AMA Rivera-Moncada L, Lino-Silva L. Tumour budding in gallbladder carcinoma. Polish Journal of Pathology. 2024. doi:10.5114/pjp.2024.135860. APA Rivera-Moncada, L., & Lino-Silva, L. (2024). Tumour budding in gallbladder carcinoma. Polish Journal of Pathology. https://doi.org/10.5114/pjp.2024.135860 Chicago Rivera-Moncada, Luisa F., and Leonardo S. Lino-Silva. 2024. "Tumour budding in gallbladder carcinoma". Polish Journal of Pathology. doi:10.5114/pjp.2024.135860. Harvard Rivera-Moncada, L., and Lino-Silva, L. (2024). Tumour budding in gallbladder carcinoma. Polish Journal of Pathology. https://doi.org/10.5114/pjp.2024.135860 MLA Rivera-Moncada, Luisa F. et al. "Tumour budding in gallbladder carcinoma." Polish Journal of Pathology, 2024. doi:10.5114/pjp.2024.135860. Vancouver Rivera-Moncada L, Lino-Silva L. Tumour budding in gallbladder carcinoma. Polish Journal of Pathology. 2024. doi:10.5114/pjp.2024.135860.

Small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) is characterized by rapid growth and an aggressive clinical course. Standard therapy regimes have limited effects on disease course; therefore theprognosis ofSCLC is poor. In thecurrent study, thefrequency ofprogrammed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression in SCLC and its correlation with clinico-pathological features were evaluated. Thestudy included 100 cases ofSCLC wherein testing for PD-L1 was done with theSP263 clone on theVentana benchmark XT system. Cases with > 1% PD-L1 expression in tumour cells or immune cells were categorized as positive. PD-L1 expression was identified in 14% ofcases using thecut-off of≥ 1%. Thetumour proportion score was 10% and theimmune proportion score was 9.78% using acut-off of≥ 1%. PD-L1 positive expression was more frequent in themale population with age > 40 years. All thepatients with positive PD-L1 expression were smokers. In thePD-L1 positive group, presence ofnecrosis was identified in 71.4% ofcases and when compared with thePD-L1 negative subgroup this finding was statistically significant (p = 0.010). Personalized targeted therapy for cases ofSCLC is still under evaluation. Theuse ofimmunotherapeutic targets, such as PD-L1, may help to define anew treatment strategy for SCLC. Development ofnew treatment strategies may improve prognosis and survival.

TheHER2 gene is abiomarker for breast cancer prognosis and treatment. Overexpression ofHER2 protein determined by immunohistochemistry (IHC) or amplification oftheHER2 gene determined by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) is acondition for qualifying patients for anti-HER2 therapy. Due to thehigh toxicity ofanti-HER2 treatment, proper patient selection is essential. In our study we compared 40 cases with IHC staining ofHER2 antibody determined by Ventana PATHWAY anti-HER2/neu antibody (4B5) as HER2 2+ with thenew antibody (HercepTest™ mAb PharmDx [Dako Omnis] [GE001]). Then using adouble-blind study we compared the(IHC) evaluation with FISH results. In 65% ofcases (26/40) theIHC 2+ score remained unchanged, in 32.5% ofcases (13/40) expression ofHER2 protein after IHC with new antibody was indicated as 3+ score, and in one case we observed adecrease ofHER2 protein expression to 1+. In all cases but one, in which we found IHC HER 3+ with new antibody, there was FISH amplification. We have reason to believe that thenew antibody will reduce thediagnostic time and avoid unnecessary costs. Due to thesmall study group, further investigation is needed.

Ku70/80 protein inhibitors reduce therepair ofDNA double-strand breaks via theKu70/80 pathway, so they can be used to treat cancers with Ku70/80 overexpression. Since theassociation ofKu70/80 with germline CHEK2 mutations in breast cancer is unknown, in this study we evaluated theexpression ofKu70/80 in breast cancers with germline CHEK2 mutations. Immunohistochemistry with aKu70/80 antibody on tissue microarrays from 225 CHEK2-associated breast cancers was used and automatically assessed with computerized image analysis. We report that thevast majority ofbreast cancers expressed high level ofnuclear Ku70/80 and asmall percentage oftumors (3.5%) were negative for Ku70/80 expression. There was asignificant difference between thenuclear Ku70/80 expression in CHEK2-associated vs. CHEK2-non-associated breast cancers in all tumors (p = 0.009), and in theestrogen receptor (ER) positive subgroup ofbreast cancers (p = 0.03). This study is thefirst reporting an association ofKu70/80 expression with CHEK2 germline mutations in breast cancer. Theresults suggest that evaluation ofKu70/80 expression in breast cancer may improve theselection ofbreast cancer patients for Ku70/80 inhibitor therapy, and point to CHEK2-associated breast cancer and asubset ofER-positive breast cancer as potential suitable targets for such therapy.

