Our findings indicated that iron uptake mechanisms in cultured thalassemic cardiomyocytes are mainly mediated by TTCC, suggesting that TTCC is the important pathway for iron uptake in this cultured thalassemic cardiomyocyte model.

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At the Maharaj Nakorn Chiang Mai Hospital, Chiang Mai, Thailand, 2,375 cases of breast lesions were sampled by fine-needle aspiration (FNA) from 1994-1999. Cytologic diagnoses were: benign (48%), suspicious for malignancy (5%), malignant (15%), and unsatisfactory (32%). Comparison with histology was possible in 721 cases. The diagnoses obtained by FNA showed a sensitivity of 84.4%, specificity of 99.5%, positive predictive value of 99.8%, negative predictive value of 84.3%, false-negative rate of 16.7%, false-positive rate of 0.5%, and overall diagnostic accuracy of 91.3%. We conclude that, in experienced hands, FNA of breast masses is reliable for diagnosis. Assessment of samples at the time of aspiration can reduce the number of inadequate specimens to near zero. Correlation of FNA results with clinical and radiologic findings can identify false-negatives and false-positives, ensuring optimal patient management. Many centers now recommend needle core biopsy instead of FNA. For regions such as ours, the added cost of this test would make it unavailable to many patients, which could delay a diagnosis of breast cancer. We advocate keeping FNA as a first-line diagnostic procedure, at least in areas under economic restrictions, in order to maximize the availability of health care to women with breast disease.

Aim: To identify surrogate prognostic markers in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (IHCC). Methods: Thirty one cases of IHCC were graded and immunostained for FAT, Ki67, E-cadherin, b catenin, and HER 2/neu. Results: Twenty two cases were high grade and 27 had high Ki67 counts. Strong membranous staining of HER 2/neu was found in 10 tumours and reduced membranous E-cadherin and b catenin in 19 and 18 tumours, respectively. Nuclear localisation of b catenin was identified in five tumours and 22 showed weak cytoplasmic staining of FAT. Strong HER 2/neu and weak FAT immunoexpression were significantly correlated with high histological grade (p = 0.01) and high Ki67 index (p = 0.03). Upregulation of HER 2/neu was also significantly associated with nuclear localisation of b catenin (p = 0.01). Reduced membranous b catenin was significantly related to reduced membranous E-cadherin (p = 0.03), weak staining for FAT (p = 0.01), and nuclear translocation of b catenin (p = 0.04). Conclusions: Reduced immunoexpression of E-cadherin and FAT at their normal membranous location may be potential prognostic markers, and the overexpression of HER 2/neu and b catenin nuclear translocation may have a role in cholangiocarcinogenesis.