Search

Tumor Necrosis Factor-α (TNF-α) inhibitors, in particular infliximab, have shown effectiveness as a third-line treatment option in relapsing, refractory sarcoidosis that requires an increased dose of corticosteroids plus one or more anti-sarcoidosis disease modifying drugs [...]

There is a lack of a national organized screening program for colorectal cancer in Greece, and asymptomatic detection is usually the result of individual decisions. The collection of epidemiologic endoscopic data from a population of interest would therefore provide valuable information for future treatment guidance, especially during periods of economic austerity. The current cross-sectional study included 380 asymptomatic, average risk individuals undergoing screening colonoscopy for the first time, during the period of one year in a tertiary public hospital in Athens. Descriptive and analytic epidemiologic data were analyzed. The prevalence of adenomas and advanced lesions were compared between the younger and older cohort, and a regression model was applied for risk evaluation. The mean age of participants was 63 years, and 53% were male. A significant proportion of patients presented with polyps (51.5%) and 25% of them had lesions in the proximal colon. The prevalence of adenomas and advanced adenomas was 29.5 and 11.8%, respectively. Similar high prevalence rates of lesions were identified in the cohort of individuals 50 years of age). Regression models identified age, number and size of polyps as the major risk factors for the detection of adenomas. The increase of advanced lesions in the older and younger cohort requires confirmation by larger studies. Overall, the results of the present study indicate the requirement for a well-organized screening colonoscopy program starting from as early as 40 years of age. This program may confer an additional endoscopic burden with socioeconomic consequences in a country with limited health resources.

To examine the involvement of specific components of the PI3K/AKT pathway in urinary bladder cancer development.Samples from 65 tumors and 13 normal bladder tissues were collected. Genomic DNA isolation from snap-frozen and paraffin-embedded laser-microdissected tissues was followed by Sanger sequencing, whereas total RNA was purified for use in RT-PCR analyses. Immunohistochemistry was carried out on sections of paraffin-embedded biopsy material.Three pathogenic mutations (two missense and one frameshift) were identified in exon 20 of PIK3CA {c.3140AG (p.His1047Arg), c.[3172AT(;)3174CT] (p.lle1058Phe), c.3203dupA (p.Asn1068Lysfs*5)} after laser capture microdissection, whereas PTEN mRNA expression was found to be downregulated in bladder cancer tissues compared to normal bladder urothelium. Upregulation of cytoplasmic and nuclear p-AKT expression was detected in low grade tumors, whereas in infiltrating carcinomas p-AKT was shown to be downregulated and confined to the cytoplasm. PTEN expression was weak and mainly cytoplasmic in superficial tumors, but stronger and nuclear in the infiltrating tumors.PI3K/AKT pathway activation is crucial for bladder cancer initiation and progression. In this context, PIK3CA, p-AKT and nuclear PTEN could be used along with other biomarkers for prognosis and selection of appropriate therapy in the clinical management of bladder cancer.

The effect of hepatic stimulator substance (HSS) administration on cadmium (Cd) induced hepatotoxicity was studied in the rat. HSS was extracted from the liver of weanling rats (Hepatology 1988; 7: 100–106). Rats were injected with 2.5 mg CdCl 2 /kg body weight to induce acute liver injury, evaluated 24 h later. Serum enzyme activities of alanine amino-transferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and histological parameters were used for the estimation of Cd-induced hepatotoxicity. HSS, at doses of 10, 20 and 40 mg protein/kg body weight, injected 10 h after Cd administration, caused dose-dependent decrease of hepatic injury. HSS suppressed the elevation of AST and ALT induced by Cd, in a dose-dependent manner. Liver histological changes indicated that HSS reduced the severity of hepatic lesion induced by Cd administration and reversed Cd-induced hepatotoxicity. In conclusion, our results suggest that HSS administration protects the liver against Cd-induced injury.

Wnt pathway signaling is crucial in many cancers and data indicate crosstalk with other key cancer pathways, however in urothelial carcinogenesis it has not been extensively studied. We searched for mutations in adenomatous polyposis coli (APC), a key regulator of the pathway, and studied b-catenin expression and interactions with the expression of other markers of apoptosis, angiogenesis, and proliferation in patients with invasive urothelial cancer. The mutation cluster region of APC was directly sequenced in 70 patients with muscle invasive disease who were treated with surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy. COX-2, p53, Ki67, and b-catenin were studied immunohistochemically and micro vessel density was quantified by CD105 expression. Single somatic amino-acid substitutions (missense) were found in 9 (13%) and frameshift deletions in 2 (3%) tumors, all located in regions adjacent to b-catenin binding sites. Patients having either APC missense mutations or b-catenin nuclear accumulation had less frequent COX-2 overexpression (24% vs. 76%, p = 0.043) and more frequent lymph node involvement (75% vs. 38%, p = 0.023). Patients with either APC mutations or b-catenin accumulation had shorter disease-free interval (13.4 vs. 28 months, p = 0.07), whereas in multivariate analysis they had shorter disease-specific survival (60.5 vs. 20.6 months, p = 0.048). Somatic APC missense mutations are not rare in advanced urothelial neoplasms. Either APC mutations and/or aberrant expression of b-catenin are associated with worse outcome. Further study of the role of the Wnt pathway, potential crosstalk with other pathways and potential candidate therapeutic targets in urothelial cancer is needed.

Ganglioneuroma is a rare benign tumor, usually seen in children and young adults, arising in the central nervous system. Most of the noncranial ganglioneuromas are located in the posterior mediastinum and the retroperitoneum. We report the first case of a primary, adult paratesticular ganglioneuroma that presented as a paratesticular mass. The patient underwent surgical intervention for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes.