Search

This work focuses on the antimycotic effects of the plasma gun as a potential tool for the treatment of superficial infections. Candida glabrata was chosen as a model microorganism. The preliminary tests have been done on the agar plates to establish the basic plasma parameters. To render this research more appropriate to the real application, more complex inoculation substrates, pork skin and 3D‐printed models of the dog ear canal have been used. The results of this work confirm the high efficiency of cold plasma in the inhibition of yeasts on different surfaces and will lead to further experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Undifferentiated carcinoma with osteoclast-like giant cells (UCOGC) of the pancreas represents a rare subtype of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Despite a distinct morphology and specific clinical behavior, UCOGCs exhibit unexpected similarities in regard to DNA mutational profiles with conventional PDAC. Treating pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is particularly challenging, with limited prospects for cure. As with many other malignant neoplasms, the exploration of microRNAs (miRNAs, miRs) in regulating the biological characteristics of pancreatic cancer is undergoing extensive investigation to enhance tumor diagnostics and unveil the therapeutic possibilities. Herein, we evaluated the expression of miR-21, -96, -148a, -155, -196a, -210, and -217 in UCOGCs and poorly differentiated (grade 3, G3) PDACs. The expression of miR-21, miR-155, and miR-210 in both UCOGCs and G3 PDACs was significantly upregulated compared to the levels in normal tissue, while the levels of miR-148a and miR-217 were downregulated. We did not find any significant differences between cancerous and normal tissues for the expression of miR-96 and miR-196a in G3 PDACs, whereas miR-196a was slightly, but significantly, downregulated in UCOGCs. On the other hand, we have not observed significant differences in the expression of the majority of miRNAs between UCOGC and G3 PDAC, with the exception of miR-155. UCOGC samples demonstrated lower mean levels of miR-155 in comparison with those in G3 PDACs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Penile cancer is a relatively rare malignancy with a highly variable prognosis. The most important indicator of cancer specific survival (CSS) is the involvement of regional lymph nodes, which may not be identified during clinical examination or by conventional imaging methods. For that reason, new prognostic and therapeutic markers of penile squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) are currently being investigated at the histological, immunohistochemical and molecular level. Although the WHO classifies penile SCC into HPV-associated and HPV-independent, the prognostic impact of HPV status remains questionable according to several studies and our data. In our study, a negative prognostic effect of tumour grade budding on overall survival (OS) and CSS was found. Tumour budding has been associated with the metastatic involvement of regional lymph nodes in penile SCC. A few relevant studies have investigated the prognostic significance of immune cell infiltration in pSCC. In our study, a non-brisk/absent lymphocyte infiltrate was significantly associated with shorter OS and CSS. Mutated p53 profile correlates with aggressive phenotype and poor prognosis in many tumour types including penile SCC. Our data confirmed its negative prognostic impact on both OS and CSS. High tumour mutational burden (TMB) was associated with shorter OS, with high programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression and HPV/p16 negativity. The PD-L1 positivity enrichment in HPV-negative tumours harboring high TMB illustrates pSCC oncogenesis in association with chronic inflammation, high amount of acquired mutations, and neoantigen (PD-L1) production. This discovery suggests that patients with HPV-independent SCC could be suitable candidates for anti-PD-1/PD-L1 treatment. In summary, tumour budding, tumour lymphocytic infiltration and p53 show a stronger correlation with survival outcomes compared to factors such as pT stage, histopathological grade or morphological subtype in penile carcinoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article traces the evolution of the medical paradigm from the ancient model of humoral pathology, which interprets diseases as imbalances in bodily fluids, toward pathological anatomy and experimental physiology. In the pathological-anatomical approach, the patient's internal organs cease to be mere "projection screens" of illness and instead become the actual "sites" of disease. This marks a shift from humoralism to localism or ontologism, wherein disease is no longer viewed simply as an abnormal quantity of natural humours but as a distinct entity in itself. By the 18th century, the pathological anatomy emerged as a field, replacing the ancient conception of tumours as coagulations of black bile. This was further advanced in the 19th century with the advent of cell theory, which conceptualized tumours as masses of excessively dividing cells that resist the organism's regulatory mechanisms while still being nourished by it, typically to the organism's detriment and death. The study focuses on the work of selected German-and English-speaking physicians in the 18th and, predominantly, the 19th centuries. It concludes by identifying two primary reasons for the understanding of tumours as independent parasitic entities. The first reason is the systematic cultivation of pathological anatomy in dissection rooms, alongside the development of light microscopy and histological research. The second reason lies in the societal transformations in 19th-century Europe, where absolutist states evolved into civil societies, fostering the notion of the organism as a "cellular state" - a collection of units leading both individual and collective lives. The application of this concept to tumours is evident throughout the histories of the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Giant cell fibroblastoma is a rare locally aggressive tumor of subcutaneous mesenchymal tissue, occurring mostly on the trunk in young individuals with maximal incidence in the first decade of life. Local recurrences of giant cell fibroblastoma are common if marginally excised, however, distant metastases do not occur. Giant cell fibroblastoma was labelled as a juvenile variant of dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP) due to quite frequent combination of both lesions, morphological similarities, identical immunoprofile, and shared gene fusion t(17;22) COL1A1-PDGFB. In this paper, we report a case of a young man with a slowly growing subcutaneous tumor in the groin. The tumor was excised and histological examination identified a mesenchymal tumor with variable cellularity, presence of multinucleated giant cells and pleomorphic spindle cells, which lined pseudovascular or angiectoid spaces. The CD34 immunohistochemistry showed strong positivity in all of these cells, whereas ERG was positive only in endothelial cells in true vessels. These findings led to a suspicion on giant cell fibroblastoma. Because of its borderline malignant behaviour and positive surgical margins, the lesion was subsequently reexcised. The molecular analysis identified the transcription product of gene fusion COL1A1-PDGFB and thus, final diagnosis was confirmed. The article includes review of the literature and brief historical overview of giant cell fibroblastoma concept as an unique entity.