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E J Mark

Publications and source records attributed to E J Mark.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Pathologic staging of papillary carcinoma of the thyroid with airway invasion based on the anatomic manner of extension to the trachea: a clinicopathologic study based on 22 patients who underwent thyroidectomy and airway resection.

We received the clinical and pathologic features of 22 cases of papillary carcinoma of the thyroid that invaded the trachea and were treated by thyroidectomy and airway resection with or without reconstructive surgery over an interval of 16 years. We studied the fine relationships between lamina propria and lymphatics in the region between the isthmus of the thyroid and the trachea. The manner of invasion of papillary carcinoma of the thyroid was by blunt dissection along blood vessels and collagen fibers oriented perpendicularly to the tracheal lumen between cartilaginous rings. Although lymph node metastases were found in 14 patients (64%), we observed lymphangitic tumor in the tracheal mucosa in only three patients (14%). We devised a staging system for papillary carcinoma of the thyroid based on the extent of invasion of the trachea. Of the 11 patients with stage I, II, or III disease, none of six (0%) followed for 5 years died of thyroid cancer in the 5-year observation period; one patient in this group died later of thyroid cancer. Of the 11 patients with stage IV disease, five of seven (71%) followed for 5 years died of thyroid cancer in the 5-year observation period; one additional patient in this group died later of thyroid cancer.

Carcinoma, Papillary↗

Correlation of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies with the extrarenal histopathology of Wegener's (pathergic) granulomatosis and related forms of vasculitis.

We studied the histologic findings from extrarenal biopsies (especially of the lung or upper respiratory tract) or autopsies of 68 patients who were tested for serum antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCAs). We used antigen-specific assays to detect antibodies against proteinase 3 (PR3) and myeloperoxidase (MPO), the two types of ANCAs of proven diagnostic value for the spectrum of diseases that includes Wegener's (pathergic) granulomatosis, microscopic polyarteritis (microscopic polyangiitis), Churg-Strauss syndrome, idiopathic necrotizing and crescentic glomerulonephritis, and their variants. Twenty-eight patients had antibodies to PR3 and 16 had antibodies to MPO; no patient had antibodies to both. All 44 patients with ANCAs had histologic evidence of this spectrum of diseases. Thirteen patients without histologic evidence of this spectrum of diseases had negative tests for ANCAs. There were no pathologic features that reliably identified patients with one or the other type of ANCA. Eighteen of 31 patients with lesions of Wegener's granulomatosis had antibodies to PR3, seven had antibodies to MPO, and six had neither. Three of four patients with necrotizing arteries without granulomas had anti-MPO antibodies, but similar lesions were seen, together with extravascular granulomas, in three patients with anti-PR3 antibodies. Of 16 patients with alveolar hemorrhage, nine had anti-PR3 and five had anti-MPO antibodies. Two patients diagnosed clinically as having Churg-Strauss syndrome had anti-MPO antibodies. In 16 of the 25 patients with ANCAs and a histologic diagnosis of Wegener's granulomatosis the diagnosis was made on the basis of extravascular granulomatous lesions alone, which argues against the requirement for vasculitis. Of six patients with negative tests for ANCAs and histologically diagnosed Wegener's granulomatosis, none had evidence of renal involvement. We conclude that in the appropriate clinical setting the presence of anti-PR3 or anti-MPO antibodies provides reliable evidence of the above spectrum of diseases, but that subclassification (to the extent this is possible) depends on the presence of distinctive clinical or pathologic features. In patients with negative tests for ANCAs, interpretation of clinical and histologic findings remains the only definitive method of diagnosis.

Antibodies, Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic↗

Idiopathic laryngotracheal stenosis: radiologic findings.

OBJECTIVE: Acquired nonneoplastic laryngotracheal stenosis can be either focal or diffuse. Diffuse tracheal stenosis is caused by sarcoidosis, tuberculosis, histoplasmosis, relapsing polychondritis, tracheopathia osteoplastica, and Wegener's granulomatosis. Focal tracheal stenosis, on the other hand, usually results from placement of an endotracheal or tracheostomy tube or from previous neck trauma. At our institution, since 1971, we have seen 49 cases of focal laryngotracheal stenosis that could not be attributed clinically or histologically to any one of the aforementioned causes. The purpose of this study was to study the radiologic features of these idiopathic laryngotracheal stenoses. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective review of records showed that radiologic studies were still available in only 15 of the 49 patients with idiopathic laryngotracheal stenoses. All 15 patients had radiographs and plain tomograms, and one patient had a CT scan of the neck. Three radiologists reviewed all the images. RESULTS: The radiologic appearance was variable: the stenoses were from 2 to 4 cm long with a lumen between 3 and 5 mm in diameter at the narrowest portion. The narrowing was concentric and shaped like an hourglass in eight patients (53%) and was eccentric in the other seven (47%). The margins of the stenosis were smooth in nine patients (60%) and irregular and lobulated in six patients (40%). A dominant mass measuring approximately 1 cm in diameter was present in two patients (13%). No evidence of calcification or ossification was seen. CONCLUSION: Idiopathic laryngotracheal stenosis produces focal stenosis of the cervical part of the trachea, 2 to 4 cm long. The lumen is severely compromised, measuring no more than 5 mm in diameter at its narrowest portion. The stenosis can be concentric or eccentric and can have either smooth or lobulated margins. Special attention should be paid to the airways when chest radiographs of patients with a history of prolonged dyspnea and wheezing are reviewed. The prevalence of focal stenosis of the larynx and the upper part of the trachea due to tracheal intubation has declined since the introduction of low-pressure, high-volume retention cuffs. Therefore, idiopathic laryngotracheal stenosis should be considered in the differential diagnosis in patients with focal narrowing of the airway.

