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Donald E Henson

Publications and source records attributed to Donald E Henson.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

Precancer: a conceptual working definition -- results of a Consensus Conference.

BACKGROUND: Precancers are lesions that precede the appearance of invasive cancers. The successful prevention or treatment of precancers has the potential to eliminate deaths due to cancer. METHODS: A National Cancer Institute-sponsored Conference on Precancer was convened on November 8-9, 2004, at The George Washington University Medical Center, Washington, DC. A definition of precancers was developed over 2 days of Conference discussions. RESULTS: The following five criteria define a precancer: (1) evidence must exist that the precancer is associated with an increased risk of cancer; (2) when a precancer progresses to cancer, the resulting cancer arises from cells within the precancer; (3) a precancer differs from the normal tissue from which it arises; (4) a precancer differs from the cancer into which it develops, although it has some, but not all, of the molecular and phenotypic properties that characterize the cancer; (5) there is a method by which the precancer can be diagnosed. CONCLUSIONS: The Conference participants developed a general definition for precancers that would provide a consistent and clinically useful way of distinguishing precancers from all other types of lesions. It was recognized that many precancerous lesions may not meet this strict definition, but the group felt it was necessary to define criteria that will help standardize clinical and biological studies. Furthermore, a set of defining criteria for putative precancer lesions will permit pathologists to build a diagnostically useful taxonomy of precancers based on specified clinical and biological properties. Precancers thus characterized can be classified into clinically relevant sub-groups based on shared properties (i.e. biomarkers, oncogenes, common metabolic pathways, responses to therapy, etc.). Publications that introduce newly described precancer entities should describe how each of the five defining criteria apply. This manuscript reviews the proposed definition of precancers and suggests how pathologists, oncologists and cancer researchers may determine when these criteria are satisfied.

Humans↗

Giant cell tumor of the extrahepatic biliary tree: a clinicopathologic study of 4 cases and comparison with anaplastic spindle and giant cell carcinoma with osteoclast-like giant cells.

We report four previously undescribed primary giant cell tumors of the extrahepatic biliary tree and morphologically compare them with 10 anaplastic spindle and giant cell carcinomas with osteoclast-like giant cells of the gallbladder. Two giant cell tumors were located in the distal common bile duct; one in the cystic duct and one in the gallbladder. The 3 patients with bile duct tumors were male, and the only patient with a gallbladder tumor was a female. The age of the patients ranged from 45 to 60 years with an average of 55 years. The patients with bile duct tumors presented with biliary obstruction, and the patient with a gallbladder tumor presented with symptoms of cholelithiasis and a gallbladder mass. Histologically, the tumors were similar to giant cell tumors of bone. They consisted of a mixture of mononuclear and multinucleated osteoclast-like giant cells. The mononuclear cells showed no atypical features, and their nuclei were similar to those of the multinucleated giant cells. CD163 immunoreactivity was restricted to the mononuclear cells, whereas CD68 and HAM 56 labeled only the multinucleated osteoclast-like giant cells. The mononuclear cells were EMA-positive but did not express cytokeratins. Follow-up showed that 3 patients were alive and disease-free 3.7 to 7 years after surgery. The anaplastic spindle and giant cell carcinomas contained a fewer number of osteoclast-like giant cells, and their mononuclear cells showed considerable variation in size and shape, marked cytologic atypia, and numerous mitotic figures. They were focally cytokeratin positive (AE1/AE3; CAM 5.2) and did not label with CD163, CD68, and HAM 56. The benign osteoclast-like giant cells showed immunoreactivity for CD68 and HAM 56 but were negative for CD163 and cytokeratins. Giant cell tumors of the extrahepatic biliary tree are benign true histiocytic neoplasms that should be distinguished from the highly lethal anaplastic spindle and giant cell carcinomas with osteoclast-like giant cells by detailed cytologic analysis and immunohistochemical stains for CD163, CD68, HAM 56, and cytokeratins.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Emerging and widening colorectal carcinoma disparities between Blacks and Whites in the United States (1975-2002).

