Wolffian tumor (female adnexal tumor of Wolffian origin) presenting as a pelvic side wall mass: Report of a case

The Wolffian tumor, previously identified as “female adnexal tumor of probable Wolffian origin,” is a rare tumor first described in 1973. The tumor is usually benign and is characterized by diffuse and tubular patterns, accentuated by reticulum and periodic acid–Schiff stains. Immunohistochemistry is used to further identify and classify these tumors, which are positive for cytokeratins, vimentin, inhibin, calretinin, and CD10 and negative for cytokeratin 20, epithelial membrane antigen, estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, 34betaE12, and glutathione S-transferase. We report the case of a 47-year-old female with Wolffian tumor arising from the pelvic sidewall, separate from all reproductive organs. This is the first reported case of Wolffian tumor in this location

Excellent Pathologic Response and Atypical Clinical Course of High-Grade Extremity Sarcoma to Neoadjuvant Pencil Beam Scanning Proton Therapy

Neoadjuvant radiation therapy, followed by definitive surgical resection, remains the standard of care for resectable high-grade and unresectable soft tissue sarcomas. Proton therapy offers the promise of highly conformal dose distributions with improved sparing of neighboring normal tissues as compared with conformal and intensity modulated photon techniques. It is unclear whether proton therapy may offer an improved tumoral response, especially with dose escalation, in this relatively radio-insensitive tumor type. We, herein, present a patient with an excellent pathologic response to preoperative pencil beam scanning proton therapy despite a complex treatment course

The yeast FIT2 homologs are necessary to maintain cellular proteostasis and membrane lipid homeostasis

Lipid droplets (LDs) are implicated in conditions of lipid and protein dysregulation. The fat storage-inducing transmembrane (FIT; also known as FITM) family induces LD formation. Here, we establish a model system to study the role of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae FIT homologues (ScFIT), SCS3 and YFT2, in the proteostasis and stress response pathways. While LD biogenesis and basal endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress-induced unfolded protein response (UPR) remain unaltered in ScFIT mutants, SCS3 was found to be essential for proper stress-induced UPR activation and for viability in the absence of the sole yeast UPR transducer IRE1 Owing to not having a functional UPR, cells with mutated SCS3 exhibited an accumulation of triacylglycerol within the ER along with aberrant LD morphology, suggesting that there is a UPR-dependent compensatory mechanism that acts to mitigate lack of SCS3 Additionally, SCS3 was necessary to maintain phospholipid homeostasis. Strikingly, global protein ubiquitylation and the turnover of both ER and cytoplasmic misfolded proteins is impaired in ScFITΔ cells, while a screen for interacting partners of Scs3 identifies components of the proteostatic machinery as putative targets. Together, our data support a model where ScFITs play an important role in lipid metabolism and proteostasis beyond their defined roles in LD biogenesis.This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper.Nanyang Technological UniversityNational Research Foundation (NRF)Published versionThis work was supported by the Nanyang Assistant Professorship programme from the Nanyang Technological University to G.T., the National Research Foundation, Singapore, under its NRF-NSFC joint research grant call (Synthetic Biology, NRF2018NRFNSFC003SB-006) to G.T., the Nanyang Technological University Research Scholarship to P.J.S. (predoctoral fellowship), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant GM-19629 to S.A.H., the Intramural Research Program of the NIH to W.A.P., The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) to W.A.P

Methylation microarray analysis of late-stage ovarian carcinomas distinguishes progression-free survival in patients and identifies candidate epigenetic markers

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to profile methylation alterations of CpG islands in ovarian tumors and to identify candidate markers for diagnosis and prognosis of the disease. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: A global analysis of DNA methylation using a novel microarray approach called differential methylation hybridization was performed on 19 patients with stage III and IV ovarian carcinomas. RESULTS: Hierarchical clustering identified two groups of patients with distinct methylation profiles. Tumors from group 1 contained high levels of concurrent methylation, whereas group 2 tumors had lower tumor methylation levels. The duration of progression-free survival after chemotherapy was significantly shorter for patients in group 1 compared with group 2 (P < 0.001). Differential methylation in tumors was independently confirmed by methylation-specific PCR. CONCLUSIONS: The data suggest that a higher degree of CpG island methylation is associated with early disease recurrence after chemotherapy. The differential methylation hybridization assay also identified a select group of CpG island loci that are potentially useful as epigenetic markers for predicting treatment outcome in ovarian cancer patients

Spatially Fractionated Radiotherapy (GRID) Prior to Standard Neoadjuvant Conventionally Fractionated Radiotherapy for Bulky, High-Risk Soft Tissue and Osteosarcomas: Feasibility, Safety, and Promising Pathologic Response Rates

Spatially fractionated radiotherapy (GRID) has been utilized primarily in the palliative and definitive treatment of bulky tumors. Delivered in the modern era primarily with megavoltage photon therapy, this technique offers the promise of safe dose escalation with potential immunogenic, bystander and microvasculature effects that can augment a conventionally fractionated course of radiotherapy. At the University of Maryland, an institutional standard has arisen to incorporate a single fraction of GRID radiation in large (>8 cm), high-risk soft tissue and osteosarcomas prior to a standard fractionated course. Herein, we report on the excellent pathologic responses and apparent safety of this regimen in 26 consecutive patients. (C) 2020 by Radiation Research Societ