 positivity index, which increased steadily in the order benign, pre-malignant, and malignant. In contrast, it was not possible to relate higher PCNA levels with pre-malignant and malignant oral lesions. We therefore conclude that PCNA immunohistochemistry expression is probably an inappropriate marker to identify oral carcinogenesis, whereas joint quantitative evaluation of p53 and Ki-67, appears to be useful as a tumor marker, providing a pre-diagnostic estimate of the potential for cell-cycle deregulation of the oral proliferate status.