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Patient-derived xenograft (PDX) mouse models of cancer were first established in 1969 and were very actively used in the 1970’s and 1980’s. After a long period of eclipse, PDX models began to re-emerge in the early part of the present century. PDX models have potential as an important component of personalized precision cancer therapy. However, most PDX models currently offered to patients have their tumors subcutaneously transplanted in immunodeficient mice, which rarely metastasize. In contrast, orthotopic-transplant patient-derived models, termed patient-derived orthotopic xenografts (PDOX), usually metastasize as in the patient. Orthotopic models are critically important for the patient, since both primary and metastatic tumors develop and they can have differential chemosensitivity, not detectable in subcutaneous tumor models. We review first studies of cancer cell lines which have different drug response patterns at the orthotopic and subcutaneous cites in mouse models. We then review a subcutaneous nude mouse model of patient HER-2 expressing cervical carcinoma that was not sensitive to entinostat (a benzamide histone deacetylase inhibitor). In the PDOX model, entinostat was not effective against the primary tumor. However, entinostat significantly reduced the metastatic tumor burden, compared to the primary tumor in the PDOX model. Thus, only the PDOX model could be used to discover the anti-metastatic activity of entinostat for this patient. We emphasize the importance of using mouse models that can accurately recapitulate metastatic cancer for precisely individualizing cancer therapy.

Drug combinations in preclinical tumor xenograft studies are often assessed using fixed doses. Assessing the joint action of drug combinations with fixed doses has not been well developed in the literature. Here, an interaction index is proposed for fixed-dose drug combinations in a subcutaneous tumor xenograft model. Furthermore, a bootstrap percentile interval of the interaction index is also developed. The joint action of two drugs can be assessed on the basis of confidence limits of the interaction index. Tumor xenograft data from actual two-drug combination studies are analyzed to illustrate the proposed method. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Background Interleukin-1 receptor associated kinase 1 (IRAK1), as a down-stream of toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling, plays important roles in series of malignancies. However, the role of IRAK1 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains little known. Methods In our study, reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR), Western Blot, and immunohistochemical staining were used to assess the mRNA and protein levels of IRAK1 in clinical samples and cell lines. Cell counting assay and flow cytometry were employed to analyze the effect of IRAK1 on cell cycle and apoptosis. Transwell assay was used to study the role of IRAK1 in cell migration. Moreover, subcutaneous xenograft tumor models predict the efficacy of targeting IRAK1 against HCC in vivo. Results IRAK1 was over-expressed in HCC tissues and cell lines. Suppression of IRAK1 by small interference RNA (siRNA) or a pharmaceutical IRAK1/4 inhibitor impeded cell growth, induced apoptosis and lessened HCC xenograft tumor growth. Particularly, IRAK1/4 inhibitor treatment caused G1/S cell cycle arrest and apoptosis, confirming IRAK1 as a new therapeutic target for HCC. Conclusion IRAK1 promotes cell proliferation and protects against apoptosis in HCC, and can be a novel target for HCC treatment.

A micromachined millimeter-wave probe, optimized for early-stage skin tumor diagnosis has been verified using a murine skin cancer model. Malignant melanoma tumors are clearly distinguishable from surrounding healthy tissue, since the difference in S 11 between a malignant melanoma skin tumor and surrounding healthy tissue is 6.7 times larger than typical standard deviations of measurements on the same spot. Furthermore, the probe has an 8 times higher selectivity to a tumor growing in the skin close to the surface as compared to a subcutaneous tumor buried beneath a thick healthy tissue layer. This confirms the optimized sensitivity of the probe to the targeted upper portion of the skin, in which skin tumor growth starts in malignant melanoma patients.

Many surgical procedures require a sequence of different end-effectors but switching tools for robot-assisted minimally-invasive surgery (RMIS) requires time-consuming removal and replacement through the trocar port. We present an interchangeable instrument system that can be contained within the body cavity. It is based on a novel mounting mechanism compatible with a standard RMIS gripper and a tool-guide and sleeve to facilitate automated instrument switching. Experiments suggest that an Intuitive Surgical system using these interchangeable instruments can perform a multi-step tumor resection procedure that uses a novel haptic probe to localize the tumor, standard scalpel to expose the tumor, standard grippers to extract the subcutaneous tumor, and a fluid injection tool to seal the wound. Design details and video are available at: http://berkeleyautomation.github.io/surgicaltools.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common primary brain tumor and the most malignant astrocytoma in adults, with rare extra-cranial metastases, especially for subcutaneous metastases. It could be easily misdiagnosed as primary subcutaneous tumor. In this report, we describe a patient with pontine GBM who developed a subcutaneous swelling at the ipsilateral posterior cervical region 8 months after operation, and the pathological and immunocytochemical examination carry the same characteristics as the primary intracranial GBM cells, which defined it as subcutaneous metastasis. GBM with subcutaneous metastasis is extremely rare, and knowledge of a prior intracranial GBM, pathological examinations and immunocytochemical tests with markers typically expressed by GBM are of vital importance for the diagnosis of GBM metastasis. Surgical resection of subcutaneous swelling, followed by chemotherapy and radiotherapy, could be the best strategy of treatment for the patients with GBM subcutaneous metastasis.

