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Glioblastoma (GBM) stem cells (GSCs) reside in both hypoxic and vascular microenvironments within tumors. The molecular mechanisms that allow GSCs to occupy such contrasting niches are not understood. We used patient-derived GBM cultures to identify GSC subtypes with differential activation of Notch signaling, which co-exist in tumors but occupy distinct niches and match their metabolism accordingly. Multipotent GSCs with Notch pathway activation reside in perivascular niches, and are unable to entrain anaerobic glycolysis during hypoxia. In contrast, most CD133-expressing GSCs do not depend on canonical Notch signaling, populate tumors regardless of local vascularity and selectively utilize anaerobic glycolysis to expand in hypoxia. Ectopic activation of Notch signaling in CD133-expressing GSCs is sufficient to suppress anaerobic glycolysis and resistance to hypoxia. These findings demonstrate a novel role for Notch signaling in regulating GSC metabolism and suggest intratumoral GSC heterogeneity ensures metabolic adaptations to support tumor growth in diverse tumor microenvironments.

Objective: Tumor grade employed for colorectal cancer has long been based on the degree of differentiation, which is difficult to judge objectively. The aim of this study was to assess the immunohistochemical expression of p21 and ki67 and their correlation with the histological grading of colorectal carcinoma.Materials and Methods: A total of 45 biopsy specimens of colorectal cancer were pathologically reviewed and correlation of grade and differentiation of tumor was performed with immunostaining.Results: Ki 67 and p21 markers showed inverse relationship. An inverse relationship of p21 was found with tumor grade, differentiation, Dukes staging and lymph node status, whereas no correlation could be found between these parameters and ki67 expression.Conclusion: We found that p21 can be used to assess the grading and metastatic potential of colorectal carcinoma whereas increased Ki67 expression can help us in the diagnosis of malignancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mesonephric carcinoma is a rare type of carcinoma seen in the female genital tract. It arises from the mesonephric remnants situated in the broad ligament, lateral wall of the cervix, vagina, and uterine corpus. Very few cases of mesonephric carcinoma have been reported so far in the literature. The sites mentioned in various literatures include the cervix, vagina, or uterus, but we could not find any literature that mentions posthysterectomy vault as a site for mesonephric carcinoma. Here, we report a case of 40-years-old hysterectomised female who presented in the hospital with nodular growth on the vault and complaints of bleeding per vaginum. Microscopy of the lesion did not show typical morphology of mesonephric carcinoma, but immunohistochemistry played a vital role in the diagnosis of this rare tumor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background & Objective: Abdominal cutaneous and subcutaneous nodules are uncommon lesions which may be benign or malignant. Majority of the malignant nodules are metastatic in origin and may be the initial presentation of primary malignancy, hence an early diagnosis is important. Our aim was to find out the spectrum of lesions (both non-neoplastic and neoplastic) that present as cutaneous and subcutaneous abdominal wall nodules and to assess the efficacy of fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) in early diagnosis of all such lesions so that need for histopathology can be minimized. Material and Methods: The study was conducted on 46 patients of all age groups, presenting with various palpable cutaneous and subcutaneous abdominal wall nodules. FNAC was performed, smears stained with May Grunwald-Giemsa stain and Pap stains. Special stains were applied wherever required. Cytological diagnosis was subsequently correlated with histopathological diagnosis. Results: Out of 46 FNAC cases; there were 13 non-neoplastic lesions, 15 benign neoplasms and 17 malignant lesions. One case was inadequate for opinion that on histopathology turned out to be metastatic deposits from renal cell carcinoma. The rate of unsatisfactory FNAC was 2.2% and the sensitivity was 89.47%. The specificity and positive predictive value was 100%. Conclusion: FNAC is a simple, minimally invasive, highly accurate and cost effective technique for quick diagnosis of malignant metastatic abdominal wall nodules, thus minimising the need for histopathology and for deciding mode of treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vaginal hysterectomy is a commonly performed procedure in women with uterovaginal prolapse. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the uterine specimens obtained after vaginal hysterectomy for prolapse, for unexpected histology. Design: This was a retrospective study design. Methods: Five (5)-year hospital records of women who had undergone vaginal hysterectomy for uterovaginal prolapse were analyzed for demography, symptomatology, extent of prolapse, and the histology of uterine specimens. Results: The majority of the 367 women in the study were in the fourth to sixth decade of life, multiparous, and with symptoms of prolapse. Atrophic endometrium (67.30%) and a normal myometrium (92.91%) were the most frequent histologic patterns in the body of the uterus. Although 88.28% of cervices revealed chronic cervicitis, 5 cases (1.36%) had evidence of invasive cervical malignancy on histology. Conclusions: Chronic inflammation is known to be associated with malignancies of the skin, penis, lungs, and liver. Direct mechanical irritation, coupled with longstanding chronic inflammation of third-degree prolapse, may predispose to the development of malignancy. Hence, besides regular cervical screening, colposcopic examination and cervical biopsy, along with endocervical sampling, may be performed as a routine prior to surgery for longstanding prolapse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solitary fibrous tumor (SFT) is a mesenchymal origin tumor mainly confined to pleura and peritoneum. The extrapulmonary location is rare in incidence up to the level that fewer than 40 cases are described in literature in soft parts of extremities most of which are benign in nature with a mean age of presentation 52 years. The extrapulmonary SFT with malignant features at young age is an extremely rare mesenchymal neoplasm. A 20 years old female presented with a mass in the left thigh. The positron emission tomography scan performed, showed a hypermetabolic lesion at medial side of the left thigh. Subsequently, en bloc excision of mass was done along with adductor longus and brevis. Based on the histomorphology and immunohistochemical markers, diagnosis of malignant SFT was made. We report this case because of its rarity and to add on to literature and list of differential diagnosis of soft tissue tumors in the extremities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]