Schwannomas, also known as neuroma/neurolemma, are benign tumors of the nerve sheath. Schwannomas are very rare in the hypopharyngeal area in the literature. In this article, we present a rare case of hypopharyngeal schwannoma, which was found in a 62-year-old female patient, which did not show any symptoms other than dysphagia and foreign body sensation in the throat.
Background and Aims: Ornidazole, a nitroimidazole antibiotic, is widely used for protozoal and anaerobic infections and is generally considered safe. However, ornidazole-induced liver injury (OILI) is an underrecognized yet potentially severe adverse reaction. This multicenter study aims to characterize the clinical features, histopathology, and outcomes of OILI to improve the awareness and management of this rare entity worldwide. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of 101 patients with OILI from eight tertiary centers between 2006 and 2023. Cases were included based on liver enzyme elevations temporally linked to ornidazole and the exclusion of other causes. Causality was assessed using the Roussel Uclaf Causality Assessment Method (RUCAM) score. Clinical data, laboratory parameters, autoantibody profiles, histology, treatments, and outcomes were evaluated. Results: OILI was classified as highly probable in 42.6% of cases (n = 43), probable in 51.5% of cases (n = 52), and possible in 5.9% (n = 6) of cases. The predominant pattern was acute hepatocellular injury (83.2%) (n = 84). Autoimmune-like hepatitis occurred in 5% of cases (n = 5), with ANA positivity in 16.8% of cases (n = 17). Corticosteroids were used in 24.8% of cases (n = 25) and were associated with higher ANA positivity and a 20% (n = 5) relapse rate post-discontinuation. Recovery was achieved in 87.7% of cases (n = 88), while 7.9% of cases (n = 8) required liver transplantation and 4% (n = 4) died. Conclusions: Ornidazole can cause serious idiosyncratic liver injury, including autoimmune phenotypes, and should be considered in the differential diagnosis of acute hepatitis. Given the notable risk of liver failure and death, early recognition, drug discontinuation, and close monitoring are essential. In select cases, corticosteroids and plasmapheresis may be beneficial, though the evidence remains limited.
Background: Examinations of procalcitonin (PCT) and Ki-67 expression levels in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients who have undergone liver transplantation (LT) through immunohistochemical analyses of tumor tissue may reveal the biological characteristics of the tumor, thus informing the selection of HCC patients for LT. Methods: Hepatectomy specimens from 86 HCC patients who underwent LT were obtained and analyzed immunohistochemically for the expression of PCT and Ki-67. The percentage and intensity of PCT staining, as well as the percentage of Ki-67 expression, were assessed for each patient. The impacts of PCT and Ki-67 expression on disease-free survival, overall survival, and the recurrence rate were studied, as well as their correlations with other clinicopathological features. Results: The recurrent HCC group showed a higher Ki-67 level (p < 0.001), larger maximum dominant tumor diameter (p < 0.001), and higher rate of vascular invasion (p = 0.001). The pre-transplant AFP (p = 0.001), maximum dominant tumor diameter (p < 0.001), number of tumor nodules (p < 0.001), rate of vascular invasion (p = 0.001), and Ki-67 level (p = 0.044) were higher in patients beyond the Milan criteria. Similarly, the pre-transplant AFP (p < 0.001); maximum dominant tumor diameter (p < 0.001); number of tumor nodules (p < 0.001); rates of portal vein tumor thrombus (p = 0.002), poor differentiation (p = 0.021), and vascular invasion (p < 0.001); and Ki-67 level (p = 0.010) were higher in patients beyond the expanded Malatya criteria. The maximum dominant tumor diameter (p = 0.006); Ki-67 level (p = 0.003); rates of vascular invasion (p < 0.001), cases beyond the Milan criteria (p = 0.042) and the expanded Malatya criteria (p = 0.027), and portal vein tumor thrombus (p = 0.020); and presence of recurrence (p < 0.001) were higher in HCC patients with mortality. The Kaplan-Meier estimates indicated that Ki-67 levels exceeding 5% significantly affected DFS and OS. Although the Kaplan-Meier estimates indicated that a PCT staining percentage of >= 25% did not have a statistically significant effect on DFS or OS, the outcomes may be considered clinically significant. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that the Ki-67 proliferation index can be used as a predictive biomarker of the biological behavior of HCC. Furthermore, we claim that PCT expression over a particular threshold might impact recurrence and survival, and we believe that further multicenter prospective studies focused on standardized PCT antibody staining are crucial in order to determine its potential as a biomarker for HCC.
