Biomedical subjects

Stella Blandamura

Publications and source records attributed to Stella Blandamura.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Three cases of pancreatic serous cystadenoma and endocrine tumour.

AIMS: To report three cases of serous cystadenoma and endocrine tumour in the same pancreas, to review the literature and to evaluate the clinicopathological features of the tumours. CASES: Three women (71, 57 and 31 years old) were admitted to hospital, two for diseases unrelated to the pancreas and the third for increasing obstructive jaundice in von Hippel-Lindau disease. Preoperative examination showed two distinct lesions in the first patient and only cystic lesions in the other two. RESULTS: Histological examination of the pancreas showed one serous oligocystic adenoma associated with a benign, well-differentiated endocrine tumour, one serous oligocystic adenoma associated with an endocrine microadenoma, and a von Hippel-Lindau-related cystic neoplasm with a well-differentiated endocrine carcinoma. CONCLUSIONS: Serous cystadenoma associated with endocrine tumour shows some clinicopathological differences with respect to the two tumours considered separately, and with respect to von Hippel-Lindau-related cases, although there is no convincing evidence at present to justify considering this association as a separate entity.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Laryngeal metastasis from sigmoid colon adenocarcinoma followed by peristomal recurrence.

Considering clinical evidence,<2% of laryngeal malignancies are distant metastases. Cutaneous melanomas are the preponderant primaries metastasizing to the larynx, followed by renal cell carcinomas, breast and lung carcinomas. Colonic adenocarcinoma metastases to the larynx are extremely rare: only 13 cases have been described since 1972. We present the first case of sigmoid colon adenocarcinoma metastasis to the larynx in a patient who developed peristomal malignancy recurrence after total laryngectomy. Patients with metastasis of colonic adenocarcinoma to the larynx usually present with disseminated disease: in view of the poor chances of long-term survival of these patients conservative palliative laryngeal treatments should be carried out to improve the quality of life. Curative treatment should be considered only in isolated laryngeal metastasis.

Adenocarcinoma↗

PubMed2005

Distant muscular (gluteus maximus muscle) metastasis from laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

Clinical evidence of non-lymphatic distant metastasis has been reported in approximately 10% of cases of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). The lungs are the commonest site of distant metastasis of HNSCC, followed by the bones, liver and skin. A 65-year-old male underwent supraglottic laryngectomy and left modified neck dissection for a carcinoma of the laryngeal surface of the epiglottis extending to both false cords. Eight months later the patient underwent right radical modified neck dissection for hypodermal metastatic disease involving the underlying (sternocleidomastoid) muscle. Thirty-two months later, surgical excision of a lesion in the right gluteus maximus muscle was performed. Histological study diagnosed a muscular metastasis with the same morphological aspect as the laryngeal carcinoma. The patient showed no evidence of cervical or distant recurrence at follow-up after 13 months. Although skeletal muscles represent approximately 50% of total body mass and receive a large proportion of total cardiac output, haematogenous metastases to skeletal muscle are extremely uncommon. Most skeletal muscle metastases are of pulmonary origin. Distant skeletal muscle metastasis from HNSCC is an extremely rare occurrence. Treatment options, depending upon the clinical setting, include observation, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and excision; these approaches rarely alter the patient outcome. The prognosis associated with skeletal muscle metastasis is thought to be poor, consistent with the fact that it generally occurs as a feature of systemic spread.

Aged↗

PubMed2005

Inverted papilloma involving the temporal bone and its association with squamous cell carcinoma: critical analysis of the literature.

Inverted papilloma is a rare, benign neoplasm, which usually originates from the lateral nasal wall and can be locally aggressive, extending into surrounding structures. Unusually, this disease involves temporal bone. There have been only 18 reported cases in the literature. The available data regarding inverted papilloma of the temporal bone are reviewed, and its etiopathogenesis, recurrence rate and association with squamous cell carcinoma are discussed.

Bone Neoplasms↗

PubMed2004

Evidence for the presence of glucose transporter 4 in the endometrium and its regulation in polycystic ovary syndrome patients.

Glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) seems to be involved in the mechanism of insulin resistance in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) patients (PCOSs) in both muscular and adipose tissue. The observation that insulin stimulates glucose oxidation in endometrial cells led us to investigate the presence of GLUT4 in this tissue and whether a defect of GLUT4 is present at the endometrial level in PCOSs. We also investigated whether body weight influences GLUT4 expression in this syndrome. GLUT4 mRNA content was examined by real-time quantitative RT-PCR and immunostaining reaction in the endometrial tissue of nine normal subjects, nine lean and eight obese hyperinsulinemic (h-INS), and eight lean and 10 obese normoinsulinemic (n-INS) PCOSs. GLUT4 mRNA and its positive immunostaining reaction were present in epithelial cell level in the endometrium of both normal and PCOS subjects. Significantly higher levels of GLUT4 were observed in normal and lean n-INS PCOSs in comparison with other groups. In both n-INS and h-INS obese PCOSs, GLUT4 was significantly lower than in lean subjects. However, obese n-INS and lean h-INS PCOSs showed a similar low GLUT4 expression, whereas obese h-INS PCOSs showed the lowest expression when compared with other groups. In conclusion, our data demonstrate that GLUT4 is present in the endometrium of normal and PCOS subjects and that hyperinsulinism and obesity seem to have a negative effect on endometrial GLUT4 expression in PCOS.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Temporal bone and sinonasal inverted papilloma: the same pathological entity?

