The determination of proliferative activity in the colorectal mucosa has been used for different purposes as the estimation of cancer risk and the assessment of disease activity in ulcerative colitis. But the prognostic significance of proliferative activity in colorectal carcinomas remains controversial. To investigate the prognostic significance of proliferative activity in colorectal carcinomas, the author estimated the proliferative activity immunohisto chemically using the monoclonal antibody PCNA and compared with clinicopathological data in 62 colorectal carcinomas. The results were as follows: 1) The reactivity of PCNA was more pronounced at the infiltrative margins of the tumors and tumor cells within the vascular or lymphatic channels. 2) The mean PCNA index of colorectal carcinomas was 40.5?0.4%. PCNA indices had positive correlations with lymph node invasion(p<0.05), liver, metastasis(p<0.05), Dukes' stage(p<0.01) and TNM classification(p<0.01), and didn't correlated with location of tumor, size of tumor, histological type and lymphtic or vascular invasion. 3) The patients with high PCNA index(more than 45%) represented higher recurrence or metastasis rate(37.5%) than those with low PCNA index (less than 45%)(19.3%) in Dukes B or C colorectal carcinomas during the follow-up periods, but not significant statistically. These results suggested that the reactivity of PCNA may be a useful prognostic factors in colorectal carcinomas.
Neoplasm Metastasis

We studied two intraabdominal desmoplastic small cell tumors. The patients were two men, 37 and 23 years old, with jaundice and palpable abdominal masses. On exploratory laparotomy, each patient revealed a huge mass in the greater omentum with disseminated peritoneal seeding, measuring 32 cm and 11 cm in its greatest dimension, respectively. The tumor involved the diaphragm, rectal shelf, and cul de sac in case 1, and it involved the porta hepatis, retroperitoneum, and serosal surface of the ascending and transverse colon in case 2. Omentectomy of the huge mass and satellite masses was performed in each patient. Both tumors showed nearly the same histopathologic features. The histologic pattern was suggestive of a metastatic small cell carcinoma, but there was no specific, single primary site. The tumors consisted of variably sized, discrete islands of epithelial-like small cells in dense desmoplastic stroma. The tumor cells revealed divergent epithelial, mesenchymal, and neural differentiation by histologic, immunohistochemical, and electron microscopic observations. Only one cycle of chemotherapy including cisplatin and VP-16 was given in case 1 because of a subsequent hepatic problem, who, thereafter, showed massive intraabdominal recurrent tumors 6 months after diagnosis. In case 2, the poor condition of the patient had made chemotherapy and radiotherapy impossible. Case 2 died of disseminated intravascular coagulation following progressive cachexia 7 months after diagnosis.
Neoplasm Metastasis

A clinico-pathologic study with an immunohistochemical examination for c-erbB-2 expression in 54 cases of ductal carcinoma in situ and 16 cases of Paget's disease of the breast was performed. c-erbB-2 oncoprotein overexpression was observed in 45% (24/54) and 88% (14/16) of ductal carcinoma in situ and Paget's disease, respectively. The overexpression of c-erbB-2 oncoprotein was significantly correlated with the nuclear grade of tumors and inversely with the status of the estrogen receptor. c-erbB-2 was positive in 4 out of 5 patients with metastasis to axillary lymph nodes and 3 out of 4 patients who died of the disease. Prognostic significance of c-erbB-2 oncoprotein in ductal carcinoma in situ was highly suggested. The expression of c-erbB-2 oncoprotein in Paget's disease was well correlated with coexisting infiltrating or in situ ductal carcinoma. The high positive rate of c-erbB-2 oncoprotein in ductal carcinoma with Paget's disease could be understood with a recent hypothesis that c-erbB-2 oncoprotein is involved in promotion of cell motility and the spread of carcinoma cells.
Neoplasm Metastasis

No abstract available.
Genes, Neoplasm*

Congenital malignant melanocytic schwannoma in ankle joint was not reported on literature and it was a very interesting case. Light microscopically, melaninladen cells were mixed in abundant wavy spindle cells, some mitotic cells were also observed. Ultrastructurally, melanosomes in variable stages of development were scattered in the cytoplasm which had basal lamina. Collagen bundles were abundant in the intercellular connective tissue. It was histologically malignant tumor and clinically recurred. But in non-congenital potentially malignant melanocytic schwannoma which had been reported, reccurrence or distant metastasis were not noted. So, further clinical survey may be necessary for evaluation of the malignant behavior of this neoplasm.
Neoplasm Metastasis