Background/Objectives: This study aimed to characterize the expression patterns of B7 homolog 3 (B7-H3) and cluster of differentiation 155 (CD155), two immune-related transmembrane glycoproteins, in resectable gastric adenocarcinoma and to elucidate their clinicopathological, prognostic, and molecular implications. Methods: The study included 112 patients who underwent gastrectomy for gastric adenocarcinoma between 2020 and 2025, along with 30 samples of normal gastric tissue obtained from sleeve gastrectomy specimens. Histological subtype, grade of differentiation, TNM stage, and invasion parameters were re-evaluated. Immunohistochemical expression of B7-H3 and CD155 was quantified for membranous, stromal and membranous/cytoplasmic staining patterns. Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was performed on 29 tumor and 25 normal samples to confirm mRNA expression levels, with fold change ≥2 considered biologically significant upregulation and ≤0.5 considered downregulation. Machine learning models were developed to predict metastasis and mortality based on clinical and immunohistochemical features. Results: 78.5% of tumors were at an advanced stage (T3–T4), and metastasis was present in 22.3% of patients. Perineural invasion (PNI) and lymphovascular invasion (LVI) were observed in 67.9% and 88.4% of cases, respectively. Increased B7-H3 and CD155 expression were significantly associated with advanced tumor stage, metastasis, and the presence of PNI and LVI (all p < 0.05). In metastatic tumors, median membranous B7-H3, stromal B7-H3, and CD155 scores were 60, 130, and 190, respectively, compared with 20, 90, and 120 in non-metastatic tumors. A significant positive correlation was found between stromal B7-H3 and CD155 expression (r = 0.384, p < 0.001), indicating parallel upregulation. Quantitative RT-PCR confirmed significant overexpression of both genes in tumor tissues relative to normal controls. B7-H3 was upregulated in 75.9% and CD155 in 58.6% of samples, with co-upregulation in 55.2%. Fold-change levels were markedly higher in metastatic versus non-metastatic cases (B7-H3: 7.69-fold vs. 3.04-fold; CD155: 7.44-fold vs. 1.79-fold). ML analysis using the XGBoost model achieved 91.1% accuracy for metastasis prediction (F1-score 0.800). Key variables included pathological T4b stage, perineural invasion, N3b status, T4a stage, and CD155 score. The mortality model yielded 86.7% accuracy (F1-score 0.864), with metastasis, differentiation status, nodal involvement, age, lymph node ratio, and perineural invasion emerging as principal predictors. Conclusions: Combined evaluation of B7-H3 and CD155, supported by immunohistochemical staining and RT-PCR quantification of B7-H3 and CD155 mRNA expression levels, provides meaningful prognostic insights and supports their potential as dual molecular biomarkers for aggressive gastric adenocarcinoma phenotypes.
Polymyalgia rheumatic (PMR) associated amyloidosis is an extremely rare condition that can be rapidly progressive with high morbidity and mortality and management is challenging. Tocilizumab is a monoclonal anti-IL-6 receptor antibody, which is in the therapeutic arsenal of PMR. The efficiency of tocilizumab in improvement of PMR activity score and decreasing steroid dose is well-established, while efficiency in PMR-associated amyloidosis has not been published. Herein, we reported a PMR patient with amyloid A amyloidosis who was treated effectively with tocilizumab.
Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) comprises approximately 5% of all pediatric malignancies, and the biliary system is considered one of the rarest RMS locations. Awareness, knowledge, and early recognition of the disease are essential for accurate diagnosis and proper treatment of biliary RMS in a child with obstructive jaundice and suspicious radiological findings. We present two pediatric biliary RMS cases requiring different managements because of their primary evaluations at their referring facilities. A four-and-a-half-year-old boy was referred to our institution for liver transplantation following neoadjuvant chemotherapy for centrally located unresectable biliary RMS. The patient received a left lateral segment graft from a living donor with no complications during the post-transplant period. The second patient was a seven-year-old foreign boy with obstructive jaundice and a history of choledochal cyst resection. A tumoral mass was revealed during exploration, and macroscopic total resection of the lesion was performed. The final pathology result of the resected material was biliary RMS with microscopic residue on the bile duct margin and lymph node involvement. The patient was transferred to the Pediatric Oncology Division for systemic treatment following surgical recovery. Biliary RMS presents distinct challenges in terms of accurate diagnosis and successful management. A multidisciplinary approach is indispensable for effective treatment. Complete surgical resection has been proven to be the mainstay strategy in feasible cases. Contributions of pre- and postoperative chemotherapy and radiotherapy are crucial in extensive disease. Liver transplantation should be considered, with reasonable success rates, in persistent unresectable and non-metastatic cases.
Liver re-transplantations (re-LTx) have been documented as high-risk operations considering technical and immunological challenges. However, improvements over the last two decades have increased success rates, bringing them closer to those of primary liver transplantations (LTx). At present, deceased organ shortage is a critical issue, and even potential live donors may not be suitable regarding vascular and biliary challenges, volume discrepancies, and ABO incompatibility for both primary and re-LTx. The hospital records of a patient who underwent two liver transplantations in our institution were evaluated retrospectively. A twelve-year-old girl with Progressive Familial Intrahepatic Cholestasis Type 3 underwent live-donor LTx with a graft from her mother. The patient required emergency re-LTx due to primary non-function of the graft, and there were no suitable deceased or live donors during that critical period. The patient was introduced to the liver paired exchange system and underwent a lifesaving re-LTx from an altruistic paired exchange donor. As a developing strategy, liver paired exchange transplantation is a reasonable solution to achieve the most suitable liver graft when it is most needed, especially in populations with very low deceased organ donation rates. There is a need for large studies to analyze the role and success of liver paired exchange transplantation in pediatric patients in urgent and elective situations.
The aim of this study is to evaluate the compatibility of the "Computed Tomography (CT)" and "Magnetic Resonance (MR)" methods which are imaging techniques used to describe prostate cancer with the pathology accepted as the reference method. In this study, the concordance between CT and MR results and pathology results of 37 prostate cancer patients was evaluated using the Bland-Altman, Interclass Correlation Coefficient, Concordance Correlation Coefficient, Deming Regression and Passing-Bablok method comparison methods. Inter-class correlation coefficient and Concordance Correlation Coefficient values for CT-Pathology results were 0.62 and 0.62, respectively. Inter-class correlation coefficient and Concordance Correlation Coefficient values for MR-Pathology results were 0.74 and 0.75, respectively. The regression equation for the Deming regression method is y=-6.21+1.03x for CT-Pathology, whereas for the MR-Pathology y=-6.86+1.11x. When the CT-Pathology measurement values are evaluated by the Bland-Altman statistical method, the mean values of the measurement differences are -2.42 and the standard deviation is 33.50. When the agreement between MR-Pathology measurement values is examined by the Bland-Altman method, the mean values for the difference between the measurement values are 4.14 and the standard deviation is 26.78. Among the applied methods, the Bland-Altman method is the most suitable method for data structure. According to the results of the Bland-Altman method, the tumor size obtained by the pathology method can be found to be 2.4 smaller than the mean values obtained from the CT results and an average of 4.1 cc from the measurement values obtained by the MR imaging technique.
