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Biomedical subjects

A Andrion

Publications and source records attributed to A Andrion.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1993

Hyaline splenic and hepatic plaques. Correlation with cirrhosis, pulmonary tuberculosis, and asbestos exposure.

Nine hundred twenty-five unselected autopsies were investigated for the presence or absence of hyaline peritoneal (splenic or hepatic) plaques, hyaline pleural plaques, asbestos, liver cirrhosis, heart failure, previous peritoneal dialysis or abdominal surgery, chronic peritonitis, splenomegaly, splenic infarcts, and pulmonary or abdominal tuberculosis. Lung asbestos body concentrations were calculated in 570 subjects. Peritoneal plaques were recorded in 163 cases. In both univariate and multivariate analyses, they were associated with cirrhosis, pulmonary nonactive tuberculosis, pleural plaques, and asbestosis. Association with asbestos body counts was also found, with a significant trend. Peritoneal plaques were described long ago in different pathologic conditions, for some of which (cirrhosis and nonactive pulmonary tuberculosis) the association is confirmed by the present analysis. It is suggested that they are significantly associated, moreover, with indicators of asbestos exposure.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Ki-67 scores and AgNor counts in transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder: apparent lack of prognostic value.

The cellular proliferative state of 18 incident cases of transitional cell carcinomas of the bladder treated with transurethral resection was blindly determined by two independent observers using Ki-67 monoclonal antibody and silver stain for nucleolar organizer regions (AgNORs). Ki-67 scores were significantly related to histological grade (WHO) (rs = 0.65, p < 0.01) and clinical stage (UICC) (rs = 0.46, p < 0.05). However, the follow-up analysis over a six year period did not demonstrate significant relationship between Ki-67 values and survival. AgNOR counting did not show significant association with any of the variables under study. The results of this investigation and the review of the pertinent literature suggest that the assessment of cell proliferation of bladder carcinoma by means of Ki-67 and AgNOR techniques is far from having immediate direct influence on patient management.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

The differential diagnosis of primary lung cancer: inter-observer agreement and contribution of specific diagnostic procedures.

In order to investigate inter-observer variability in the differential diagnosis of primary lung cancer among women and the contribution of specific diagnostic procedures to this diagnosis, a group of 449 suspect cases of this disease was studied. Based on a standard dossier (including clinical data and the reports, if present, of radiology, bronchoscopy and histology) six different physicians independently judged, for each woman, at each diagnostic step, the presence of a primary lung cancer. A final consensus was organized in order to define the true cases. Radiology and especially histology seem to give the most important contribution to the diagnosis. On the other hand bronchoscopy seems to be useful mainly as a guide for biopsy. A predictive value of 90% was found when both radiology and bronchoscopy were positive; in the other cases histology seems to be needed to reach an adequate discrimination. Inter-rater agreement increases with an increasing amount of information but is not very high even when histology is available.

Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid↗
PubMed1991

Liposarcoma of the thyroid gland. Fine-needle aspiration cytology, immunohistology, and ultrastructure.

A 56-year-old woman presented with a rapidly growing tumoral mass of the thyroid. In fine-needle aspirates, neoplastic cells were interpreted as undifferentiated (anaplastic) carcinoma. In contrast, histologic examination of tissue samples revealed a tumor with features suggestive of myxoid liposarcoma. The non-epithelial nature was confirmed by immunohistochemical and electron microscopic evaluation. Immunostains for vimentin and S-100 protein were positive, whereas no reactivity was obtained for epithelial markers. Ultrastructurally, the tumor consisted of poorly differentiated mesenchymal cells and lipoblastic elements in various stages of differentiation. Review of the literature reveals only one previous report of thyroid liposarcoma, the diagnosis of which was based on conventional light microscopic studies.

Biopsy, Needle↗
PubMed1991

Autopsy indicators of exposure to asbestos and lung cancer.

