Cyclooxygenase-2 and p53 Expression as Prognostic Indicators in Conventional Renal Cell Carcinoma

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship of cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 and p53 expression with prognosis in patients with conventional renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue sections of conventional RCC from 92 patients, who had undergone radical nephrectomy, were examined for COX-2 and p53 expression by immunohistochemistry and compared with clinicopathological variables. The COX-2 expression significantly correlated only with tumor size (p=0.049), whereas the p53 expression profoundly correlated with the TNM stage (p=0.024), M stage (p=0.001), and metastasis (synchronous or metachronous; p=0.004). The COX-2 overexpression did not significantly associate with p53 positivity (p=0.821). The survival rate of patients correlated with the p53 expression (p<0.0001) but not with the COX-2 expression (p=0.7506). Multivariate analyses indicated that tumor size, M stage, and p53 expression were independent prognostic factors for cancer-specific survival. The COX-2 expression was not an independent factor. These results show that the increased expression of p53 was associated with metastasis and a worse prognosis in conventional RCC, which suggests that p53 might have played an important role in the progression of conventional RCC. The increased expression of COX-2 was associated only with tumor size, but may not be an important prognostic factor in conventional RCC. No association was observed between COX-2 overexpression and p53 positivity in conventional RCC

The Characteristics of Incidental Pituitary Microadenomas in 120 Korean Forensic Autopsy Cases

To investigate the characteristics of incidental pituitary microadenomas, we examined 120 pituitary glands from Korean forensic autopsy cases, from which eight tumors were identified (incidence 6.7%). The average age of the affected subjects was 50 yr (range: 33-96 yr) with a female predominance. The maximum diameters of the tumors ranged from 0.4 to 5.4 mm (mean: 2.8 mm). Immunohistochemical analysis of pituitary hormones revealed three growth hormone-secreting adenomas, one prolactin-producing adenoma, one gonadotropin-producing adenoma, one plurihormonal adenoma, and two null cell adenomas. MIB-1 staining for Ki-67 antigen showed no positive expression. The microvessel density (MVD) of the pituitary microadenomas ranged from 2.3 to 11.6% (mean: 5.3%) and was significantly lower than that of nonneoplastic pituitary glands (11.9-20.1%, mean: 14.8%). Our study provides reference data on incidental pituitary microadenomas in the Korean population

A superficial hyperechoic band in human articular cartilage on ultrasonography with histological correlation: preliminary observations

Purpose: To demonstrate the superficial hyperechoic band (SHEB) in articular cartilage by using ultrasonography (US) and to assess its correlation with histological images. Methods: In total, 47 regions of interest (ROIs) were analyzed from six tibial osteochondral specimens (OCSs) that were obtained after total knee arthroplasty. Ultrasonograms were obtained for each OCS. Then, matching histological sections from all specimens were obtained for comparison with the ultrasonograms. Two types of histological staining were used: Safranin-O stain (SO) to identify glycosaminoglycans (GAG) and Masson’s trichrome stain (MT) to identify collagen. In step 1, two observers evaluated whether there was an SHEB in each ROI. In step 2, the two observers evaluated which histological staining method correlated better with the SHEB by using the ImageJ software. Results: In step 1 of the analysis, 20 out of 47 ROIs showed an SHEB (42.6%, kappa=0.579). Step 2 showed that the SHEB correlated significantly better with the topographical variation in stainability in SO staining, indicating the GAG distribution, than with MT staining, indicating the collagen distribution (P<0.05, kappa=0.722). Conclusion: The SHEB that is frequently seen in human articular cartilage on high-resolution US correlated better with variations in SO staining than with variations in MT staining. Thus, we suggest that a SHEB is predominantly related to changes in GAG. Identifying an SHEB by US is a promising method for assessing the thickness of articular cartilage or for monitoring early osteoarthritis