BACKGROUND/AIMS:Hepatocellular carcinoma is the main type of primary liver cancer. Macroscopic vascular invasion is usually identified during imaging, whereas microvascular invasion is usually determined by histopathological evaluation. We aim to identify the association between microvascular invasion and other markers of tumor aggressiveness and to identify the role of microvascular invasion in the prognosis of patients who were treated by liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS:This is a single-center retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data. Patients who received liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma were included in the study. Data were collected regarding sociodemographic variables, criteria of selection for liver transplantation, pretransplant alpha-fetoprotein, presence or absence of microvascular invasion, presence or absence of recurrence, overall survival, and disease-free survival. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. RESULTS:Sociodemographic laboratory values and radiologic tumor characteristics were found to be similar in patients with or without microvascular invasion. Our study revealed that microvascular invasion is associated with increased recurrence, decreased diseasedfree survival, and decreased overall survival, only for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma beyond Milan criteria at the time of liver transplantation. CONCLUSION:For patients beyond Milan criteria, but not within Milan criteria, microvascular invasion plays a significant role in predicting recurrence and shorter survival after liver transplantation.
Background and Aim:Liver resection (LR) and liver transplantation (LT) are curative treatments for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The main purpose of this study was to compare the survival of LR and LDLT in patients with HCC within the Milan criteria.Materials and Methods:The results of the LR (n=67) and LDLT (n=391) groups were compared for overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS). Twenty-six of the HCCs in the LRs met the Milan and Child A criteria. Also, 200 of the HCC patients in the LDLTs met the Milan criteria, of which 70 also met the Child A criteria.Results:Early mortality was higher in the LDLT group (13.9% vs 1.47%; p=0.003). The 5-year OS was higher in the LDLTs than the LRs, but not statistically significant (84.6% vs 74.2%; p=0.287). However, 5-year DFS was better in the LDLT group (96.8% vs 64.3%; p<0.001). When the LRs (n=26) and the LDLTs (n=70) that met both Milan and Child A criteria were compared, 5-year OS was similar (81.4% vs 74.2%; p=0.512), but DFS was better in the LDLTs (98.6% vs 64.3%; p<0.001).Conclusion:LR can be justified as the first-line treatment for HCC patients who meet Milan and Child A criteria in terms of early mortality and OS.
Background: The prognostic impact and clinicopathologic features of incidental hepatocellular carcinoma (iHCC) detected in explanted livers of patients undergoing liver transplantation (LT) has been a controversial issue in previous studies when compared with patients who are diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma (pdHCC) before LT. We aimed to review and compare these patient groups in a high-volume LT center. Methods: The present study involves a retrospective analysis of 406 HCC patients who received LT between January 2002 and April 2022. Among these patients, demographic data, histopathologic features and prognosis for iHCC and pdHCC were evaluated. Results: In our series, 406 patients’ final diagnosis was HCC after they had received LT, nevertheless 54 patients in this HCC group were diagnosed incidentally after the pathological evaluation of the explanted livers. The etiology of the underlying liver disease between pdHCC (n = 352) and iHCC (n = 54) groups had some differences in our study population. Most of the patients in the pdHCC group had moderately differentiated tumors (45.7%). On the other hand, most of the patients in the iHCC group had well differentiated tumors (79.6%). There were 158 (44%) patients who met the Milan criteria in the pdHCC group while there were 48 (92%) patients in the iHCC group (p < 0.001). IHCC patients had statistically better 1, 3, 5 and 10 years disease-free and overall survival rates when compared with pdHCC patients. There was only 1 (1.8%) patient who had tumor recurrence in the iHCC group while 76 (21%) patients had tumor recurrence in the pdHCC group (p = 0.001). There is no disease free and overall survival difference when iHCC patients are compared with pdHCC patients who met the Milan criteria. Conclusion: It is the first study to show that iHCC patients may differ from pdHCC patients in terms of etiological features. IHCC tumors show better histopathologic features than pdHCC with low recurrence rate and iHCC patients have better survival rates than pdHCC patients.
