A 66-year-old male patient was admitted with dyspnea; physical examination revealed petechiae and systemic lymphadenopathy. Laboratory findings showed leukemia. The blasts in the peripheral blood were negative for cytochemical myeloperoxidase, and had condensed nuclear chromatin with a nucleolus. The histological diagnosis of the biopsied neck lymph node was lymphoblastic lymphoma. The leukemia cells expressed CD2, CD6, CD7, CD13low, CD56, beta chain of IL-2 receptorlow (IL-2R beta), and HLA-DR antigens, but not other pan-T (CD5, CD3, CD4, and CD8); pan-B (CD10, CD19, CD20, and CD24); natural killer (NK) (CD16, CD57); or myeloid (CD33) antigens. Electronmicroscopy revealed convoluted nuclei with conspicuous nucleoli and peripherally condensed heterochromatin. Membrane-bound granules containing an electron dense matrix were observed in the cytoplasm, indicating the NK cell nature of the neoplastic cells. While terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT) and cytoplasmic CD3 were not detected by immunofluorescence on fixed smears, Northern blot analysis revealed the gene expression of CD3 epsilon, CD3 zeta, and TdT. Gene rearrangement analysis revealed that the beta, gamma, and delta chains of T-cell receptor (TCR) and immunoglobulin heavy chain (IgH) were of germline genotype. While the overall interpretation of the phenotype and genotype was difficult, the derivation of an immature stage of NK lineage was strongly suggested, based predominantly on the electronmicroscopic features. Despite initially successful chemotherapy, the patient died 14 months after initial presentation.

Aged↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Multiple myeloma: short T2 on MR imaging.

We describe a rare case of multiple myeloma with marked hypointense areas on both T1- and T2-weighted images. Amyloid deposition and calcification were not found histologically. Hypointensity on T2-weighted images may be caused by distributed free radicals produced by significant macrophages.

Back Pain↗

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Multiple hepatoblastomas associated with trisomy 18 in a 3-year-old girl.

A very rare case of full trisomy 18 associated with multiple hepatoblastomas is reported. The patient also had ventricular septal defect and patent ductus arteriosus, which were repaired at 6 months of age. After the cardiac surgery, she was noted to have an abdominal mass and an elevated serum alpha-fetoprotein level. A partial hepatic lobectomy was performed at 7 months of age, and the resected tumor was diagnosed as a fetal-type hepatoblastoma. At 2 years and 4 months of age, a chest radiography disclosed an elevated left diaphragm, and abdominal ultrasonography demonstrated a tumor in the left hepatic lobe. The resected tumor was also diagnosed as a fetal-type hepatoblastoma. Chromosomal analysis demonstrated that the karyotypes of peripheral blood and hepatic tumor cell obtained on two occasions were both 47,XX, +18. She has no evidence of recurrence at 3 years of age without specific therapy.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Change of temperature in mouse tumour tissue immersed in a water bath at 44 degrees C.

We investigated the change in temperature in tumour and normal tissues of mice when immersed in a water bath at 44.0 degrees C as part of a series of studies of hyperthermia. The right hind legs of the mice bearing the experimental tumour sarcoma 180 were immersed in the water bath, and measurements were performed using the multi-thermocouple thermosensor from a radiofrequency (RF) generator every 24 sec with a precision of 0.1 degrees C. The temperature in all tumour tissues exceeded 43.0 degrees C only at 1 min 24 sec after immersion of the limbs. The rise in temperature then reached a plateau phase, and was maintained around 44.0 degrees C. However, we found that the temperature of the normal tissue was about 0.6 degrees C lower than that of the tumour tissue or the tissue around the tumour at the plateau phase.

Animals↗

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Usefulness of Lens culinaris agglutinin A-reactive fraction of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP-L3) as a marker of distant metastasis from hepatocellular carcinoma.

The objective of this study was to clarify the relationship between the serum level of the Lens culinaris agglutinin A-reactive fraction of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP-L3) and the clinical features including sex, age, Child's classification, virus markers, tumour size, tumour stage, distant metastasis, histopathologic findings, portal thrombus and outcome of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We measured the AFP-L3 levels in 170 HCC cases at the time of diagnosis using lectin-affinity electrophoresis followed by antibody-affinity blotting. The patients were divided into two groups, those who were AFP-L3 positive (n=56; AFP-L3 >/=15% relative to the total alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) concentration) and those who were AFP-L3 negative (n=114; AFP-L3 <15%). Then we examined the association between the serum AFP-L3 level and the clinical features of HCC. No significant differences were found in age, sex, and virus markers between the AFP-L3-positive and -negative groups. However, patients in the positive group had worse liver function and larger tumours compared to the negative group. They also had more advanced cancer with poor tumour histology compared to the negative group. Distant metastasis was diagnosed significantly more often in the positive group than that in the negative group. There was no significant correlation between the AFP-L3 level and portal thrombus. Although the follow-up period was brief the prognosis for the positive group clearly was poor. These results suggest that AFP-L3 is a useful indicator of distant metastasis and a poor prognosis for HCC.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Percutaneous injection of a low-concentration alkaline solution targeting hepatocellular carcinoma.

We developed a percutaneous low-concentration alkali injection therapy (PLAIT) targeting hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and compared the necrotic areas in the livers of rats that had received PLAIT [an alkaline solution of sodium hydroxide (NaOH)] with those that had received percutaneous ethanol injection therapy (PEIT) and percutaneous acetic acid injection therapy (PAIT). The necrotic area increased with increasing concentrations of NaOH solution. The survival rate of rats was 100% up to a concentration of 4 N; however, the rate dropped below 80% with concentrations over 5 N. Also, at a concentration of 2 N, the necrotic area increased with increasing quantities from 0.01 ml to 0.1 ml. PLAIT using 0.05 ml of 2 N NaOH was 1.56 times more effective than PEIT using 0.05 ml of 99.5% ethanol, and 63.33% less effective than PAIT using 0.05 ml of 50% acetic acid. However, the survival rate after PAIT was 50%, while that after PLAIT was 100%. Histopathological observation of normal rat livers after injection of 2 N NaOH at a volume of 0.05 ml showed that the tissue necrosis spread radially from the site immediately after injection by PLAIT, but necroses were not found in other organs. We conclude that PLAIT has promise as a new form of local therapy for HCC.

Animals↗