Asbestosis Requiring Lung Transplantation in a Retired Hairdresser: An Occupational Exposure to Comb Through.

Asbestosis is a form of fibrotic interstitial lung disease caused by the inhalation of excessive asbestos fibres. We describe a patient who developed asbestosis due to occupational exposures while working as a hairdresser in the 1970s and 1980s. Not appreciating this profession as a risk factor for developing asbestosis led to several treatment strategies that were ineffective and eventually led to the need for lung transplantation.

Identification and characterization of calcium binding protein, spermatid-associated 1 (CABS1)# in selected human tissues and fluids.

Calcium binding protein, spermatid associated 1 (CABS1) is a protein most widely studied in spermatogenesis. However, mRNA for CABS1 has been found in numerous tissues, albeit with little information about the protein. Previously, we identified CABS1 mRNA and protein in human salivary glands and provided evidence that in humans CABS1 contains a heptapeptide near its carboxyl terminus that has anti-inflammatory activities.

Histological Techniques for Sectioning Bones of the Vertebrate Craniofacial Skeleton.

Histochemical analysis is an indispensable technique in the field of biology used routinely to characterize pathologies of interest throughout the system. This chapter provides the craniofacial biologist with an introduction to tissue harvesting, embedding, and sectioning as well as a toolkit of useful stains for stromal/mesenchymal tissues including bone and cartilage. Techniques are tailored to decalcified, paraffin-embedded mouse tissue; however, these methods are applicable under a broad range of conditions.

ANOTHER syndrome-Familial presentations of progressive lung disease leading to double lung transplantation: A case report and literature review.

Ectodermal dysplasias (EDs) are a heterogeneous rare group of disorders with an incidence at 1/100,000 live births. Currently, there are limited case reports of patients requiring lung transplantation. Here, we report two brothers who present with a constellation of features including alopecia, nail dystrophy, ophthalmic complications, thyroid disease, hypohidrosis, ephelides, enteropathy and recurrent respiratory tract infections, known as ANOTHER syndrome, a rare autosomal recessive variant of ED.

Progressive Dyspnea With Recurrent Pneumothoraces.

A 34-year-old previously healthy man of Korean descent (height, 174 cm; weight, 47.4 kg) demonstrated dyspnea with cough and chest tightness. The patient had no relevant occupational exposures and no history of illicit drug or tobacco use.

Factors affecting thyroid nodule fine needle aspiration non-diagnostic rates: a retrospective association study of 1975 thyroid biopsies.

Background: Thyroid nodules are common in clinical practice, and it is important to distinguish benign nodules, the vast majority, from malignant ones. Non-diagnostic (ND) samples have the potential to delay or mis-diagnose or lead to unnecessary surgeries, and it is important to examine what factors influence the ND rate. Prior literature has suggested that the impact of bedside cytology on ND rate is dependent on the initial adequacy rate, whereby higher ND rates benefit most from bedside cytology.

EGFR as a biomarker of smoking status and survival in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: This study aims to investigate EGFR as a prognostic biomarker in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC).

Methods: OPSCC patients from retrospective (1998-2009) and prospective cohorts (2014-2017) were included. Retrospectively collected tumors were used to construct tissue microarrays (TMAs), which were stained with EGFR, p16, DAPI and Pan-cytokeratin, and digitally quantified.

Vesicle-associated membrane protein 7-mediated eosinophil degranulation promotes allergic airway inflammation in mice.

Eosinophil degranulation is a determining factor in allergy-mediated airway pathology. Receptor-mediated degranulation in eosinophils requires vesicle-associated membrane protein 7 (VAMP-7), a principal component of the SNARE fusion machinery. The specific contribution of eosinophil degranulation to allergen-induced airway responses remains poorly understood.

Association of Fludeoxyglucose F 18-Labeled Positron Emission Tomography and Computed Tomography With the Detection of Oropharyngeal Cancer Recurrence.

Importance: No guidelines at present describe when fludeoxyglucose F 18-labeled positron emission tomography and computed tomography (FDG PET-CT) should be used in the initial posttreatment period for evaluation of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma treatment outcome and recurrence.

Objective: To compare accuracies of the initial posttreatment PET-CT between primary treatment groups and to define indicators of false-positive findings.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This retrospective cohort study identified adults with a new diagnosis of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma who received treatment with curative intent from October 1, 2006, through November 30, 2016, using the Alberta Cancer Registry (n = 380).

Using quantitative tissue phenotype to assess the margins of surgical samples from a pan-Canadian surgery study.

Background: The purpose of this study was to use quantitative tissue phenotype (QTP) to assess the surgical margins to examine if a fluorescence visualization-guided surgical approach produces a shift in the surgical field by sparing normal tissue while catching high-risk tissue.

Methods: Using our QTP to calculate the degree of nuclear chromatin abnormalities, Nuclear Phenotypic Score (NPS), we analyzed 1290 biopsy specimens taken from surgical samples of 248 patients enrolled in the Efficacy of Optically-guided Surgery in the Management of Early-staged Oral Cancer (COOLS) trial. Multiple margin specimens were collected from each surgical specimen according to the presence of fluorescence visualization alterations and the distance to the surgical margins.

