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Background & Objective: Human papillomavirus (HPV) has been associated with prognosis in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Similar to the global studies, different prevalence rates of this viral infection have been reported in Iran. Therefore, we aimed to report the prevalence of this virus and its significance in HNSCC patients.Methods: Patients who were referred to the five hospitals of Tehran city from May 2018 to May 2019 were enrolled in this study. All patients were diagnosed with HNSCC based on pathologic study. The pathologic disease staging was defined, and DNAs were extracted from the fresh tissue samples via kits. After polymerase chain reaction (PCR), HPV positive samples were evaluated for determining genotypes and data analysis.Results: Of the 46 patients, three patients (6.5%) had positive HPV with the following subtypes: 18 (in two patients), 52 (in three patients), 61 (in two patients), 67, and 73.Comparison of variables between the groups with and without HPV showed a significant difference based on the tumor’s lymphatic invasion (p =0.041), peripheral lymph node involvement (p =0.008), and histologic grade (p =0.011), but there was no statistically significant difference in terms of other variables such as age, primary tumor site, size, pathologic stage, vascular or perineural invasion, metastasis, smoking, and alcohol consumption.Conclusion: HPV positivity is an important factor in the lymphatic invasion, peripheral lymph node involvement, and histologic grade of cases with HNSCC and should be further investigated for its effect on prognosis.

a 45‑year‑old male patient that presented with a verrucous hyperkeratotic plaque on the lower lip mimicking Squamous Cell Carcinoma. However, oral examination revealed, reticulated white patches on the bilateral buccal mucosa, and a biopsy of the lip lesion revealed lichenoid dermatitis which led to the diagnosis of hypertrophic lichen planus

In this study, we report a parapharyngeal diffuse large Bcell lymphoma in a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected patient which had caused the patient to suffer from Garcin syndrome.

Cryptosporidium causes watery diarrhea, despite the normal population it might prolonged and life threatening in severely immunocompromised individuals. In the current study, we reported Cryptosporidium gastroduodenitis in 17 years old female with HIV (human immunodeficiency virus).

First presentation of the Kaposi sarcoma (KS) on the penis is not prevalent, and it was reported in 2%‐3% of the cases that mostly occurred in the HIV‐positive patients. Here, we report a case of primary KS on the glans penis in an HIV‐negative patient.

Major histocompatibility complexes class I (MHC- I) deficiency, also known as bare lymphocyte syndrome type 1 (BLS-1), is a rare autosomal recessively inherited immunodeficiency disorder with remarkable clinical and biological heterogeneity. Transporter associated with antigen processing (TAP) is a member of the ATP-binding cassette superfamily of transporters and consists of two subunits, TAP1 or TAP2. Any defect resulting from a mutation or deletion of these two subunits, adversely affects the peptide translocation in the endoplasmic reticulum, which is an important process for the proper assembly of MHC- I molecules. To date, few patients with reduced cell surface expression of MHC-I molecules have been reported. Herein; we described two Iranian cases with 2 and 3 decades delayed diagnosis of chronic necrotizing granulomatous skin lesions due to TAP2 deficiency without pulmonary involvement; and then segregation analysis in family members was performed by PCR and Sanger sequencing among 10 members of their family and found three homozygous mutation in three asymptomatic patients.

Major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I) deficiency, also known as bare lymphocyte syndrome type 1 (BLS-1), is a rare autosomal recessively inherited immunodeficiency disorder with remarkable clinical and biological heterogeneity. Transporter associated with antigen processing (TAP) is a member of the ATP-binding cassette superfamily of transporters and consists of two subunits, TAP1 or TAP2. Any defect resulting from a mutation or deletion of these two subunits may adversely affect the peptide translocation in the endoplasmic reticulum, which is an important process for properly assembling MHC-I molecules. To date, only 12 TAP2-deficient patients were reported in the literature. Herein, we described two Iranian cases with 2 and 3 decades of delayed diagnosis of chronic necrotizing granulomatous skin lesions due to TAP2 deficiency without pulmonary involvement. Segregation analysis in family members identified 3 additional homozygous asymptomatic carriers. In both asymptomatic and symptomatic carriers, HLA-I expression was only 4-15% of the one observed in healthy controls. We performed the first deep immunophenotyping in TAP2-deficient patients. While total CD8 T cell counts were normal as previously reported, the patients showed strongly impaired naïve CD8 T cell counts. Mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells and invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cell counts were increased.

