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

Nowday, ionizing radiation is one of the methods eradicating the uterine cervical malignancy. However radiation alone or in combination with surgery have an effect on normal tissue as well as the malignant cells, and their changes have been well described in other countries. Unfortunately, the history of radiation modality for cancer treatment is relatively short and the reports about radiation induced changes are limited in our country. We evaluated the radiation-induced changes in cervico-vaginal smears of 107 uterine cervical cancer patients obtained from March, 1985 to October, 1987. Most patients had been received 5,400 Rads of external radiation and intracavitary radiation. Patient's age ranged from 30 to 67 years old. Of 107 cases, 24 cases were normal, 72 cases showed benign radiation changes, 7 cases revealed radiation dysplasia, and residual and recurrent carcinomas found in one and 3 cases, respectively. Cytoplasmic and nuclear enlargement were the most common and noted in 57 and 38 cases, respectively. Vacuolization and polychromasia of the cytoplasm were identified in 43 and 30 cases, respectively. The most common histiocytic change was multinucleation, which was found in about one third. The radiation changes of the cytoplasm and nuclear enlargement persisted for a long time after completion of radiation, however, nuclear degeneration and multinucleation gradually disappeared after 6 months. The inflammation in background prolonged for a long time but degeneration disappeared after 6 months. The biologic significance of post-radiation dysplasia could not evaluated because of short follow up period.

Nowday, ionizing radiation is one of the methods eradicating the uterine cervical malignancy. However radiation alone or in combination with surgery have an effect on normal tissue as well as the malignant cells, and their changes have been well described in other countries. Unfortunately, the history of radiation modality for cancer treatment is relatively short and the reports about radiation induced changes are limited in our country. We evaluated the radiation-induced changes in cervico-vaginal smears of 107 uterine cervical cancer patients obtained from March, 1985 to October, 1987. Most patients had been received 5,400 Rads of external radiation and intracavitary radiation. Patient's age ranged from 30 to 67 years old. Of 107 cases, 24 cases were normal, 72 cases showed benign radiation changes, 7 cases revealed radiation dysplasia, and residual and recurrent carcinomas found in one and 3 cases, respectively. Cytoplasmic and nuclear enlargement were the most common and noted in 57 and 38 cases, respectively. Vacuolization and polychromasia of the cytoplasm were identified in 43 and 30 cases, respectively. The most common histiocytic change was multinucleation, which was found in about one third. The radiation changes of the cytoplasm and nuclear enlargement persisted for a long time after completion of radiation, however, nuclear degeneration and multinucleation gradually disappeared after 6 months. The inflammation in background prolonged for a long time but degeneration disappeared after 6 months. The biologic significance of post-radiation dysplasia could not evaluated because of short follow up period.

The harmful effects of blue light on the retina and health issues attributed to flickering light have been researched extensively. However, reports on the effects of flickering blue light at a frequency in the visible range on the retina are limited. This study aimed to non-invasively investigate the structural and functional changes in mice retinas following exposure to flickering blue light. BALB/c mice were subjected to non-flickering and flickering blue light, and changes in the retinal function and structure were assessed using electroretinography (ERG) and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT), respectively. Retinal damage progression was monitored on days 3, 7, 14, and 42 following light exposure. Significant reductions in scotopic and photopic ERG responses were observed on day 3 (p<0.05). On day 7, the non-flickering and flickering groups demonstrated different functional changes: the flickering group showed further ERG response reduction, while the non-flickering group showed no reduction or slight improvement that was statistically insignificant (p>0.05). A similar trend lasted by day 14. On day 42, however, the difference between the non-flickering and flickering groups was significant, which was corroborated by the normalized amplitudes at 0, 0.5, and 1 log cd s/ m 2 (p<0.05). Quantitative and qualitative SD-OCT assays revealed more severe and progressive retinal damage in the flickering group throughout the study. Flickering blue light causes more persistent and severe retinal damage than non-flickering blue light and may be a risk factor for retinal degeneration even at frequencies as low as 20 Hz.