Pleomorphic hyalinizing angiectatic tumor (PHAT) is a rare soft tissue tumor of low malignant potential, which most often arises in the lower extremities. To the best of our knowledge, there have been no prior descriptions of the imaging features of this neoplasm. In this case series, we report the imaging findings in three patients. Two patients had a lower extremity subcutaneous PHAT, while the third patient had an intramuscular upper extremity PHAT. While imaging features are variable, a diagnosis of PHAT should be considered when encountering an enhancing, subcutaneous tumor with ill-defined margins, particularly in the extremity.

A 42‐year‐old man presented with a nodule on the left cheek that had gradually increased in size. Physical examination revealed a yellowish subcutaneous tumor. The biopsy specimen revealed epithelial sheets consisting of anucleate squamous cells, basophilic cells, and foreign body giant cells. These findings confirmed that this tumor was a calcifying epithelioma.

Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) is a probe-based spectral biopsy technique used in cancer studies to quantify tissue reduced scattering ([Formula: see text]) and absorption ([Formula: see text]) coefficients and vary in source–detector separation (SDS) to fine-tune sampling depth. In subcutaneous murine tumor allografts or xenografts, a key design requirement is ensuring that the source light interrogates past the skin layer into the tumor without significantly sacrificing signal-to-noise ratio (target of [Formula: see text]). To resolve this requirement, a DRS probe was designed with four SDSs (0.75, 2.00, 3.00, and 4.00 mm) to interrogate increasing tissue volumes between 450 and 900 nm. The goal was to quantify percent errors in extracting [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] , and to quantify sampling depth into subcutaneous Balb/c-CT26 colon tumor allografts. Using an optical phantom-based experimental method, lookup-tables were constructed relating [Formula: see text] , diffuse reflectance, and sampling depth. Percent errors were [Formula: see text] and 5% for extracting [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] , respectively, for all SDSs. Sampling depth reached up to 1.6 mm at the first [Formula: see text]-band of hemoglobin at 542 nm, the key spectral region for quantifying tissue oxyhemoglobin concentration. This work shows that the DRS probe can accurately extract optical properties and the resultant physiological parameters such as total hemoglobin concentration and tissue oxygen saturation, from sufficient depth within subcutaneous Balb/c-CT26 colon tumor allografts. Methods described here can be generalized for other murine tumor models. Future work will explore the feasibility of the DRS in quantifying volumetric tumor perfusion in response to anticancer therapies.

Pilomatricoma is a benign tumor that presents as a 3-30-mm, firm, solitary, deep, dermal or subcutaneous tumor on the head, neck, or upper extremities. The clinical diagnosis is often made by the firm, sometimes rock-hard texture of the skin. The diagnosis can be confirmed by a skin biopsy or excision of the lesion. We have recently noted that pilomatricomas appear as a black mass in the skin when the lesion is transilluminated by placing the light of a fiberoptic otoscope adjacent to the skin lesion. To our knowledge, this is the first report demonstrating preoperative diagnosis of pilomatricoma by transilluminating the lesion with an otoscope.

It is challenging to diagnose epidermoid cysts on ultrasonography; except in typical, benign-appearing cases. The purpose of this study was to include epidermoid cysts in the differential diagnosis of diverse subcutaneous lesions, especially malignancy-mimicking lesions, as seen on ultrasonography.We reviewed 19 cases of pathologically confirmed epidermoid cysts in 19 patients (male, 8; female, 11). Three radiologists, who were blinded to the pathology data, classified (by consensus) these epidermoid cysts as benign or malignancy-mimicking lesions, according to generally accepted ultrasonographic criteria, including the margin, shape, echotexture, and transitional zone with surrounding tissue, and also including the growth pattern and adjacent tissue change. The ultrasonographic data were then correlated with the pathology results regarding the ruptured or unruptured status of the cysts.Epidermoid cysts have been noted as showing a wide-spectrum of findings on ultrasonography. Twelve of our cases showed benign ultrasonographic features: six cases had typical, benign ultrasonographic features with unruptured status; two cases with ruptured status did not have clear ultrasonographic features, although we decided by consensus that there were benign ultrasonographic features; and four cases with unruptured status had peculiar internal echogenicities, described as "internal rod-like contents", that could be considered to be a variation of the typical ultrasonographic finding of epidermoid cysts. Seven cases showed malignancy-mimicking ultrasonographic features; all seven of these had ruptured status.The diagnosis of ruptured epidermoid cysts should be included in the differential diagnosis of malignancy-mimicking subcutaneous lesions. The internal rod-like contents can be regarded as another typical ultrasonographic finding of epidermoid cysts.

