Thoracic involvement from osteosarcoma: typical and atypical CT manifestations.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to F B Askin.
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BACKGROUND: Experimental and epidemiologic investigations suggest that alpha-tocopherol (the most prevalent chemical form of vitamin E found in vegetable oils, seeds, grains, nuts, and other foods) and beta-carotene (a plant pigment and major precursor of vitamin A found in many yellow, orange, and dark-green, leafy vegetables and some fruit) might reduce the risk of cancer, particularly lung cancer. The initial findings of the Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention Study (ATBC Study) indicated, however, that lung cancer incidence was increased among participants who received beta-carotene as a supplement. Similar results were recently reported by the Beta-Carotene and Retinol Efficacy Trial (CARET), which tested a combination of beta-carotene and vitamin A. PURPOSE: We examined the effects of alpha-tocopherol and beta-carotene supplementation on the incidence of lung cancer across subgroups of participants in the ATBC Study defined by base-line characteristics (e.g., age, number of cigarettes smoked, dietary or serum vitamin status, and alcohol consumption), by study compliance, and in relation to clinical factors, such as disease stage and histologic type. Our primary purpose was to determine whether the pattern of intervention effects across subgroups could facilitate further interpretation of the main ATBC Study results and shed light on potential mechanisms of action and relevance to other populations. METHODS: A total of 29,133 men aged 50-69 years who smoked five or more cigarettes daily were randomly assigned to receive alpha-tocopherol (50 mg), beta-carotene (20 mg), alpha-tocopherol and beta-carotene, or a placebo daily for 5-8 years (median, 6.1 years). Data regarding smoking and other risk factors for lung cancer and dietary factors were obtained at study entry, along with measurements of serum levels of alpha-tocopherol and beta-carotene. Incident cases of lung cancer (n = 894) were identified through the Finnish Cancer Registry and death certificates. Each lung cancer diagnosis was independently confirmed, and histology or cytology was available for 94% of the cases. Intervention effects were evaluated by use of survival analysis and proportional hazards models. All P values were derived from two-sided statistical tests. RESULTS: No overall effect was observed for lung cancer from alpha-tocopherol supplementation (relative risk [RR] = 0.99; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.87-1.13; P = .86, logrank test). beta-Carotene supplementation was associated with increased lung cancer risk (RR = 1.16; 95% CI = 1.02-1.33; P = .02, logrank test). The beta-carotene effect appeared stronger, but not substantially different, in participants who smoked at least 20 cigarettes daily (RR = 1.25; 95% CI = 1.07-1.46) compared with those who smoked five to 19 cigarettes daily (RR = 0.97; 95% CI = 0.76-1.23) and in those with a higher alcohol intake (> or = 11 g of ethanol/day [just under one drink per day]; RR = 1.35; 95% CI = 1.01-1.81) compared with those with a lower intake (RR = 1.03; 95% CI = 0.85-1.24). CONCLUSIONS: Supplementation with alpha-tocopherol or beta-carotene does not prevent lung cancer in older men who smoke. beta-Carotene supplementation at pharmacologic levels may modestly increase lung cancer incidence in cigarette smokers, and this effect may be associated with heavier smoking and higher alcohol intake. IMPLICATIONS: While the most direct way to reduce lung cancer risk is not to smoke tobacco, smokers should avoid high-dose beta-carotene supplementation.
Atypical alveolar hyperplasia (AAH) is a potential precursor lesion from which lung adenocarcinomas arise and may be a good target for studying the early events of lung tumorigenesis. A common genetic alteration in lung adenocarcinomas is mutational activation of K-ras. To determine the timing of K-ras activation, we evaluated formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissue samples of 41 AAHs and their paired lung neoplasms from 28 patients for codon 12 point mutations of the K-ras oncogene. K-ras codon 12 mutations were detected using PCR followed by allele-specific oligonucleotide hybridization. Mutations were found in 16 (39%) of the 41 AAHs, 8 (42%) of the 18 adenocarcinomas, and none (0%) of the 5 lung neoplasms that were not adenocarcinomas. Of the 18 patients with both an AAH and a synchronous lung adenocarcinoma, 6 had K-ras mutation in the adenocarcinoma but not in the AAH, 6 had mutations in the AAH but not in the adenocarcinoma, 4 did not harbor mutations in either the AAH or the adenocarcinoma, and 2 had mutations in both their AAH and their synchronous adenocarcinoma. In just 1 of the 18 patients was the same K-ras mutation present in the AAHs and adenocarcinoma of the patient. The detection of independent activating point mutations in a cancer-causing gene points to the neoplastic nature of AAH and suggests that glandular neoplasms of the lung arise from a background of field cancerization.
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Gene therapy for cystic fibrosis (CF) would ideally be accomplished with a vector capable of long-term expression of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) in the absence of a host inflammatory response. Recombinant adeno-associated virus (AAV)-CFTR vectors possess these characteristics in rabbits. Because the utility of AAV vectors as gene transfer agents has only been recognized recently, AAV vector-mediated transduction has never been modeled in a primate host, which is an important step before its use in humans. In order to test the safety and biological activity of AAV-CFTR, single doses of AAV-CFTR vector were administered by fiberoptic bronchoscopy to the posterior basal segment of the right lower lobe (RLL) of the lungs of 10 rhesus macaques with four matched vehicle-treated controls. Animals were followed for 10, 21, 90 or 180 days following vector instillation. Vector DNA transfer occurred in bronchial epithelial cells in the RLL of each animal that received vector as assessed by in situ DNA PCR. Vector mRNA was detectable for 180 days after administration as detected by RT-PCR and by RNase protection assay. Safety of vector administration was determined by measurements of pulmonary mechanics, arterial blood gas analysis, chest radiographs, and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid analysis including cell count and quantification of inflammatory cytokines. Gross and microscopic pathologic examination were also performed. There was no evidence of inflammation or other toxicity, although vector DNA was found in extrapulmonary organs of some animals. These results indicate that transduction of the primate airway epithelium with the AAV-CFTR mediates long-term CFTR cDNA transfer and is relatively safe.
Esthesioneuroblastoma (ENB; olfactory neuroblastoma) is a rare, locally aggressive neoplasm of the sinonasal area and anterior cranial fossa. The histogenesis of the lesion is not clearly delineated, and the broad histological spectrum of ENB has confounded the issue. The location, histological features (neuropil, Homer Wright, and olfactory rosettes), and reported immunocytochemical reactions (neuron-specific enolase (NSE) and chromogranin (CHR) positivity) suggest that ENB may be a neural or neuroendocrine neoplasm derived from the olfactory membrane. Recent demonstration in two of three metastatic putative ENB cell lines of the 11;22 chromosomal translocation, seen in Ewing's sarcoma (ES) of bone and peripheral neuroectodermal tumors (PNET) of bone and soft tissue, has led to the conclusion that ENB may be closely related histogenetically to PNET. The overwhelming majority of cases of ES and PNET express the protein product of MIC-2, a gene located on the pseudoautosomal region of the X and Y chromosomes. This protein can be identified immunocytochemically by antibodies 12E7, HBA71, and ON13. We studied the expression of MIC-2 using the 12E7 antibody as well as multiple neural markers in 18 ENB samples obtained from the files of The Johns Hopkins Hospital. The patients ranged in age from 19 to 90 years (mean, 47.5; median, 47) and included five men and 13 women. None of the 18 specimens reacted with antibody 12E7, but 16 were positive for NSE, nine reacted to synaptophysin (SYN), and 13 showed antibodies to chromogranin (CHR). Our studies agree with the previous suggestions that ENB is a primitive neural tumor but fail to support the hypothesis that it is a member of the PNET family.
Anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibodies (ANCA) occur in a subset of patients with systemic small vessel vasculitis, including patients with Wegener's granulomatosis, microscopic polyangiitis (microscopic polyarteritis), and Churg-Strauss syndrome. Pulmonary disease appears at some time during the course in many patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis. The histologic features of 25 open lung biopsies and two autopsy cases were studied from 27 patients with ANCA. Patients' ages ranged from 8 to 79 years with a mean of 52.6 years. There were 12 females and 15 males. Autoantibodies were characterized as C-ANCA in 13 patients and as P-ANCA in 14 patients. Anti-proteinase 3 antibodies were documented in 12 of 13 patients with C-ANCA. Anti-myeloperoxidase antibodies were documented in all 14 patients with P-ANCA. Vascular lesions were present in 21 patients (78%) and 11 patients (41%) had bronchial lesions. Capillaritis was the most common vascular lesion (17 patients, 63%), and was found with similar frequency in patients with C-ANCA and those with P-ANCA. Extravascular structures were a common site of tissue injury. Airway lesions including bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia (4 patients, 19%), necrotizing granulomatous inflammation (4 patients, 15%), and non-granulomatous inflammation (3 patients, 11%) were more commonly associated with patients with C-ANCA. Interstitial lesions were found in 20 patients (74%), and included necrotizing granulomatous inflammation (8 patients, 30%), fibrosis (13 patients, 48%), and chronic inflammation (12 patients, 44%). No histologic lesion were found that were specific for C-ANCA or P-ANCA. This series demonstrates the wide variety of pulmonary lesions found in patients with ANCA-associated pulmonary disease, and shows that extravascular structures are a common site of injury in ANCA-associated vasculitis.
