Objective: Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is recommended by the World Health Organization as a diagnostic method for breast lesions. The morphological interpretation of liquid-based preparations (LBPs) remains a diagnostic challenge due to considerably altered cytomorphology. The aim of the current study was to compare cytomorphological characteristics of SurePath® (SP)-based LBP and conventional smear (CS) in breast FNACs. Study Design: The study included 77 benign and 60 malignant breast FNACs obtained by both SP and CS, all with tissue confirmation. Cases analyzed with both preparations were reviewed and compared, focusing on 10 cytomorphological features. Results: SP aspirates demonstrated notable cytomorphological alterations. Among them, a prominent three-dimensional configuration of cell clusters and frequent and conspicuous nucleoli were the most prominent characteristics of SP compared with CS. Overall diagnostic performances were comparable but were slightly lower for SP than CS (diagnostic accuracy of two reviewers; 87.6 and 90.5% for SP vs. 91.2 and 92.7% for CS, respectively). Conclusion: Although the reviewer should be aware of distinctive cytomorphological alterations, the SP technique is reliable for the evaluation of breast lesions with the advantage of easy interpretation and a diagnostic accuracy equivalent to CS.

Taken together, RET/PTC rearrangement was the major genetic alteration seen in patients with DSV-PTC, and the RET/PTC3 rearrangement was associated with advanced stage at diagnosis and poor clinical outcome.

PurposeThe tumor biology of metastatic breast cancers differ according to the metastatic sites, and the features of cancer metabolism may also be different. The aim of this study is to investigate the expression of lipid metabolism-related proteins in metastatic breast cancer according to metastatic site and discuss the clinical significance thereof.MethodsImmunohistochemical staining for lipid metabolism-related proteins [fatty acid synthase (FASN), hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL), carnitine palmitoyltransferase IA (CPT-1A), acyl-CoA oxidase 1 (ACOX1), fatty acid binding protein 4 (FABP4,) and perilipin 1 (PLIN1)] was performed using a tissue microarray of 149 cases of metastatic breast cancer (bone metastasis = 39, brain metastasis = 37, liver metastasis = 21, and lung metastasis = 52).ResultsThe expression levels of ACOX1 (p = 0.009) and FASN (p = 0.007) varied significantly according to metastatic site, with the highest expression in brain metastasis and the lowest expression in liver metastasis. ACOX1 positivity (p = 0.005) and FASN positivity (p = 0.003) correlated with HER-2 positivity. The expression of FASN was significantly higher in HER-2 type breast cancer, and lower in luminal A and TNBC type breast cancer (p<0.001). Among lipid metabolism-related proteins, PLIN1 positivity was found to be an independent poor prognostic factor on multivariate analysis (Hazard ratio: 4.979, 95% CI: 1.054–22.59, p = 0.043).ConclusionDifferent expression levels of lipid metabolism-related proteins were observed according to metastatic site. The expression of ACOX1 and FASN was highest in brain metastasis. These results suggest that the metastatic site should be considered when using lipid metabolism inhibitors for targeted therapy.

Soybean polyunsaturated phosphatidylcholine (PC) is thought to exert anti-inflammatory activities and has potent effects in attenuating acute renal failure and liver dysfunction. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of PC in protecting multiple organ injury (MOI) from lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Six groups of rats (N=8) were used in this study. Three groups acted as controls and received only saline, hydrocortisone (HC, 6 mg/kg, i.v.) or PC (600 mg/kg, i.p.) without LPS (15 mg/kg, i.p.) injections. Other 3 groups, as the test groups, were administered saline, HC or PC in the presence of LPS. Six hours after the LPS injection, blood and organs (lung, liver and kidney) were collected from each group to measure inflammatory cytokines and perform histopathology and myeloperoxidase (MPO) assessment. Serum cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-10) and MPO activities were significantly increased, and significant histopathological changes in the organs were observed by LPS challenge. These findings were significantly attenuated by PC or HC. The treatment with PC or HC resulted in a significant attenuation on the increase in serum levels of TNF-α and IL-6, pro-inflammatory cytokines, while neither PC nor HC significantly attenuated serum levels of IL-10, anti-inflammatory cytokine. In the organs, the enhanced infiltration of neutrophils and expression of ED2 positive macrophage were attenuated by PC or HC. Inductions of MPO activity were also significantly attenuated by PC or HC. From the findings, we suggest that PC may be a functional material for its use as an anti-inflammatory agent.