Interval nodes (IN) are defined as lymph nodes that lie along the course of lymphatic collecting vessels between a primary tumor site and a draining node field. Sometimes INs contain metastases and a consensus on their surgical management is needed. Therefore, to optimize the surgical management of melanoma patients with metastatic lymphatic involvement, especially when the sentinel lymph node biopsy identifies an unusual drainage field, we identified patients treated at the Department of Plastic and Reconstruction Surgery of Bari between July 1994 and December 2012 identified with a primary-cutaneous melanoma who underwent lymphoscintigraphy and subsequent positive-IN the lymphadenectomy to evaluate the impact of this procedure on overall survival and disease-free-period. 51 patients presented INs, and lymphadenectomy (LA) of the subsequent lymphatic field was performed in 13 subjects with positive-IN. In 4 cases additional lymphatic metastases were detected in the usual basin beyond the IN+. Recurrence-free period and survival rate at 5 years were higher in patients with positive-IN who underwent LA than in subjects who underwent LA due to positive lymph nodes in the usual field. Immediate lymphadenectomy of the subsequent lymphatic field in patients with positive-INs may afford patients earlier stage treatment of their disease and improved prognosis.

A 50-year-old male presented with cough and breathlessness. A positron emissoin tomography scan revealed FDG (Fluorodeoxyglucose) avid mediastinal mass. Tru-cut biopsy showed fibrotic stromal tissue with cellular infiltrate consisting of abnormal lymphoid cells and few large cells with smudged nucleus. Immunohistochemistry revealed diffuse positivity with CD20, focal positivity for CD30 and rare CD15 positive cells. Histological picture and immune profile showed overlaping features of non-Hodgkin's as well as Hodgkin's lymphoma. A diagnosis of mediastinal gray zone lymphoma was made. The patient showed a complete metabolic response to six cycles of chemotherapy.

Interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) presenting as lung cancer have been reported rarely from India. The present case describes a possibly primary lung cancer in a non-smoker who presented radiologically as a case of ILD. The possible mechanisms available in the literature are discussed.

We report a case of tumourlets of the lung associated with carcinoid and neuroendocrine cell hyperplasia, found incidentally in a 30-year-old woman, who underwent bullectomy for pneumothorax. These lesions are histologically similar to carcinoid, but differ in molecular pathogenesis about which little is known. Their nature and significance is debated. Here, we point out the importance of histological, clinical, and diagnostic aspects and follow-up to have evidence of eventual malignant evolution.

The expression of p16INK4a has been reported to be a significant marker for malignant transformation of epidermal tumors. However, little is known about sweat gland tumors. We examined the immunohistological expression of p16INK4a in benign and malignant sweat gland tumors. The ductal and acrosyringial portion of normal eccrine glands were positively stained with p16INK4a while it was negative in the normal epidermis. Moderate to strong expression of p16INK4a was found in 16 of 17 eccrine poromas, 4 of 5 hidradenomas, 3 of 3 syringocystadenoma papilliferums, 2 of 2 mixed tumors, and 3 of 3 syringomas. The p16INK4a expression was observed focally or diffusely in 4 of 4 porocarcinomas, 4 of 4 apocrine carcinomas and 12 of 17 extramammary Paget's diseases. We conclude that the p16INK4a expression is not a good marker for dictating malignant transformation of sweat gland tumors.

While robotic surgery has seen much success in the treatment of gynecologic malignancies, the technical aspects of this approach raise concern for spreading tumor cells within the peritoneal cavity and to trocar sites. To date, robotic trocar site metastases have been identified following surgery for both endometrial and cervical cancer.

Primary Hodgkin's lymphoma of the colon is a rare phenomenon previously only reported in patients with chronic diverticulitis or inflammatory bowel disease. Herein we report a case of primary Hodgkin's lymphoma of the sigmoid colon in an HIV-positive patient without a history of inflammatory bowel disease or chronic diverticulitis that was later complicated by the discovery of concurrent papillary thyroid carcinoma.

Primary leiomyoma of the liver is an extremely rare benign hepatic tumor in asymptomatic patients. While leiomyoma is frequently found in the genitourinary tract, to the best of our knowledge only 29 cases of primary hepatic leiomyoma have been reported in the English language medical literature. Primary hepatic leiomyoma in patients without an underlying systemic disease (immunosuppression) is even more uncommon. A leiomyoma is composed of bundles of smooth muscle fibers and rarely transforms into a malignant tumor. We present a previously healthy 44-year-old woman who was incidentally found to have a focal liver lesion while undergoing radiologic studies for evaluation of her low back pain. The primary leiomyoma of the liver has characteristic radiologic findings that distinguish it from other hepatic tumors. In this article we discuss the typical radiologic and pathologic findings of leiomyoma compared with other primary liver tumors.