Amacımız üçüncü basamak bir klinikte tanı konulan göz ve adnekslerinin premalign ve malign lezyonlarının klinikopatolojik analizini yapmaktır. Mart 2010 – Temmuz 2020 tarihleri arasında İnönü Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Göz Hastalıkları Anabilim Dalı’nda ameliyat edilen ve patoloji laboratuvarına spesmen gönderilen hastaların dosyaları retrospektif olarak incelendi. Premalign ve malign lezyonu olan olguların demografik, klinik ve histopatolojik verileri kaydedildi. 64’ü kadın (%47.1), 72’si (%52.9) erkek toplam 136 hasta çalışmaya dahil edildi. Hastaların ortalama yaşı 73.6±14.7 (11-101) yıldı. 58 (%42.6) hastada premalign, 78 (%57.4) hastada malign lezyon tespit edildi. En sık rastlanan premalign lezyonlar konjonktival ya da korneal intraepitelyal neoplazi, karsinoma in situ iken, en sık rastlanan malign lezyonlar bazal hücreli karsinom, skuamöz hücreli karsinom ve lenfomaydı. Kliniğimizde en sık tanı konulan göz ve adnekslerinin premalign lezyonu konjonktival/korneal intraepitelyal neoplazi, malign lezyonu ise bazal hücreli karsinom olarak tespit edilmiştir.
Objectives: Annexin A1 (ANXA1) which plays a role in tumor development and metastasis has been reported to be an effective regulator for tumor stroma and interacts with different components in the tumor microenvironment. The role of ANXA1 in tumorigenesis has not been fully understood. One of the main reasons for this is the great variability of ANXA1 expression in malignant tumors across different tumor types. Materials and Methods: Archived hematoxylin-eosin stained preparations of lung adenocarcinoma, breast invasive ductal carcinoma, colonic adenocarcinoma, and prostatic acinar carcinoma were re-evaluated and tumor regions to be analyzed with the tissue microarray method were determined. The ANXA1 expressions between the tumors and tumor microenvironment were evaluated immunohistochemically. Results: ANXA1 expression was decreased in the lung, breast, colon, and prostate adenocarcinomas. The most prominent staining was seen in lung adenocarcinoma cases. There was no statistically significant difference between the tumors in terms of ANXA1 staining ( P > 0.05). ANXA1 was shown to be a more stained tumor microenvironment than in the tumor. Statistically significant staining with ANXA1 between within tumor and tumor microenvironment was observed in breast adenocarcinomas ( P < 0.05). Our study showed differences between ANXA1 expression in different cancers, in tumor cells, and tumor microenvironment. Conclusion: Considering the effects of ANXA1 on tumor development and metastasis, a potential use as a biomarker may be suggested. Particularly, in breast adenocarcinomas, the high expression of ANXA1 in the tumor microenvironment supports the notion that it could induce the tumor stroma response.
The goal of this study was to clarify the role of p16 INK4a , p14 ARF, and p53 protein expressions in carcinogenesis in squamous cell carcinomas of the lip.The expressions of the p53, p16 INK4a , and p14 ARF proteins were examined in 46 formaline-fixed paraffin embedded tissue specimens, which included 19 cases of squamous cell carcinoma of the lip, 14 cases of actinic cheilitis, and 13 cases of normal mucosa.Immunoreactivity in the peritumoral epithelium adjacent to squamous cell carcinomas was also evaluated.p16 INK4a expression was increased in actinic cheilitis in comparison with normal mucosa (p=0.001).p14 ARF expression progressively increased from normal mucosa to actinic cheilitis (p=0.001) and was observed to decrease significantly during the process of transition from actinic cheilitis to carcinoma (p=0.003).p53 values progressively increased from normal mucosa to actinic cheilitis (p=0.001) and carcinoma (p=0.008).A significant positive correlation was found between p14 ARF and p53 in the peritumoral epithelium adjacent to carcinomas.Our findings indicated that p16 INK4a and p14 ARF immunohistochemistry does not determine whether or not actinic cheilitis has the potential to develop carcinoma.The p14 ARF /p53 pathway is activated in the peritumoral epithelium adjacent to carcinoma; however, this activation would not be adequate to prevent carcinogenesis.