BACKGROUND Subjective hearing loss resulting from unilateral lesions of the quadrigeminal cistern region or inferior colliculus is a rare entity. OBSERVATIONS The authors presented the case of a 32-year-old man with a history of 4 months of nonpulsatile tinnitus and 1 month of unilateral sensorineural hearing loss. He was otherwise healthy with no significant previous medical history. Intravenous gadolinium contrast magnetic resonance imaging of the head revealed a lesion at the region of the left inferior colliculus suggestive of a lipoma. The tumor was removed, and the patient had no significant hearing change afterward, with an improvement in tinnitus. The histological examination demonstrated the tumor as a fibrolipoma. LESSONS Contralateral subjective hearing loss is an uncommon presentation for a lesion in the region of the inferior colliculus.

Background: Gastrointestinal (GI) tract is the most common site for extranodal lymphoma. The primary GI lymphoma pattern in Iran is different from western countries and has been changed during the past 40 years. Objectives: This study was done to determine the clinical and pathological characteristics of primary GI lymphoma in Tehran, Hamedan, and Mashhad regions in Iran. Methods: In this cross-sectional comparative-descriptive study, 200 patients with primary GI lymphoma in Tehran, Hamadan, and Mashhad regions from 2011 to 2016 were enrolled in a consecutive manner, where the clinical and pathological characteristics of cases were determined. Results: Among 200 patients, 141 (70.5%) subjects were male and 59 (29.5%) subjects were female. The mean age at diagnosis was 54.3 ± 19.3 years. Also, 84%, 8.5%, and 7.5% of the patients’ specimens were from Tehran, Hamedan, and Mashhad, respectively. The stomach was the principal involved location in approximately half of the cases. Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), was the main subtype that was observed in 64% of the cases. Treatment in 72% of cases was a combination of surgery and chemotherapy. The 5-year survival was assessed in 147 patients with a rate of 68%. Conclusions: Primary GI lymphoma is seen more in male subjects younger than 60 years of age with non-specific symptoms. Also, DLBCL and MALToma are the main histologic types, and the 5-year survival for all cases is 68.0%. The clinical symptoms showed no specific pattern and accordingly, patients with weight loss and abdominal pain should be considered in in differential diagnosis of malignant lymphoma.

Background Brain tuberculoma is a rare manifestation of tuberculosis especially in immunosuppressed patients. The definitive diagnosis may be difficult owing to mimicking brain tumors and the absence of the common presentation. Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine is used for protection against tuberculous meningitis and miliary disease, more so in children, and also for the treatment of bladder cancer. Case Description The following case of brain tuberculoma is a boy aged 6 months who was presented to our hospital with poor feeding, nausea and vomiting, and confusion lasting 1 month. A brain magnetic resonance imaging scan showed a large mass lesion in the pineal region with generalized hydrocephaly in which polymerase chain reaction assays of the tissue was positive for Mycobacterium bovis and had a good response to antituberculosis drugs and surgery. Conclusions We present a case of brain tuberculoma as the complication of BCG vaccine. To our knowledge, this case is the first case of brain tuberculoma after BCG vaccination. We should consider brain tuberculoma that presents with a similar presentation in any infants with a history of BCG vaccination.

