E-cadherin (E-CD), a Ca2+ -dependent adhesion molecule, plays a major role in the maintenance of intercellular junctions in normal epithelial cells in most organs. Recently, a correlation has been observed between a loss of E-CD and increased invasiveness of neoplastic cells. In this study, E-CD expression in the breast carcinoma was investigated using monoclonal antibody, anti-E-CD by immunohistochemical method. Expression of E-CD were evaluated in 57 breast carcinomas and correlated with their tumor grade, lymph node involvement, and hormonal receptor status. Histological types included in this study were 54 invasive ductal carcinomas (IDCs) of otherwise not specified and 3 invasive lobular carcinomas. Cases of histologic grade I IDC were 6, grade II 30, and grade III 18. Of 54 IDCs 39 (72.2%) showed moderate to strong linear staining at the cell borders regardless of their histologic grade, status of lymph node metastasis, and status of hormone receptor. Staining intensity of E-CD was reduced in 54 cases (83%) of IDC when compared with that of normal or benign breast lesions (P<0.01). All seven cases of intraductal carcinoma, which were included in 54 IDCs showed one or two grade reduced expression of E-CD than that of infiltrative lesions. Three invasive lobular carcinomas showed strong (1 case), moderate (1 case), and negative reactivity (1 case). The data indicated that loss of E-CD expression is a crucial event in the development of breast carcinoma.
Breast Neoplasms* ; Breast* ; Cadherins* ; Carcinoma, Ductal ; Carcinoma, Intraductal, Noninfiltrating ; Carcinoma, Lobular ; Epithelial Cells ; Intercellular Junctions ; Lymph Nodes ; Neoplasm Metastasis

No abstract available.
Diaphragmatic Eventration* ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn*

Granular cell tumor is not uncommon and is a well recognized entity which may arise at virtually any site of the body. However, occurrence in the thyroid is extremely rare and has not been described well. Only three cases could be found in the English literatures. We report a case of granular cell tumor of the thyroid in a 30 year-old woman. The tumor was illdefined, infiltrative and was composed of diffuse sheets of polygonal to fusiform cells with abundant eosinophilic granular cytoplasm. The tumor showed evidence of Schwann cell differentiation in immunohistochemical and ultrastructural examinations. Differentiation from more common thyroid tumors having oncocytic granular cytoplasm should be made by immunohistochemistry or electron microscopy.
Adult ; Cell Differentiation ; Cytoplasm ; Eosinophils ; Female ; Granular Cell Tumor* ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Microscopy, Electron ; Thyroid Gland*

Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) is a well-known tumor marker for hepatocellular carcinoma, hepatoblastoma, and yolk sac tumors. There are several studies on AFP-producing tumors that arose from the gastrointestinal tract, pancreas, lung, kidney, and urachal tract. AFP-producing carcinoma of the gallbladder is extremely rare. We report a case of AFP-producing carcinoma of the gallbladder without liver involvement in a 58-year-old man with a gallstone, on which clinical, morphologic, and immunohistochemical studies were performed.
Male ; Humans ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Tumor Markers, Biological

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to verify the effect of aromatherapy on the stress response in menstrual period. METHODS: A randomized, single-blind, pretest- posttest design was used. The study subjects were 60 college women with dysmenorrhea and they were randomized into 3 groups, experimental, 1st control(placebo) and 2nd control group. The researchers massaged treatment oil(3% dilution essential oil of Lavender, Clary sage and Rose) into the abdomen of experimental group. The placebo group used almond oil(carrier oil) instead, and the 2nd control group did not give any treatment. Baseline data including pre- treatment stress response score were obtained on the first day of usual period. Aromatherapy provided for about 7 days until the next cycle began. Post-treatment stress responses were measured by 94 item SOS(symptom of stress) scale on the first day of the cycle. RESULTS: As a results, the stress response score of experimental group was significantly lower than two control groups. And there was no significant difference in stress responses of two control groups. CONCLUSION: The results show aromatherapy using selected essential oils to be an effective intervention for stress response during menstruation.
Abdomen ; Aromatherapy* ; Dysmenorrhea* ; Female ; Humans ; Lavandula ; Menstruation* ; Oils, Volatile ; Prunus dulcis

