Biomedical subjects

Wei-Jen Chen

Publications and source records attributed to Wei-Jen Chen.

40 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

Pathogenesis of partial tear of the rotator cuff: a clinical and pathologic study.

This prospective study investigated the clinical and pathologic results in 66 patients with partial tears of the rotator cuff from January 1996 to December 1998. The pathologic change in the rotator cuff was graded from the magnetic resonance images by using the criteria described by Zlatkin and Iannotti. A modified grading system from Ozaki and Panni was used for pathologic grading of the anterior acromion. The functional score of Constant and Murley was used for clinical assessment. The pathologic change in the rotator cuff revealed by the magnetic resonance imaging study was more severe in patients with articular side tears compared with patients who had bursal side tears. On the contrary, the pathologic changes in the acromion were significantly milder in patients with articular side tears compared with bursal side tears. These observations indicate that articular side tears of the rotator cuff are mainly associated with intrinsic pathologic changes of the rotator cuff, whereas bursal side tears are associated with subacromial impingement on an underlying milder pathologic change of the rotator cuff.

Acromion↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Imaging features of atypical thoracic Castleman disease.

The imaging features of 16 cases of pathologically proven atypical thoracic Castleman disease (CD) were retrospectively reviewed. Thirteen out of 16 tumors originated from atypical locations, including eight from the pleura and one each from the axilla, supraclavicular fossa, intercostal space, pericardium, and lung. Six out of 16 tumors revealed atypical enhancement, including poor CT enhancement in three tumors, target-like CT enhancement in two tumors, and concentric MR enhancement pattern in one tumor. These atypical enhancement patterns were histopathologically corresponded to various degrees of degeneration, necrosis, and fibrosis.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Fine needle aspiration cytodiagnosis of liver tumors.

OBJECTIVE: To present our experience with liver fine needle aspiration (FNA) diagnosis and the adjunctive use of cell blocks with reticulin stain. STUDY DESIGN: The authors reviewed the results of cytopathologic diagnosis obtained by FNA biopsy over a 1-year period, from January 2000 to December 2000, in patients who presented primarily with ultrasonographically suspected liver nodules. FNA smears from 936 patients and cell blocks from 796 patients were reviewed. RESULTS: Among the 936 aspirates studied, the most common malignancy was hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which was diagnosed in 427 cases (45.6%), followed by metastatic adenocarcinoma, with 52 cases (5.6%). The concurrent cell block was available in 796 cases. Among them, 574 (72.1%) contained sufficient tissue for diagnosis. Combining analysis of cytologic and histologic specimens, the sensitivity of ultrasound-guided FNA for diagnosis of liver tumors was 85.1% and the specificity 98.7%. The results were better than isolated cytologic analysis, which gave a sensitivity of 78.4% and specificity of 97.4%. The lower diagnostic accuracy of cytology resulted mainly from its lower ability to distinguish well-differentiated HCC from benign lesions. In the cell block sections with reticulin stain, all HCCs showed a decreased or absent reticulin pattern, whereas all the benign hepatocellular lesions usually had a normal trabecular reticulin framework. CONCLUSION: FNA cytology assisted by cell block examination can be an accurate and minimally invasive method for the definitive pathologic diagnosis of primary benign and malignant liver masses and for confirmation of tumors metastatic to the liver. In addition, reticulin staining should be part of the routine assessment of cell blocks. It enhances diagnostic accuracy, particularly for well-differentiated HCC.

Adenocarcinoma↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Adenoid cystic carcinoma of the breast: truly uncommon or easily overlooked?

BACKGROUND: Adenoid cystic carcinoma of the breast is an uncommon histologic form of breast cancer, comprising in most series less than 1% of all mammary cancers. Due to the rarity, little information about its presentation on image studies has been noted in the literature. Here we report two additional cases with emphasis on the intriguing image presentations. CASE ONE: A 67-year-old woman came to our clinic with the chief complaint of mastodynia. No obvious palpable mass of breast was found on physical examination. Mammography showed a small well-defined nodule in the medial part of the left breast without mammographic evidence of malignancy. Ultrasonography showed a 1.5 cm nodule with well-defined margin and heterogenous echogenicity in the medial part of the left breast. Unusually, a painful sensation was experienced on compression by the probe. The final pathological report was adenoid cystic carcinoma. CASE TWO: A 48-year-old woman also came to our clinic with the chief complaint of mastodynia. No obvious palpable mass of breast was found on physical examination. Mammography showed dense mammary tissue with no mammographic evidence of malignancy. Ultrasonography showed two contiguous well-defined nodules with heterogenous echogenicity in the upper, middle part of the left breast. Unusually, a painful sensation was also noted on compression by the probe. Histopathological examination showed typical features of an adenoid cystic carcinoma. CONCLUSION: Adenoid cystic carcinoma of the breast fails to show the typical appearance of invasive ductal carcinoma on both mammogram and ultrasonography, probably due to its relatively well-defined nature with less surrounding architectural disruption and fibrosis. Hence a "negative" finding or a benign-looking breast lesion on mammography cannot completely exclude the existence of this disease. The presence of a painful breast lesion without obvious inflammatory evidence while compressed is a meaningful clue, which should lead to the suspicion of adenoid cystic carcinoma of the breast.

Aged↗