Digital Cytology Combined With Artificial Intelligence Compared to Conventional Microscopy for Anal Cytology: A Preliminary Study.

Introduction: Recent studies have shown that digital cytology (DC) coupled with artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms is a valid approach to the diagnosis of cervico-vaginal lesions using liquid-based cytology (LBC). We evaluated the use of these methods for anal LBC specimens.

Methods: A series of 124 anal LBC slides previously diagnosed by conventional microscopy (CC) were reviewed with a DC/AI system that generated a gallery of images.

The diagnostic and prognostic role of liquid-based cytology: are we ready to monitor therapy and resistance?

Here, we evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic role of liquid-based cytology (LBC) in different body lesions, including thyroid, lung, effusions and malignant breast lesions. LBC has gained consensus after being applied to both non-gynecologic and fine-needle aspiration cytology. Although some remain sceptical regarding the diagnostic efficacy of LBC, mainly when used alone, in recent years, good results have been obtained as long as it showed a high diagnostic accuracy.

Evaluation of indeterminate thyroid cytology by second-opinion diagnosis or repeat fine-needle aspiration: which is the best approach?

Objective: This study investigated a published series evaluating the role of second-opinion diagnosis (SOD) or repeat fine-needle aspiration cytology (RFNA) for indeterminate thyroid aspirates.

Study Design: Twenty-three studies were selected and the following parameters were analyzed: disagreement between SOD or RFNA and the original diagnosis (OD), reclassification of OD according to the Bethesda system for reporting thyroid cytopathology, the rate of definitive diagnosis and the diagnostic performance of SOD and RFNA.

Results: 7,154 thyroid FNAs were retrieved from 9 studies that investigated the role of SOD, including 1,048 (14.

Is thyroid gland only a "land" for primary malignancies? role of morphology and immunocytochemistry.

Background: Thyroid Metastases (TM) represent a rare entity with an estimated variability ranging between 0 and 24%. Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) might be useful in discriminating between primary and TM nodules especially when ancillary techniques (i.e.

The basal epithelial marker P-cadherin associates with breast cancer cell populations harboring a glycolytic and acid-resistant phenotype.

Background: Cancer stem cells are hypoxia-resistant and present a preponderant glycolytic metabolism. These characteristics are also found in basal-like breast carcinomas (BLBC), which show increased expression of cancer stem cell markers.Recently, we demonstrated that P-cadherin, a biomarker of BLBC and a poor prognostic factor in this disease, mediates stem-like properties and resistance to radiation therapy.

Liquid-based cytology in fine-needle aspiration of breast lesions: a review.

Objective: Fine-needle aspiration (FNA) is a safe and cost-effective technique for the diagnosis of breast lesions, especially when correlated with clinical and imaging studies. However, the success of breast FNA is highly dependent on the adequate preparation of cytological conventional smears (CS). The liquid-based cytology (LBC) technique consists of an automated method for preparing thin-layer cytological samples from cell suspensions collected in alcohol-based preservative.

Topoisomerase II-alfa gene as a predictive marker of response to anthracyclines in breast cancer.

Amplification or deletion of the topoisomerase IIα (TOP2A) gene in breast cancer has been related with responsiveness to anthracyclines-based chemotherapy. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the predictive value of TOP2A gene for the efficacy of neo-adjuvant anthracycline in a population with locally advanced breast cancer. Sixty-two patients were included, and the status of TOP2A gene was determined by in situ hybridization method.

High diagnostic accuracy and reproducibility of fine-needle aspiration cytology for diagnosing salivary gland tumors: cytohistologic correlation in 182 cases.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy and reproducibility of the cytologic diagnosis of salivary gland tumors (SGTs) using fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC). The study aimed to determine diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity and to evaluate the extent of interobserver agreement.

Study Design: We retrospectively evaluated SGTs from the files of the Division of Pathology at the Clinics Hospital of São Paulo and Piracicaba Dental School between 2000 and 2006.

Detection of common and less frequent EGFR mutations in cytological samples of lung cancer.

Objective: Lung cancer represents the leading cause of cancer death. EGFR mutations, detected in 10-40% of lung adenocarcinomas, are an essential key to therapeutic management. EGFR-activated mutations comprise mainly deletions in exon 19 and point mutations in exon 21.

The value of second opinion in thyroid cytology: a review.

Background: Second-opinion diagnosis (SOD) on pathological material is an accepted practice before definitive therapy is considered for referred patients. The thyroid gland is an anatomical site prone to diagnostic disagreement between pathologists. We performed a review of the literature that addressed the role of interinstitutional SOD on thyroid fine-needle aspirations (FNAs).

Putting an eye on cytological specimens: an audit of the clinical impact of thyroid fine-needle aspiration in different health care settings.