Extracorporeal Lung Support as a Bridge to Diagnosis of Pulmonary Tumor Embolism.

Bridging to diagnosis is an emerging technique used in end-stage cardiorespiratory failure that prolongs a patient's life using various modalities of extracorporeal lung support (ECLS) to achieve antemortem diagnosis. Pulmonary tumor embolism occurs when cell clusters travel from primary malignancies through venous circulation to the lungs, causing respiratory failure through inflammatory and venoocclusive pathways. Due to its nonspecific symptomatology, pulmonary tumor embolism remains an elusive diagnosis antemortem.

Detection of human papillomavirus type 16 in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma using droplet digital polymerase chain reaction.

Background: The incidence of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma caused by oncogenic HPV (HPV-OPSCC) is rising worldwide. HPV-OPSCC is commonly diagnosed by RT-qPCR of HPV-16 E6 and E7 oncoproteins or by cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2A, multiple tumor suppressor 1 (p16) immunohistochemistry (IHC). Droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) has been recently reported as ultra-sensitive and highly precise method of nucleic acid quantification for biomarker analysis.

COST ANALYSIS OF INTRA PROCEDURAL RAPID ON SITE EVALUATION OF CYTOPATHOLOGY WITH ENDOBRONCHIAL ULTRASOUND.

Background: Rapid on site evaluation (ROSE) allows immediate processing and interpretation of the aspirate in the procedural suite. It improves diagnostic yield and lowers patient care costs. There are limited data on its cost-effectiveness with endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS).

Role of primary surgery in the treatment of advanced oropharyngeal cancer.

Background: The purpose of this study was to compare survival outcomes of patients with advanced stage oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) according to surgical and nonsurgical treatments, when stratified by smoking and p16 status.

Methods: We conducted a prospective longitudinal population-based study of 279 patients diagnosed with advanced oropharyngeal SCC. Patients were stratified by smoking and p16 status.

Association of keratinization with 5-year disease-specific survival in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

Importance: Keratinization is a histologic feature on hematoxylin-eosin staining associated with adverse outcomes in head and neck cancer, particularly oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma. However, the prognostic value of keratinization has not been demonstrated in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) in a large cohort of patients.

Objective: To quantify the prognostic value of keratinization in a large cohort of patients with OPSCC with subgroup analysis based on p16 status, basaloid differentiation, and smoking status.

Expression of DP2 (CRTh2), a prostaglandin D₂ receptor, in human mast cells.

PGD₂ has long been implicated in allergic diseases. Recent cloning of a second PGD₂ receptor, DP2 (also known as CRTh2), led to a greater understanding of the physiological and pathophysiological implications of PGD₂. PGD₂ signaling through DP1 and DP2 mediates different and often opposite effects in many cell types of the immune system.

Rac2 is involved in bleomycin-induced lung inflammation leading to pulmonary fibrosis.

Background: Pulmonary fibrotic diseases induce significant morbidity and mortality, for which there are limited therapeutic options available. Rac2, a ras-related guanosine triphosphatase expressed mainly in hematopoietic cells, is a crucial molecule regulating a diversity of mast cell, macrophage, and neutrophil functions. All these cell types have been implicated in the development of pulmonary fibrosis in a variety of animal models.

Pulmonary ossification syndrome in a patient with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension.

Pulmonary ossification syndrome is a rare disease characterized by bone tissue formation in the lung parenchyma with or without bone marrow elements. This disorder, often under-recognized, can be idiopathic or secondary to an underlying chronic disorder such as chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension. The pathogenesis involves tissue injury and an alkaline environment in which the precipitation of calcium salts enables alkaline phosphatase activity.

Molecular predictors of locoregional and distant metastases in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: The incidence of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) is increasing due to fundamental changes in oncogenesis related to effects of the human papilomavirus (HPV). Virally-mediated tumours behave and respond to treatment differently than their classic, carcinogenically-mediated counterparts despite similar stage and grade of disease. This difference in behaviour has lead to investigation of etiologies of OPSCC at the molecular level.

Prognostic utility of basaloid differentiation in oropharyngeal cancer.

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is recognized as the key risk factor for a distinct subset of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma. P16 is a reliable, sensitive surrogate marker for HPV and confers a positive prognostic advantage. Basaloid differentiation on hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining is anecdotally noted by some pathologists to be associated with p16 positivity.

HPV status and second primary tumours in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

Introductions: The incidence of human papillomavirus (HPV)-related oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCCs) is rising in developed nations. Studies have shown that these virally mediated tumours are epidemiologically, clinically, and biologically different than other head and neck squamous cell carcinomas and traditional concepts of field cancerization may not apply to HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the rate of second primary tumors and the diagnostic yield of field cancerization work up in the upper aerodigestive tract in patients with HPV-related and HPV-unrelated oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma.