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Baishali Bhattacharya

Publications and source records attributed to Baishali Bhattacharya.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Computerized morphometry as an aid in determining the grade of dysplasia and progression to adenocarcinoma in Barrett's esophagus.

The aims of this study were to use computerized morphometry in order to differentiate between the degree of dysplasia and to predict progression to invasive adenocarcinoma in Barrett's esophagus (BE). Biopsies from 97 patients with BE graded by a consensus forum of expert gastrointestinal pathologists were available for morphometrical analysis. The study group included 36 biopsies negative for dysplasia (ND), none of which progressed to carcinoma; 16 indefinite for dysplasia (IND) and 21 low-grade dysplasia (LGD), of which three progressed in each group and 24 high-grade dysplasia (HGD), of which 15 progressed to invasive carcinoma. Computerized morphometry was used for measuring indices of size, shape, texture, symmetry and architectural distribution of the epithelial nuclei. Low-grade dysplasia was best differentiated from the ND group by nuclear pseudostratification (P=0.036), pleomorphism (P<0.01), and chromatin texture (margination, P<0.01) and from the HGD group by nuclear area (P<0.01), pleomorphism (P<0.01), chromatin texture (margination, P<0.01), symmetry (P<0.01), and orientation (P=0.027). These results were validated on a new set of cases (n=55) using a neural network model, resulting in an accuracy of 89% for differentiating between the ND and LGD groups and 86% for differentiating between the LGD and HGD groups. Within the HGD group, univariate significant predictors of the progression interval to carcinoma were: indices of nuclear texture (heterogeneity: P=0.0019, s.d.-OD: P=0.005) and orientation: P=0.022. Nuclear texture (heterogeneity) was the only independent predictor of progression (P=0.004, hazard=11.54) by Cox's multivariate test. This study proposes that computerized morphometry is a valid tool for determining the grade of dysplasia in BE. Moreover, histomorphometric quantification of nuclear texture is a powerful tool for predicting progression to invasive adenocarcinoma in patients with HGD.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed2005

Claudin expression in gastric adenocarcinomas: a tissue microarray study with prognostic correlation.

The claudins comprise a multigene family of integral membrane proteins, which play a major role in tight junction formation. Aberrations in the expression of certain claudins have been described in a number of malignancies. Our aims were to determine the expression pattern of claudins 1, 3, and 4 as well as ZO-1 in a large series of US patients with gastric cancer and to correlate expression with clinicopathologic and prognostic variables. Tissue microarrays were created from paraffinized samples from 146 patients with distal gastric adenocarcinomas (61 intestinal and 85 diffuse or mixed subtypes). In addition, cores of normal mucosa and intestinal metaplasia were taken from most cases. The microarrays were stained for claudins 1, 3, and 4 and ZO-1, and the intensity of staining was determined using a 3-point scale. Moderate claudin 1 and ZO-1 membranous staining were present, whereas only focal weak claudin 3 and 4 membranous staining was present in normal gastric epithelium. Moderate to strong staining of claudins 1, 3, 4, and ZO-1 was detected in 74%, 48%, 62%, and 74% of the intestinal but in only 46%, 24%, 45%, and 36% of the diffuse subtype of adenocarcinomas (P < .05). Cox multivariate analysis revealed that tumor stage, diffuse subtype, and moderate to strong claudin 4 staining were associated with decreased survival (P < .02). In conclusion, claudins 1, 3, and 4 and ZO-1 are strongly expressed in most gastric intestinal-type adenocarcinomas but less frequently in diffuse gastric cancers. The up-regulation of claudin expression during gastric carcinogenesis suggests their potential utility as diagnostic biomarkers and possible targets for therapeutic intervention.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed2005

Nuclear beta-catenin expression distinguishes deep fibromatosis from other benign and malignant fibroblastic and myofibroblastic lesions.

Deep fibromatoses (desmoid tumors) are clonal myofibroblastic proliferations that are prone to aggressive local recurrences but that do not metastasize. They must be distinguished from a host of fibroblastic and myofibroblastic lesions as well as from smooth muscle neoplasms. Virtually all deep fibromatoses have somatic beta-catenin or adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) gene mutations leading to intranuclear accumulation of beta-catenin. Since low-grade sarcomas in general lack beta-catenin and since reactive proliferations would not be expected to have it, we predicted that nuclear beta-catenin expression would be detected in deep fibromatoses but absent in other entities in the differential diagnosis. We evaluated the role of beta-catenin to help differentiate distinguish deep fibromatoses from congeners. Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded sections from 21 lesions from 20 patients with deep fibromatoses were stained with monoclonal beta-catenin antibody (Transduction Laboratories) and compared with low-grade fibromyxoid sarcoma (n=12), leiomyosarcoma (n=10), various other fibrosarcoma variants (n=13, including 3 myofibrosarcomas, 3 sclerosing epithelioid fibrosarcomas, 5 low-grade fibrosarcomas, 1 classic fibrosarcoma arising in dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans, 1 inflammatory myxohyaline tumor/myxoinflammatory fibroblastic sarcoma), myofibroma/myofibromatosis (n=12), nodular fasciitis (n=11), and scars (n=9). Nuclear and cytoplasmic staining was assessed. All 21 examples of deep fibromatosis displayed nuclear beta-catenin (focal nuclear staining in one case to 90% staining). All other lesions tested (n=67) lacked nuclear labeling for beta-catenin, showing only cytoplasmic accumulation. beta-Catenin immunohistochemistry separates deep fibromatosis from entities in the differential diagnosis, a finding that can be exploited for diagnosis. Most fibromatoses have diffuse nuclear staining although occasional examples only focally label.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Application of adjunct techniques in cytologic material in the diagnosis of rhabdomyosarcoma: case report and review of the literature.

A 4(1/2)-yr-old female presented with right-sided pleural effusion and a retroperitoneal mass. Cytologic analysis of the pleural fluid yielded malignant small round blue cells, which were noncohesive, 3-4 times the size of lymphocytes. The malignant cells had hyperchromatic, pleomorphic nuclei with moderate amounts of vacuolated cytoplasm. A few fiber-shaped cells were also seen. Immunostains for desmin, muscle-specific actin were positive; ultrastructural findings of thick and thin actin-myosin filaments confirmed the diagnosis of embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma. This case illustrates the importance of performing appropriate immunohistochemical stains and ultrastructural studies on cytological material to arrive at a definitive diagnosis.

Abdominal Neoplasms↗