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Introduction: Male Breast Carcinoma (MBC) is rare compared to Female Breast Carcinoma (FBC) and differs significantly in tumour biology. The expression of Programmed Death receptor-1 (PD-1) and its ligand, Programmed Death-ligand 1 (PD-L1), is extensively studied in FBC for the implementation of newer immunotherapies; however, the role of these immunomarkers in MBC is still not well understood. Aim: To evaluate the expression of PD-L1 in MBC and FBC patients and to assess its clinicopathological and prognostic significance. Materials and Methods: This cohort study was conducted in the Department of Pathology of IPGMER and SSKM Hospital in Kolkata, West Bengal, India, in collaboration with the Department of Surgery over a period of 4 years from January 2020-December 2023. Histopathological examinations were performed on 204 mastectomy specimens from male and female breast cancer patients. Immunohistochemistry for PD-L1, Oestrogen Receptor (ER), Progesterone Receptor (PR), and HER2/neu was conducted on Formalin-fixed Paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue. The clinicopathological parameters were analysed alongside PD-L1 expression in breast carcinoma for both genders. Kaplan's-Meier graphs were plotted for survival analysis. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 29.0 was used for data analysis, with a significance threshold set at a p-value of <0.05 (Chi-square test). Results: The age range was 48 to 65 years in the male population and 30 to 74 years in the female population. A total of 204 cases were included in the study, with 50 cases of MBC and 154 cases of FBC. PD-L1 expression was observed in 48% of MBC cases and in 52.59% of FBC cases. No significant difference in PD-L1 expression was noted between MBC and FBC (p-value=0.572). MBCs exhibited different biological characteristics, including a predominance in older age, smaller tumour size, and more frequent luminal molecular types compared to FBC, with the luminal A subtype being the most common in MBC (38%), while the triple-negative subtype was the most common in FBC (35%). Overall survival analysis also did not demonstrate significant survival advantages in PD-L1 positive cases (p-value=0.491 for MBC cases and 0.128 for FBC cases). Conclusion: PD-L1 expression in MBC does not differ significantly from that in FBC. Furthermore, PD-L1 expression did not confer significant survival advantages in either MBC or FBC cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The genetic etiology of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) was suggested to overlap with type-2 diabetes(T2D). Transcription factor 7-like 2 (TCF7L2) and Proprotein Convertase Subtilisin/Kexin type 2 (PCSK2) are T2D susceptibility genes of the insulin synthesis/processing pathway. We analyzed associations of TCF7L2 and PCSK2 variants with GDM risk and evaluated their potential impact on impaired insulin processing in an eastern Indian population. The study included 114 GDM (case) and 228 non-GDM pregnant women (control). rs7903146, rs4132670, rs12255372 of TCF7L2, and rs2269023 of PCSK2 were genotyped by PCR-RFLP, and genotype distributions were compared between case and control. Fasting serum proinsulin and C-peptide levels were measured by ELISA and the Proinsulin/C-peptide ratio was considered an indicator of proinsulin conversion. Significantly higher frequency of risk allele (T) of rs12255372 (p = 0.02, OR = 2.0, 95%CI = 1.11–3.64) and rs4132670 (p = 0.002, OR = 2.26, 95%CI = 1.32–3.87) of TCF7L2 was found in GDM cases than non-GDM controls; TT genotype was associated with significantly increased disease risk. In rs7903146 (TCF7L2) and rs2269023 (PCSK2), although the frequency of risk allele (T) was not significantly higher in cases than controls, an association of TT for both variants remained significant with higher GDM risk in the recessive model. Increased serum pro-insulin and proinsulin:c-peptide ratio was found in GDM than non-GDM women and the phenomenon showed significant association with careers of risk alleles for TCF7L2 variants. In conclusion, TCF7L2 and PCSK2 variants are related to GDM risk in the studied population and hence may serve as potential biomarkers for assessing the disease risk. TCF7L2 variants contribute to impaired insulin processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Byline: Kavita. Jain, Moumita. Sengupta, Priyanka. Maity, Uttara. Chatterjee, Shubhamitra. Chaudhuri, E. Rajyalakshmi, Chhanda. Datta, Subhashish. Ghosh, Sandip. Chatterjee Background: Pediatric central nervous system (CNS) tumors have a different histological [...]

Objective: Study was performed to determine content of arsenic in urinary bladder tumour tissue and association of BRCA1 and BRCA2 protein expression with urinary bladder carcinoma development. Materials and methods: This study was performed in a tertiary care hospital of Eastern India. Post-operative tumour tissue was analysed for arsenic content as well as BRCA1 and BRCA2 expression. Statistical analysis was done and association between stage, grade and BRCA1 and BRCA2 expression with arsenic level in tumour tissue was done. Results: Total 50 patients were included in study. Out of which 26 were arsenic positive as well as 24 were arsenic negative. Maximum patients in arsenic positive group were from arsenic endemic zones of West Bengal, India. There was significant correlation between higher stage and grade of tumour and arsenic positivity. BRCA1 correlation was significant with arsenic positive group whereas BRCA2 correlation was not significant with arsenic positive group. Conclusion: Bladder carcinomas are more common in arsenic endemic zones of our country. This association can help in future to develop drugs which act on selected mutation of genes such as BRCA1, especially in arsenic-associated bladder cancers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Byline: Kunal. Kapoor, Chhanda. Datta, Dilip. Pal Introduction: Numerous biomarkers have been investigated for the diagnosis and follow-up of patients with bladder cancer, but none has achieved desirable acceptability. In [...]

Byline: Keya. Basu, Moumita. Chatterjee, Abhishek. De, Moumita. Sengupta, Chhanda. Datta, Pradip. Mitra Context: Autoimmune blistering diseases (AIBDs) are characterized by autoantibodies directed against antigens of skin. Direct immunofluorescence (DIF) [...]

A family consisting of a brother (11 years) and his twin sisters (13 years) with cerebrotendinous xanthomatosis is presented. The brother had bilateral achilles tendon xanthoma, low intelligence, poor memory with early cerebellar signs. The sisters had bilateral juvenile cataracts in addition to Achilles tendon xanthomas. The serum cholosterol level in all the three was within normal limits. The FNAC and histopathology of tendinous swelling showed touton giant cells and foam cells. A diagnosis of cerebro- tendinous xanthomatosis was made on the basis of Achilles tendon xanthomas, bilateral cataracts and normal serum cholesterol.

Byline: Aniket. Halder, Saikat. Bera, Chhanda. Datta, Uttara. Chatterjee, Manoj. Choudhuri Sir, Meningeal melanocytomas (MMs) are benign pigmented tumors of the central nervous system (CNS) that originate from the leptomeningeal [...]

Introduction and objective: Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) accounts for approximately 3% of all cancers. Approximately 25%–30% of patients present with metastatic disease at the time of diagnosis, and metastatic RCC is a treatment-resistant malignancy. Altered expression of cell adhesion molecules such as CD44 on tumor cells suggests a pathogenetic mechanism for tumor metastasis and may provide prognostic information for particular tumors. These cell matrix interactions of CD44 play a role in tumor cell invasion and metastasis. The Wnt/beta-catenin pathway turned out to be a promising target as it is involved in the regulation of cell proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis induction. Method: In this study, the expression of beta-catenin and CD44 was analyzed in primary renal cell carcinoma (RCC) samples to understand their association with development of the disease. For this purpose, immunohistochemical expression analysis of beta-catenin and CD44 was performed in 30 primary RCC histological samples and normal kidney tissues in different subtypes at different clinical stages of Indian patients (year: 2017–2019). Result: Most of the patients who presented were diagnosed as clear cell carcinoma and it was observed that expression of CD44 was high in patients with high stage tumors. Also beta-catenin was increased in advanced grade tumors, but there was insignificant correlation between high expression of molecules and survival or recurrence of disease. Conclusion: Both cd44 and beta-catenin activation was noted in patients with clear cell carcinoma, more in advanced tumors. Both can be promising targets for treatment in clear cell RCCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims Prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) may vary across a country like India. Risk factors and disease-pathogenesis were also not fully elucidated. This study aimed to examine prevalence of GDM among pregnant women visiting antenatal clinic of a tertiary-care hospital of Kolkata, India; possible mechanism of disease pathogenesis and potency of associated parameters as disease biomarkers were also explored. Methods 735 pregnant women were screened for GDM according to DIPSI (Diabetes in Pregnancy Study Group India) guideline and risk-factors were analyzed. Case-control study was conducted with 114 GDM and 114 matched non-GDM control. Blood sample was collected before glucose load for complete blood count, measurement of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and assessment of DNA damage. Results Prevalence of GDM was found to be 17.2%(127/735). Maternal age, diabetic family history and acanthosis nigricans seemed to be important risk factors. Total ROS, lymphocyte DNA damage (measured by comet-assay) and some inflammatory hematological parameters were significantly higher in GDM compared to control. ROS, comet-tail DNA%, WBC, neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and mean platelet volume (MPV) were established as independent determinants of disease condition after adjustment for pre-gestational body mass index. In receiver operating characteristic analysis, ROS>155.7 arbitrary fluorescent unit, NLR>2.12 and MPV>11.05 fL showed 82.5 & 98.2%, 71.9 & 84.2% and 71.9 & 82.5% sensitivity & specificity respectively in disease prediction. Conclusions Prevalence of GDM seemed to be high in Kolkata on Indian scenario. Oxidative-stress, related DNA-damage and inflammation seemed to have important contribution in pathogenesis of GDM independent of obesity. ROS, NLR and MPV with respective cut-off scores might be used as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for better management of the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]