Adolescent↗

Pathological features of the pulmonary artery in Takayasu arteritis.

Little attention has been paid to the pathological features of the pulmonary artery in Takayasu arteritis. Autopsy specimens of 6 cases of this disease were studied. Lesions were found in the aortic arch and its brachiocephalic branches in all cases and in both the aortic arch and thoracoabdominal aorta in 5 cases. The pathohistologic characters of the pulmonary artery were very similar to those of the systemic artery. Stenosis-recanalization, so-called blood vessels-in-blood vessels, of the pulmonary elastic arteries were found in four cases. These lesions were not observed in the systemic arteries, and most of the newly formed channels in them seemed to be branches of bronchial arteries. Luminal obstruction of pulmonary muscular arteries was observed in 4 cases, cellular arteritis of muscular arteries in 2 cases, and angiomatoid dilatation of small blood vessels in 2 cases. Thus in this study we found peculiar stenosis-recanalization lesions of the pulmonary elastic arteries, and also showed that the pulmonary elastic and muscular arteries are frequently involved in Takayasu arteritis. These findings suggest that pulmonary hypertension could influence morbidity and long-term mortality in this disease.

Adult↗

Wegener's granulomatosis. Associated with diffuse pulmonary hemorrhage.

The authors report a case of Wegener's granulomatosis with the unusual manifestation of diffuse pulmonary hemorrhage. A 58-year-old man complained of bloody sputum and fever. Chest X-ray films showed multiple nodular shadows in both lung fields. He was diagnosed as having Wegener's granulomatosis by transbronchial lung biopsy, which revealed necrotizing granulomatous inflammation with necrotizing vasculitis. Despite treatment with cyclophosphamide and prednisolone, his condition rapidly deteriorated. An extensive diffuse alveolar shadow appeared in both lung fields in chest X-ray films, anemia became worse, and he died of respiratory failure. Autopsy revealed diffuse alveolar hemorrhage with necrotizing capillaritis in addition to the typical pathological findings in Wegener's granulomatosis. The capillaritis was characterized by neutrophilic infiltration of alveolar septa, and fibrin thrombi in alveolar capillaries. Diffuse pulmonary hemorrhage is uncommon in Wegener's granulomatosis. However, once diffuse pulmonary hemorrhage occurs, the respiratory condition rapidly deteriorates and is life-threatening. Therefore, accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment are required.

Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis↗

Cellular interstitial pneumonitis in infants. A clinicopathologic study.

Five infants had interstitial pneumonitis with constant histologic findings, which was different from that previously described in children. All the infants presented with tachypnea at birth and persistent disease, both clinically and radiographically, despite treatment. Open-lung biopsy in each case showed a diffuse interstitial thickening due to pale oval and spindle-shaped histiocytes without scarring. This neonatal cellular interstitial pneumonitis differs both clinically and histologically from the usual interstitial pneumonitis, lymphocytic interstitial pneumonitis and desquamative interstitial pneumonitis observed in adults and children. The etiology of this cellular interstitial pneumonitis in neonates is unknown.

Biopsy↗

Asbestos and the histogenesis of lung carcinoma.

Individuals exposed to asbestos develop and die of bronchogenic carcinoma at rates well above individuals not exposed, but there is disagreement as to what factors other than the asbestos may be important in the histogenesis of the carcinoma. This report discusses the various theories as to how and why asbestos, cigarette smoke, asbestosis, and pleural disease may be involved in the development of the carcinoma. The authors conclude that other disease processes may mark individuals particularly likely to develop carcinoma of the lung, but that asbestos fibers have an independent role in the histogenesis of carcinoma of the lung.

Asbestos↗

Absence of evidence for a significant background incidence of diffuse malignant mesothelioma apart from asbestos exposure.

