30 research outputs found
The pathobiologic spectrum of Schwannomas
In terms of their morphology, clinical
associations and behavior, peripheral nerve sheath
tumors are among the most varied of human neoplasm.
Not surprisingly, such tumors are subject to frequent
misdiagnosis. This is particularly true of the spectrum of
schwannomas which include: a) conventional
schwannoma, a histologically benign tumor which, on
occasion, is destructive of surrounding osseous
structures, b) the relatively recently described cellular
schwannoma, a tumor that histologically simulates
malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST), c)
plexiform schwannoma which, particularly in cellular
form and when occurring in childhood, simulates
MPNST, and d) melanotic schwannoma which is often
mistaken for melanoma. The psammomatous form of the
latter is often associated with Carney complex, a rare
heritable disorder that: a) includes cutaneous lentigines,
b) myxomas of skin, subcutaneous tissue, and heart, c)
and endocrine neoplasms. The tendency to misdiagnose
schwannomas and to overestimate their grade makes
schwannomas worthy of note. Herein, we discuss the
four major schwannoma variants, their essential clinicopathologic features, and differential diagnosis.
The distinction from MPNST is given particular
attention
Intraosseous soft tissue perineurioma: report of a vertebral example
Perineurioma, a tumor affecting soft tissue, and presumably nerve-unassociated, may affect bone. No prior entirely osseous examples have been reported. This tumor expands the differential diagnosis of spindle cell tumors of bone
Immunoexpression of androgen receptor in the nontumorous pituitary and in adenomas
PubMedID: 18228161Little information is available regarding androgen receptor immunoexpression (AR) in the normal and neoplastic human pituitary. Available experimental data links it to primarily gonadotroph cells. We undertook an immunohistochemical study of 41 autopsy-derived normal glands from patients of both sexes and all ages as well as 79 fully characterized pituitary adenomas of all types, the focus being upon AR expression in normal and neoplastic gonadotrophs. Nuclear AR immunoreactivity was noted in gonadotrophs and other normal adeno- and neurohypophysial cells. In addition to its presence in 74% of gonadotroph and 55% of null cell adenomas, lesser proportions of other adenoma types (adrenocorticotropic hormone 50%, prolactin 38%, growth hormone 33%) also exhibited AR immunoreactivity. No staining of thyroid-stimulating hormone adenomas was noted. The physiologic significance of our findings remains to be explored. The literature regarding AR expression in animal and human pituitaries is reviewed. © 2008 Humana Press Inc
The Glial and Mesenchymal Elements of Gliosarcomas Share Similar Genetic Alterations
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Expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1a (HIF-1a) in pituitary tumours
The present study was performed to
investigate HIF-1a (hypoxia-inducible factor-1a)
expression in a large number of immunohistochemically
and ultrastructurally characterized surgically removed
pituitary tumours. The potential relation of HIF-1a with
outcome variables as well as the presence of HIF-1a
expression in the tumours treated with dopamine
agonists and octreotide, a long-acting somatostatin
analogue was also investigated. HIF-1a
immunoreactivity was confined to the nucleoplasm
whereas the nucleoli were unconspicuous. The
distribution of HIF-1a was evident in the tumours
whereas normal adenohypophysial cells showed no HIF-
1a staining. HIF-1a expression was detected not only in
the tumour cells but also in endothelial cells lining the
blood vessels within the tumour. ACTH producing
adenomas showed the lowest level of HIF-1a expression
whereas pituitary carcinomas and GH producing
adenomas had the highest counts. The statistical study
demonstrated no significant correlation between HIF-1a
expression, patient age, gender, tumour, size,
invasiveness, cell proliferation rate and vascularity.
These results suggest that the behaviour of pituitary tumours does not primarily depend of HIF-1a
expression. Our study demonstrated an increase HIF-1a
expression in bromocriptine treated PRL producing
pituitary adenomas compared with untreated tumours but
no increase in octreotide treated tumours
Adrenomedullin expression in pituitary adenomas and nontumoral adenohypophyses
Summary. Adrenomedullin (ADM) is a novel peptide
originally identified in extracts of human
pheochromocytoma. It is produced by several tissues,
including the pituitary gland. The presence of ADM has
been immunohistochemically demonstrated in
pathologic pituitary glands, but no systematic study of
ADM expression in human pituitary adenomas has been
reported. Thus, we investigated ADM immunoexpression
in 88 various hormone-secreting and
clinically nonfunctioning pituitary adenoma types as
well as 30 nontumoral adenohypophyses. Furthermore,
ADM immunoreactivity was assessed on a 0 to +3 scale
in all samples. We found strong immunoreativity for
ADM in normal gonadotrophs also expressing FSH and
LH whereas in the other adenohypophysial cell types
expression of ADM was mild. Results showed that
normal adenohypophyses were strongly immunopositive
for ADM (2.18±0.11). Our findings demonstrate that
ADM expression in the anterior pituitary is diminished
in tumors as compared to the normal gland. The
physiologic function of ADM is unknown, but it could
act as a paracrine or autocrine factor in the
adenohypophysis