Objective. This work was designed to study the biological and demographic characteristics of meningiomas and their impact on tumor recurrence in Egyptian patients. Material and Methods. A cohort of 265 Egyptian patients with meningioma was studied. Immunohistochemistry for VEGF, Ki67, PR, CD20, and CD3 was performed. Statistical analysis was used to detect independent predictors of recurrence. Results. Adults represented 98.9% of cases, with female preponderance (M : F ratio = 1 : 2.4). Histologically, 78.10% of cases were grade I, 19.20% were grade II, and 2.60% were grade III. Transitional variant was the most common (43.40%). VEGF expression (38.50% of cases) correlated positively with perifocal edema, tumor size, and proliferative index (PI). PR expression (64.5% of cases) correlated inversely with the PI (mean 3.75). Lymphocytic aggregates were detected in 7.20% of cases, with a mean CD20 : CD3 ratio of 1 : 10.1. In a multivariate analysis, only tumor size, PR expression and necrosis predicted recurrence independently. Using ROC curve, size was the best predictor of tumor recurrence with a cut-off point of >6 cm and an excellent negative predictive value (97.6%). Conclusions. Meningiomas in our region showed some distinctive clinicopathological and demographic criteria. Tumor size was found to be the best recurrence predictor factor of meningioma.

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Mature dendritic cell count correlates with good prognostic features in invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast, suggesting their role in initiating primary anti-tumor immune response. Vascular endothelial growth factor expression may play a role in inhibition of dendritic cell maturation sequence in the tumor microenvironment.

Background Breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs) are drivers of therapy-resistance, therefore are responsible for poor survival. Molecular signatures of BCSCs from primary cancers remain undefined. Here, we identify the consistent transcriptome of primary BCSCs shared across breast cancer subtypes, and we examine the clinical relevance of ITGA7, one of the genes differentially expressed in BCSCs. Methods Primary BCSCs were assessed using immunohistochemistry and fluorescently labelled using Aldefluor (n = 17). Transcriptomes of fluorescently sorted BCSCs and matched non-stem cancer cells were determined using RNA-seq (n = 6). ITGA7 expression was examined in breast cancers using immunohistochemistry (n = 305), and its functional role was tested using siRNA in breast cancer cells. Results Proportions of BCSCs varied from 0 to 9.4%. 38 genes were significantly differentially expressed in BCSCs; genes were enriched for functions in vessel morphogenesis, motility, and metabolism. ITGA7 was found to be significantly downregulated in BCSCs, and low expression significantly correlated with reduced survival in patients treated with chemotherapy, and with chemoresistance in breast cancer cells in vitro. Conclusions This study is the first to define the molecular profile of BCSCs from a range of primary breast cancers. ITGA7 acts as a predictive marker for chemotherapy response, in accordance with its downregulation in BCSCs.

Objective: During the wound healing process, lymphatic regeneration in the injured skin has not been fully investigated. This work was designed to study the regeneration of lymphatic vessels in rat incisional wounds in relation to the duration after the wound infliction. Material and methods: We studied the regeneration of lymphatic vessels in the rat skin incisional wounds (sutured and unsutured) by immunohistochemistry using an antibody against D2-40, a marker of lymphatic endothelium. Results: Lymphatic vessels were detectable transiently at the wound edge and depth from day 3 till day 7, and none on day 10 in sutured wounds; and from day 5 till day 10, and none on day 14 in unsutured wounds. On the other hand, the center of the wound area did not show any evidence of lymphatic regeneration up to 60 days after the skin incision, regardless of presence/absence of sutures. Meanwhile, the regenerating blood vessels started to appear in the granulation tissue as early as day 2 in sutured wounds and day 3 in unsutured wounds. Conclusion: Lymphatic elements appear transiently in the wound edge, concurrent with the appearance of blood vessels but regress earlier. Identification of lymphatic vascular channels in the region of the wound may help to estimate the wound age in the early days after the injury. At later time points in the regeneration process, it may help to recognize the injured area, being the area where the dermis and subcutaneous tissue are devoid of lymphatics.