Breast specimen radiography: evaluation of a compression device

The irregular shape and uneven tissue thickness of excised breast specimens makes radiographic evaluation difficult, especially when calcifications are not present. Xeroradiographs before and after compression of 20 separate excised breast specimens were compared, and 17 of the same specimens were compared after compression combined with immersion in water. Specimen compression improved visibility of the lesion on average in 88% of cases, and visibility was equal in 12%. Combined compression/immersion further improved visibility of the lesion on average in 37% of cases. More significantly, evaluation of the compressed specimen led to a change in interpretation of the radiographs in 45% of cases. Compression of the specimen in specimen radiography is recommended in all cases in which pre-biopsy localization is performed.     

Acute otomastoiditis and its complications: role of CT

Acute bacterial (suppurative) otomastoiditis responds to antibiotic treatment; radiologic study is required only when there is clinical suggestion of coalescent mastoiditis, intracranial complications, or an underlying chronic disease. Computed tomography (CT) is the method of choice for evaluating otogenic intra- or extra-cranial complications. CT scans can show stages of disease progression when infection has spread by way of soft tissue, blood, and bone pathways into the dural venous sinuses, meninges, labyrinth, facial nerves, epidural and other intracranial spaces. When there is clinical suggestion of acute coalescent mastoiditis, a CT scan of the temporal bone can confirm the presence of rarefying osteitis, coalescence of the air cells, and subperiosteal abscess.     

EcoRI polymorphism of the metastasis-suppressor gene NME1 in Mexican patients with breast cancer

Summary Human breast cancer cells with high metastatic potential show reduced expression of the metastasis-suppressor gene NME1. There are two polymorphic sites for the restriction enzymes BglII and EcoRI, both detectable by Southern blot analysis. Although the BglII site has been analyzed for loss of heterozygosity, the biallelic EcoRI site polymorphism has not been studied in association with breast cancer, complications or metastasis. We analyzed EcoRI site allele frequencies in Mexican patients with breast cancer, using polymerase chain reaction -restriction fragment length polymorphisms. The polymorphic allelic frequencies in the cases and reference groups were 0.4215 and 0.3375, respectively; this difference was not statistically significant (χ²=0.8687, p=0.3512). Thus, EcoR1 polymorphic site was not associated with breast cancer in this series, but could be analyzed in association with metastases and might be informative in the evaluation of loss of heterozygosity in women with breast cancer.