The incidence of diffuse malignant mesothelioma is rising. Physicians can diagnose a disease only when they know that it exists, so one explanation for the rise in incidence is more widespread appreciation of the clinical and pathological features of the disease. Modern pathology has ascribed specific requirements for the diagnosis of diffuse malignant mesothelioma. A priori one cannot assume that these requirements have increased the likelihood of the diagnosis because the requirements also can serve to exclude the diagnosis depending on the findings. Most cases of diffuse malignant mesothelioma are suspected by macroscopic and routine microscopic techniques that have been available since the last part of the nineteenth century. Although single reported instances of some pulmonary diseases have survived from the nineteenth century, pathologists did not identify enough cases to convincingly establish the existence of diffuse malignant mesothelioma of the pleura as an entity until the 1930s or 1940s. One must conclude that the background level of diffuse malignant mesothelioma in Europe and in the United States prior to 1930 was extremely low. No case was detected at the Massachusetts General Hospital until 1946.

Asbestos↗

Gastrin-releasing peptide gene expression in small cell and large cell undifferentiated lung carcinomas.

Gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP; mammalian bombesin) is present in the neuroendocrine cells of human fetal lung and in small cell lung carcinomas (SCLCs), where it may act as a growth factor. Considering the potential importance of GRP as a tumor marker, we have conducted a retrospective immunohistochemical analysis of 176 lung tumors for markers of GRP gene expression, as well as several other markers of neuroendocrine cell differentiation: chromogranin A, neuron-specific enolase, and calcitonin. The majority of carcinoids contained mature GRP, in contrast to only a minority of SCLCs and large cell lung carcinomas (LCLCs). However, a majority of SCLCs and LCLCs contained proGRP immunoreactivity. In situ hybridization did not add any information beyond what was obtained using proGRP antisera. In spite of sharing these neuroendocrine cell markers, SCLCs are associated with a graver prognosis than LCLCs. No prognostic significance was associated with immunostaining for GRP or several other markers of neuroendocrine cell differentiation.

Adult↗

Pulmonary mucinous cystic tumors of borderline malignancy.

Mucus-filled cystic tumors of low or borderline malignant potential, well recognized in ovary and appendix, have received little attention in the lung. We present data on 11 patients, all of whom had solitary pulmonary nodules resected in which mucus was the major histologic component. Prognosis appears good; no patient had developed local recurrence or metastatic spread of tumor (follow-up, 1 to 9.5 years; mean, 4.7 years). Columnar mucus-producing cells lined the cysts in all cases, with cytologic and architectural atypia varying from minimal to microscopic foci of carcinoma; paucicellular mucus dissection into surrounding lung analogous to pseudomyxoma peritonei was seen in seven cases. The histologic and clinical findings are consistent with a mucinous cystic tumor of low or borderline malignant potential.

Cysts↗

Atypical mesothelial hyperplasia associated with bronchogenic carcinoma.

Atypical mesothelial hyperplasia encountered in pleural fluid or in a pleural biopsy specimen raises the suspicion that one may be dealing with a diffuse malignant mesothelioma of the pleura. We studied eight cases with cytologic or histologic changes of mesothelial atypia thought to be suspicious for diffuse malignant mesothelioma. In each case, the hyperplasia was associated with a bronchogenic carcinoma in the lung subjacent to the mesothelial hyperplasia. Bronchogenic carcinoma should be added to the list of causes of atypical mesothelial hyperplasia. This combination of reactive and malignant processes should be appreciated, since pleural carcinomatosis and diffuse malignant mesothelioma must be separated for clinical and epidemiologic reasons.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Differentiation of bronchogenic carcinoma from postobstructive pneumonitis by magnetic resonance imaging: histopathologic correlation.

Obstructive pneumonitis frequently occurs distal to hilar bronchogenic carcinomas or in lung adjacent to peripheral tumors. The article evaluates the role of MRI in the differentiation of tumor from pneumonitis. Twelve patients underwent MRI of the thorax before surgery. T1-weighted (SE 310/20) and T2-weighted (SE 2000/60-120) images were obtained through the tumor and presumed areas of pneumonitis. Five histologic types of pneumonitis were identified on pathologic examination of the 12 specimens. Cholesterol pneumonitis, found in 7 patients, was the most common type. Organizing pneumonitis, bronchiectasis with mucus plugs, atelectasis, and abscess were found in 3, 4, 2, and 1 patients, respectively. MRI was able to differentiate tumor from pneumonitis in 5 of 6 patients with a hilar mass and in 5 of 6 patients with a peripheral tumor. This was achieved by a visual difference in signal intensity on heavily T2-weighted (SE 2000/120) images. Cholesterol pneumonitis and bronchiectasis with mucus plugs were always hyperintense relative to tumor, and organizing pneumonitis and atelectasis were isointense and indistinguishable from tumor. MRI can differentiate tumor from pneumonitis provided that pneumonitis is of the cholesterol type or if there are mucus plugs in the collapsed lung.

