Infiltrating syringomatous adenoma of nipple

Infiltrating syringomatous adenoma of the nipple is a rare, benign lesion with distinct clinical and histological features. Origin from ducts of dermal sweat glands has been postulated. Important differential diagnosis include nipple adenoma, tubular carcinoma and adenosquamous carcinoma. Appropriate local management includes accurate diagnosis and complete excision to avoid local recurrences. This report describes the condition in a 39-year-old parous lady

Lymphangiosarcoma of the arm presenting with lymphedema in a woman 16 years after mastectomy: a case report

Lymphangiosarcoma following breast cancer is a relatively rare entity, with around 300 cases so far reported worldwide. Affecting the long term survivors of breast cancer, lymphangiosarcoma (Stewart-Traves Syndrome) has a high mortality rate. Since lympedema following radical mastectomy or axillary clearance and radiotherapy seems to be the main predisposing factor, further research regarding modifications in the surgical technique of axillary nodes dissection as well as the development of new chemotherapeutic agents effective in lymphangiosarcoma are required

Androgen receptor expressing metaplastic carcinoma cell line established from non-caucasian female patient

Background:Metaplastic carcinoma (MCa) is a rare entity of breast cancer (BCa) where tumor of epithelial origin manifests differentiation into non-glandular, mesenchymal phenotype. These tumors exhibit heterogeneity with spindle, squamous, chondroid or osseous differentiation. Majority of these tumors do not express estrogen or progesterone receptors and are negative for HER-2/neu gene amplification, limiting use of available targeted therapies. This may translate into poor clinical outcome in this subset of patients as opposed to triple negative subtype of breast cancer. Cancer cell lines have been proved to be a valuable tool in understanding pathogenesis of BCa and development of appropriate drugs. Considering tumor heterogeneity, selecting an appropriate cell line model is imperative to understand signaling mechanisms of each of the distinct sub-types of BCa.Aim of this study was to establish and characterize a BCa cell line from a non-caucasian Pakistani patient.Methodology:Cell line was established from primary culture of tumor tissue from a 65 year old Pakistani female patient diagnosed with T4N1M0 MCa of breast. Specimen was procured in Dulbecco\u27s Modified Eagle\u27s Medium and processed under sterile conditions by mincing and gentle pipetting followed by culturing in complete medium supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum. Epitheliod colonies were visualized after 3 weeks of culture, which were subsequently passaged and propagated. This cell line has been phenotypically and genotypically characterized using karyotyping, gene expression analysis, immunocytochemistry and florescent insitu hybridization (FISH).Results:Cell line has a human karyotype with multiploidy and population doubling time of 60 hours. Gene expression profiling revealed negative expression of ER, PR and positive expression of androgen receptor (AR) and HER-2/neu. FISH analysis was negative for HER-2/neu amplification. Both basal (cytokeratins 5, 14 & 19) and luminal markers (cytokeratin 8 & 18) are expressed at mRNA level along with myoepithelial markers (CD10, S100A7, p-cadherin, desmin, S100A4, S100A2 & α-SMA). In accordance with mesenchymal phenotype, it has low expression of e-cadherin and high expression of vimentin. Invasion assay revealed this cell line to be non-invasive forming spheroids. CAG repeat length of AR is 22 and AR has been found to be functional by luciferase reporter assay in response to treatment with dihydrotestosterone.Conclusions:We report a novel metaplastic carcinoma cell line from a nan-caucasian female patient with functional AR. Targeting AR signaling may be a promising therapeutic target in this rare sub-type of BCa

Lack of androgen receptor expression correlates with high expression of ALDH1 and poor overall and 5-year disease free survival in patients with invasive breast cancer

Introduction: A sub-population of cells referred to as cancer stem cells has been identified utilizing specific markers such as aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 (ALDH1) amongst others in solid tumors including breast cancers. Evidence from in vitro studies has shown that high ALDH1 expression identifies tumorigenic cell population which is capable of self-renewal and generating tumors which recapitulate the heterogeneity of the primary tumors. Expression of androgen receptor is present in 70-90% cases of invasive breast cancers at a frequency that is higher than the expression of estrogen or progesterone receptors. However, prognostic relevance of androgen receptor expression in relation to the expression of ALDH1 has not been investigated.Methodology: Immunohistochemical expression of ALDH1 and AR was evaluated in formalin fixed paraffin embedded blocks from 177 invasive breast cancer cases at a single institution in Pakistan from 2006-2010. Clinico-pathological details and follow-up data were collected from patients\u27 medical charts. Data analysis was performed on SPSS version 19. Over-all survival and 5-year disease free survival were estimated by Kaplan Meier.Results: The mean age of the patients was 53.9 (+ 12.40) years. Fifteen percent patients were diagnosed with stage I disease, 52% with stage II, 25% and 8% presented with stage III and stage IV disease, respectively. Twelve percent patients presented with T1 tumors, 49.7% patients presented with T2 tumors whereas 23.7% and 14.6 % patients presented with T3 and T4 tumors respectively. Fifty-seven percent patients were node positive. Estrogen and progesterone receptor expression was present in 62% and 52% of tumors respectively. HER-2/neu was overexpressed /amplified in 30% tumors. Immunohistochemical expression of androgen receptor (AR) was present in 63.8% tumors whereas ALDH1 expression was present in 28.8% tumors. Lack of androgen receptor expression was associated with high expression of ALDH1 ( p= 0.009).Cases were divided into two groups: Group1: ALDH1-/AR+ and Group 2: ALDH1+/ AR-. No significant differences were observed between these groups with respect to age, tumor size, stage of disease, HER-2 neu over-expression/amplification or nodal status. Group 1 phenotype correlated with nuclear grade I and II tumors (p \u3c0.05), estrogen receptor (p \u3c0.05) and progesterone receptor (p \u3c0.05) expression. Group 2 phenotype was associated with nuclear grade III tumors (p \u3c0.05) and estrogen and progesterone receptor negativity (p \u3c0.05). Although not statistically significant, but a trend towards a better over-all survival and 5-year disease free survival was observed in group 1 as compared to group 2.Conclusions:1. Group 1 phenotype correlated with better prognostic features such as well to moderately differentiated and endocrine responsive tumors.2. Group 2 phenotype correlated with poor prognostic features such as higher nuclear grade and lack of expression of hormone receptors.3. Expression of stem cell marker, ALDH1, in group 2 phenotype correlated with poor over-all and 5-year disease free survival

A Review of Supercapacitors: Materials Design, Modification, and Applications

Supercapacitors (SCs) have received much interest due to their enhanced electrochemical performance, superior cycling life, excellent specific power, and fast charging–discharging rate. The energy density of SCs is comparable to batteries; however, their power density and cyclability are higher by several orders of magnitude relative to batteries, making them a flexible and compromising energy storage alternative, provided a proper design and efficient materials are used. This review emphasizes various types of SCs, such as electrochemical double-layer capacitors, hybrid supercapacitors, and pseudo-supercapacitors. Furthermore, various synthesis strategies, including sol-gel, electro-polymerization, hydrothermal, co-precipitation, chemical vapor deposition, direct coating, vacuum filtration, de-alloying, microwave auxiliary, in situ polymerization, electro-spinning, silar, carbonization, dipping, and drying methods, are discussed. Furthermore, various functionalizations of SC electrode materials are summarized. In addition to their potential applications, brief insights into the recent advances and associated problems are provided, along with conclusions. This review is a noteworthy addition because of its simplicity and conciseness with regard to SCs, which can be helpful for researchers who are not directly involved in electrochemical energy storage