PURPOSE: To report 2 different cases of postoperative endophthalmitis caused by Stenotrophomonas maltophilia after cataract surgery. CASE SUMMARY: A 73-year-old male with diabetes mellitus developed severe pain in the right eye 2 weeks after cataract surgery. The patient was hospitalized with a diagnosis of infectious endophthalmitis, and vitrectomy was performed. Cultures of aqueous humor and vitreous aspirate revealed S. maltophilia. On day 30 after vitrectomy, his visual acuity had improved to 20/20 and there were no recurrences. A 61-year-old female with no significant past medical history was referred for uveitis or delayed onset endophthalmitis 30 days after cataract surgery. An anterior chamber tapping and cultures were performed. S. maltophilia and Aspergillus fumigatus were isolated. The patient received antibiotics and antifungal agents and her visual acuity improved to 20/25. CONCLUSIONS: S. maltophilia has been considered a life-threatening systemic opportunistic infection; however, the organism has recently been reported as an exogenous pathogen of endophthalmitis following cataract surgery. Herein, 2 different cases of S. maltophilia endophthalmitis after cataract surgery are presented and compared with previous case reports.
Aged ; Anterior Chamber ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Antifungal Agents ; Aqueous Humor ; Aspergillus fumigatus ; Cataract ; Coinfection ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Endophthalmitis ; Eye ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Recurrence ; Stenotrophomonas ; Stenotrophomonas maltophilia ; Uveitis ; Visual Acuity ; Vitrectomy

The ovarian mucinous tumor associated with true sarcoma is very rare. Four cases of true sarcoma: fibrosarcoma, undifferentiated sarcoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, angiosarcoma in ovarian mucinous tumor have been reported. We present a case of mucinous borderline tumor associated with undifferentiated sarcoma with angiosarcoma-like appearance in 80-year-old woman.
Aged, 80 and over ; Female ; Fibrosarcoma ; Hemangiosarcoma ; Humans ; Mucins* ; Ovary ; Rhabdomyosarcoma ; Sarcoma*

We report a case of a large peritoneal loose body diagnosed on computed tomography. The most common causes of a peritoneal loose body are thought to be torsion and separation of the appendices epiploicae. Peritoneal loose bodies are usually small, 0.5 to 2.5 cm in diameter. However, "giant" peritoneal loose bodies, larger than 4 cm in diameter, are an uncommon disease and present with various symptoms, and are difficult to diagnose preoperatively. Especially, abdominal large peritoneal loose bodies are frequently misdiagnosed as tumorous disease preoperatively. In our case, the loose body appeared as a round pelvic mass with central calcifications and a distinct fat plane separating it from adjacent organs. Preoperatively, we suspected a tumorous lesion from the wall of the upper rectum; however, at laparoscopy, a large peritoneal loose body was detected. An extraction of the giant peritoneal loose body was performed laparoscopically.
Laparoscopy

Neurilemmoma, like other non-epithelial tumors, seldom occurs in the thyroid gland. We present a case of a 61-year-old woman with a neurilemmoma of her left thyroid lobe. She was clinically and biochemically euthyroid, and underwent a left thyroid lobectomy without complications. The tumor was an encapsulated solid mass, 34x23x1 5mm in size and was diagnosed as neurilemmoma. Neurilemmoma of the thyroid gland tends to develop in the right lobe, but this case was in the left.
Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Neurilemmoma* ; Thyroid Gland*

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are the most common mesenchymal tumors of the gastrointestinal tract, and cystic changes are commonly observed. However, there have been few reports of cases of exophytic pedunculated GIST with cystic changes. Here, we report a 45-year-old man who presented with a palpable mass in the left upper quadrant of the abdomen. The mucosal folds were endoscopically abnormal, but there was no mucosal lesion. Computed tomography demonstrated a large, low-density cystic lesion surrounding an enhanced nodule in the greater curvature of the gastric body, and there was no tumor infiltration to other organs. The patient underwent hemigastrectomy and the lesion was shown to be an exophytic pedunculated cystic tumor. Histopathological examination showed epithelioid cells with marked hemorrhaging. Immunohistochemical examination indicated that most of the tumor cell cytoplasm was positive for the c-kit protein (CD117) and CD34. The tumor was diagnosed as an exophytic pedunculated GIST of the stomach with cystic changes.
Abdomen ; Cytoplasm ; Epithelioid Cells ; Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors ; Gastrointestinal Tract ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit ; Stomach