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Desmin is a marker of smooth and striated muscle, but evidence is accumulating that it may be expressed by human mesothelium. The aim of this study was to describe desmin expression in normal, reactive, and hyperplastic peritoneal mesothelium, and to evaluate its potential use as a marker for differentiating between epithelial and mesothelial proliferations. We immunohistochemically studied 27 tissue specimens (from 22 patients) with reactive mesothelium, including omentum (n = 14), fallopian tubes (n = 7), ovaries (n = 3), ascitic fluid (n = 1), and peritoneal washings (n = 2). Ovarian surface epithelium (OSE) from 9 cases and 28 ovarian surface epithelial tumors was evaluated for comparison. The desmin expression pattern in the mesothelium, which was similar to but less consistent than that of cytokeratins, was evident in flat and reactive mesothelium, including hyperplastic mesothelial sheets and mesothelium entrapped in clefts. Mesothelial pseudoglandular structures, present in three cases, were predominantly negative for desmin. Desmin expression was observed in the OSE in 4 of 9 cases but not in any mullerian-derived epithelium or mullerian type tumor. Thus, in contrast to cytokeratins, desmin discriminated mesothelial cells from mullerian type epithelia. Compared with vimentin, desmin discriminated mesothelial cells from other tissues except muscle cells. We conclude that desmin may be used in addition to cytokeratins and vimentin as a marker of peritoneal mesothelium.

Twenty three old male patient was diagnosed as a pineal gland tumor and was operated in neurosurgical ward. He died four weeks later due to pneumonia and respiratory failure. Clinical diagnosis was based on computer tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance image (MRI) examination. Histological study of a biopsy and autopsy specimens showed embryonal carcinoma with yolk sac tumor differentiation. The diagnosis was supported by positive cytokeratin, placental alkaline phosphate and alpha-fetoprotein immunostainings.

Progesterone receptor (PR) expression was studied in human cervix uteri from 21 cases. The study was performed on fresh frozen material with application of mouse anti-rabbit PR antibody and the immunoperoxidase method. Most cervical PR-s were present in the glandular epithelium and in smooth muscle cells. The results suggest that PR expression in the cervical glands is hormone-dependent; it was strongest in the presence of estrogen-stimulated endometrium, weaker with progesterone stimulation and absent in atrophy. The ectocervical epithelium contained relatively few progesterone receptors.

A rare case of the perforation of the colon at the site of isolated micro-cancer of the lung in a 81-year old male is presented. A primary focus of the cancer was found during microscopic examination of the fibroserous mass collected from the apex of the right lung. The patient died because of the disseminated peritonitis.

The paper describes an unusual case of two adenomatoid tumours in one patient. The first tumour was diagnosed in a hysterectomy specimen, when the patient was 39 years old. A wedge-shaped fragment was intraoperatively obtained from the left ovary. An adenomatoid tumour of the left ovary was diagnosed two years later. Multiple talc granulomas, inclusion cysts, and adhesions were found in close proximity to the tumour. It seems from this observation and from the reviewed literature that talc crystals as well as repair and inflammatory processes should be taken into account as initiating factors in the development of ovarian adenomatoid tumours in patients with susceptibility to such tumours.

Ovarian carcinoma is the most lethal type of gynecologic malignancy in the Western world. Majority of early stage ovarian cancers are asymptomatic and this is the main reason that more than two-thirds of patients are diagnosed with advanced disease. Ovarian tumors are heterogeneous and the different histologic subtypes are further classified as benign, borderline (low-grade) and malignant (high-grade) to reflect their behavior. The aim of the study was to analyze gene expression profiles in three histologic types of ovarian carcinoma in an attempt to find the molecular differences among serous, endometrioid and clear cell subtypes. The analysis of gene expression was performed on 57 samples of ovarian carcinoma. RNA was isolated from the ovarian cancer tissues. The gene expression changes were determined by microarray analysis and quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Measurement of relative gene expression levels was used to identify molecular differences among three histologic types of ovarian carcinoma (clear-cell, endometrioid and serous). Unsupervised statistical analysis revealed four biological subtypes among three histotypes under study. The endometrioid ovarian carcinoma was divided into two molecular subtypes. The biggest molecular differences were observed between clear-cell and serous carcinomas (1070 genes, FDR 0.05), the smallest between endometrioid and serous carcinomas (81 genes, FDR 0.05). The biggest group of differentially expressed genes was involved in transport and metabolism. This finding can explain the differences in the response to chemotherapy observed among different histologic types of ovarian carcinomas. In conclusion, we found TCF2 (HNF1B) gene as a suitable marker for ovarian clear cell carcinoma. Gene expression profiling also shed light on the molecular mechanisms of different chemoresistance among the analyzed histotypes.