Pathological and Biological Differences Between Screen-Detected and Interval Ductal Carcinoma in situ of the Breast

Background: The incidence of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) has risen dramatically with the introduction of screening mammography. The aim was to evaluate differences in pathological and biological characteristics between patients with screen-detected and interval DCIS. Methods: From January 1992 to December 2001, 128 consecutive patients had been treated for pure DCIS at our institute. From these, 102 had been attending the Dutch breast cancer screening program. Sufficient paraffin-embedded tissue was available in 74 out of the 102 cases to evaluate biological marker expression (Her2/neu, ER, PR, p53 and cyclin D1) on tissue microarrays (TMA group). Differences in clinicopathological characteristics and marker expression between screen-detected and interval patients were evaluated. Screen-detected DCIS was classified as DCIS detected by screening mammography, when the two-year earlier examination failed to reveal an abnormality. Interval patients were classified as patients with DCIS detected within the two-year interval between two subsequent screening rounds. Results: Screen-detected DCIS was related with linear branching and coarse granular microcalcifications on mammography (p < .001) and with high-grade DCIS according to the Van Nuys classification (p = .025). In univariate analysis, screen-detected DCIS was related with Her2/neu overexpression (odds ratio [OR] = 6.5; 95%CI 1.3-31.0; p = .020), and interval DCIS was associated with low-grade (Van Nuys, OR = 7.3; 95% CI 1.6-33.3; p = .010) and PR positivity (OR = 0.3; 95%CI 0.1-1.0; p = .042). The multivariate analysis displayed an independent relation of Her2/neu overexpression with screen-detected DCIS (OR = 12.8; 95%CI 1.6-104.0; p = .018). Conclusions: These findings suggest that screen-detected DCIS is biologically more aggressive than interval DCIS and should not be regarded as overdiagnosis

Mechanisms and therapeutic applications of electromagnetic therapy in Parkinson's disease

© 2015 Vadalà et al. Electromagnetic therapy is a non-invasive and safe approach for the management of several pathological conditions including neurodegenerative diseases. Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative pathology caused by abnormal degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the ventral tegmental area and substantia nigra pars compacta in the midbrain resulting in damage to the basal ganglia. Electromagnetic therapy has been extensively used in the clinical setting in the form of transcranial magnetic stimulation, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, high-frequency transcranial magnetic stimulation and pulsed electromagnetic field therapy which can also be used in the domestic setting. In this review, we discuss the mechanisms and therapeutic applications of electromagnetic therapy to alleviate motor and non-motor deficits that characterize Parkinson's disease

Novel Approach Identifies SNPs in SLC2A10 and KCNK9 with Evidence for Parent-of-Origin Effect on Body Mass Index

Marja-Liisa Lokki työryhmien Generation Scotland Consortium, LifeLines Cohort Study ja GIANT Consortium jäsenPeer reviewe

Detection of HPV-associated oropharyngeal tumours in a 16-year cohort: more than meets the eye

Background: Accurate assessment of the prevalence of the human papilloma virus (HPV) in oropharyngeal tumours (OpSCC) is important because HPV-positive OpSCC are consistently associated with an improved overall survival. Recently, an algorithm has become available that reliably detects clinically relevant HPV in tumour tissue, however, no complete cohorts have been tested. The aim was to determine the prevalence of active high-risk HPV infection in a complete cohort of OpSCC collected over a 16-year period. Methods: Using a triple algorithm of p16 immunohistochemistry, HPV-BRISH and HPV-PCR, we assessed the prevalence of active HPV infection in all OpSCC diagnosed in our hospital from 1997 to 2012 (n = 193) and a random selection of 200 oral tumours (OSCC). Results: Forty-seven OpSCC (24%) were HPVGP PCR-positive; 42 cases were HPV16+, 1 HPV18+, 3 HPV33+ and 1 HPV35+. Brightfield in situ hybridisation did not identify additional HPV-positive cases. Human papilloma virus-associated tumour proportion increased from 13% (1997-2004) to 30% (2005-2012). Human papilloma virus-positivity was an independent predictor for longer disease-specific survival (HR = 0.22; 95% CI: 0.10-0.47). Only one OSCC was HPV+. Conclusions: In our cohort, the incidence of HPV-associated OpSCC is low but increasing rapidly. The strict detection algorithm, analysis of disease-specific survival and the complete cohort, including palliatively treated patients, may influence the reported prevalence and prognostic value of HPV in OpSCC

Delineation of Violence from Functional Aggression in Mice: An Ethological Approach

The present study aims at delineating violence from aggression, using genetically selected high (SAL, TA, NC900) and low (LAL, TNA NC100) aggressive mouse strains. Unlike aggression, violence lacks intrinsic control, environmental constraints as well as functional endpoints. Conventional measures namely latency, frequency and duration were used initially to accomplish the objective of delineation using the above strains. However, these quantitative measures fail to reveal further details beyond the magnitude of differential aggression, especially within the high aggressive mouse strains. Hence, it was necessary to analyze further, the behavioral sequences that make up the agonistic encounter. Novel measures such as threat/(attack + chase) (T/AC) and offense/withdrawal (O/W) ratios, context dependency and first-order Markov chain analysis were used for the above purpose. Our present analyses reveal clear qualitative behavioral differences between the three high aggressive selection strains based on the following facets namely structure and context in an agonistic interaction. Structure refers to a detailed study of the agonistic interaction components (ritualistic display, offense and sensitivity to the opponent submission cues) between any two subjects (inter-male interaction for the present study). Context refers to the capacity to identify an opponent by nature of its state (free moving/anesthetized), sex and the environment (home/neutral territory). NC900 displayed context dependency and structurally a rich repertoire of agonistic interaction components with an opponent. SAL failed to show discrimination and its inter-male agonistic behavior is restricted to a repetitive and an opponent-insensitive pattern of attack and chase. TA was comparable to SAL in terms of the structure but sensitive to context variables. Thus, SAL seems to display a violent form of aggressive behavior, while NC900 display ‘functional’ hyperaggression against a docile opponent in an inter-male agonistic interaction.