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is associated with peripheral and central nervous system tumors. It is noteworthy that the regions in which these tumors frequently arise are the optic pathways (OPs) and the brainstem. Thus, we decided to trace the procedure of diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging (dMRI) alterations along with Short-Wavelength Automated Perimetry (SWAP) examinations of the OPs after surgery and chemotherapy over 1 year, which enabled us to evaluate chemotherapy's efficacy in an NF1 patient with an OP tumor. In this study, a 25-year-old woman with NF1 and left optic radiation (OR) glioma underwent surgery to remove the glioma. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) revealed a Pilocytic Astrocytoma (PA) WHO grade I. Post-operation chemotherapy done using nine treatment cycles of administering Temozolomide (TMZ) for 5 days every 4 weeks. Applying the region of interest (ROI) differential tractography method and SWAP four times every 3 months allowed us to follow the patient's visual acuity alterations longitudinally. The differential deterministic tractography method and statistical analyses enabled us to discover the white matter (WM) tracts anisotropy alterations over time. Furthermore, statistical analyses on the SWAP results along time illustrated possible alterations in visual acuity. Then, we could compare and associate the findings with the SWAP examinations and patient symptoms longitudinally. Statistical analyses of SWAP tests revealed a significant improvement in visual fields, and longitudinal differential tractography showed myelination and dense axonal packing in the left OR after 1 year of treatment. In this study, we examined an old hypothesis suggesting that chemotherapy is more effective than radiotherapy for NF1 patients with OP gliomas (OPGs) because of the radiation side effects on the visual field, cognition, and cerebrovascular complications. Our longitudinal clinical case study involving dMRI and SWAP on a single NF1-OPG patient showed that chemotherapy did not suppress the OP myelination over time. However, it should be noted that this is a clinical case study, and, therefore, the generalization of results is limited. Future investigations might focus on genetic-based imaging, particularly in more cases. Further, meta-analyses are recommended for giving a proper Field Of View (FOV) to researchers as a subtle clue regarding precision medicine.

Seborrheic keratosis (SK), actinic keratosis (AK), and Bowen's disease (BD) are squamoproliferative disorders of the skin. Histologically, they may mimic each other and therefore, they might be misinterpreted, especially in small samples. The aim of this study is to clarify the expression of p63, p16, and p53 proteins in SK, AK, and BD and evaluate the efficacy of these markers in order to distinguish between the aforementioned lesions. A total of 46 cases were collected (15 SK, 16 AK, and 15 BD) and stained for p63, p16, and p53. The stain intensity and the cell distribution labeling were scored and then analyzed by SPSS software. All cases of BD which became positive for p53 revealed basal keratinocytes sparing. Instead, all or nearly all basal keratinocytes in AK cases were positive for this marker. These were also seen in p16 staining results and they were between AK and BD (P = .024). Our study demonstrates p16 and p53 are useful markers in separating AK and BD according to basal keratinocytes involvement and sparing, respectively.

Background: The scientific evidence concerning pathogenesis and immunopathology of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is rapidly evolving in the literature. To evaluate the different tissues obtained by biopsy and autopsy from five patients who expired from severe COVID-19 in our medical center. Methods: This retrospective study reviewed five patients with severe COVID-19, confirmed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and imaging, to determine the potential correlations between histologic findings with patient outcome. Results: Diffuse alveolar damage (DAD) and micro-thrombosis were the most common histologic finding in the lung tissues (4 of 5 cases), and immunohistochemical (IHC) findings (3 of 4 cases) suggested perivascular aggregation and diffuse infiltration of alveolar walls by CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. Two of five cases had mild predominantly perivascular lymphocytic infiltration, single cell myocardial necrosis and variable interstitial edema in myocardial samples. Hypertrophic cardiac myocytes, representing hypertensive cardiomyopathy was seen in one patient and CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes were detected on IHC in two cases. In renal samples, acute tubular necrosis was observed in 3 of 5 cases, while chronic tubulointerstitial nephritis, crescent formation and small vessel fibrin thrombi were observed in 1 of 5 samples. Sinusoidal dilation, mild to moderate chronic portal inflammation and mild mixed macro- and micro-vesicular steatosis were detected in all liver samples. Conclusion: Our observations suggest that clinical pathology findings on autopsy tissue samples could shed more light on the pathogenesis, and consequently the management, of patients with severe COVID-19.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease which can be complicated with cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection during its course. CMV reactivation can mimic an SLE flare and lead to delay in diagnosis. Here, we reported a previously diagnosed SLE patient who presented with fever, leukopenia, and cutaneous ulcers. Initially, this was diagnosed as an SLE flare and the patient was treated with higher doses of corticosteroids but no improvement was observed. Both nuclear and cytoplasmic inclusions inside the endothelial cells in the skin biopsy as well as positive immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining for CMV antigen were clues to the correct diagnosis of CMV reactivation. Treatment with ganciclovir resulted in clinical resolution. In this report, a very rare clinical form of CMV infection manifesting as cutaneous necrotizing vasculitis on the lower extremity is described and the literature regarding this case is reviewed.