BACKGROUND: Inverted papilloma involving the temporal bone is an extremely rare occurrence. Reports in the literature suggest a higher recurrence rate and association with squamous cell carcinoma in Schneiderian-type papillomas of the middle ear than in sinonasal Schneiderian-type papillomas. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the expression of apoptosis-related proteins, markers of cell proliferation activity, and sex hormone receptors in temporal bone inverted papillomas and to compare this entity with sinonasal papillomas. Design and Subjects We investigated 2 rare cases of inverted papilloma of the temporal bone and a control group of 6 cases of sinonasal inverted papilloma. The expression of p53, Mib-1, p27, and progesterone and estrogen receptors was determined. RESULTS: In the 2 cases of temporal bone inverted papilloma, p53 expression was 43.75% and 4.92%; p27 expression was higher in temporal bone inverted papilloma (82.45% and 70.53%) than in the sinonasal inverted papilloma group. One of our 2 cases of temporal bone Schneiderian-type papilloma was positive for progesterone receptor. CONCLUSIONS: The expression of progesterone receptor in 1 of our 2 cases and in the only other case reported in the literature may imply some degree of hormonal dependence of temporal bone inverted papilloma. Our analysis of the expression of apoptosis-related proteins, markers of cell proliferation activity, and sex hormone receptors does not allow us to demonstrate that temporal bone and sinonasal inverted papilloma are different pathological entities.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Aggressive angiomyxoma: a second case of metastasis with patient's death.

Aggressive angiomyxoma is a rare tumor that predominates in the female genital tract. Multiple relapses may occur in adjacent organs and tissues, but metastases have not been reported. We present a case of aggressive angiomyxoma in a young woman with multiple local recurrences that metastasized to the lungs, killing the patient. We document this case and report a similar one, found in the literature, of a postmenopausal woman with pulmonary and mediastinic metastases. These cases may expand the current concepts of potential behavior of aggressive angiomyxoma.

Actins↗

PubMed2003

Detection of human papillomavirus in temporal bone inverted papilloma by polymerase chain reaction.

There is debate about the role of human papillomavirus in the induction of rare inverted papillomas involving the temporal bone and in the higher recurrence rates and association with squamous cell carcinoma of temporal bone inverted papillomas compared with sinonasal inverted papillomas. An exhaustive review of the literature revealed that eight cases of temporal bone inverted papilloma have been analysed for human papillomavirus. None of the cases studied with in situ hybridization proved positive. Only one case was found to be positive using the more sensitive polymerase chain reaction assay. We present the first two cases of Schneiderian-type papilloma involving the temporal bone to be analysed by type-specific polymerase chain reaction methods for human papillomavirus.

Ear Neoplasms↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Endometrial hyperplasia with berrylike squamous metaplasia and pilomatrixomalike shadow cells. Report of an intriguing cytohistologic case.

BACKGROUND: The usefulness of endometrial cytology as a diagnostic method in asymptomatic women, especially in postmenopause, in the interpretation of composite pictures characterized by borderline features between atypical hyperplasia and well-differentiated adenocarcinoma, especially if associated metaplastic features are present, is somewhat controversial. CASE: An asymptomatic, 50-year-old, postmenopausal woman underwent a Pap smear and endometrial cytology for routine screening, disclosing three-dimensional, sometimes pseudopapillary groupings of hyperplastic endometrial glandular cells with focal atypia in direct continuity with large, squamoid cells of the keratinizing type and shadow cells. Histologic examination of endometrial tissue was advised, and two subsequent endometrial biopsies and hysteroscopic ablation were performed. The borderline character of the lesion (complex atypical hyperplasia vs. well-differentiated adenocarcinoma) with concomitant squamous metaplasia and pilomatrixomalike shadow cells prevented diagnostic agreement between several pathologists. CONCLUSION: Diagnostic cytology with direct endometrial sampling represents a valuable diagnostic screening tool for the differential diagnosis between normal and pathologic endometrium, a mucosal picture that deserves a subsequent (histologic) diagnostic procedure. In a few cases, as in the one presented above, even histologic examination, especially of so-called borderline lesions, reveals squamous or other types of metaplasia that can lead to interobserver discrepancies.

Adenocarcinoma↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Maspin nuclear localization is related to reduced density of tumour-associated micro-vessels in laryngeal carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: MASPIN, a tumour suppressing serpin, is a potent inhibitor of angiogenesis. CD105 is a proliferation-associated protein acting in endothelial cells of angiogenic tissues. For the first time the relation between nuclear MASPIN expression and CD105-assessed micro-vessel density (MVD) in laryngeal carcinoma was investigated. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The sub-cellular distribution of MASPIN and nuclear MASPIN expression were immunohistochemically determined in 35 cases of laryngeal carcinoma. The percentage of the fields occupied by CDl05-assessed micro-vessels was also calculated. RESULTS: MVD was significantly lower in laryngeal carcinomas with MASPIN nuclear staining than in carcinomas with cytoplasmic staining (p=0.02). The mean nuclear MASPIN expression was higher in patients without carcinoma recurrence than in those with recurrence (p=0.06). The mean MVD was significantly higher in patients with recurrence of carcinoma (p=0.024). CONCLUSION: The crucial role of MASPIN nuclear localization in reducing the MVD has been demonstrated. Nuclear MASPIN re-expression should be investigated as a potential therapeutic option in the treatment of laryngeal carcinoma.

Aged↗