In horizontal cells (HCs) that were freshly dissociated from goldfish retina, two types of voltage- dependent calcium currents (ICa) were recorded using a patch-clamping configuration: a transient type current and a sustained type current. The cell was held at -40 mV, and the prepulse step of -90 mV was applied before command pulse between -65 and +55 mV. The transient Ca2+ current was activated by depolarization to around -50 mV from a prepulse voltage of -90 mV lasting at least 400 ms and reached a maximal value near -25 mV. On the other hand, the sustained Ca2+ current was induced by pre-inactivation for less than 10 ms duration. Its activation started near -10 mV and peaked at +20 mV. Co2+ (2 mM) suppressed both of these two components, but nifedipine (20microM), L-type Ca2+ channel antagonist, blocked only the sustained current. Based on the activation voltage and the pharmacological specificity, the sustained current appears to be similar to L-type ICa and the transient type to T-type ICa. This study is the first to confirm that transient type ICa together with the sustained one is present in HCs dissociated from goldfish retina.
Calcium* ; Goldfish* ; Hand ; Nifedipine ; Retina ; Sensitivity and Specificity

Purpose: Microinvasive breast cancer (MIBC) is an invasive carcinoma with a tumor dimension not exceeding 1 mm. Owing to its low incidence, the rate of axillary node metastasis and its management are not well established. The aim of this study was to assess the incidence of lymph node metastasis (LNM) and identify variables associated with LNM, as well as to evaluate the need for axillary staging in MIBC patients by analyzing nationwide data. Methods: The Korean Breast Cancer Society registry was searched to identify MIBC patients diagnosed between January 1996 and April 2020. Patients without neoadjuvant chemotherapy experiences, systemic metastasis, and missing or discordant data were eligible for the analysis. The incidence rate of LNM was determined, and variables associated with LNM were identified by multivariable regression analysis. Results: Of 2,427 MIBC patients identified, 98 (4.0%) had LNM and 12 (0.5%) had N2/3 disease. Type of breast operation (odds ratio [OR], 2.093; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.332–3.290; P = 0.001), age (OR, 2.091; 95% CI, 1.326–3.298; P = 0.002), hormone receptor status (OR, 2.220; 95% CI, 1.372–3.594; P = 0.001), and lymphovascular invasion (OR, 11.143; 95% CI, 6.354–19.540; P < 0.001) were significantly related to LNM. Conclusion The incidence of LNM in MIBC patients was only 4.0% in our study, suggesting that de-escalation of axillary surgical interventions could be carefully considered. The indications for axillary staging should be individualized considering tumor volume, age, hormone receptor status, and lymphovascular invasion to improve the quality of life of MIBC survivors.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The Dieulafoy's lesion is an unusual cause of massive gastrointestinal bleeding resulting from the erosion of an abnormally large submucosal artery. Surgical intervention was believed to be the best treatment in the past, but recently improvement of endoscopic techniques has made effective hemostasis possible in most cases of Dieulafoy's lesions. Therapeutic endoscopic hemostasis includes sclerotherapy, electrocauterization, laser coagulotherapy, clipping band ligation. The effectiveness of the endoscopic band ligation was evaluated in bleeding Dieulafoy's lesions. METHODS: Clinical characteristics, initial endoscopic findings, and effectiveness of band ligation in Dieulafoy's lesions were all analyzed. RESULTS: 1) The patients were 8 males and 1 female, and the mean age was 56.2 years. 2) The chief complaints were melena and hematemesis, and 2 cases had histories of recurrent gastrointestinal bleeding. 3) The diagnosis of Dieulafoy's lesion was possible in 7 of 9 patients (78%) at the initial endoscopy. 4) The lesions were mostly located in the fundus and the body, characterized mainly by protruding vessels in shallow erosion areas. 5) The initial band ligation was possible with successful hemostasis, but additional sclerotherapy was necessary in two cases. There were no complications related to the procedure, except a case of early band detachment. CONCLUSIONS: The Dieulafoy's lesion requires careful endoscopic observation for diagnosis, and endoscopic band ligation was an effective therapeutic option for bleeding Dieulafoy's lesions.
Arteries ; Diagnosis ; Endoscopy ; Female ; Hematemesis ; Hemorrhage* ; Hemostasis ; Hemostasis, Endoscopic ; Humans ; Ligation* ; Male ; Melena ; Sclerotherapy