Swetter et al. proposed primary dermal melanoma (PDM) as a distinct entity based on an excellent prognosis. The histopathological features of PDM are extremely similar to those of metastatic melanoma or clear cell sarcoma (CCS). We describe a 38-year-old woman with a subcutaneous tumor in her left thigh. Physical and imaging examinations showed no evidence of metastatic melanoma. The lesion showed obvious strong expression of KIT by immunohistochemistry, but no EWS-ATF1 fusion transcript specific for CCS was detected by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. In further analyses of KIT expression in other tumors, three of four primary melanomas (75%) and six of 12 metastatic melanomas (50%) were moderately or strongly positive, however, both the primary and metastatic lesions of CCS tested negative. We believe this to be a case of PDM, and emphasize the distinctiveness of PDM.

Subcutaneous tumor models are widely used in angiogenesis research. Due to the relative simplicity, these mouse models are ideal for the evaluation of molecular hypotheses. In addition, these models are frequently used to assess anti-angiogenic efficacy during drug development. Finally, subcutaneous models can be performed with either xenogeneic or syngeneic tumors, both harboring advantages and drawbacks. Herein, we describe the use of subcutaneous xenograft models in anticancer research.

Objective—To characterize the biological behavior and prognostic factors associated with hemangiosarcoma in cats. Design—Retrospective case series. Animals—53 cats with hemangiosarcoma. Procedures—Data were retrieved from a state veterinary diagnostic laboratory, 3 veterinary colleges, and a private practice. Results—Cutaneous and subcutaneous tumor locations were more common than visceral (abdominal and thoracic) and oral locations. Surgical excision was the primary treatment in 47 cats. Tumor-free surgical margins were more likely in cutaneous than subcutaneous lesions and were associated with longer survival times. Local recurrence was observed in 6 of 12 cats with subcutaneous lesions for which follow-up was available. Metastatic disease was detected in 5 of 13 cats with adequate staging at initial diagnosis. A sixth cat had pulmonary metastases at the time of euthanasia. In 4 of 10 cats with visceral hemangiosarcoma, the diagnosis was made at necropsy or they were euthanized at the time of diagnosis. Adjuvant therapy was uncommonly used. Eighteen of the 21 known deaths or euthanasias were tumor-related. Higher mitotic counts (> 3 in 10 hpfs) were associated with shorter survival times. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Subcutaneous hemangiosarcoma was more biologically aggressive than the cutaneous form and was more likely to recur locally and result in euthanasia or death of the cat. Metastatic potential of the cutaneous and subcutaneous forms may be greater than previously reported. Visceral hemangiosarcoma is associated with a grave prognosis.

Efficient design of anti-cancer treatments involving radiation- and photo-sensitizing therapeutics requires knowledge of tissue-specific drug concentrations. This study investigates the use of the optical pharmacokinetic system (OPS) to measure concentrations of the anti-cancer agent motexafin gadolinium (MGd) in mouse tissues noninvasively and nondestructively using elastic-scattering spectroscopy. The magnitude of MGd absorbance was quantitated by integration of the MGd peak absorbance area, and MGd concentrations were estimated by comparison with standard curves that were validated by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). In tissue-simulating phantoms in vitro, MGd peak absorbance area correlated with MGd concentration. Female C.B-17 SCID mice, bearing subcutaneous MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer xenografts, were dosed with 23 mg/kg MGd i.v. At specific times between 5 min and 24h after dosing, noninvasive OPS measurements were made on skin overlaying the subcutaneous tumor and skin on the opposite flank in vivo, and following exsanguination, nondestructive measurements were made on tumor, skin, and internal tissues in situ. OPS measurements on tissues in vivo detected MGd present in both tissue and blood perfusing the tissue. Both the OPS and the HPLC detected selective localization of MGd in malignant tissues compared with surrounding non-malignant tissues, and neither technique detected MGd in brain tissue. Comparison of MGd concentrations measured by HPLC and OPS is complicated by mismatch between measured tissue volumes, heterogeneous spatial distribution of MGd in tissues, and blood-localized MGd at early time points. Tumor-specific MGd concentrations measured by HPLC correlated with those measured by OPS in vivo and in situ. Best fit lines to the concentration estimates (forced through zero) had slopes of 0.900 and 1.185, respectively; however, the variability was significant (r(2)=0.477 and 0.269). The clinical utility of the OPS to quantitate MGd concentrations remains to be validated.