Schwannoma is a benign, slow-growing sheath tumor that arises in peripheral nerves. Tumors involving olfactory bulbs and tracts are extremely rare, and only a limited number of cases have been reported. Our case was a 30-year-old man presenting with a one-year history of anosmia and no other remarkable history or finding in the physical examination. Brain imaging revealed a somewhat ill-defined soft tissue mass lesion with expansion, sever thinning, and impression on the cribriform plate with extension to the right frontal sinus. Based on the clinical and imaging findings, our initial diagnosis was esthesioneuroblastoma, and the patient was a candidate for craniotomy. Pathologic microscopic examination showed a spindle tumor with a nodular whorled pattern consistent with Schwannoma. The patient was discharged with no remarkable event during the hospital stay. The only finding in the 3-month follow up visit was anosmia, and the postoperative CT scan showed no remnant of the tumor.

Pyodermatitis-pyostomatitis vegetans is a rare inflammatory dermatosis. There is a strong association between pyodermatitis-pyostomatitis vegetans and inflammatory bowel disease, particularly ulcerative colitis. Herein, we report a case of pyodermatitis-pyostomatitis vegetans with positive direct immunofluorescence staining findings and review the literature for the past 18 years to characterize the disease, its epidemiologic characteristics, its associations, and the pathology and direct and indirect immunofluorescence findings. The total number of cases was 38, including 22 men and 16 women, with an average age of forty. Direct immunofluorescence staining had been performed for 32 patients, of which 12 had positive findings. Of those with positive direct immunofluorescence, 6 patients showed IgA cell surface staining. A recent approach suggests that these immunological findings may not be accidental and indicates a possible overlap with autoimmune bullous diseases discussed in this review.

The regulatory effects of estradiol on pituitary homeostasis have been well documented. However, the expression patterns of ERα66 and ERα36 and their correlations with the clinical course of postoperative prolactinoma tumors remain unclear. The expression of ERα36, ERα66, Ki67, p53, and CD31 were determined by immunohistochemistry in 62 prolactinoma patients. Snap-frozen tumors and normal pituitaries were also examined by western blotting for estrogen receptor detection. A broad expression of ERα36 was identified in normal pituitaries. The median scores of ERα36 and ERα66 expression were 8 and 6 in normal pituitaries and 4 and 0 in tumors, respectively. Four phenotypes of ERα36 and ERα66 expression were explored in tumors with regard to sex, invasiveness, dopamine resistance, and recurrence. Low ERα36 expression was associated with tumor invasion and increased Ki67. Low ERα66 expression was associated with tumor invasion, dopamine-agonist resistance, and enhanced tumor size. Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that low ERα36 expression is an independent risk factor for invasiveness. The significant inverse association of ERα66 with invasiveness, dopamine resistance, and tumor size remained significant after adjustment for sex as a potential confounder. After controlling for sex, the low ERα66/low ERα36 phenotype was 6.24 times more prevalent in invasive tumors than in noninvasive tumors. Although the decreasing trend of CD31 expression from surrounding nontumoral lactotroph adenomas to tumors was similar to that of the estrogen receptors, a significant correlation was not observed here. The decreasing trends of ERα36 and ERα66 expression from normal pituitaries to tumors are associated with aggressive clinical behavior.

