Ultrastructural features of synovial sarcomas and their prognosis]

25 synovial sarcomas in patients with various duration of life were studied electron-microscopically. Quantitative correlation between dark and clear tumour cells is the most informative prognostic index in patients operated on because of these sarcomas: the more numerous are dark cells in the tumour, the worse is the prognosis. The appearance of intermediate filaments in the cytoplasm of epithelioid tumour cells and the presence of secretory material in the intercellular spaces are the sign of a less favourable prognosis.     

Genetic polymorphisms in dopamine-related genes and smoking cessation in women: a prospective cohort study

Background  

Genes involved in dopaminergic neurotransmission have been suggested as candidates for involvement in smoking behavior. We hypothesized that alleles associated with reduced dopaminergic neurotransmission would be more common in continuing smokers than among women who quit smoking.     

Advanced primary breast cancer: assessment at mammography of response to induction chemotherapy

The response to induction chemotherapy is an important prognostic factor in patients with nonmetastatic, locally advanced breast carcinomas. Assessment at mammography of the response of 60 breast cancers in 59 women was performed between 1974 and 1986. Responses were excellent in 13 tumors, moderate in 34, and poor in 13 (excellent moderate = 78%). Assessment of response of discrete masses in a fatty breast was easiest; assessment of response of tumor areas that were poorly defined-such as a focal area of architectural distortion or mass in dense breast parenchyma-was more difficult. Of 17 patients with excellent pathologic responses-that is, minimal or no residual tumor-15 (88%) had complete responses (no residual tumor) as determined with mammography, physical examination, or both. Mammography provides information complementary to physical examination and is essential in the accurate assessment of the response to chemotherapy of locally advanced breast cancer.     

Results of the electron microscopic diagnosis of human tumors (an analysis of 1000 cases)

A review of electron-microscopic diagnostic investigations made on biopsy specimens from 1000 patients showed the range of tumors requiring ultrastructural diagnosis to be fairly broad, encompassing virtually all major tumor sources including soft tissues (37% of the cases), epithelium (31.8%), hematopoietic organs (21.3%), pigment-forming tissues (4.9%), and bones (3.3%). The tissue and cellular origin of the tumor was identified, i.e. a differential diagnosis was correctly made and/or the histogenetic (cytogenetic) type of the tumor was established, in most (83.0%) of the cases, whereas the organ of tumor origin was identified in only 6.0%. Electron-microscopically, the histological diagnosis was confirmed in 45.3% of the cases, made more precise in 19.0%, and discarded in 5.1%; in 5.8%, electron microscopy confirmed as correct one of the diagnoses presumed on histologic grounds, while in 3.9% the diagnosis could not be verified because the tumors consisted of undifferentiated cells in their entirety. Historic material (formalin-fixed or from paraffin blocks) and stained histologic sections were used for the ultrastructural diagnoses.     

Malignant myoepithelioma of the breast (histological, immunomorphological and electron microscopic study)

A rare kind of a breast tumor was identified in a woman of 47. The disease ran a malignant course and presented difficulties for morphological verification. Histological appearance showed areas of spindle-shaped or lamellar cells occasionally encircled with homogeneous hyalin-like substance. Locally, there were structures of alveolar or glandular type with an irregular basal membrane and loose position of cells. The primary histological diagnosis suggested a tumor of mesenchymal origin. Followed by immunomorphologic (monoclonal antibody to KL 1) and electron-microscopic examinations, the diagnosis was verified providing evidence for epithelial nature of the tumor cells, loose, forming glandular-like structures and simulating stromal elements with ultrastructural features typical of myoepithelial differentiation. The evidence obtained justify the tumor definition as a rare neoplasm of the breast known in the literature as myoepithelioma.     

Artificial insemination and in-vitro fertilization using donor spermatozoa: a report on 15 years of experience

Donor insemination (DI) using cryopreserved semen commenced at The Royal Women's Hospital in 1976. Over the next 15 years we performed 5953 treatment cycles to achieve 816 pregnancies (13.7% per cycle) and 706 live births. In-vitro fertilization (IVF) using donor spermatozoa commenced in 1986. Over the next 5 years we performed 303 treatment cycles for 185 couples. Including subsequent transfer of cryopreserved embryos, a total of 33% of couples achieved a successful pregnancy by IVF. Statistical analysis indicated that, for DI pregnancies, the most important semen variable was the percentage post-thaw motility, whilst for normal fertilization in IVF it was the pre-freeze motility. These results may be explained by the compensatory effects of post-thaw processing of spermatozoa for IVF, but not for DI in our clinic.      

Synthesis and Antiarrhythmic Activity of N-Substituted 1-(2,4,6-Trimethylphenyl)-2-[N-(2′-hydroxy-3′-phenyloxypropyl)-aminomethyl]pyrroles

Pharmaceutical Chemistry Journal -