Application of Fluorescence in situ Hybridization (FISH) on the Tissue Sections for Detection of Chromosomal Aberrations in the Carcinogenesis in the Colon and Rectum

To clarify the genetic events and pathway of carcinogenesis in the colorectal neoplasias, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), which could detect chromosomal numerical aberrations, is applied to tissue sections of colorectal adenomas and carcinomas using pericentromere specific repetitive DNA probes. When FISH was applied to tissue sections, it would be easy for investigators to distinguish between certain glands and the others in comparison with a hematoxylin-eosin (H-E) staining section in the same specimens. As a fundamental study forward to clinical applications of this new method, then, it was tried to study the feasibility of FISH on paraffin-embedded tissue sections of a spleen, which was surgically resected at operation, driven by necessity. The adequate thickness of the sections was determined as five μ m in the study, so the method was applied to the clinical materials, which were collected and fixed in formalin from operative or polypectomy specimens. Biotinylated DNA probes for the centromeric regions of chromosomes 11 and 17 were used. These probes worked well, demonstrating one copy (monosomy) in 26.5 ± 9.7 %, and two copies (disomy) in 66.4 ± 9.9 %, and three copies (trisomy) in 7.1±5.6 % for chromosome 11, and monosomy in 18.4±9.7 %, disomy in 64.3±12.8 %, and trisomy in 17.3± 16.6 % for chromosome 17 in the adenomas. And the probes demonstrated more than three copies of chromosome 17 in 23.6 to 24.6 % in polypoid cancers and the carcinoma component of carcinoma in adenomas. In applying the FISH on tissue section, it should be taken into account that whole nuclei of about ten μ m in size could not be encompassed in a five μ m thickness section, and that a certain percentage of the cells showed lower copy numbers as a result of truncation. The disadvantage of underestimating the copy numbers due to the nuclear truncation always existed, however, FISH on the tissue section allowed to detect the copy numbers of tumor cells among stromal and inflammatory cells, and to detect intratumor heterogeneity in comparison with the H-E staining sample. The auther emphasized that applying FISH to the paraffin sections enabled to achieve the retrospective study using archival paraffin-embedded specimens

Significance of Bilateral Mediastinal Lymph Nodes Dissection through Median Sternotomy in Non-Small Lung Cancer

We report therapeutic results of bilateral mediastinal lymph nodes dissection through median sternotomy in 8 cases. The prognosis was poor in N3 cases by pathological diagnosis. The cases suspected to have contralateral mediastinal lymph node metastasis by preoperative imaging diagnosis may include N2. Then, appropriate preoperative diagnosis by mediastinoscopy, etc. is important. However, mediastinoscopy can not be complete, and so it is an option to conduct bilateral dissection positively in the who may be N3. Cytobiological prognosis evaluation was not useful in these patients of advanced cancer

Less Invasive Surgery under VATS for Synchronous Bilateral Lung Cancers

A patient with synchronous bilateral lung cancer is described. She was successfully treated with less invasive surgery by right S10 wedge resection using Video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) and left S6 segmentectomy. We judged she had synchronous primary lung cancers in the bilateral lung by histological study. She has remained well for 31 months. VATS is an effective approach for multicentric primary lung cancers and minimize the surgical stress of the simultaneous resection of bilateral tumor

Castleman\u27s Disease of the Retroperitoneum

A case of retroperitoneal CASTLEMAN\u27s disease of hyaline-vascular type is presented. A 58-year-old woman was admitted with a four month history of lower back pain. Although a retroperitoneal tumor was found on sonography and CASTLEMAN\u27s disease was included in the differential diagnosis, further imaging procedures such as computed tomography and angiography could not confirm the preoperative diagnosis of CASTLEMAN\u27s disease. After the surgical removal of the tumor, the patient has been doing well with no evidence of recurrent disease

Risk Factor for Recurrence of Breast Cancer

The risk factors of recurrence following surgical treatment for patients with breast cancer were clinically evaluated on the basis of a result of clinical analysis. In this study, it is emphasized that special attention should focus on tissue CEA and DNA analysis. In conclusion, clinical uses of tissue positive CEA and aneuploid pattern in analysis of nuclear DNA content in cancer cells are of great value to forecast recurrence

Multiplex real-time polymerase chain reaction for rapid detection of beta-lactamase-negative, ampicillin-resistant Haemophilus influenzae.