Lepromatous leprosy is associated with a high bacillary load and poor cellular immune response. Early dermatologic manifestations include erythematous macules, papules, nodules, and plaques with a symmetrical distribution. Leprosy also shows two major reaction states including type I (reversal reaction) and type II (vasculitis). These reactions are usually seen in some patients who are undergoing treatment. Herein, we report an interesting patient with lepromatous leprosy who presented with skin lesions of type II reaction without receiving any anti-leprosy treatment and surprisingly showed a type I reaction eight months after the beginning of the treatment.

Calcifying pseudoneoplasms of the neuraxis are rare, poorly understood lesions that can occur anywhere in the central nervous system without any age or sex predilection. Their pathogenesis is still controversial. Patients can present with various symptoms due to lesion location and only few cases have been discovered incidentally. We present a 25-year-old male referred to our hospital after a car accident. Computed tomography scan and magnetic resonance imaging was done because of the patient's head trauma and a calcified intracranial lesion was found and excised surgically. Pathologic evaluation of the specimen was consistent with the diagnosis of calcifying pseudoneoplasm of the neuraxis.

Aim: This study aims to evaluate the association between the MTRR rs1801394 alone or in interaction with the MTHFR rs1801133 and susceptibility to colorectal cancer (CRC) and its characteristics in Iranian population. Additionally, both a systematic review and meta-analysis were performed to derive a more precise assessment of this association. Materials & methods: Genomic DNA of 2332 subjects was genotyped for rs1801394. These data were pooled with 17 eligible studies for meta-analysis. Results: No significant association was found between the rs1801394 or rs1801394-rs1801133 and CRC risk. Meta-analysis results also demonstrated no significant relationship between the rs1801394 and CRC risk. Conclusion: Results of this study showed that the rs1801394 alone or together with the rs1801133 is not a risk factor for CRC in Iranian population.

Despite access to efficient hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccine and universal immunization schedules, HBV infection remains a global health concern. HBV infection has decreased by this program. Nevertheless, breakthrough infections occur due to generation of occult HBV infection (OBI) and surface gene mutants in the immunized population. We aimed to determine the presence of OBI in a population born after initiation of nationwide HBV vaccination in Tehran, Iran. A HBV mass vaccination schedule was launched in Iran in 1993. For this study, we enrolled 1120 cases younger than 24 years. ELISA was applied to evaluate the presence of HBsAg, anti-HBs and anti-HBc. HBV-DNA presence was determined in all HBsAg-negative cases using nested polymerase chain reaction. The prevalence of HBsAg, anti-HBc and anti-HBs was 0.1, 0.54 and 39.9% respectively. Out of 6 anti-HBc-positive individuals, 4 cases also had anti-HBs. One case revealed HBsAg co-existence and the other one showed isolated anti-HBc. HBV-DNA was not detected in HBsAg-negative specimens. A very low prevalence of HBsAg and isolated anti-HBc was observed and no occult HBV infection was detected. It seems that evasion mutants are not a potential threat for HBV universal immunization efficacy in the vaccinated population.

A nationwide hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccination program for neonates was launched in Iran in 1993. Despite the success of this program, concern about its long-term success still remains, because breakthrough infections due to emergence of surface mutants have been reported in immunized children. We aimed to evaluate the seroprevalence of HBV and vaccine escape mutants among individuals born after the initiation of the nationwide vaccination program in Iran. This study included 1115 participants younger than 23 years old, with 223 in each age cohort. The presence of HBsAg, anti-HBs and anti-HBc was evaluated using an ELISA kit. HBV-DNA levels were measured in anti-HBc and/or HBsAg-positive subjects. PCR products were sequenced and mutations were identified. The overall HBsAg prevalence was 0.27 %. Anti-HBs and anti-HBc positive rates were 48 % and 0.18 %, respectively. Two individuals were positive for anti-HBc, one of whom was also positive for HBsAg, and the other was positive for anti-HBc only. HBV DNA was detected in three out of four anti-HBc-and /or HBsAg-positive subjects. An I195M mutation within the S gene was detected in two of the three HBV-DNA-positive cases. A very low prevalence of HBsAg and isolated anti-HBc were found in this study. The I195M mutation found in the surface gene could have been induced by immune pressure. Although the number of ''vaccine escape'' mutants found in this cohort was low, ongoing surveillance of breakthrough infections and escape mutants is still needed.