A 67-year-old female presented with a rare metastatic skull tumor from cholangiocarcinoma (CCC) manifesting as a progressive painful subcutaneous tumor. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging revealed an osteolytic tumor attached to the sigmoid sinus and mastoid sinus. Mass reduction of the tumor was performed and radiotherapy applied to the postoperative cavity. The symptoms resolved following the surgical intervention. The skull metastasis from CCC appeared as heterogeneous intensity on MR imaging reflecting the honeycomb structure. Surgery should be considered to relieve symptoms and improve the patient's quality of life, if there is a low risk of morbidity or mortality. The present case indicates another metastatic pathway through the vertebral plexus in the clinical course of CCC.

Ependymomas commonly arise in the central nervous system. Extraneural presentation is quite rare. Herein, we describe a primary extraneural ependymoma in a young female. The mass was located in the right inguinal area. The cut surface of the 7.5 mm × 6.5 mm × 4.5 mm sized tumor was brownish-yellow in color. Histologically, it was hypercellular exhibiting pseudorosette or rosette formations and some papillary structures. Mitosis was counted as high as 10 per 10 high power fields. Neither necrosis nor vascular endothelial proliferation within the tumor was observed. Tumor cells showed strong glial fibrillary acidic protein immunoreactivity. On epithelial membrane antigen, intracytoplasmic dot-like immunostaining was observed. This is the first report presenting a primary extraneural anaplastic ependymoma arising in the inguinal subcutaneous region.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the potential of both the Dual-time point PET imaging and the Time Activity Curve (TAC) in dynamic PET imaging in differentiating tumor and inflammation (both subcutaneous and in situ). Methods: Dynamic FDG-PET was performed on 23 female mice inoculated with tumor or inflammation subcutaneously or inside the lung. Values of Retention Index (RI) as a metric in the dual-time analysis and curvature of TAC were obtained. Results: Values of RI showed no significant difference between various experimental groups, while values of curvature showed significant difference between subcutaneous tumor and inflammation, tumors at different locations (subcutaneous and in situ), and inflammations at different locations (subcutaneous and in situ). Conclusions: Dual-time analysis requires more work in deciding the two time points. Compared to the dual-point analysis with current settings, analyzing the shape of TAC has a higher sensitivity for differentiating malignancies from inflammations.

A rare case of chronic expanding hematoma in the right temporal region that developed into a large mass over the course of 12 years is reported. The patient, who had a history of blunt trauma to her right temporal region at the age of 4 months, noticed a slowly growing mass at the same site over the last few months. Computed tomography revealed a well-circumscribed subcutaneous tumor. The tumor was completely resected. Histopathologically, the diagnosis of chronic expanding hematoma was confirmed.

One of the ways to potentiate antitumor effectiveness of chemotherapeutic drugs is by local application of short intense electric pulses. This causes an increase of the cell membrane permeability and is called electropermeabilization. In order to study the course of tissue permeabilization of a subcutaneous tumor in small animals, a mathematical model was built with the commercial program EMAS, which uses the finite element method. The model is based on the tissue specific conductivity values found in literature, experimentally determined electric field threshold values of reversible and irreversible tissue permeabilization, and conductivity changes in the tissues. The results obtained with the model were then compared to experimental results from the treatment of subcutaneous tumors in mice and a good agreement was obtained. Our results and the reversible and irreversible thresholds used coincide well with the effectiveness of the electrochemotherapy in real tumors where experiments show antitumor effectiveness for amplitudes higher than 900 V/cm ratio and pronounced antitumor effects at 1300 V/cm ratio.

This study was conducted on 35 Adult Mus Musculus (Swiss albino) mice, it was suffering from tumors (parotid gland adenocarcinoma and another subcutaneous tumor). The mice divided in two groups, 25 mice treated and 10 mice control group. Total genome extracted from liver of camel by lysis buffer solution (100 mM NaCl, 1 mM EDTA, 10 mM Tris-HCl pH 8.0) 5% SDS and purification by chloroform-phenol. Treated group subjected for gene therapy by in situ injection of 0.1cc mixed camel nucleic acid three times, until tumor mass disappear. All mice for control group were dead, while the mice treated still alive. In conclusion, the total genome of camel may play an important role in the defense mechanism of the body against adinoarcinoma.