Chromosome stability is ensured by precisely fine-tuned dynamics of mitotic spindles, which are controlled by a network of various microtubule-associated and interacting proteins including the kinesin-13 family. The best characterized member of this family is the mitotic centromere-associated kinesin (MCAK). By efficiently depolymerizing microtubules, MCAK influences various key events during mitosis. MCAK itself is regulated by its interaction partners, its intrinsic conformation switch and the phosphorylation of mitotic kinases like Aurora A/B, cyclin-dependent kinase 1 and Polo-like kinase 1. Perturbing its regulation alters MCAK's conformation, catalytic activity, subcellular localization and stability, leading further to mitotic defects in spindle formation and chromosome movement. Indeed, MCAK is aberrantly regulated in various cancer types, which is linked to increased invasiveness, metastasis and drug resistance. In the current review, we summarize recently published data concerning MCAK, correlate its conformation changes with its depolymerization activity and function, propose a model of its regulation by multiple mitotic kinases and highlight its potential involvement in oncogenesis and drug resistance.

Thymic epithelial tumour (TET) histologic subclassification has not been well described in the veterinary literature as it has in humans. The objective of this study was to identify and describe TET subtypes in dogs and to determine the utility of immunohistochemistry (IHC) in differentiating these subtypes. Samples were reviewed and classified according to a modified World Health Organization (WHO) criteria for human tumours of thymic origin. Signallment, presenting signs, treatment and survival data was collected from medical records. Histologic review confirmed the same subtypes as described in humans. Presence of high stage disease, pleomorphism, mitotic figures and capsular invasion was more common in atypical thymomas and thymic carcinomas than in thymomas. IHC was performed for GLUT-1, CD5, CD117 and CK8/18; however, this was not useful in classifying the tumours.

The cytoprotective and anticancer action of dietary in-taken natural polyphenols has for long been attributed only to their direct radical scavenging activities. Currently it is well supported that those compounds display a broad spectrum of biological and pharmacological outcomes mediated by their complex metabolism, interaction with gut microbiota as well as direct interactions of their metabolites with key cellular signaling proteins. The beneficial effects of natural polyphenols and their synthetic derivatives are extensively studied in context of cancer prophylaxis and therapy. Herein we focus on cell signaling to explain the beneficial role of polyphenols at the three stages of cancer development: we review the recent proceedings about the impact of polyphenols on the cytoprotective antioxidant response and their proapoptotic action at the premalignant stage, and finally we present data showing how phenolic acids (e.g., caffeic, chlorogenic acids) and flavonols (e.g., quercetin) hamper the development of metastatic cancer.

Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most common non-acquired immune deficiency syndrome-related malignancy responsible for death. Mutational status is crucial for choosing treatment of advanced NSCLC, yet no data is available on the frequency of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and Kirsten ras (KRAS) mutations and their impact on NSCLC in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients (HIV-NSCLC). All consecutive HIV-NSCLC patients diagnosed between June 1996 and August 2013 at two Paris university hospitals were reviewed, with tumor samples analyzed for EGFR and KRAS mutational status. Overall, 63 tumor samples were analyzed out of 73 HIV-NSCLC cases, with 63% of advanced NSCLC. There were 60 non-squamous and nine squamous cell carcinomas, with EGFR and KRAS mutations identified in two (3.3%) and seven (11.5%) tumors, respectively. The proportion of KRAS mutations was 29% if solely the more sensitive molecular techniques were considered. The two patients with advanced adenocarcinoma harboring EGFR mutations exhibited lasting partial response to EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Overall survival for patients with advanced NSCLC were >30 months for those with EGFR mutations, <3 months for KRAS mutations (n=2), and the median was 9 months [4.1-14.3] for wild-type (n=34). In multivariate analysis, KRAS mutation and CD4<200 cells/μL were associated with poor prognosis (hazard ratio (HR): 24 [4.1-140.2], p=0.0004; HR: 3.1 [1.3-7.5], p=0.01, respectively). EGFR mutation must be investigated in HIV-NSCLC cases due to its predictive and prognostic impact, whereas KRAS mutation is of poor prognostic value. Clinicians should search for drugs dedicated to this target population.

To assess the ability of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) for evaluating T stage and correlation with histological T stage of rectal cancer.

To evaluate clinical usefulness of computed tomography perfusion imaging (CTPI) in gastric cancer.

The purpose was to evaluate characteristics of pancreatic cancer without main pancreatic duct (MPD) dilatation on dual-phase computed tomographic (CT) scans.

To report incidence of acute versus delayed presentations of bleeding requiring embolization after focal liver biopsy, in correlation with angiographic findings and treatment success rates. The available literature will be reviewed as well.

To compare T1-weighted (T1W) fast spin echo (FSE) to T1W 3-dimensional gradient recalled echo (LAVA) with fat water separation (FLEX) in prostate cancer (PCa).

The aim of the study was to investigate the performance of dynamic 3-dimensional contrast-enhanced ultrasound (3D-CEUS) on assessment of efficacy of local ablation therapy of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) as reference standard.

To calculate bone marrow cellularity from MRI and correlate with bone marrow biopsy.