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Uterine serous carcinoma is an aggressive subtype of endometrial cancer that accounts for fewer than 10% of endometrial carcinomas but is responsible for about half of deaths. A subset of cases has HER2 overexpression secondary to ERBB2 gene amplification, and these patients may benefit from anti-HER2 therapies, such as trastuzumab. HER2 protein overexpression is currently assessed by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and ERBB2 gene amplification by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) is increasingly used to routinely identify predictive and prognostic molecular abnormalities in endometrial carcinoma. To investigate the ability of a targeted NGS panel to detect ERBB2 amplification, we identified cases of uterine serous carcinoma (n = 93) and compared HER2 expression by IHC and copy number assessed by FISH with copy number status assessed by NGS. ERBB2 copy number status using a combination of IHC and FISH was interpreted using the 2018 ASCO/CAP guidelines for breast carcinoma. ERBB2 amplification by NGS was determined by the relative number of reads mapping to ERBB2 in tumor DNA compared to control nonneoplastic DNA. Cases with copy number ≥6 were considered amplified and copy number

Background Fertility-sparing surgery for patients with borderline ovarian tumors (BOTs) is still controversial. This study aimed to evaluate the oncological safety and fertility benefits in conservative surgery,as well as efficiency of surgical procedures and approaches. Results In total 122 patients with BOTs, four types of fertility-sparing surgery were performed: unilateral adnexectomy (UA, n = 47), unilateral cystectomy (UC, n = 59), unilateral adnexectomy + contralateral cystectomy (UA + CC, n = 7) and bilateral cystectomy (BC, n = 9). Fifty-two (42.6 %) patients had undergone laparoscopy, while 70 (57.4 %) had undergone laparotomy. After a median follow-up of 58.0 months, eight patients (6.6 %) relapsed in average of 25.9 months. Only one patient progressed to invasive cancer. None died within our observational period. Univariate analysis showed that patients with elevated CA125, bilateral tumors, extra-ovary tumor or mucinous type tended to replase in shorter time (p

Introduction Tubulocystic renal carcinoma is a rare tumor and has been recently recognized as a neoplastic entity. We report a case of tubulocystic renal carcinoma in the left kidney and present a review of relevant literature. Case presentation A 35-year-old Japanese woman visited our hospital with the chief complaint of left-sided back pain. Computed tomography revealed a hemorrhagic cyst (size, 7×8cm) in the upper pole of her left kidney. Approximately 3 years after the initial diagnosis, she complained of left-sided back pain again. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed an enlarged left renal cyst (size, 10×12cm) with a slightly enhanced cystic wall. The tumor was clinically diagnosed as a renal cell carcinoma in the cT2N0M0 stage, which arose from the cyst wall; therefore, left nephrectomy was performed. On histological examination, the tumor showed circumscribed proliferation with cystically dilated tubules. The tubules and cysts were lined by a single layer of flat, hobnail, and cuboidal cells. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that the tumor cells were strongly positive for E-cadherin and P504S. Conclusions Examination of more cases of tubulocystic renal carcinoma is required to better understand the biology of this tumor and to ascertain its prognosis.