A case of palisading subcutaneous fibrous histiocytoma, a very rare variant of fibrous histiocytoma (dermatofibroma), arising in the wrist of a 41-year-old man is presented. An unencapsulated subcutaneous tumor measuring 0.8 x 0.8 x 0.7 cm was histologically characterized by predominant nuclear palisading and a peripheral area with a pattern quite characteristic of conventional fibrous histiocytoma. Immunohistochemically, the tumor cells were strongly positive for vimentin, alpha-smooth muscle, and muscle actin, but negative for S-100 protein, indicating a fibroblastic or myofibroblastic nature. The patient has been well without recurrence for 6 years and 8 months after the excision. This neoplasm should be differentiated from benign and malignant skin or soft tissue tumors with a palisading pattern. Pathologists and clinicians should know of the existence of this type of fibrous histiocytoma and should avoid overdiagnosis and overtreatment.

A 66-year-old male noticed erythemas on his thigh 16 years ago and later he noticed generalized erythemas 7 years ago. They were clinically diagnosed as asteatic eczema. He had an axillary subcutaneous tumor sized 10×5cm, which was histologically diagnosed as an acute inflammatory process. Because the tumor had persisted, it was resected and showed a proliferation of large cells, which led to a diagnosis of Hodgkin's disease. Thereafter, generalized erythrodermatous lesions succeeded and an indurated erythema was newly formed in his left shoulder after chemotherapy (ABVD) and irradiation (40Gy). The lesions were biopsied and were diagnosed as mycosis fungoides (MF) showing large cell transformation. Retrospectively, the axillary subcutaneous tumor was reevaluated and the proliferation of large cells noted there was histologically similar to the latter one, thus diagnosed as MF with large cell transformation. [Skin Cancer (Japan) 2004; 19: 167-172]

A subcutaneous tumor localized on the sole of the foot of a 25-year-old Japanese man was diagnosed as a malignant melanoma of the soft parts. We performed a wide local excision, elective lymph node dissection, and chemotherapy. Eight years after treatment, the patient is alive without local recurrence or metastasis.

We reported a case of Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) which developed as a subcutaneous tumor at the right trochanteric region of a 75-year-old man.Histologically, most of the tumor cells were located in the lower dermis and the subcutaneous fat tissue.MCC usually tends to exist in the upper dermis just below the epidermis. This is consistent with the theory that the Merkel cell is originally derived from the epidermis and infiltrates into the upper dermis during the embryonic stage.However, there are several reports that MCC has developed at deeper layers. This phenomenon is very interesting, and it might indicate that there are several types of Merkel cells according to their distribution and function.Although the patient had a large metastatic lesion on the right inguinal lymph node, he has been free from tumors for more than 2-years after the treatment.A new regimen of chemotherapy including 5-fluorourasil, dacarbazine and epirubicine which was combined with surgery and radiation, presumably contributed to his good prognosis. [Skin Cancer (Japan) 2003; 18: 17-21]

We report a case of a 38-year-old female patient with metastatic carcinoma of unknown origin. She had a one-year history of subcutaneous tumor in the left axillae, and visited Kitakyushu Municipal Medical Center Hospital. She underwent a resection of the tumor. Histopathalogically, a section showed an infiltration of round to polygonal tumor cells with eosinophilic granules in the abundant cytoplasm. The tumor cells did not demonstrate nests or glandular structure. Immunohistochemically, the tumor cells were positive for EMA, CAM5.2, S-100 protein, GCDFP-15, and negative for CEA and ER. We could not detect any primary tumors, and have therefore diagnosed this tumor as metatstatic carcinoma of unknown origin. [Skin Cancer (Japan) 2003; 18: 169-173]

A 69-year-old woman with a subcutaneous, large vascular leiomyoma of the leg is presented. The patient had a painful, slow-growing, right medial malleolus mass. Clinical symptoms, US images and histopathologic features are reported. Vascular leiomyoma should be included in the differential diagnosis of painful, lower extremity subcutaneous masses also in lesions of larger dimensions.SommarioRiportiamo il caso di una donna di 69 anni, con un grande leiomioma vascolare sottocutaneo della gamba. La paziente si presenta con una massa dolorosa e a lenta crescita a livello del malleolo mediale destro. Presentiamo le sue caratteristiche cliniche, ecografiche e anatomopatologiche. Il leiomioma vascolare dovrebbe essere incluso nella diagnosi differenziale di una massa dolorosa, sottocutanea delle estremità inferiori anche se presenta grandi dimensioni.

This study was conducted to clarify direct antitumor effect of this local delivery system of paclitaxel. Rat’s breast cancer cell line (CRL-1666) and Fischer 344 rat were used. When subcutaneous tumor (injected subcutaneously) size reached 10 mm in diameter, animals in the local treatment group were administered locally at dose of 5 mg/kg of paclitaxel-loaded HAp-alginate beads. Sham operation was performed in the control group. Tumor burden and body weights of the animals were checked at 3, 7, 10 days after treatment. Tumor burden at 10 days was a mean of 8.1 g and 17.2 g for the local treatment group and untreated group, respectively. Although local delivery of paclitaxel-loaded HAp-alginate beads did not inhibit the proliferation of subcutaneous tumor, proliferation time was significantly delayed in treated rats. Our studies revealed that local delivery of paclitaxel-loaded HAp-alginate beads delayed the time to progression of subcutaneous breast cancer in rats.

