Alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma in children with histomorphological review

Rhabdomyosarcomas (RMS) are aggressive malignant neoplasm of mesenchymal origin, related to skeletal muscle lineage. These are the most common soft tissue tumors in children. The diagnosis is made by microscopic analysis and ancillary techniques like immunohistochemistry, electron microscopy, cytogenetics and molecular biology. We encountered a case of a 03 years old child who presented with a tender, reddish, soft swelling over cheek for three weeks. The FNAC was reported as a small round cell tumor, Probably Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumor (PNET). The biopsy of tumor revealed a small round cell tumor with an alveolar pattern. Tumor giant cells were absent and mitotic figures were infrequent. Hence, differentials of alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma and PNET were rendered. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) demonstrated desmin positivity. Thus, a final diagnosis of alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma was offered

Evaluation of total choline from in-vivo volume localized proton MR spectroscopy and its response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in locally advanced breast cancer

Results of the proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy carried out on normal, benign breast disease and locally advanced breast cancer patients are presented. The in-vivo MR spectra of malignant breast tissue of patients (n = 67) suffering from infiltrating ductal carcinoma are dominated by the water resonance, while the spectra of the unaffected contralateral breast tissue of these patients are mainly dominated by resonance arising from lipids which is similar to the spectra of normal breast tissue obtained from volunteers (controls, n = 16). In addition to the water and lipid peaks, in majority of the patients (~80%) the water suppressed spectra showed a resonance at 3.2 ppm due to choline containing compounds (TCho) before treatment. In patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy, absence/reduction in choline was observed in 89% of the patients. TCho was also observed in 2 of 14 benign lesions. The sensitivity and specificity of in-vivo MRS in detecting TCho in malignant tumours was 78% and 86%, respectively. Observation of TCho before treatment and its disappearance (or reduction) after treatment may be a useful indicator of response of locally advanced breast cancer to neoadjuvant chemotherapy. © 2001 Cancer Research Campaign http://www.bjcancer.co

Reproducibility of tangential breast fields using online electronic portal images

BackgroundTreatment verification and reproducibility plays a major role in radiotherapy to achieve better tumour control. Small uncertainties in daily repositioning of the patients and internal organ motion can lead to discrepancies between the planned and delivered radiation treatments. A factor that influences dose homogeneity and treatment volume is the accuracy of treatment setup. Small deviations in positioning the patient with regard to the beam setup could have a relatively significant impact on the treatment volume and it is imperative to control the setup error during radiotherapy. This study focuses on the importance of inter- and intra-fraction error in tangential breast radiotherapy with an electronic portal imaging device.AimTo study the variation in treatment setup due to intra-fraction and inter-fraction during tangential field breast irradiation.Materials/MethodsTwelve patients of carcinoma breast were selected for this study and CT based planning was performed with simple tangential fields. The patients were treated on a 6MV linear accelerator equipped with an electronic portal imaging device (EPID). Portal images were acquired for both medial and lateral tangential fields for 10 fractions and intra- and inter-fraction studies were performed for all the patients. Parameters such as central lung distance (CLD), central beam edge to skin distance (CBESD), central irradiated width (CIW) and cranio-caudal distances (CCD) were measured on the acquired portal image.ResultsThe average systematic differences observed for CLD, CBESD, CCD and CIW were 1.2mm, 2.8mm, 2.07mm and 3.30mm. For intra-fraction motion, the observed standard deviations for CLD, CBESD and CCD were 0.7mm, 0.73mm, and 1.36mm. Similarly the CLD, CBESD, CIW and CCD were analyzed for inter-fraction variation.ConclusionsThe online portal imaging device is an important tool for ensuring the proper delivery of planned dose. Our results suggest that intra-fraction motion of the breast has less impact on the treatment volume. Regular treatment verification between treatment fractions will help in reducing the normal tissue toxicity and ensures proper dose delivery to the tumour volume

Therapeutic radiological interventional procedures in hepatocellular carcinoma

Background: To improve the survival rate of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in whom surgery is not possible, various methods have been developed employing angiographic and percutaneous techniques. We analyzed our experience with various percutaneous therapeutic interventional techniques done for HCC in our center. Methods: Sixty-one patients with inoperable HCC (mean age 48.9 [SD 13.8] y; 47 men) were treated between January 1997 and December 2000 by transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) alone (22), TACE with percutaneous alcohol injection (PEI) (20), transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) with steel coils and gel foam for gastrointestinal bleed (7), percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (1), percutaneous preoperative right portal vein embolization (3) and percutaneous preoperative tumor embolization to reduce blood loss at surgery (8). Results: In 42 patients treated by TACE and PEI and TACE alone, tumor necrosis was scored; over 50% necrosis was seen only after six and nine months in both treatment groups. The survival rates after six and nine months and the median survival were similar in the two groups. Of 7 cases treated with TAE with steel coils and gel foam, the gastrointestinal bleeding stopped in four; in the other three, bleeding did not stop completely although less transfusion was required. In the patient treated by radiofrequency ablation, follow-up contrast-enhanced CT did not show enhancing tumor mass. We noted left lobe enlargement after percutaneous preoperative right portal vein embolization, prior to right hepatectomy. Conclusion: In patients with HCC not amenable to surgical intervention, a variety of percutaneous therapeutic interventional techniques may be used

Mesenteric gastrointestinal stromal tumour presenting as intracranial space occupying lesion

