No abstract

Background-Squamous tumours of the ocular surface, including the lacrimal pathway, range from benign lesions to invasive carcinomas. Some of these tumours are associated with human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, with the types of HPV diVering among papillomas and dysplastic or malignant lesions. Methods-Therelation between squamous tumours of the conjunctiva and lacrimal sac and HPV infection was investigated in 17 individuals with such tumours. Nine of the 17 tumours were benign, four were dysplastic lesions, and four were carcinomas. Results-Eight specimens showed positive immunohistochemical staining with antibodies to HPV; four of these eight were papillomas, three were dysplastic lesions, and one was a carcinoma. Koilocytosis was detected in seven of these eight tumours. Five of the eight specimens positive for immunohistochemical staining were also positive for HPV DNA by in situ hybridisation, and all eight were positive for HPV DNA by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method. Conclusion-Approximately50% of squamous tumours of the ocular surface and lacrimal sac were associated with HPV infection. This is the first report, to our knowledge, of the detection of HPV in the field of ophthalmology by a combination of immunohistochemistry, in situ hybridisation, and PCR. (Br J Ophthalmol 1997;81:308-313)

To understand the perpetuation of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), it is important to clarify whether the colitogenic CD4+ T cells are self-limited effector or long-lived memory T cells. We here investigate the latency of colitogenic CD4+ T cells in the remission stage of colitis under germfree (GF) conditions. We isolated splenic (SP) CD4+ T cells from colitic CD4+CD45RBhigh T cell-injected SCID mice maintained under specific pathogen-free (SPF) conditions and transferred them into SPF or GF SCID mice. Donor colitic SP CD4+ T cells have a characteristic CD44highCD62L−IL-7Rαhigh effector-memory T-type phenotype. Six weeks after transfer of cells to GF SCID mice, one group of mice was continued in GF conditions (GF→GF), and the other was transferred into SPF conditions (GF→SPF). GF→SPF but not GF→GF SCID mice developed colitis with elevated production of Th1 and Th17 cytokines at 4 wk after transfer. Surprisingly, a large number of CD4+ effector-memory T cells and a small but substantial number of central-memory T cells remained resident in SP and bone marrow, but not in lamina propria, of the GF→GF SCID recipients. Consistent with this, GF→SPF but not GF→GF SCID mice rapidly developed colitis. Taken together, these findings suggest that long-lived colitogenic memory CD4+ cells can be established even in the presence of commensal Ags, reside outside the intestine in the absence of commensal bacteria, and participate in the perpetuation of colitis. Thus, blocking a stimulus of colitogenic memory CD4+ cells such as IL-7 may have therapeutic benefit for treatment of inflammatory bowel disease.

No abstract

This paper presents an extremely rare case of synovial sarcoma arising from the maxillary sinus, which resulted in a clinically complete response to chemotherapy. Synovial sarcoma is a rare soft tissue malignant tumor, most commonly affecting the extremities. While ~10% occur in the head and neck region, synovial sarcoma of the sinonasal tract is extremely rare, with only 11 cases having been reported previously. As with other sarcomas, the standard treatment is complete resection while allowing for a safe margin, but this is often difficult in the head and neck area due to the complicated anatomy there. This makes the treatment of head and neck sarcoma challenging and leads to the need for a multimodal approach in advanced cases. However, the exact efficacy of chemotherapy is not well understood. In this report, we present a case of unresectable maxillary sinus synovial sarcoma that was successfully treated by chemotherapy followed by radiation therapy. A 53-year-old Japanese man was referred to our hospital with a history of left nose obstruction over the previous couple of years. Computed tomography/magnetic resonance imaging revealed a tumor arising from the maxillary sinus that extended to adjacent tissues. A biopsy was performed, and the tumor was diagnosed as synovial sarcoma. Since the tumor was unresectable, neoadjuvant chemotherapy was administered. The response was excellent, and the tumor became undetectable under endoscopy and radiological imaging. This provided us with a clinical evaluation of “complete response”. The treatment was concluded with definitive radiotherapy and two more cycles of adjuvant chemotherapy. The patient remains free of disease 12 months after treatment. Synovial sarcoma of the head and neck is a rare entity; complete resection is the treatment of choice but (neo)adjuvant chemotherapy can be considered in unresectable cases, as we show here in the present case.