Hepatocellular carcinomas make up 90% of primary liver cancers. The association between the hepatic carcinoma and virus B and C infection has been already proven. Hepatocellular carcinoma develops, in most cases, on a background of cirrhosis and rarely in hepatitis. The case we have chosen to report distinguishes itself due to the unusual extra-hepatic metastatic location of a hepatocellular carcinoma in a patient with Chronic HCV hepatitis.

Pilomatricoma, formerly known as Pilomatrixoma is a benign dermal and/or subcutaneous tumour. It most commonly affects children and adolescents; however, a second smaller peak of onset is also reported in the elderly. It is slightly more common in females. This tumour was first described by Malherbeand in 1880 as a benign, subcutaneous tumor arising from hair cortex cells. The name pilomatrixoma was proposed by Forbis and Helwig in 1961, thus avoiding the word epithelioma, which carries the connotation of malignancy. Although osseous metaplasia in pilomatrixoma is a very rare occurrence but there are a few cases reported in the literature which has shown focal or florid osseous metaplasia. We are hereby presenting a case of pilomatrixoma with florid osseous mataplasia.

Most preclinical oncology studies (xenograft, PDX, GEMMS) involve monitoring tumour growth rates, measuring them with callipers, and calculating the volume. Volume is calculated from the width and the length to estimate a 3D volume and is directly used to assess treatment efficacy. Although this technique is useful, it is unable to accurately assess non-uniformly shaped or very small tumours and introduces a systematic bias by assuming that tumours present with spheroid shape. Furthermore callipers do not inform of the tumour condition, which is dependent upon a visual estimation. Here we describe the development and validation of a 3D scanner as an alternative method to callipers to monitor tumour progression in rodents. The resulting 3D scanner solution made up of hardware and software, has the potential to impact on the 3Rs guiding principles underpinning the humane use of animals in oncology research. The 3Rs benefits identified are primarily through reduction of animals via improved data accuracy allowing reduction in group sizes or the ability to include irregularly shaped tumours to test. In addition the scanner system described will make it possible to record tumour measurements in a rapid, minimally invasive, morphology-independent, and human-bias-free way, removing interoperator variability. This photo-based technique captures external symptoms of redness, paleness, ulceration of tumours, etc., which could ultimately be used to detect early toxicities of compounds or determine scales of animal welfare. We describe the development and early validation of the scanner system within our laboratories. Using the 3D scanner alongside tumour callipers to monitor tumour growth of Oncology tumour studies we demonstrated that we can accurately measure tumour size parameters (length, width and volume) in multiple mouse strains and across a range of tumour models. 3D scanning tumour data is comparable to tumour measures generated from tumour callipers If successful the introduction of this system to replace tumour callipers could have a large impact for groups running oncology in-vivo tumour studies. Citation Format: Zena Wilson, Juan Delgado, Michael Davies, Rebecca Whiteley, Jennifer Hare, Amar Rahi, Stephen Marshall, Andrew Smith, Stephen Atkinson, Jarno Ralli, Adeala Zabair, Adeala Zabair, Jane Kendrew. Are callipers obsolute? A novel 3D scanning technology to measure subcutaneous tumor volume [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 1828. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-1828

Tako-no-Suidashi ointment (TSO) is an old Japanese over-the-counter drug, used for the drainage of infectious pustular disease, such as furuncles, carbuncles and infectious atheroma, although whether it works well or not is unknown. The ingredients of the TSO compound commonly include rapeseed oil, gum rosin, wood rosin, Japanese wax, paraffin, petrolatum, copper sulfate, Peru balsam, acetic acid, salicylic acid and trace amounts of Guinea green B. We report a case of contact dermatitis in a 38-year-old Japanese woman caused by TSO. The patient presented to our hospital with pruritic erythema on her left cheek. In order to remove a subcutaneous tumor, she had applied TSO 4 days prior to presentation. Clinical examination showed a well-demarcated exudative erythematous macule with yellowish crusts and scales on her left cheek. Patch testing showed a positive reaction to TSO (++), gum rosin (++) and wood rosin (++) at 72 h. As TSO includes highly allergenic material, caution should be made in applying this topical therapy.