We evaluated a multiplex real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method for quantification of Haemophilus influenzae and rapid detection of beta-lactam-resistant strains. We designed 5 PCR primer sets to simultaneously detect the beta-lactam-resistant genes and quantify the pathogen. To demonstrate the validity of this assay, we used 191 clinical isolates, including 141 H. influenzae strains, and 100 purulent sputum samples, including 30 samples from which H. influenzae had been isolated. This assay showed 92.9% sensitivity and 91.8% specificity for detecting beta-lactam-resistant genes, relative to the conventional phenotypic method, and this assay correlated well with conventional quantitative culture counts. By using this assay, we could quantify H. influenzae and identify beta-lactam susceptibility in only 3 h and with only one tube. This method will be helpful for the rapid detection of H. influenzae infections and the selection of appropriate antibiotics

Conjunctival Sac Microbiome in Infectious Conjunctivitis

Acute bacterial conjunctival infections are common, and this study identified the conjunctival bacterial community in infectious conjunctivitis cases seen at the outpatient clinic of Khanh Hoa General Hospital in Nha Trang, Vietnam from October 2016 through December 2017. Conjunctival swabs were collected and tested using conventional culture, PCR, and 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing. The study included 47 randomly selected patients. More than 98% of all DNA reads represented five bacterial phyla. Three of these phyla constituted 92% of all sequences (Firmicutes (35%), Actinobacteria (31%), and Proteobacteria (26%)). At the genus level, there were 12 common genera that constituted about 61% of all sequence reads. Seven of those genera were common (Streptococcus (10%), Cutibacterium (10%), Staphylococcus (7%), Nocardioides (7%), Corynebacterium 1 (5%), Anoxybacillus (5%), and Acinetobacter (5%)), which encompassed 49% of all reads. As for diversity analysis, there was no difference on PERMANOVA analysis (unweighted UniFrac) for sex (p = 0.087), chemosis (p = 0.064), and unclassified eyedrops (p = 0.431). There was a significant difference in cases with bilateral conjunctivitis (p = 0.017) and for using antibiotics (p = 0.020). Of the predominant phyla, Firmicutes had the highest abundance in bacterial conjunctivitis in this study. Pseudomonas as a resident commensal microbiota may have an important role in the prevention of infection

Efficacy of Combination Therapy with Oseltamivir Phosphate and Azithromycin for Influenza: A Multicenter, Open-Label, Randomized Study

Background: Macrolides have antibiotic and immunomodulatory activities, which may have a favorable effect on the clinical outcome of patients with infections, including influenza. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of combination therapy with an anti-influenza agent, oseltamivir, and a single-dose formulation of azithromycin (AZM), which has been used for influenza-related secondary pneumonia, on influenza patients. The primary endpoint was a change in the expression levels of inflammatory cytokines. Secondary endpoints were the time required for resolution of influenza-related symptoms, incidence of complications, and adverse reactions. Methods: Patients with seasonal influenza were enrolled in this multicenter, open-label, randomized study. Patients were stratified according to the presence of a high risk factor and were randomized to receive combination therapy with oseltamivir plus an extended-release formulation of AZM (combo-group) or oseltamivir monotherapy (mono-group). Results: We enrolled 107 patients and randomized them into the mono-group (56 patients) or the combo-group (51 patients). All patients were diagnosed with influenza A infection, and none of the patients had comorbid pneumonia. Statistically significant differences were not observed in the expression levels of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines between the 2 groups. The maximum temperature in the combo-group was lower than that in the mono-group on day 3 through day 5 (p = 0.048), particularly on day 4 (p = 0.037). Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the first prospective, randomized, clinical trial of oseltamivir and AZM combination therapy for influenza. Although the difference in inflammatory cytokine expression level was not statistically significant, combination therapy showed an early resolution of some symptoms. Name of registry: University hospital Medical Information Network (UMIN). Trial Registration no.: UMIN000005371