Iodide is concentrated to a much lesser extent by papillary thyroid carcinoma as compared with the normal gland. The Na+/I- symporter (NIS) is primarily responsible for the uptake of iodide into thyroid cells. Our objective was to compare NIS mRNA and protein expression in papillary carcinomas with those in specimens with normal thyroid. Northern blot analysis revealed a 2.8-fold increase in the level of NIS mRNA in specimens with papillary carcinoma versus specimens with normal thyroid. Immunoblot analysis using anti-human NIS antibody that was produced with a glutathione S-transferase fusion protein containing NIS protein (amino acids 466-522) showed the NIS protein at 77 kD. The NIS protein level was elevated in 7 of 17 cases of papillary carcinoma but was not elevated in the normal thyroid. Immunohistochemical staining revealed abundant NIS in 8 of 12 carcinomas, whereas NIS protein was barely detected in specimens with normal thyroid. Although considerable patient-to-patient variation was observed, our results indicate that NIS mRNA is elevated, and its protein tends to be more abundant, in a subset of papillary thyroid carcinomas than in normal thyroid tissue.

Background: Factors associated with response to lenvatinib have not been clarified in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Patients and Methods: This study retrospectively analyzed 50 patients treated with lenvatinib as first-line therapy between March 2018 and March 2019. Patients were divided into two groups by the Modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumours (mRECIST) (responders and non-responders, whose best overall responses were complete (CR)/partial response (PR) and stable (SD)/progressive disease (PD), respectively). Factors associated with response were assessed, including the relative dose intensity 8 weeks after lenvatinib induction (8W-RDI). Results:The best overall responses were 0/22/14/14 of CR/PR/SD/PD. Multivariate analysis revealed that only 8W-RDI was significantly associated with response. The receiver operating characteristic curve for 8W-RDI in differentiating responders from non-responders revealed a cut-off value of 75%. Patients with 8W-RDI ≥75% experienced a higher response rate and longer progression-free survival than patients with 8W-RDI <75%. Conclusion: Our results suggest that maintaining an RDI ≥75% during the initial 8 weeks of lenvatinib treatment has a favorable impact on response.Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common malignancy worldwide and the second leading cause of cancer-related death, resulting in more than 700,000 deaths 5149

Cervical cancer develops over a long time through precursor lesions that can be detected by cytological screening. Majority of these lesions regress spontaneously. Therefore, the challenge of cervical cancer screening is to detect the lesions that have a high risk of progression. Several promising biomarkers have been described that may improve screening of cervical cancer, but to date, new biomarkers have not been thoroughly validated in high‐quality studies. The knowledge about human papillomavirus as a causative agent of cervical cancer has accumulated over the last decades has opened the possibility to improve the existing prevention strategies and screening practices. p16 has amply been applied on cytologic samples and has been shown to be a promising marker especially in identification of high‐grade dysplasia. ProEx C, a replication marker, has also been recently shown to be a good marker for identification of high‐grade dysplasia and has been used on cytologic samples. Proliferation markers such as MYC, Ki67, telomerase, MCM, topoisomerase 2A and 3q amplification by in situ hybridization technique are other methods being employed in identification of high‐grade dysplasia. However, currently available data on most of the biomarkers does not warrant their routine use yet. This review highlights the major findings of previous studies on cervical cancer biomarkers. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2010;38:618–623. 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

We report on a case of a stromal tumor, similar to a gastrointestinal stromal tumor, originating from the pancreas. The patient was a 54-year-old woman, who was seen at the Kofu Municipal Hospital because of an abdominal tumor. On abdominal computed tomography and splenic arteriography, the tumor was detected in the pancreatic tail. The patient underwent distal pancreatectomy with splenectomy. Macroscopically, the cut surface of the tumor showed almost completely surrounded by the normal pancreatic tissue. Microscopically, the tumor composed of spindle-shaped cells that were immunoreactive for vimentin, CD34, and c-kit protein. Therefore, the tumor was diagnosed as a stromal tumor of the pancreas. The expression of c-kit protein suggests that this pancreatic stromal tumor may originate from primitive mesenchymal cells which can be a logical candidate for the origin of gastrointestinal stromal tumors and extra-gastrointestinal stromal tumors.

Ninety-one small differentiated thyroid carcinomas less than 10 mm in size treated during the last 33 years were subjected to clinical study. In 44 of the 91 cases, tumor was found incidentally at surgery, while in the remaining 47 a thyroid mass was palpable before operation. A preoperative diagnosis of carcinoma could not be made in nodules less than 5 mm in size. Ultrasonographic examination is now extending the limits of exact diagnosis. Metastasis was found in 16 of 33 patients who had lymph nodes dissected. Metastatic lymph nodes were distributed in the same sites as those with thyroid carcinomas larger than 10 mm. Pathologic examination was carried out in 108 small carcinomas including cases from an affiliated hospital. Histologically, all of them were papillary or follicular carcinomas. The growth pattern of the tumors was divided into 5 groups: 23 were nonencapsulated sclerosing type, 29 encapsulated type without capsule invasion, 48 encapsulated type with capsule invasion, 4 the infiltrative type, and 4 the round type. Lymph node metastasis and intraglandular dissemination were found most frequently in the infiltrative type, followed by the encapsulated type with invasion. The results suggest the necessity of lymph node dissection and lobectomy for patients with these histological types of small carcinomas who had only local removal of the tumor.