Peritoneal lymphomatosis is a rare manifestation of high grade lymphomas. Although it is difficult to differentiate peritoneal lymphomatosis from other peritoneal diseases such as peritoneal carcinomatosis and leiomyomatosis clinically and radiologically, it should be included in differential diagnosis because the disease is curable with chemotherapy. Consequently, radiologic diagnosis plays a very important role in the detection of this disease. We experienced two cases of peritoneal lymphomatosis with primary gastrointestinal lymphomas in the distal ileum. The two patients were 25 and 50-year-old males. Abdominal CT, ultrasound and barium study were performed on both patients. Both patients had non-Hodgkin's lymphoma confirmed with open or sonographically guided biopsies. Although radiologic appearances overlapped, characteristic findings of long-segmental circumscribed annular mass, aneurysmal luminal dilatation, small to moderate amount of ascites without septation or loculation, diffuse involvement of mesentery, omentum and peritoneum, and enlarged lymph nodes were helpful in narrowing the range of possible diagnoses.
Aneurysm ; Ascites ; Barium ; Biopsy ; Carcinoma ; Diagnosis ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Dilatation ; Drug Therapy ; Humans ; Ileum ; Leiomyomatosis ; Lymph Nodes ; Lymphoma ; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin ; Male ; Mesentery ; Middle Aged ; Omentum ; Peritoneal Diseases ; Peritoneum ; Phenobarbital ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Ultrasonography

An accelerating effect of methyl-deficient diet (MDD) on hepatocarcinogenesis and methylation pattern of nuclear protein(s) by S-adenosylmethionine: protein arginine N-methyltransferase (protein methylase I, PM-I) have been studied with 3'-methyl-4-dimethyl- aminoazobenzene(MeDAB)-treated rats. The MDD+MeDAB-fed group produced typical cancer cells in the liver almost two weeks earlier than the control synthetic diet (CSD)+MeDAB-fed group. Protein methylase I (PM-I) activity in the livers of MDD alone fed rats began to increase at around 2 weeks after MDD-feeding, reaching a peak at 4 weeks and declining thereafter. When nuclei isolated either from normal livers or from cholangiocarcinoma cells were incubated with PM-I preparation from normal liver, 16 and 23-kDa nuclear proteins were the major methylated proteins, regardless of the source of the nuclei. However, when the above mentioned nuclei were incubated with PM-I preparations either from MDD alone fed livers or MDD+ MeDAB-induced cholangiocarcinoma cells, the methylation of 23-kDa protein was not detected. The result suggests that there is a hitherto-unknown PM-I specific to 23 kDa nuclear protein which was lost during methyl deficient diet feeding and hepatocarcinogenesis. The N-terminal 20 amino acids sequence of the 23-kDa protein was found to be (1)Gly-Val-Pro-Leu-(5)X-Arg-Leu-Phe-Asp-(10)His-Ala-Met-Leu-Gln-(15)Ala -His-Arg-Ala-His-(20)Glu, having 94.7% sequence homology with human chorionic somatomammotropin precursor A and B.
Amino Acids ; Animals ; Arginine ; Carcinogens ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Cell Differentiation ; Cell Division ; Cell Proliferation* ; Cholangiocarcinoma ; Diet ; Food, Formulated ; Liver ; Methylation* ; Nuclear Proteins ; p-Dimethylaminoazobenzene ; Placental Lactogen ; Protein Methyltransferases ; Protein-Arginine N-Methyltransferases ; Rats ; S-Adenosylmethionine ; Sequence Homology