According to thelatest data provided by Globocan 2020, theincidence ofcolorectal cancer ranks third, after lung cancer and breast cancer, becoming amore and more important global health issue. Of thecases diagnosed with colorectal cancer, more than 25% are diagnosed in themetastatic stage, with thepresence ofsecondary tumors more frequently in theliver, lung and bone. Skin metastases from colorectal cancer are still rare today (< 4%). We want to present arare, unique case in our department ofa74-year-old patient diagnosed 9 years ago with amalignant rectal tumor who, after adisease-free period ofapproximately 8 years and ahalf, developed multiple skin metastases ofrectal adenocarcinoma.

Tumor cells stimulate local angiogenesis, resulting in their further multiplication and spread. Angiogenesis is a multifaceted process in which angiopoietins parti- cipate. Angiopoietin-1 (Ang-1) through its receptor Tie2 stimulates endothelial cell survival and the maintenance of the endothelial barrier. These phenomena can support tumour growth by promoting angiogenesis. On the other hand, overproduction of Ang-1 triggers endothelium stability and can lead to angiogenesis inhibition. Because of the ambiguous role of Ang-1, we decided to determine its clinical significance in patients with resectable NSCLC. In a group of 47 patients, tumours and the adjacent non-cancerous tissues were assessed for ANG-1 mRNA expression (using Q-RT-PCR analysis) and Ang-1 concentration (by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) together with clinical parameters and the five-year survival rate. ANG-1 expression and Ang-1 concentration were higher in tumour-free tissue, showing no differences between histological types of NSCLC, clinical stage or grading and seemed not to determine the five-year survival. ANG-1 expression and Ang-1 concentration in tumour and tumour-free tissues in patients with NSCLC seem not to be useful as factors supporting either diagnostics or prognosis.

The mermaid syndrome, also known as sirenomelia, is considered an extremely rare congenital developmental disorder characterized by anomalies of the lower spine and lower limbs. Affected babies are born with partial or total leg fusion. Sirenomelia is thought to affect one in every 60,000 to 100,000 infants. We report acase of sirenomelia occurring in a28-year-old multiparous woman, aheavy smoker with gestational diabetes. In the other 5 pregnancies, however, she gave birth to normal babies. The post mortem examination completed the diagnosis, revealing also multiple malformations of several systems: respiratory, gastro-intestinal, genito-urinary and cardiovascular. In our full term neonate case with grade VI sirenomelia, the presence of asingle umbilical artery plus the abdominal aorta with an aberrant trajectory that ends in the umbilical cord differentiates this condition from caudal regression syndrome and also explains the under-development of pelvic organs (secondary to vascular steal phenomena).

Immunotherapy can reverse tumor immune escape by suppressing immune checkpoints. Lymphocyte activation gene 3 (LAG3) is an important checkpoint and its role in colorectal cancer is not clear. In this study, we investigated LAG3 protein expression and its correlation with clinicopathologic parameters. The expression of LAG3 protein was assessed in 150 surgically resected colorectal cancer tissue samples by immunohistochemistry. The relationship between LAG3 expression and clinicopathological parameters, MSI status and survival was statistically analyzed. LAG3 protein was not expressed in colorectal cancer cells, and was expressed on the tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in 31 out of 150 (20.7%) colorectal cancer samples. Positive expression of LAG3 in TILs is associated with lymph node metastasis (p < 0.001), TNM stage (p = 0.024) and MSI-H (p = 0.035). No significant relationship was found between LAG3 expression and gender, age, tumor location, tumor invasion depth, and differentiation. LAG3 expression is associated with longer overall survival (p = 0.045). Our data show LAG3 expression on TILs in parts of CRC tissue. Positive expression of LAG3 was associated with advanced tumor stage, MSI-H and a poor prognosis. We conclude that LAG3 is an important checkpoint gene in CRC and may be a potential marker for prognosis of CRC.

Primary cardiac sarcomas are extremely uncommon. We report two patients with primary cardiac atrial sarcomas: a case report of a 34-year old woman with intimal sarcoma of the left atrium and a case report of a 30-year old man with synovial sarcoma of the right atrium. Clinicopathological and differential diagnosis with a discussion regarding the role of molecular studies is presented.