Placental transmogrification of the lung was described by Chesney in 1978 as an unusual cystic lesion involving a single pulmonary lobe (3). We studied three additional cases with identical clinical and pathologic features. The patients were a 33-year-old woman and men aged 24 and 27 years. Each patient was first seen with respiratory distress; one had repeated pneumothoraces. Radiographically, an enlarging cystic lesion was present in a lower (two) or middle (one) lobe. The lesion had been present for 10 years in one patient. In two patients, mediastinal shift was noted. Lobectomy was curative in all instances. Grossly there was a uni- or paucilocular cyst lined by papillary structures. Microscopically, the papillae contained proliferating blood vessels, lymphoid nodules, smooth muscle, and fat. Sclerotic foci obliterated the vessels in some areas. The growth pattern and topography resembled those of placental villi. Systematic review of the histologic features in other lungs with marked emphysema revealed a spectrum of similar changes and suggested that the lesion in our patients may be a complication of bulla formation and is most likely the clinico-pathologic analog of the "vanishing lung" syndrome (idiopathic giant bullous emphysema).
BACKGROUND: Primary lung tumors showing features of salivary gland-type neoplasms are extremely rare. METHODS: Eight patients with primary lung neoplasms showing light microscopic and immunohistochemical features of salivary gland-type mixed tumors were studied. RESULTS: The patients were six women and two men, ages 35-69 years (mean, 52.5 years). The tumors ranged from 2 to 16 cm in greatest diameter. In two patients the lesions presented as polypoid endobronchial lesions obstructing the lumen; in another two patients the lesions were found in close proximity or in continuity with a bronchus; in three patients, the lesions presented as peripheral parenchymatous nodules unrelated to a bronchus; and in one patient, the relationship to the bronchus could not be determined. Histologically, the lesions were biphasic, showing admixtures in varying proportions of epithelial elements containing a predominant myoepithelial cell population with a stromal component containing an abundant myxoid or focally chondroid matrix. Immunohistochemical studies showed strong positivity of the cells in the epithelial component with low molecular weight keratins (CAM 5.2), and to a lesser extent with broad spectrum keratin, actin, and vimentin antibodies. The cells also showed variable reactivity in the epithelial and nonepithelial elements with S-100 protein and glial fibrillary acidic protein. Six tumors were grossly and histologically benign; in two patients, the tumors were larger, locally invasive, and showed more atypical histologic features. All patients were treated with surgical excision. On follow-up, of the six patients with histologically benign-appearing tumors, one was alive and well 6 years after surgery; another died 4 years after surgery of a second unrelated malignancy; one died during the immediate postoperative period of myocardial infarction; and three have been lost to follow-up. In the two patients with histologically atypical lesions, the tumors recurred and metastasized after 2 and 3 years, respectively, with one of them leading to death caused by widespread metastases and superior vena cava syndrome. CONCLUSIONS: Review of the literature and the findings in the current series indicate that salivary gland-type mixed tumors of the lung may present with a spectrum of histologic features and clinical behavior, ranging from benign to frankly malignant, similar to that observed for their salivary gland counterparts. Size of the lesion at the time of presentation, extent of local infiltration, and degree of mitotic activity appear to be the most reliable prognostic features of these tumors.