We reported an unusual case with subcutaneous seeding of hepatocellular carcinoma 12 months after laparoscopic-assisted partial hepatectomy. A 69-year-old woman with hepatitis-C-related liver cirrhosis was found to have hepatocellular carcinoma on routine sonographic examination. The tumor located superficially in the left lateral segment. She received laparoscopic-assisted partial hepatectomy for the tumor in February 2002. She was uneventful after the surgery and serum α-fetoprotein level dropped from 1217 to 275 ng/mL in 3 months. Serum α-fetoprotein level was found to rise 9 months after surgery and a subcutaneous tumor appeared over the surgical wound 12 months after surgery. Resection of lesion showed hepatocellular carcinoma. To our knowledge, seeding of hepatocellular carcinoma on surgical wound has rarely, if ever, been reported after laparoscopic-assisted surgery. The patient died of disseminated recurrence 20 months after the surgery. This case reminded us the risk of tumor seeding after laparoscopic-assisted partial hepatectomy.

Electrochemotherapy could be considering as a good method for treatment of cutaneous and subcutaneous tumor lesions. Here we report the case of 59 year-old woman with melanoma malignum cutis, who developed after axillary dissection, cutaneous metastasis not appropriate for surgical operation. Electrochemotherapy with BCG vaccine resulted in good local control of the disease, with a complete response of treated melanoma lesion.

Pathobiologic characteristics of cerebral and cutaneous melanoma may cause an increase in mortality resulting from brain metastases in advanced melanoma patients, in addition to anatomic lesions and biological effects caused by the tumor location. We established intracranial and subcutaneous melanoma models using cultured malignant cells derived from amelanotic melanoma. The median survival times in a mouse model with intracranial tumors was 20 days, but a mouse model with subcutaneous tumors did not show cachexia until they were killed 28 days after inoculation with tumor cells. Histopathological analysis showed that a high karyokinesis phase and nuclear pleomorphism appeared in the intracranial model compared with the subcutaneous tumor model mice. The tumor boron concentration at 2.5 h after boronophenylalanine administration was 15.21±3.88 μg/g in an intracranial melanoma xenograft and 19.85±3.63 μg/g in a subcutaneous melanoma xenograft. Intracranial melanoma showed more malignancy and shorter survival time than did subcutaneous melanoma when the same number of tumor cells were injected, and subcutaneous and intracranial amelanotic malignant melanoma tumors are both fitted for boron neutron capture therapy.

Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP) is a fibrohistiocytic tumor, which grows slowly and tends to relapse locally after inadequate removal. DFSP is frequently difficult to distinguish from other fibrohistiocytic tumors; however, anti-CD34 staining is useful for differential diagnosis.We reported a 67-year-old male with a DFSP on his right cheek. He had noticed a subcutaneous tumor on the right side of his mouth for 20 years. The tumor had formely grown slowly, but it grew rapidly in 1999. We then performed wide excision including facial muscles and skin grafting. Histopathologicaly the tumor was composed of uniform spindle-shaped and mild atypical fibroblast-like cells. Most parts of the tumor formed a storiform pattern. Spindle-shaped cells were showed positive with anti-CD34 staining. We diagnosed this case as a giant DFSP on the cheek. [Skin Cancer (Japan) 2001; 16: 324-327]

We report two cases of a malignant Schwannoma without NF-1. The first case was a 78-year-old female who presented with an elastic-hard, subcutaneous tumor on her left back area. In 1992, when she was 73 years old, the first resection was performed. In 1996, forty months after the first resection, it recurred locally without distant metastasis when she was 76 years old. After the second surgery, the tumor's origin was the accessory nerve based on surgical findings and post-operative clinical symptoms. In 1998, when she was 78 years old, lung metastasis was recognized.The second case was a 59-year-old male who presented with an elastic-hard tumor on his left thigh area. When he was 48 years old, he developed a bruise on his left leg. The tumor's origin was the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve based on surgical findings. Long-term follow-up is necessary for patients with malignant schwannoma with or without NF-1. [Skin Cancer (Japan) 2001; 16: 289-294]

We reported a case of clear cell sarcoma. A 67-year-old man presented with a subcutaneous tumor on the left poples which had been first noticed 4 years before. He decided to visit our hospital, because recently the tumor suddenly increased in size. Physical examination revealed a large and firm subcutaneous tumor about 6 cm in diameter in the left poples. The tumor was excised with wide dissection of the overlying skin and with left inguinal lymphnodes. Histologically, the tumor wascomposed of round or polygonal cells with clear cytoplasm and vesicular nuclei. Immunohistochemically, the tumor was positive for S-100, HMB-45, NSE, vimentin and Leu-7, but negative for EMA and polykeratin. RT-PCR analysis did not show the expression of hybrid EWS/AFT-1 transcript. In electron microscopy, some melanosomes were found in the tumor cells. Although it is difficult to distinguish between clear cell sarcoma and malignant melanoma with the unknown primary site, we diagnosed this tumor as clear cell sarcoma in clinical and histological respects. [Skin Cancer (Japan) 2001; 16: 349-352]