BACKGROUND: Gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GIST) usually present with non-specific gastrointestinal symptoms such as abdominal mass, pain, anorexia and bowel obstruction. METHODS: We report a case of a 42 year old male who presented with a solitary intracranial space occupying lesion which was established as a metastasis from a mesenteric tumour. RESULTS: The patient was initially treated as a metastatic sarcoma, but a lack of response to chemotherapy prompted testing for CD117 which returned positive. A diagnosis of mesenteric GIST presenting as solitary brain metastasis was made, and the patient was treated with imatinib. CONCLUSION: We recommend that all sarcomas with either an intraabdominal or unknown origin be routinely tested for CD117 to rule out GIST

Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of Caddisflies in Streams of Southern Western Ghats

The dynamics of physico-chemical factors and their effects on caddisfly communities were examined in 29 streams of southern Western Ghats. Monthly samples were collected from the Thadaganachiamman stream of Sirumalai Hills, Tamil Nadu from May 2006 to April 2007. Southwest and northeast monsoons favored the existence of caddisfly population in streams. A total of 20 caddisfly taxa were collected from 29 streams of southern Western Ghats. Hydropsyche (Trichoptera: Hydropsychidae) were more widely distributed throughout sampling sites than were the other taxa. Canonical correspondence analysis showed that elevation was a major variable and pH, stream order, and stream substrates were minor variables affecting taxa richness. These results suggested that habitat heterogeneity and seasonal changes were stronger predictors of caddisfly assemblages than large-scale patterns in landscape diversity

Interstitial brachytherapy guided intensity modulated radiation therapy (IBGIMRT) in cervical cancer: a dosimetric study

Abstract Purpose: Interstitial brachytherapy (IBT) is used as an alternative to intracavitary radiotherapy in the management of cervical carcinoma. We have devised a new technique called interstitial brachytherapy guided intensity modulated radiotherapy (IBGIMRT) which can potentially reduce doses to organs at risk (OaRs). It utilizes IMRT planning on the target volume (TV) defined by implantation of IBT needles. This study compares the dosimetry of IBT and IBGIMRT. Material and methods: CT scan images of 18 patients with cervical cancer, who have been already treated by HDR-BT, were used to generate two rival plans, IBT and IBGIMRT, for a prescription dose of 10 Gy. Following dosimetric factors were used for comparison: volume receiving 95% of prescription dose (V 95 ), conformity index (COIN) and external volume index (EI) for target and for OaR, dose received by volume of 1 cm 3 (D 1cc ), 2 cm 3 (D 2cc ), 5 cm 3 (D 5cc ) and also volume receiving 50% and 75% of prescription dose (V 50 and V 75 ). Results: The two plans resulted in COIN difference of 49.8% (p < 0.0001) and EI difference of 36.4% (p < 0.0028) in favor of IBGIMRT. Mean D 1cc , D 2cc and D 5cc values for bladder were 8.3 Gy, 7.6 Gy and 6.4 Gy; and 7.8 Gy, 7.3 Gy and 5.8 Gy with IBT and IBGIMRT, respectively (p > 0.05). Similar figures for rectum with IBT vs. IBGIMRT were 11.2 Gy vs. 7.02 Gy, 10.5 Gy vs. 6.4 Gy and 9.1 Gy vs. 4.8 Gy respectively (p < 0.01). Conclusions: Our novel technique, IBGIMRT, has shown its dosimetric superiority and therefore needs to be studied in clinical set up. J Contemp Brachyther 2009; 1, 2: 87-9

Current challenges in software solutions for mass spectrometry-based quantitative proteomics

This work was in part supported by the PRIME-XS project, grant agreement number 262067, funded by the European Union seventh Framework Programme; The Netherlands Proteomics Centre, embedded in The Netherlands Genomics Initiative; The Netherlands Bioinformatics Centre; and the Centre for Biomedical Genetics (to S.C., B.B. and A.J.R.H); by NIH grants NCRR RR001614 and RR019934 (to the UCSF Mass Spectrometry Facility, director: A.L. Burlingame, P.B.); and by grants from the MRC, CR-UK, BBSRC and Barts and the London Charity (to P.C.

The Escherichia coli SOS Gene dinF Protects against Oxidative Stress and Bile Salts

DNA is constantly damaged by physical and chemical factors, including reactive oxygen species (ROS), such as superoxide radical (O2−), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and hydroxyl radical (•OH). Specific mechanisms to protect and repair DNA lesions produced by ROS have been developed in living beings. In Escherichia coli the SOS system, an inducible response activated to rescue cells from severe DNA damage, is a network that regulates the expression of more than 40 genes in response to this damage, many of them playing important roles in DNA damage tolerance mechanisms. Although the function of most of these genes has been elucidated, the activity of some others, such as dinF, remains unknown. The DinF deduced polypeptide sequence shows a high homology with membrane proteins of the multidrug and toxic compound extrusion (MATE) family. We describe here that expression of dinF protects against bile salts, probably by decreasing the effects of ROS, which is consistent with the observed decrease in H2O2-killing and protein carbonylation. These results, together with its ability to decrease the level of intracellular ROS, suggests that DinF can detoxify, either direct or indirectly, oxidizing molecules that can damage DNA and proteins from both the bacterial metabolism and the environment. Although the exact mechanism of DinF activity remains to be identified, we describe for the first time a role for dinF