8 research outputs found
Thyroid morphology in lethal non-thyroidal illness: a post-mortem study
OBJECTIVE: Non-thyroidal illness (NTI) is associated with alterations in
thyroid hormone metabolism. Whether morphological changes of the thyroid
gland accompany NTI is unknown. The aim of the present study was to
describe thyroid morphology in patients with lethal non-thyroidal disease.
DESIGN: In an autopsy study 267 cases have been examined. METHODS:
Clinical data were obtained from medical records. Subjects were patients
with chronic disease (group A), intensive care patients (group B) or
persons who had died suddenly without pre-existing illnesses (group C).
Patients (n = 93) who did not fit into one of these categories and
subjects with pre-existing thyroid disorders were excluded. Thyroid
histology was assessed semi-quantitatively: grade I <25%, grade II 25--50%
or grade III >75% occupation of the thyroid gland by follicles with a
diameter <200 microm. RESULTS: Mean thyroid weight was 19.9 g in group A
(n=75, age 19--96 (median 75) years, 48 males); 25.7 g in group B (n=64,
age 24--93 (median 69) years, 43 males); and 26.0 g in group C (n=35, age
31--89 (median 69) years, 22 males) (P<0.0005, A vs B/C). Grade I thyroid
histology was present in 6 out of 75 patients with chronic illness, in 3
out of 64 intensive care patients and in 33 out of 35 sudden-death
subjects. Grade III thyroid histology occurred in 30 out of 75 chronically
ill patients, in 17 out of 64 intensive care patients and in 0 out of 35
sudden-death subjects (P<0.0005, C vs A/B). CONCLUSIONS: NTI is associated
with reduced thyroid follicular size that is accompanied by lower thyroid
weight in chronically ill patients but not significantly in intensive care
patients
FGFR3 and P53 characterize alternative genetic pathways in the pathogenesis of urothelial cell carcinoma
Fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3) and P53 mutations are
frequently observed in bladder cancer. We here describe the distribution
of FGFR3 mutations and P53 overexpression in 260 primary urothelial cell
carcinomas. FGFR3 mutations were observed in 59% and P53 overexpression in
25%. Interestingly, FGFR3 and P53 alterations were mutually exclusive,
because they coincided in only 5.7% of tumors. Consequently, we propose
that they characterize two alternative genetic pathways in urothelial cell
carcinoma pathogenesis. The genetic alterations were reflected in the
pathology and the clinical outcome, i.e., FGFR3 mutations were found in
low-stage/-grade tumors and were associated with a favorable disease
course, whereas P53 alterations were tied to adverse disease parameters