Ewing's sarcoma and peripheral neuroectodermal tumor (PNET) are small blue cell tumors with no reliable positive diagnostic markers. However, Ewing's sarcoma and PNET recently have been shown to strongly express an antigen determined by the MIC2 gene, whereas other blue cell tumors of childhood for the most part do not. MIC2 analysis therefore offers a distinctive addition to the panel of immunohistochemical stains used to differentiate among small blue cell tumors of childhood, since it represents the first positive marker for Ewing's sarcoma and PNET. This study addresses the reliability of MIC2 analysis using the monoclonal antibody 12E7 on tumors registered in the current Intergroup Ewing's Sarcoma protocol. Of 244 tumors, 221 (91%) showed a diffuse strong membranous pattern. The antibody appears to withstand all the fixation variables inherent in a multi-institutional study. We conclude that MIC2 expression is highly reliable as a positive marker for the Ewing's sarcoma/PNET family of tumors when the results are interpreted in the total context with clinical and pathologic parameters.
Small cell carcinomas (SCCs) and peripheral neuroectodermal tumors (PNETs) are two distinct neoplasms that show considerable histologic, immunohistochemical, and clinical overlap, but differ in their therapies and prognoses. In an attempt to further diagnostically distinguish the two, 33 SSCs were analyzed from both pulmonary and extrapulmonary sites for the MIC2 gene product, a cell surface antigen strongly and reliably expressed in PNETs and Ewing's sarcoma (ES). Two of the 33 SCCs stained positively, but the staining was less intense than that seen with PNET and ES. The remaining 31 tumors did not stain. These data indicate that, in combination with a panel of immunohistochemical stains, analysis of neuroendocrine tumors for MIC2 expression may be useful in distinguishing between small cell carcinomas of both pulmonary and extrapulmonary origins and soft tissue PNETs.
The subjects of this study are 445 patients with advanced cervical cancer treated by standardized radiation therapy. Upon entry into one of two Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) protocols, original pathologic diagnoses and histologic tumor descriptions for each patient were compared with separate evaluations made by a consensus opinion of two GOG pathologists. A review diagnosis using grade, cell type, and the Stendahl scoring system was then made by the first author (R.J.S.) without knowledge of the prior diagnoses. Of the original pathologists' diagnoses, 21% did not include grade or cell type. There was little agreement among the different pathologists as to the use of either specific grade or cell type. Histologic grade, irrespective of the pathologists making the diagnosis, had no correlation to prognosis. The Reagan and Wentz large-cell keratinizing (LCK) cell type, when applied by the author to tumors with any form of squamous keratinization present, identified a group of patients with a poorer prognosis, although not independently of other prognostic factors. The Stendahl scoring system identified a number of patients with both a poorer and better prognosis. This was statistically significant and independent of other risk factors. A major limitation, however, was the number of patients evaluable because of inadequate biopsy material in 23.6% of the study group.
Warthin's tumor previously has been thought to occur much more commonly in men than in women and rarely in African Americans. One hundred thirty-two cases of Warthin's tumor treated at The Johns Hopkins Hospital from 1952 to 1992 were retrospectively reviewed. There were 90 (68%) men and 42 (32%) women, with an overall man-to-woman ratio of 2.2:1. The number and percentage of women with Warthin's tumor increased over each consecutive decade: 1952 to 1962, 5 (21%); 1963 to 1972, 6 (29%); 1973 to 1982, 11 (31%); and 1983 to 1992, 20 (39%). A positive smoking history was found in 88% of the men and in 89% of the women with a Warthin's tumor. Eleven (8%) African Americans and 1 (0.75%) Asian American were diagnosed to have a Warthin's tumor. Also, the incidence of African Americans with a Warthin's tumor increased over each decade: 0 (0%), 1 (4.8%), 2 (5.5%), and 8 (16%). This study's results indicate a progressive increase in the occurrence of this tumor in women and in African Americans and a higher overall incidence in African Americans than previously reported.
Salivary gland anlage tumor (SGAT) is a polypoid lesion of the nasopharynx that presents with respiratory distress at birth or within the first few days or weeks of life. Among our nine cases, there was a male predilection (7M:2F). All tumors were in the midline and attached to the posterior pharyngeal wall by a delicate pedicle. The largest tumor measured 3 cm. A biphasic histologic pattern of squamous nests and duct-like structures at the periphery blended into solid, predominantly mesenchymal-appearing nodules centrally. The surrounding submucosal mantle of epithelial structures was consistently immunoreactive for cytokeratin and epithelial membrane antigen, whereas the stromal-like cells of the central nodules showed variable immunopositivity for cytokeratin, vimentin, and muscle-specific actin. Both components were equally reactive for salivary gland amylase. Ultrastructurally, some of the stromal-like cells had features of myoepithelial cells. The histologic and architectural features of SGAT are similar in some respects to the developing salivary gland. It is proposed that the SGAT is a probable hamartoma of minor salivary gland derivation whose origin in the nasopharynx is potentially life-threatening in an infant.