BACKGROUND: Colorectal carcinoma (CRC) is the fourth most common cancer diagnosed and the second most common cause of cancer death in the U.S. Incidence and mortality rates have decreased since the mid-1980s, although more among Whites than Blacks. METHODS: To determine if these racial differences were changing over time, we examined CRC rates in the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program (1975-2002). Rates were stratified by gender, race, anatomic subsite, historic stage, and grade. RESULTS: CRC rates were higher among men than women and higher among Blacks than Whites, with Black men having the highest rates during the latter years. Prior to the mid-1980s, male CRC rates were actually higher among Whites than Blacks; after which there was ethnic crossover with Black rates higher than White rates, and the gaps are widening. Proximal and transverse CRCs were more common and rectal cancers were less common among Blacks than Whites. Over time, rates for localized and regional stages increased among Blacks and decreased among Whites. Rates for distant stages declined for both racial groups, although less among Blacks. Black-to-White rate ratio for distant stage was approximately 1.30. Notably, Blacks compared with Whites had lower grade tumors, despite higher stages and mortality rates. CONCLUSIONS: CRC racial disparities have emerged and widened for three decades. These temporal trends probably reflect complicated racial differences between screening practice patterns and etiologic factors.

Adult↗

Inter- and intra-ethnic differences for female breast carcinoma incidence in the continental United States and in the state of Hawaii.

BACKGROUND: Ethnic diversity is well-documented for female breast carcinoma incidence in the continental US but is not so well-established in the state of Hawaii. METHODS: Using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program, we analyzed n=323,607 in situ and invasive female breast cancer cases for major ethnic groups in the continental US and in Hawaii, diagnosed during the years 1992-2002. RESULTS: In the continental US, age-specific incidence rate patterns and prognostic factor profiles were good-risk for Asian or Pacific Islanders (API), intermediate for Whites, and poor-risk for Blacks. For example, early age-at-onset, high nuclear grade, aggressive histopathologic subtypes, and hormone receptor negative expression was associated with Black race in the continental US. In Hawaii, age-specific rate and prognostic profiles were more favorable for API than for White women, albeit not so striking as in the continental US. CONCLUSION: We observed inter- and intra-ethnic differences for female breast carcinoma in the continental US and in the state of Hawaii. While inter-racial disparities were expected, intra-racial differences were somewhat unexpected and possibly due to variations in racial subgroup mixing and/or cultural assimilation. For example, API women with breast carcinoma in the continental US included 96.03% Asians and 2.4% Pacific Islanders. In contrast, API women with breast carcinoma in Hawaii included 76.52% Asians and 23.46% Pacific Islanders. Moreover, APIs were more likely to be first-generation migrants in the continental US ( approximately 92%) than in Hawaii ( approximately 34%). Future studies should attempt to disaggregate racial data to separately characterize epidemiological patterns for individual ethnic groups.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Correlations between access to mammography and breast cancer stage at diagnosis.

BACKGROUND: There is a lack of data on the access to mammography and its relation to the incidence of early breast cancer. In this study, the authors evaluated access by correlating geographically the number of U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-certified mammography facilities and the AJCC stage of breast cancer at diagnosis by county. METHODS: Breast cancer incidence rates and stage at diagnosis were compared with the number of FDA-certified mammography facilities by county in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results reporting areas. The objective was to determine whether the number of certified facilities was associated with the percent of breast cancers diagnosed at the in situ stage. This was a multiple-group ecologic study, and counties were used as the units of analysis. RESULTS: There was a strong correlation between the number of mammography facilities and the population of a county, whereas there was no correlation between the number of mammography facilities and the land area of a county. A correlation existed between the percent of incident breast cancers that were diagnosed as in situ disease and the number of mammography facilities per 10,000 women among both whites and African Americans. CONCLUSIONS: There was an association between the number of mammography facilities and population. In counties with >/= 30,000 black and white females, 1) the percent of in situ breast cancers in black women and white women was correlated with the number of facilities per 10,000 women, indicating that population density is a factor in access for both racial groups; 2) except for 2 counties with >/= 30,000 black women, the percent of incident in situ cases was similar in both black women and white women, indicating equal access in both groups; and 3) there was a correlation between the percent in situ incidence and number of facilities per 1000 square miles in white women, but not in black women. There was a direct correlation of statewide mammography rates with the number of facilities per 1000 square miles, indicating that the rate of screening depends on availability. Maximum rates of statewide screening were achieved when there were > 15 mammography facilities per 1000 square miles.