Background In previous studies it has been found that in cell cultures of human adult ovaries there is a population of small stem cells with diameters of 2–4 μm, which are present mainly in the ovarian surface epithelium and are comparable to very small embryonic-like stem cells (VSELs) from bone marrow. These cells are not observed by histopathologists in the ovarian tissue due to their small size and unknown clinical significance. Because these cells express a degree of pluripotency, they might be involved in the manifestation of ovarian cancer. Therefore we studied the ovarian tissue sections in women with borderline ovarian cancer and serous ovarian carcinoma to perhaps identify the small putative stem cells in situ. Methods In 27 women with borderline ovarian cancer and 20 women with high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma the ovarian tissue sections were stained, per standard practice, with eosin and hematoxylin staining and on NANOG, SSEA-4 and SOX2 markers, related to pluripotency, using immunohistochemistry. We focused on the presence and localization of small putative stem cells with diameters of up to 5 μm and with the nuclei spread over nearly the full cell volume. Results In ovarian sections of both borderline ovarian cancer and serous ovarian carcinoma patients we were able to identify the presence of small round cells complying with the above criteria. Some of these small cells were NANOG-positive, were located among epithelial cells in the ovarian surface epithelium and as a single cell or groups of cells/clusters in typical “chambers”, were found only in the presence of ovarian cancer and not in healthy ovaries and are comparable to those in fetal ovaries. We envision that these small cells could be related to NANOG-positive tumor-like structures and oocyte-like cells in similar “chambers” found in sections of cancerous ovaries, which could support their stemness and pluripotency. Further immunohistochemistry revealed a similar population of SSEA-4 and SOX2-positive cells. Conclusions We may conclude that putative small stem cells expressing markers, related to pluripotency, are present in the ovarian tissue sections of women with borderline ovarian cancer and high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma thus indicating their potential involvement in ovarian cancer. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13048-016-0221-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Ovarian cancer is the most lethal of all gynecologic malignancies because women commonly present with advanced stage disease and develop chemotherapy refractory tumors. While cytoreductive surgery followed by platinum based chemotherapy are initially effective, ovarian tumors have a high propensity to recur highlighting the distinct need for novel therapeutics to improve outcomes for affected women. The Notch signaling pathway plays an established role in embryologic development and deregulation of this signaling cascade has been linked to many cancers. Recent genomic profiling of serous ovarian carcinoma revealed that Notch pathway alterations are among the most prevalent detected genomic changes. A growing body of scientific literature has confirmed heightened Notch signaling activity in ovarian carcinoma, and has utilized in vitro and in vivo models to suggest that targeting this pathway with gamma secretase inhibitors (GSIs) leads to anti-tumor effects. While it is currently unknown if Notch pathway inhibition can offer clinical benefit to women with ovarian cancer, several GSIs are currently in phase I and II trials across many disease sites including ovary. This review will provide background on Notch pathway function and will focus on the pre-clinical literature that links altered Notch signaling to ovarian cancer progression.

Background Breast cancer associated (BRCA) genes are critical for DNA repair. Mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 (BRCAm) result in loss of these repair mechanisms and potential carcinogenesis. Germline BRCAm are common in ovarian carcinomas, particularly in platinum-sensitive disease. The increased prevalence of BRCAm in platinum-sensitive disease is likely due to enhanced responsiveness to platinum chemotherapy from homologous recombination repair deficiency. The purpose of this study was to explore BRCA testing, treatment patterns and survival in platinum-sensitive recurrent (PSR) ovarian cancer. Methods This was an observational cohort analysis of PSR ovarian cancer treated at the Huntsman Cancer Institute from 1995 to 2012. Germline BRCA status was ascertained through chart review and categorized as BRCAm (BRCA1/2 positive), BRCAwt (BRCA wild type or variant of uncertain significance), and untested. Treatment patterns and survival were assessed from recurrence until death or last follow-up. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to evaluate survival from recurrence by BRCA status. Logistic regression and COX proportional hazard model was used to estimate predictors of BRCA testing and survival, respectively. Results Of the 168 PSR patients, 15 (9 %) were BRCAm, 25 (15 %) were BRCAwt, and 128 (76 %) were untested. Median age at PSR was 56 years for BRCAm and BRCAwt (p = 0.90) and 63 years for those untested (p = 0.033 vs BRCAm). Overall survival was similar between BRCAm and BRCAwt (median 50.4 vs 67.5 months, p = 0.86) and was 24.9 months in untested patients. Significant predictors for the likelihood of BRCA testing were age (OR = 0.93, 95 % CI 0.89, 0.97, p = 0.002), family history of breast or ovarian cancer (OR = 8.33, 95 % CI: 3.08, 22.59, p

Background Solid pseudopapillary neoplasm is a rare cystic tumor of the exocrine pancreas. Abdominal pain or discomfort is the most common symptom, usually in young females. Case presentation Herein we report the case of an 8 - year old child presenting with symptoms of gastric outlet obstruction. Conclusion A solid pseudopapillary neoplasm of the pancreatic caput was diagnosed and surgically removed.