Primary thymic seminoma is an exceedingly rare tumour. There are few case reports about mediastinal thymic seminoma accompanied by secondary changes. We report a case of a 29-year male admitted to our hospital because of chest pain and dyspnea for 8 months. Computed tomography of the thorax revealed hypodense, solid masses showing calcification and cystic degeneration in the anterior mediastinum. Histopathological examination of the resected specimen revealed a diagnosis of thymic seminoma with regressive and reactive changes. The present case was unique in its presentation as a primary seminoma showing combination of cystic degeneration, follicular hyperplasia, fibrosis, calcification and granulomatous reaction in one case. High level of suspicion is necessary to identify seminomas in a thymic lesion accompanied by secondary changes. Excluding the possibility of metastasis from testicular seminoma is very important before making this diagnosis. Key Words: Thymus, Seminoma, Granuloma, Calcification, Cyst.
Background:Bronchiectasis is still a challenging chronic lung disease in developing countries. Patients with bronchiectasis can also have pulmonary hypertension. There are sparse data on the prevalence of pulmonary hypertension in patients with bronchiectasis. Materials and methods. Archived H&E-stained slides of 141 patients histopathologically diagnosed with bronchiectasis were reevaluated. Cases were categorized into 4 subgroups based on histology: tubular, varicose, follicular, and cystic. In addition, concomitant histopathological changes were also reevaluated. For patients with available CT sections, main, right, and left pulmonary artery (PA) diameters and PA/aorta ratio were measured with regard to pulmonary hypertension.Results:Of the cases, 70% (n = 89) were female and 30% (n = 52) were male, with a mean age of 36.58 in females and 33.84 in males. Histopathologically, 43% (n = 68) of the cases showed follicular, 37% (n = 59) showed varicose, 35% (n = 56) showed tubular, and 28% (n = 45) showed cystic bronchiectasis morphology. All cases showed chronic inflammation, fibrosis, muscle destruction, and cartilage destruction. Aspergillus were present in 11% of the cases showing cystic morphology. Approximately 17% of the cases (n = 24) were found to have neuroendocrine cell proliferations. In cases with medial hypertrophy, a statistically significant increase in the left pulmonary artery diameter was radiologically determined.Conclusions:Medial hypertrophy was found to be significant with regard to indicating a radiological increase in left pulmonary artery diameter. Vascular changes observed in bronchiectasis cases and the presence of neuroendocrine cell proliferations should be specified in pathology reports, and aspergilloma should be carefully investigated in cases with predominant cystic morphology.
It is difficult to determine the cause of death in electric shock injuries when no trace can be determined on the skin, and this is accepted as a reason for negative autopsy. We aimed to determine useful parameters in the definition of the cause of deaths associated with electric shock and particularly those formed with water conduction. This study used a total of 42 rats, applied with fatal electric shock formed of isolated electric shock at 220 V and with water conduction. The serum NT-ProBNP and H-FABP levels were examined together with histopathological changes in the brain, cerebellum, brainstem, heart, liver and skin and the Bax, caspase-3 and HSP-60 antibody status in these tissues. A statistically significant difference was determined between the groups in respect of the serum H-FABP values and the immunohistochemical staining of the samples taken from the organs. In conclusion, this study is the first in literature with an experimental model of electric shock with water conduction. Using immunohistochemical and biochemical markers in deaths associated with isolated electric shock and electric shock with water conduction, the results of this study can contribute to the clarification of one of the reasons for negative autopsy in forensic medicine.