In many instances, only post-mortem examination can provide probative data about (i) the presence of lung cancer and (ii) its relationship to exposure to asbestos. Moreover, the results of an autopsy may suggest that a thorough investigation of occupational history should be carried out, since such information is rarely recorded in clinical records. We considered pathological indicators for selecting subjects who had a high likelihood of previous occupational exposure to asbestos. The positive predictive value of pleural plaques ranged from 20 to 75%, depending on their size and on the concentrations of asbestos bodies and uncoated mineral fibres in the lung. The probability of no exposure was greater than 90% if neither asbestos bodies nor uncoated mineral fibres were found. Another purpose of our work on lung cancer and exposure to asbestos was to investigate the relationships between exposure and the occurrence of specific cell types of lung cancer in an autopsied population. Both work history and asbestos body count were considered. The matched analysis showed some tendency towards an association between the occurrence of adenocarcinoma and the presence of indicators of exposure to asbestos.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1990

Asbestos exposure and histologic cell types of lung cancer in surgical and autopsy series.

A case-control study was carried out on 41 surgical and 106 autopsy histological tissue samples of lung cancer in men, in order to investigate the relationships between asbestos exposure and cell type of pulmonary carcinoma. Both occupational history (obtained by interviews of surgical patients or of the next-of-kin for deceased subjects) and lung asbestos body content (determined by optical count after hypochlorite digestion and membrane filtration of lung tissues) were considered as asbestos exposure indicators. No significant relationships were found in the surgical series after adjustment for smoking. The autopsy series showed a trend towards an association between lung adenocarcinoma and asbestos exposure indicators and a markedly higher agreement between the 2 kinds of indicators than that observed in the surgical series.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1989

Minimal pathologic changes of the lung and asbestos exposure.

A group of 199 autopsy subjects was investigated for minimal pathologic pulmonary changes possibly resulting from asbestos exposure. According to the standards proposed by the Pneumoconiosis Committee of the College of American Pathologists, features consistent with asbestosis grade 1 (AG1) include findings of bilateral pleural plaques, high concentrations of asbestos bodies (ABs) in digested lung tissue, and a history of occupational risk. Similar changes without evidence of ABs on histologic section and referred to as small airway lesions (SALs) present a less well-correlated association. In this study, SALs showed significant differences when compared with the features observed in subjects without possible asbestos-related pulmonary fibrotic changes. Minimal bronchioloalveolar fibrotic changes with concomitant presence of ABs can be considered a mild pneumoconiotic lesion (AG1), and SALs may be regarded as an additional indicator of asbestos exposure.

Aged↗
PubMed1989

Sarcomatous tumor of the chest wall with osteochondroid differentiation. Evidence of mesothelial origin.

We describe a case of sarcomatous tumor of the chest wall with differentiation toward bone and cartilage that was observed in an asbestos-exposed worker. Although the mesothelial nature of the tumor was at first considered, it was not proven. Later, the tumor was shown to be a mesothelioma using a panel of pertinent antibodies that included a recently described anti-mesothelial cell marker. In addition, asbestos bodies were found in association with the sarcoma cells. Our findings indicate that whenever physicians encounter any type of primary sarcomatoid tumor involving serous membranes, the possibility of malignant mesothelioma should be regarded a priori.

Asbestos↗
PubMed1988

Leiomyoma and neurilemoma: report of two unusual non-epithelial tumours of the thyroid gland.

Two primary spindle cell tumours of the thyroid are described showing light microscopic features of leiomyoma and neurilemoma respectively. The origin from smooth muscle and nerve sheath was confirmed by both immunohistochemical reactions and ultrastructural findings. Review of the literature reveals only one case of leiomyoma and three cases of neurilemoma reported as developing within the thyroid gland. Our observations further support the view that leiomyoma and neurilemoma may occur at this unusual site and are recognizable entities.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Neurogenic intrathoracic tumors. A clinicopathological review of 92 cases.

Ninety-two cases of intrathoracic neurogenic tumors operated on between 1950 and 1982 are reviewed. The benign forms (86 cases, 93.5%) included 23 ganglioneuromas, 50 neurilemmomas and 13 neurofibromas. Of the latter, 4 occurred in patients with Von Recklinghausen's disease. A double local recurrence was observed after the removal of a neurilemmoma. One of the patients with generalized neurofibromatosis died 5 months after operation from local sarcomatous degeneration and distant metastases. In this group of benign lesions, no other death was observed which could be attributed to the endothoracic neural tumor. The malignant forms (6 cases, 6.5%) included 4 ganglioneuroblastomas and 2 neurofibrosarcomas. The surgical excisions were described as radical in every case and all the patients were given radiotherapy postoperatively. One patient with ganglioneuroblastoma died from metastases 2 years later, and one with neurofibrosarcoma from local recurrences 7 months later. One patient with neurofibrosarcoma and 3 with ganglioneuroblastomas are alive and well 4, 5, 6 and 11 years, respectively, later. Surgical excision remains the best method of diagnosing and treating endothoracic tumors of neural origin. Of special interest are the "dumbbell" or hourglass tumors and lesions which occur in Von Recklinghausen's disease.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Benign clear cell (sugar) tumor of the lung. A light microscopic, histochemical, and ultrastructural study with a review of the literature.