Purpose Alteration of CyclinD1 was suggested to relate with development of endometrial carcinogenesis before, however CyclinD1 expression is not well defined in endometrial hyperplasia lesions. We checked the relationship between its expression and clinic-pathological variables of endometrial lesions to explore the possibility for CyclinD1 as a potential diagnostic and prognostic marker. Methods Cyclin D1 immunohistochemical analysis (IHC) was used to evaluate 201 fixed, paraffin-embedded endometrial samples which included simple hyperplasia (n = 27), atypical complex hyperplasia (ACH) (n = 41), endometrioid carcinoma (n = 103), endometrial serous carcinoma (ESC) (n = 21) and clear cell carcinoma (CCC) (n = 9). A breast cancer with known CyclinD1 expression was selected as a positive control in each immunohistochemistry run. We also performed follow-up study to estimate patients’ prognosis. Results CyclinD1 was significantly overexpressed in atypical complex hyperplasia (ACH), endometrioid carcinoma and clear cell carcinoma (CCC). The positive signaling of CyclinD1 was showed less than 40% in simple hyperplasia and endometrial serous carcinoma (ESC). The high expression of CyclinD1 was observed in metastasis carcinoma group more significantly than non-metastasis carcinoma group. Kaplan Meier analysis demonstrated that patients with high CyclinD1 expression had an obviously poor prognosis than patients without CyclinD1 staining (p Conclusion CyclinD1 exhibited a promising potential to predict the prognosis of patients with endometrial carcinoma. However, the statistical analysis demonstrated that CyclinD1 exhibited a poor ability to differentiate neoplastic lesions from non-neoplastic lesions; thus, the application of CyclinD1 only is not so credible for differentiation between benign and malignant lesions. Virtual slides The virtual slides for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/1871063048950173.

Abstract Squamous metaplasia presenting in noninvasive mucinous cystic neoplasm (MCN) of the pancreas is extremely rare. We described a case of 39-year-old Chinese female with a 5-year history of a slow growing mass in the left upper abdomen and an 18-month history of surgical incision exudation. The patient underwent cystojejunostomy, laparotomy and distal pancreatectomy consecutively because of the initial diagnosis of “pancreatic cyst”. The histological section showed columnar mucin-producing epithelium formed small papillary projections and extensively visible squamous metaplasia. Therefore the diagnosis of “noninvasive MCN with intermediate-grade dysplasia of the pancreas and extensive squamous metaplasia” was made finally. The squamous component of the pancreas may be derived from pluripotent stem cells, and may be in association with cystojejunostomy. Virtual slides The virtual slide(s) for this article can be found here http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/1322364365718540

BackgroundWhereas we can use several human epithelioid sarcoma (ES) cell lines for basic and preclinical research, an angiomatoid ES cell line has not been reported to date. We have treated a case of an angiomatoid ES developing in the right upper extremity of a 67-year-old man.MethodsAn angiomatoid ES cell line, Asra-EPS was newly established and characterized for its morphology, growth rate and chromosomal analysis. Tumorigenicity of Asra-EPS cells was also analyzed in athymic nude mice.ResultsAsra-EPS cells were round, polygonal or spindle-shaped with an abundant cytoplasm and have been maintained continuouslyin vitrofor over 150 passages during more than 15 months. These cells secreted cancer antigen 125 (CA 125), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) into the culture medium. Asra-EPS cells were tumorigenic when implanted in nude mice with tumors reaching a volume of 1000 mm3at around 50 days. Histological features of tumors formed in mice were essentially the same as those of the original tumor, exhibiting a multinodular proliferation of eosinophilic epithelioid and spindle-shaped cells with prominent areas of hemorrhage and blood-filled cystic spaces strikingly corresponding to the potential of hemorrhagic cyst formation in the original tumor. They showed immunopositive staining for cytokeratins (AE1/AE3 and CAM5.2), epithelial membrane antigen (EMA), vimentin, CD31, CD34 and CA 125, but negative for integrase interactor 1 (INI-1) and factor VIII-related antigen.ConclusionsThe established cell line represents a biologically relevant new tool to investigate the molecular pathology of human angiomatoid ES and to evaluate the efficacy of novel therapeutics bothin vitroandin vivo.