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Background & objective CD137 is a member of the TNF-Receptor family. TNF-alpha antagonists have therapeutic effect in active psoriasis. In this study, the relative frequency of CD137 expression was investigated in the inflammatory cells of psoriasis lesions for the first time. Methods The specimens were obtained from pathology department of Al-Zahra hospital from paraffin-embedded skin specimens collected from 2007 till 2016. . A total number of f 64 psoriasis skin specimens and 34 normal skin specimens were reviewed for the diagnosis. Then, the immunohistochemical staining for CD137, CD4, and CD8 was performed. Results CD137 expression of dermal inflammatory cells in psoriasis lesions was 11.19±5.5%. Although, in normal skin tissues, CD137 expression was observed in 1.3±3.03% of the inflammatory cells. (P=0.001). The relative frequency of the CD137 positive inflammatory cells was significantly higher in the epidermis compared to dermis (epidermis: 31.1%±12.8, dermis 11.1%±5.5). There was no remarkable relation between the CD137 expression rate and the CD4: CD8 ratio. Conclusion CD137 as a TNF-alpha receptor has a significant role in pathogenesis of the psoriasis lesions. Therefore, CD137 antagonists can be considered as a novel target for the treatment of incurable psoriasis patients.

Background & objective Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2) exhibits a vast range of expression in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients as a biomarker. This paper aimed to investigate HER-2 expression and clinicopathological parameters of esophageal SCC. Methods HER-2 expression was assessed in 102 ESCC patients by immunohistochemistry. The HER-2 staining intensity , according to the Gastric HER2 Biomarker1.0.0.1 version of the college of American pathologists (CAP) protocol for gastric and gastroesophageal junction cancers, was graded as 0 (no reactivity in any of the cancer cells' membranes); 1+ (pale or hardly noticeable reactivity in the membrane of cancer cells' cluster [≥ 5 neoplastic cells] regardless of the positive cancer cells' percentage); 2+ (weak-to-moderate complete, basolateral, or lateral membranous reactivity regardless of the positive cancer cells' percentage); and 3+ ( strong complete, basolateral, or lateral reactivity in the membrane of the cancer cell cluster regardless of the positive cancer cells' percentage).In this regard, 3+ scored samples were considered as positive. If HER-2 expression was scored 2+, an additional fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) was performed. Fisher's exact test was employed for investigating the correlation of HER-2 expression status with patients' clinicopathological characteristics (including age, gender, tumor location, stage, grade, infiltration level, venous invasion, lymphatic invasion, and tumor recurrence). Kaplan-Meier analysis was done for the patients' survival assessments. Results Five patients (~5%) were HER-2 positive and no significant association was observed between HER-2 expression and clinicopathological properties. In addition, HER-2 expression status exhibited no significant association with the patients' overall survival (P=0.9299). Conclusion HER-2 is not a suitable prognostic biomarker for Iranian ESCC patients.

Background & Objective: Our knowledge about correlation of androgen receptor expression and clinicopathological properties of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients is inadequate, particularly in the Iranian population. The main aim of the present study was to assess the AR expression in TNBC Iranian patients and evaluate its correlation with their clinicopathological parameters. Methods: Herein, 76 TNBC patients were evaluated for the AR expression by immunohistochemistry. The slides' staining intensity was investigated according to the average degree of nuclear staining and sub-classified into negative (0), weak (1), moderate (2), or strong (3). Subsequently, the positive cells percentage for each slide was assessed and sub-classified into 75% (4). The aggregation of these two scores was used as the final score ranging from 0 to 7. While 4-7 scores were selected as positive, the others were included in the AR-negative expression group. Fisher's exact test was used to analyze the AR expression correlation with the clinicopathological parameters. Results: Positive immunoreactivity for AR was observed in 8 out of 76 (11%) specimens. No-correlation (P>0.05) was observed between the AR expression and grade, stage, lymph node status, and Ki-67 level. The AR-positive patients exhibited older age at the time of diagnosis (P=0.0339) and larger tumor size (P=0.0224) in comparison with the AR-negative patients. Low percentage of TNBC patients expressed AR and no significant correlation was observed between its expression and most of the clinicopathological parameters. Conclusion: AR may not be a suitable biomarker and treatment target for the Iranian patients with TNBC.