Fibrohistiocytic tumors are a diverse group of benign and malignant soft tissue lesions, including dermatofibroma, dermatofibrosarcomaprotuberans, and malignant fibrous histiocytoma. On the clinical point of view, the distinction between benign and malignant lesions and malignancy grading is far more important. Therefore, we investigated 23 fibrohistiocytic tumors, using PCNA (PC10) which was a useful marker of proliferating activity, to differentiate the benign lesions from the malignant and correlate with other prognostic factors including tumor necrosis. cellularity, histologic grade, and mitotic counts. The results obtained were as follows 1) Positive tumor cells were clearly identified by the characteristic diffuse or granular nuclear staining. 2) The number of PCNA-positive tumor cells were 2.16+/-2.39% in dermatofibroma, 16.12+/-7.38% in dermatofibrosacoma protuberans, and 28.02+/-17.47% in the malignant fibrous histiocytoma. The numbers of PCNA-positive tumor cells in the malignant lesions higher than in the benign (p<0.001). 3) Deep seated, large size (>5 cm) and recurred or metastatic cases of MFH were more the high PCNA index (more than 20%) than the low index (less than 20%) groups. 4) PCNA index in MFHs had positive correlation with the number of mitotic counts (r=0.7582, p<0.001), cellularity (r=0.5908, p<0.05) and histologic grade (r=0.4164, p<0.05). These results suggested that reactivity on PCNA might assist in the distinction between benign and malignant lesions in fibrohistiocytic tumors, and could be a useful prognostic factor in the patients with malignant fibrous histiocytoma.
Neoplasm Metastasis

Various clinical and pathologic parameters in order to determine the prognosis of gastric carcinoma have been proposed. Among them "carcinoma with lymphoid stroma" has been proven to show good prognosis. But the criteria of lymphoid stroma in this condition remain vague and not clear. A total of 7 cases of gastric carcinoma with heavy lymphoid stromal response out of 947 surgically resected gastric carcinomas was reviwed with histotopographic analysis. They were all advanced carcinoma, Borrmann type I and II. Histologically, the lymphoid stromal response could be divided into three patterns; nodular (3 cases), diffuse (3 cases) and mixed (1 case). The nodular pattern was characterized by massive lymphoid cell infiltration with many follicle formation and little desmoplastic reaction, while the diffuse pattern showed diffuse permeative type of inflammatory cell infiltration with scarce lymphoid follicle formation and mild desmoplasia. Regional lymph node metastasis was found in 2 cases; one in diffused and another one in mixed pattern. The stromal reaction was not directly related with the depth of tumor invasion. We propoose that the term GCLS should be used in the cases of nodular pattern with complete follicle formation of lymphoid stroma.
Neoplasm Metastasis

BACKGROUND: The clinicopathologic features of thymic epithelial tumors are inadequate as predictors of the progression of these tumors because of their heterogeneous histology and varied biological behavior. We attempted to detect the expression of tyrosine kinase receptors and oncogenic markers to determine the correlation between these markers and the WHO classification of the tumors. METHODS: Forty-three surgically resected thymic epithelial tumors (37 thymomas and 6 thymic carcinomas) were immunohistochemically assessed on tissue arrays for c-KIT, her-2/neu, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), p53. bcl-2 and Ki-67. RESULTS: The Ki-67 labeling index was significantly increased in thymic carcinoma (p<0.05). The overexpression of p53 protein was observed exclusively in type B3 thymoma (67%) and thymic carcinoma (83%). Bcl-2 was expressed in type A and AB thymomas as well as in thymic carcinoma. C-KIT was only present in thymic carcinoma (p<0.05), whereas the EGFR expression was significantly high in all types of thymomas, except for thymic carcinomas. Her-2/neu was not identified in any type of thymoma. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that the Ki-67 LI, bcl-2, p53, c-KIT, and EGFR protein expression may be useful markers for the subclassification of thymic epithelial tumors according to WHO schema and WHO classification correlated with the tumor staging. The overexpression of c-KIT in thymic carcinoma reveals that these patients would likely benefit from an anti-c-KIT treatment.
Neoplasm Staging

Among total 108 cases of biopsy-proven fibroadenomas of the breast, which obtained from the files of the Asan Medical Center during one year period from October 1998 to September 1999, 23 cases cytologically diagnosed as high risk group were reviewed to retrieve the mis-leading factors. Initial cytologic diagnoses of 23 cases were proliferative breast lesion with atypia(high risk) in 21 cases(91.3%) and papillary neoplasm in 2 cases(8.7%). When we reanalysed 23 cases by Masood scoring system, they were classified as one non-proliferative breast lesion(4.3%), 16 proliferative breast lesions without atypia (69.6%), and 6 proliferative breast lesions with atypia(26.1%). None were subject to the category of carcinoma. Cytologic features leading to the overdiagnosis of high grade epithelial lesions were as follows; cellular dissociation without nuclear atypia, nuclear pleomorphism, anisonucleosis, and occasional macronucleoli without nuclear enlargement, lack of myxoid stroma, and few naked stromal cells. To avoid cytologic overdiagnosis of fibroadenoma, mild to moderate nuclear pleomorphism without nuclear enlargement, and cellular dissociation without nuclear atypia should not be regarded as criteria of high risk group.
Neoplasm Metastasis

No abstract available.
Neoplasm Metastasis