Herein, we report a very rare case of pilomatricoma in the perioral region. A 27-year old Japanese female was referred to our clinic with a subcutaneous tumor in the angle of the left side of the mouth. The tumor was observed as a subcutaneous well-circumscribed and bony hard mass, without any changes of the skin surface, while a soft radiographic examination revealed a weak calcifying rounded mass. The tumor was extirpated using an intraoral approach, because of patient request. During the operation, the tumor was found to be partly attached to the surface skin, though easily removed from the surrounding tissue. The tumor was a rounded calcifying mass, 13 mm in diameter, and histologically diagnosed as a pilomatricoma.

We describe two cases of giant-cell fibroblastoma (GCF) with dermato fibro sarcoma protuberans (DFSP) component, occurring in two children in a chest wall localization. One case recurred 1 year later. The two patients were tumor-free 12 and 8 years later. GCF is a rare mesenchymal cutaneous and subcutaneous tumor reported mostly in the first two decades of life. Dermato fibro sarcoma protuberans, occurring preferentially in adults, is a rare skin tumor with a pronounced tendency to local recurrence. Some cases of association of recurrence of GFC under the form of DFSP have been reported, raising the question of a continuum between the two tumors. The treatment of choice of the two tumors is a wide local excision.

We describe a 10-year-old boy with an intracranial lipoma in the posterior fossa. The patient had a subcutaneous tumor of the posterior neck at birth, which was gradually growing and subsequently accompanied by gait disturbance and ataxia. MR imaging revealed the intracranial lipoma in the posterior fossa extending into the cervical spinal canal and subcutaneous space via a cranium bifidum. A surgical operation was performed, but the lipoma could not be removed completely. He had had prominent obesity that might have caused not only enlargement of the intracranial lipoma but also neurological complications. Although intracranial lipomas are usually benign and asymptomatic, early detection of them is quite critical, and body weight control may help to prevent their progression.

A case of ectopic decidua found as a subcutaneous mass in the lower anterior abdominal wall without symptoms in a 24-year-old Japanese pregnant female (gravida 1, para 1 by caesarean section) is described. The tumor, 2cm in diameter, was removed at a second delivery by caesarean section. Microscopically, multiple nodules in adipose tissue were all composed of large polygonal cells. These cells were positively stained with periodic-acid-Schiff (PAS), vimentin and keratin but not S-100 protein and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA).

Three cases of Multiple Angiolipoma are presented.Case 1:A 51-year-old man, complaining of tumors on both arms and back, visited our clinic on October 2, 1989.In 1970, he had noticed a subcutaneous tumor on the flexor side of his right forearm.After that, many tumors appeared symmetrically on both arms and some of them were painful.In 1980, he noticed many tumors on his back.There were a total of sixty five tumors with a size of 0.5cm to 1.0cm, a smooth surface and elastic hard consistency, on both arms and the back.Almost half were tender.On October 5, 1992 biopsy was performed, but the patient did not wish for any additional treatment.Case 2:A 31-year-old man, complaining of tumors on both legs and low back, visited our clinic on August 11, 1992.In the beginning of August 1992 he had noticed some painless subcutaneous tumors on both legs and low back.There were a total of eleven tumors with a size of 0.5cm to 1.0cm, a smooth surface and elastic hard consistency, on the flexor side of his left upper arm, low back, upper abdomen and both legs.A tumor of the right back was tender.On October 6, 1992 surgical excision of all tumors was performed. They were in the subcutaneous tissue and similar to lipoma.There was no reccurence, when he was reexamined on October 14, 1992.Case 3:A 32-year-old man, complaining of multiple tumors on both arms and legs, visited our clinic in December, 1996.In 1992, he had noticed a painless subcutaneous tumor on the flexor side of his left forearm.After that, the size of the tumor gradually increased and two tumors appeared at the proximal side of the first tumor.In 1995, six tumors appeared on the right forearm and both legs.There were total number of 9 tumors with a size of 1.0cm to 3.0cm, a smooth surface and elastic soft consistency, on the extremities.All tumors had slight tenderness.On December 20, 1992 surgical excision of all tumors was performed. They were in the subcutaneous tissue capsulated with a thin membranous tissue and similar to lipoma.There was no reccurence, when he was reexamined on February 8, 1997.Pathological diagnosis of all cases was angiolipoma.Tumors were capsulated with a thin membranous tissue and composed of mature adipose tissue and varying amounts of capillaries, which contained variable amount of micro thrombosis.