Aged↗

Pulmonary endodermal tumor resembling fetal lung: a clinicopathologic study of five cases with immunohistochemical and ultrastructural characterization.

Pulmonary endodermal tumor resembling fetal lung describes an uncommon neoplasm of the lung which also has been referred to as pulmonary blastoma and adenocarcinoma of fetal lung type. We describe five cases which fall within a narrow band on the spectrum of pulmonary neoplasms with both epithelial and mesenchymal features. These five cases all occurred as well-defined masses visible on chest radiograph in middle-aged females, and were treated by surgical excision. Histopathologically, low and high grades of malignancy are found. Well-formed racimose glands with cytoplasmic vacuolization resemble endometrioid carcinoma. Neoplastic columnar cells have abundant glycogen in the cytoplasm. Morules of cells within the glands have optically clear nuclei. Ultrastructurally, the optically clear nuclei are occupied by a filamentous substructure of chromatin. Multiple neuroendocrine hormones are present in low-grade malignancy. Nuclear pleomorphism, lymphatic invasion, multifocal necrosis, lack of mesenchyme at the pulmonary interface, and restricted neuroendocrine expression suggest high-grade malignancy. A mesenchymal stroma surrounding the glands is an intrinsic part of the neoplasm, but the stroma does not appear malignant, and did not form part of the metastasis in the single case where a metastasis occurred. Stromal cells show fibroblastic and myofibroblastic differentiation. Pulmonary endodermal tumor resembling fetal lung typically is a low-grade malignancy, with a better prognosis than the majority of lesions sometimes described as pulmonary blastoma or adenocarcinoma of fetal lung type.

Adult↗

Effusion cytology in the diagnosis of malignant epithelioid and biphasic pleural mesothelioma.

We reviewed the cytologic findings in pleural effusions of 36 patients in whom a diffuse epithelioid or biphasic malignant mesothelioma of the pleura developed between 1978 and 1988. Malignant neoplasms were diagnosed in 26 (72%) of the 36 patients. A specific diagnosis of a mesothelioma was rendered or suspected in 64% (23/36 patients). Mesothelioma was favored over adenocarcinoma in 81% (29/36) of patients with positive fluid cytologic findings. The contribution of effusion cytology to the final diagnosis and patient treatment was assessed. These data suggested that a cytologic diagnosis contributed useful information in most patients with malignant epithelioid and biphasic pleural mesotheliomas.

Adult↗

Mucoepidermoid lung tumors.

Mucoepidermoid lung tumors are uncommon, representing 0.2% of all lung tumors and 1% to 5% of bronchial adenomas. Eighteen patients with mucoepidermoid tumors are reported. There were 10 male and 8 female patients with a mean age of 36.8 years (range, 9 to 62 years). On the basis of mitotic activity, cellular necrosis, and nuclear pleomorphism, we subclassified these tumors as low grade (15 patients) or high grade (3 patients). The achievement of complete resection and low-grade versus high-grade staging correlated with prognosis. All 12 patients who had a low-grade tumor that was completely excised are alive with no evidence of disease at a mean follow-up of 4.7 years (range, 1 to 27 years). All high-grade tumors proved fatal within 16 months. Two of the 3 high-grade tumors were unresectable because of extensive local disease. Patients with low-grade tumors and microscopically positive margins require close follow-up and can undergo a successful repeat resection. Nine of the 16 resections were sleeve resections, high-lighting the importance of conservative lung-sparing procedures in these central airway tumors. Both patients with an unresectable high-grade tumor had radiation therapy postoperatively and died 11 months later. The role of radiation therapy with high-grade tumors or incomplete resection has yet to be determined.

Adult↗

Invasive fibrous tumor of the tracheobronchial tree: clinical and pathologic study of seven cases.

We describe seven cases of invasive fibrous tumors of the trachea and major bronchi with distinctive histologies and patterns of growth. The tumors are composed of proliferating fibroblasts and have moderate nuclear pleomorphism and low mitotic activity. The tumors bear some resemblance to inflammatory pseudotumor of the lung, fibrous histiocytoma, and fibromatosis, but differ from each of these entities. The tumors are neoplastic and invade down to or between plates of cartilage. Because of their proximal location, these tumors are usually amenable to sleeve resection. Recurrence is possible. Metastasis has not occurred. Distinction from more malignant mesenchymal tumors of the trachea and bronchus will prevent unnecessarily radical surgery.

Adolescent↗