BACKGROUND: Point mutations in codon 12 of the K-ras protooncogene occur more frequently in lung adenocarcinomas from smokers (30%) than they do in lung adenocarcinomas from nonsmokers (7%), suggesting that smoking is an important factor in the induction of these mutations. The lack of well defined "early" premalignant or in situ glandular neoplasms of the lung, however, has not permitted direct evaluation of the chronology of ras activation in the development of lung adenocarcinomas. To circumvent the need to evaluate precursor lesions, we examined lung adenocarcinomas from former smokers for point mutations in K-ras. METHODS: Mutations in codon 12 of K-ras were detected using polymerase chain reaction amplification and mutation-specific oligonucleotide probes. The types and frequencies of mutations found in adenocarcinomas obtained from 57 former smokers were compared to those found in 27 adenocarcinomas from patients who never smoked and to those found in 27 adenocarcinomas from patients who were current smokers. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of K-ras point mutations in lung adenocarcinomas obtained from former smokers (32%) was not different from that seen in adenocarcinomas from patients who were current smokers (30%, P = 0.83), and was greater than that seen in adenocarcinomas from patients who never smoked (7%, P = 0.015). This pattern was independent of the duration of abstinence from smoking. Furthermore, the predominant type of mutation found in tumors from former smokers was a guanine-to-thymine transversion, the specific type of mutation induced by benzo(a)pyrene, one of the chemical carcinogens found in tobacco smoke. CONCLUSIONS: These findings support previous findings that suggest that codon 12 of the K-ras oncogene may be a specific target of the mutagenic activity of tobacco smoke, and suggest that DNA alterations at this site can occur early and irreversibly during the development of adenocarcinomas of the lung.
BACKGROUND: Nineteen patients with Ewing sarcoma of bone, each younger than 3 years of age at the time of initial presentation, are reported. These children represent an unusually young age group for documented Ewing sarcoma and represent 2.6% of all patients registered in the Intergroup Ewing's Sarcoma Study (IESS). METHODS: The diagnosis was made on combined histologic, clinical, and radiographic grounds and was supported by immunohistochemistry in nine patients and electron microscopic study in eight patients. Immunohistochemical studies showed no staining against neuro-specific enolase, chromogranin, or S-100 in any patients, and in only one in nine patients were results of such studies focally positive against Leu-7. RESULTS: The most marked clinical variation between this group of infants and the general IESS patient population was a striking predominance of female patients in the younger age group (P < 0.001). There was a trend toward more rib, pelvis, and proximal long bone tumors in the infants and toddlers. The overall survival rate of the infants was 56%, almost identical to the survival rates of the older children. All of the infants who died of disease did so within 4 years. Extended follow-up as long as 9.9 years has found no late deaths attributable to tumor. The most significant late complications of therapy included cardiotoxicity with cerebral embolization from the heart and a short lower limb secondary to radiation therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Ewing sarcoma must be considered in the differential diagnosis of small cell, round cell, and blue cell tumors in bone, even in infants and toddlers.
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The authors reviewed the radiographic and computed tomographic (CT) appearances of abnormal air-filled spaces in the lung that develop in response to lung diseases. The major types of these lung diseases include infection, vessel-related or vascular-embolic disorders, bronchiectasis, emphysema, pulmonary fibrosis, adult respiratory distress syndrome and air-block diseases, and unusual disorders of the lung (such as Langerhans cell histiocytosis, Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome, and tracheolaryngeal papillomatosis). After studying the CT scans, conventional radiographs, and medical records of 150 patients with various abnormal air-filled spaces in their lungs and 300 lung specimens and the corresponding high-resolution CT scans, the authors concluded that mechanisms of air-space formation fall into five basic categories: (a) vascular occlusion or ischemic necrosis, (b) dilatation of the bronchi, (c) disruption of the elastic fiber network of the lung, (d) remodeling of the lung architecture and retractile fibrosis, and (e) multifactorial or unknown mechanisms.