HEMORRHAGIC ENDOVASCULITIS OF THE PLACENTA - A CLINICAL-PATHOLOGICAL STUDY IN BRAZIL

Hemorrhagic endovasculitis (HEV) of the placenta involves damage to or destruction of chorionic vessels and fetal erythrocytes. We evaluated the frequency and extension of the HEV and clinical events and morphologic changes associated with it in placentas from live-born and stillborn infants. Two hundred sixty four placentas were examined: 214 from livebirths and 50 from stillbirths. The livebirths were subdivided according to the time of intrauterine retention (IUR). HEV occurred in 8.8% of placentas from livebirths and in 32% from stillbirths. In the livebirths the lesion affected small number of villi, was frequently associated with villitis (73.6% of the cases), but there was no significant association with maternal disease or birth weight. In the stillbirths, HEV was strongly associated with the time of IUR. In stillbirths with 1 day of IUR, HEV occurred in frequency similar to the livebirths (9.5%), but in stillbirths with 2-7 days of IUR the frequency was high (71.4%) and numerous vessels were involved. In those over 7 days the lesion was less extensive and frequent (20%) and it had the appearance of end stage of organization. We conclude that HEV, in livebirths and fresh stillbirths is frequently a small lesion of little significance, while in macerated stillbirths it is an artifact of maceration.o TEXTO COMPLETO DESTE ARTIGO, ESTARÁ DISPONÍVEL À PARTIR DE AGOSTO DE 2015.23535936

Prognostic significance of GRP78 expression patterns in breast cancer patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy

This study examined the associations between GRP78 expression and breast cancer recurrence and survival in patients treated with anthracyclines in the adjuvant setting. GRP78 expression was assessed in 106 stage II/III breast cancer patients. Tissue microarray was used to perform immunohistochemistry and to determine the GRP78 expression in endoplasmic reticulum and cell membrane of breast tumors. Four distinct scenarios (low and high thresholds) were developed. For high thresholds, 16% and 40% of our cases were GRP78-positive for endoplasmic reticulum and cell membrane, respectively. For low thresholds, 74% and 87% of our cases were GRP78-positive for endoplasmic reticulum and cell membrane, respectively. In the endoplasmic reticulum high-threshold scenario, GRP78 positive was found to be significantly frequent in T3 tumors (p = 0.02), and inversely related to ERBB2 overexpression (p = 0.03). There was a lower proportion of GRP78-positive cases among women between 50 and 65 years of age (p = 0.02). In the endoplasmic reticulum low-threshold scenario, the proportion of GRP78-positive cases was significantly higher in women younger than 50 years and in those who were premenopausal (p = 0.04). No statistically significant difference was found in survival probabilities among the scenarios examined. In our cohort, GRP78 overexpression was not a predictor of overall or disease-free survival of patients receiving anthracycline-based adjuvant chemotherapy.26318819