A case of a benign clear cell "sugar" tumor of the lung is reported. Light microscopy showed a uniform proliferation of clear cells filled with abundant glycogen. At the ultrastructural level, tumor cells were rich in free monogranular and rosette-forming glycogen, but no membrane-bound glycogen was demonstrated. Some cells showed plasma membrane interdigitations, microvilli, and macula occludens-type junctions. Many polymorphic secretory and sporadic haloed neurosecretory-like granules were observed, but argyrophil stains as well as a large set of immunohistochemical reactions specific for APUD derivation had negative results. A literature review of this puzzling entity with particular emphasis on the histogenetic hypotheses is presented, and a derivation from epithelial nonciliated bronchiolar (Clara) cells or epithelial serous cells is suggested.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Pleural plaques and risk of cancer in Turin, northwestern Italy. An autopsy study.

The relationship between the occurrence of neoplastic diseases and the presence of pleural plaques was studied in a series of 1097 autopsies performed in Turin from the adult general population. In men, pleural plaques showed an association with the presence of laryngeal, pulmonary, esophageal, and colorectal cancer. Only cancer of the larynx was strongly related to the occurrence of such pleural changes. This autopsy investigation confirms previous observations by others based on x-ray findings, and suggests that pleural plaques may be regarded as risk indicators of possibly asbestos-related tumors in the general population.

Aged↗
PubMed1984

Pleural mesothelioma after a short interval from first exposure in the wine filter industry.

Pleural mesotheliomas are usually reported after a long interval has passed since first exposure to asbestos. We, however, describe a case observed after a latent period of only 7.5 years in a worker exposed in a factory manufacturing auxiliary products for wine treatment, including chrysotile asbestos filters. The exposure to asbestos lasted 3-4 months per year, during which airborne fiber concentrations ranged from 1 to 4 ff/cc in the patient's workplace. Due to the characteristics of the manufacturing process, the asbestos fibers were very thin in diameter. The patient also suffered from nasal breathing impairment. An examination of the literature showed that asbestos-related mesotheliomas have been reported, albeit rarely, after less than 10 years from onset of exposure. Therefore, it is believed that this case should be related to past exposure to asbestos.

Asbestos↗
PubMed1984

Coated and uncoated lung mineral fibres in subjects with and without pleural plaques at autopsy.

The lung concentration of coated and uncoated mineral fibres of more than 10 micron in length was determined by light microscopy in 57 autopsied subjects (23 out of which professionally exposed to asbestos) with pleural plaques but no other asbestos-related diseases. Comparisons were made with 57 controls matched for sex, age and smoking habits, who did not show any asbestos-associated diseases or history of previous occupational exposure. Subjects with pleural plaques had a median concentration of coated fibres consistently greater than that observed in those without. However, no substantial differences were found between the two studied groups when uncoated and total fibres were considered. The present study suggests that the factors related to the fibre coating and to the pleural plaque formation may be indirectly connected, but not necessarily restricted to the number and nature of the fibres, or to the professional or environmental conditions of exposure.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Pleural plaques at autopsy, smoking habits, and asbestos exposure.

An investigation was made to correlate post-mortem findings of pleural plaques (PP) with the smoking habits and occupational history of asbestos exposure of 898 adults from the general population. A significant association between PP and smoking was found in middle-aged and elderly men (p less than 0.001). When occupational history was considered, such an association was present in both exposed (p less than 0.01) and non-exposed (p less than 0.05) men aged over 50 years. No association was observed in non-exposed women, while in those exposed, the absolute number of cases was too small to evaluate any relationship. The number of cigarettes smoked did not correlate significantly with the frequency of PP. This autopsy study confirms the association between occurrence of PP and the smoking habits.

Aged↗