Black or African American↗

Cutaneous, ocular and visceral melanoma in African Americans and Caucasians.

The incidence and age-specific rates of cutaneous, ocular and visceral melanoma were compared in blacks, whites and other ethnic groups using data obtained from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Program of the National Cancer Institute for the years 1973-2001. As the SEER Program is now more mature and includes a larger proportion of minority populations, we thought it important to revisit these observations in more detail. Overall, the rate of cutaneous melanoma was higher in white males but, prior to 50 years of age, the rate was higher in white females. Compared with white males, white females and black males and females had proportionally higher rates of melanoma on the lower extremities. Cutaneous and ocular melanomas were, as expected, more common in whites than in blacks or in other groups. The age-specific rates for ocular and cutaneous melanoma were similar for blacks and other ethnic groups, but differed from those of whites. Patients with a previous diagnosis of cutaneous melanoma had a significantly higher probability of developing ocular melanoma than the general population. Age-specific rates were similar in all three groups for visceral melanoma. In all three racial/ethnic groups, age-specific rate patterns were different between cutaneous, ocular and visceral melanoma, suggesting a different pathogenesis. Visceral melanoma develops later in life, after the age of 60 years, compared with cutaneous or ocular melanomas.

Black or African American↗

In situ and invasive adenocarcinomas of the gallbladder extending into or arising from Rokitansky-Aschoff sinuses: a clinicopathologic study of 49 cases.

We report 49 cases of gallbladder carcinomas that extended into or originated from Rokitansky-Aschoff sinuses (RAS), all of which were resected by laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Twenty-one tumors were in situ carcinomas that extended along RAS; six in situ carcinomas arose in adenomyomatous hyperplasia and 22 were invasive adenocarcinomas with extension into RAS. Thirty-seven patients were women and 12 men. Forty patients had cholelithiasis. The age of the patients ranged from 55 to 84 years (mean 67 years). All in situ carcinomas were incidental microscopic findings in gallbladders removed for cholelithiasis and/or cholecystitis. No patient with in situ carcinoma died as a result of the tumor, including two with in situ carcinoma that originated in adenomyomatous hyperplasia and showed microinvasion. In contrast, of 15 patients with invasive well to moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma extending into RAS and invading the muscle layer or subserosal connective tissue, 8 died 2 to 4 years after surgery. Seven patients survived 1 to 8 years after cholecystectomy. Useful clues to separate RAS with in situ carcinoma from tubular neoplastic invasive glands were the following: connection of the epithelial invaginations to the surface epithelium, recognition of normal biliary epithelium admixed with neoplastic epithelium, presence of inspissated bile in long dilated spaces, and lack of invasion to the smooth muscle bundles. In situ carcinoma spreading along RAS consisted of long tubular often dilated structures extending through the intermuscular connective tissue, whereas neoplastic glands were usually small or of medium size that invaded smooth muscle bundles or intermuscular connective tissue. Perineural invasion was seen only in invasive glands located in the subserosal connective tissue. Two cases of in situ carcinoma that arose in adenomyomatous hyperplasia and three invasive adenocarcinomas that were composed predominantly of tall columnar mucin containing cells similar to gastric foveolar cells with varying degrees of atypia and cells with biliary phenotype bear some resemblance to intraductal papillary mucinous carcinoma of the pancreas or to mucinous cystic pancreatic neoplasm. Metaplastic pyloric glands often seen in the muscle layer and subserosal connective tissue maintain their lobular pattern and should not be confused with invasive glands. Our findings indicate that distinction of in situ carcinoma spreading into RAS from tubular neoplastic glands of invasive adenocarcinomas is crucial to determine prognosis in this group of patients with gallbladder carcinoma.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Classifying the precancers: a metadata approach.

BACKGROUND: During carcinogenesis, precancers are the morphologically identifiable lesions that precede invasive cancers. In theory, the successful treatment of precancers would result in the eradication of most human cancers. Despite the importance of these lesions, there has been no effort to list and classify all of the precancers. The purpose of this study is to describe the first comprehensive taxonomy and classification of the precancers. As a novel approach to disease classification, terms and classes were annotated with metadata (data that describes the data) so that the classification could be used to link precancer terms to data elements in other biological databases. METHODS: Terms in the UMLS (Unified Medical Language System) related to precancers were extracted. Extracted terms were reviewed and additional terms added. Each precancer was assigned one of six general classes. The entire classification was assembled as an XML (eXtensible Mark-up Language) file. A Perl script converted the XML file into a browser-viewable HTML (HyperText Mark-up Language) file. RESULTS: The classification contained 4700 precancer terms, 568 distinct precancer concepts and six precancer classes: 1) Acquired microscopic precancers; 2) acquired large lesions with microscopic atypia; 3) Precursor lesions occurring with inherited hyperplastic syndromes that progress to cancer; 4) Acquired diffuse hyperplasias and diffuse metaplasias; 5) Currently unclassified entities; and 6) Superclass and modifiers. CONCLUSION: This work represents the first attempt to create a comprehensive listing of the precancers, the first attempt to classify precancers by their biological properties and the first attempt to create a pathologic classification of precancers using standard metadata (XML). The classification is placed in the public domain, and comment is invited by the authors, who are prepared to curate and modify the classification.

Decision Support Systems, Clinical↗

Invasive papillary carcinomas of the extrahepatic bile ducts: a clinicopathologic and immunohistochemical study of 13 cases.

Carcinomas of the extrahepatic bile ducts are uncommon neoplasms that are morphologically heterogeneous and associated with a poor prognosis. We have previously shown that the noninvasive and minimally invasive papillary carcinomas of the extrahepatic bile ducts behave as in situ carcinomas and are associated with a better prognosis. We reviewed the clinical records of 13 patients with invasive papillary carcinomas of the extrahepatic bile ducts and analyzed the microscopic features and selected immunohistochemical reactivity (p53, Mib-1, and Dpc4) that might correlate with patient survival. In addition, we present the updated SEER (Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results) data of the National Cancer Institute for the invasive extrahepatic bile duct carcinomas compiled from 1975 to 1998. The 13 patients with papillary carcinoma had a male to female ratio of 1:1, and their ages ranged from 33 to 89 years. Painless jaundice and abdominal pain were the most common complaints. Five tumors were located in the distal portion, one in the mid portion, and six in the proximal portion of the common bile duct. One papillary carcinoma arose in the right hepatic duct. The Whipple procedure was performed in six patients, common bile duct resection in six, and right hepatic lobectomy in one. The cell phenotype of the papillary carcinomas was biliary in nine and intestinal in three. One tumor had both biliary and intestinal phenotypes. Four tumors dedifferentiated (two to undifferentiated small cell carcinomas, one to small [oat] cell carcinoma, and one to giant cell carcinoma). Two papillary carcinomas extended into the pancreas and three into the liver. Only one patient had lymph node metastases at presentation. Follow-up was available in 10 patients. Six patients died of disease from 2 weeks to 2 years and 1 month after surgery. Four patients are alive with no evidence of disease from 4 months to 8 years and 8 months after surgery. Of 174 invasive papillary carcinomas compiled by the SEER program, 71 were confined to the ductal wall, and 61 had regional lymph node metastases. Papillary carcinomas confined to the ductal wall have better 10-year relative survival rates than adenocarcinomas limited to the wall (21% versus 12%). Likewise papillary carcinomas with lymph node metastasis have better prognosis than adenocarcinoma with nodal metastases (10-y survival rate of 12% versus 5%). Currently, the histologic type and the stage of the disease are the most important prognostic factors in these papillary carcinomas. Separation of invasive and noninvasive or minimally invasive papillary carcinoma is critical in estimating the patient outcome. Our findings suggest that there is no correlation between p53, Ki-67, and Dpc4 expression in these tumors and survival of the patients.

Adult↗