Several studies reported the potential role of the rs1447295 polymorphism in susceptibility to cancer. This variant located in the cancer susceptibility candidate 8 (CASC8) is a long noncoding RNA (lnRNA) gene and does not code protein. LnRNA transcripts play a potential regulatory role in the expression of key genes involved in multiple cellular pathways, including cell cycle, pluripotency, and immune response. The aim of this study is to evaluate this association with colorectal cancer (CRC) in a large case-control study of the Iranian population. After extraction of genomic DNA by the standard protocols, the rs1447295 was genotyped in 2416 subjects (46% patients). Results of this case-control demonstrated no significant association between the rs1447295 polymorphism and risk of CRC or its characteristics under allele or alternative genotype models. In conclusion, it is unlikely that the rs1447295 polymorphism is a risk variant for the development of CRC in Iranian population.

Eccrine nevus is a rare skin lesion with protean manifestations like hyperhidrosis, discolored nodules, papules, and so forth, which has been reported in various anatomic parts of the body including the forearm, leg, thigh, back, and coccyx. Our patient was a 26-year-old male, who presented with increasing colorless and odorless episodic umbilical discharge. First impression for the patient was an umbilical sinus and the patient underwent surgery. Histopathological study revealed the lesion to be an eccrine nevus of the umbilicus. This is the first case of eccrine nevus presenting with umbilical discharge. We recommend that eccrine nevus should be considered as a differential diagnosis for umbilical discharge.

A 49-year-old woman with a long history of a subcutaneous mass on the dorsal side of her 4th finger of the right hand visited a dermatologist because of slight enlargement of the mass. Her past medical history was notable only for a mitral valvuloplasty performed 20 years earlier. Physical examination revealed a small, round, firm subcutaneous mass on the dorsal side of her proximal interphalangeal joint of the right 4th finger. The mass was immobile and nontender and its overlying skin was intact. An excisional biopsy was done for the patient and the specimen was sent for pathologic evaluation. On microscopic examination, the final diagnosis of plexiform schwannoma was made for the lesion. The aim of this publication is to report a rare case of plexiform schwannoma of the soft tissue and a literature review to provide a better understanding about its characteristics including epidemiologic factors and pathologic evaluation.

Background: The origin of meningioma tumors is known as the meningothelial or arachnoid cap cells. The arachnoid granulations or villi are concentrated along with the dural venous sinuses in the cerebral convexity, parasagittally, and sphenoid wing regions. The majority of meningiomas are found in these locations with dural attachment. Infrequently, meningiomas develop without dural attachment but in dural adjacent. There are numerous reports of patients with cranial nerve involvement as a result of the compressive effect of the sinus cavernous or adjacent structures meningioma tumor on the cranial nerve. Case Description: In this study, we reviewed all reports of patients with third nerve involvement as a result of meningioma tumors in addition to the introduction of a new case. We present a 47-year-old woman presented with headache, diplopia, and ptosis. A gadolinium-enhanced mass on anterolateral of the left cerebral peduncle with no dural attachment was suggesting for Schwannoma at preoperative imaging. An adhesive 10 × 5 × 4 mm meningothelial meningioma arising from the oculomotor nerve was resected. Conclusion: The findings of this review suggest that there may be other mechanisms as the origin of meningiomas tumors. It is crucial to take into account origination mechanisms of meningioma using ectopic meningiomas due to the increasing prevalence of meningioma.