There is published evidence showing less cost-benefit approaches in the evaluation of thyroid nodules. We performed an institutional audit of the cytologic diagnosis of thyroid fine-needle aspiration (FNA) in an attempt to perceive the clinical impact of this technique on the management of thyroid nodules and to compare it in two different types of health care: Primary Care Medicine and Endocrinology. We performed a retrospective analysis to the electronic records of patients referred from General Practitioners (GP) and Endocrinologists (E) for thyroid FNA between 2010 and 2012.

Analysis of nondiagnostic results in a large series of thyroid fine-needle aspiration cytology performed over 9 years in a single center.

Objective: Thyroid fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is the most valuable, cost-effective and accurate method for the evaluation of patients with thyroid nodules. One of its limitations is that up to 20% of results are nondiagnostic or unsatisfactory. The aim of this study was to analyze the number of thyroid FNAC specimens with nondiagnostic results obtained on an outpatient basis and how many of these had to be repeated according to their results.

P-cadherin signals through the laminin receptor α6β4 integrin to induce stem cell and invasive properties in basal-like breast cancer cells.

P-cadherin is a classical cell-cell adhesion molecule that, in contrast to E-cadherin, has a positive role in breast cancer progression, being considered a poor prognostic factor in this disease. In previous reports, we have shown that this protein induces cancer stem cell and invasive properties to basal-like breast cancer cells. Here, we clarify the downstream signaling pathways that are triggered by P-cadherin to mediate these effects.

Clinicopathological significance of ERCC1 expression in breast cancer.

The excision repair cross-complementation 1 (ERCC1) enzyme plays an essential role in the nucleotide excision repair pathway and is associated with resistance to platinum-based chemotherapy in different types of cancer. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the clinicopathological significance of ERCC1 expression in breast cancer patients. We analyzed the immunohistochemical expression of ERCC1 in a tissue microarray from 135 primary breast carcinomas and correlated the immunohistochemical findings with clinicopathological factors and outcome data.

Thyroid fine-needle aspiration cytology: is there a place to virtual cytology?

Telecytology has been used for education, training, and consultation. Cytological studies from gynecological, nongynecological and fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) specimens (including studies of thyroid FNAC) analyzed the diagnostic accuracy and reproducibility of telecytology-based predominantly on static digital images. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic reproducibility of virtual cytology by measuring intraobserver and interobserver agreements among two cytopathologists, using the Bethesda System for Reporting Thyroid Cytopathology (BSRTC) nomenclature.

Differentiated thyroid carcinomas may elude the immune system by B7H1 upregulation.

B7H1 is consistently associated with inhibition of the immune system in many solid tumors. However, there is no report about its impact on differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) presentation, aggressiveness, or evolution. Aiming to investigate the role of B7H1 in DTC and correlate this protein with other tumor-infiltrating immune cells, we studied 407 thyroid nodule tissue samples including 293 from DTC patients, all managed according to a same standard protocol.

P-cadherin functional role is dependent on E-cadherin cellular context: a proof of concept using the breast cancer model.

P-cadherin overexpression is associated with worse breast cancer survival, being a poor prognostic marker as well as a putative therapeutic target for the aggressive triple-negative and basal-like carcinomas (TNBCs). Previously, we have shown that P-cadherin promotes breast cancer invasion of cells where membrane E-cadherin was maintained; however, it suppresses invasion in models without endogenous cadherins, like melanomas. Here, we investigated if P-cadherin expression would interfere with the normal adhesion complex and which were the cellular/molecular consequences, constituting, in this way, a new mechanism by which E-cadherin invasive-suppressor function was disrupted.

Cancer stem cells markers CD44, CD24 and ALDH1 in breast cancer special histological types.

Aims: CD44, CD24 and ALDH1 are the most consistently used biomarkers to identify and characterise the breast cancer stem cell (CSC) phenotype. However, most studies performed until now analysed samples of invasive ductal carcinomas of no special type (IDC-NST). Therefore, prevalence and clinical significance of these CSC markers in breast carcinomas of special histological types (SHT) is largely unknown.

Claudin expression in breast cancer: high or low, what to expect?

The evaluation of claudins (CLDNs) expression pattern in tumours can be important to understand breast carcinogenesis. The study of CLDNs became more appealing since it was found that CLDN3 and CLDN4 are putative therapeutic targets for Clostridium perfrigens enterotoxin (CPE), as well as for monoclonal antibody-based therapy. Moreover, the recently characterized CLDN-low molecular subgroup of breast tumours increased the interest in these molecules.

Infiltration of a mixture of immune cells may be related to good prognosis in patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma.

Objective: Immune responses against differentiated thyroid carcinomas (DTC) have long been recognized. We aimed to investigate the role of immune cell infiltration in the progression of DTC.

Design: We studied 398 patients - 253 with papillary and 13 with follicular thyroid cancers, as well as 132 with nonmalignant tissues.

Immunohistochemical features of claudin-low intrinsic subtype in metaplastic breast carcinomas.

Purpose: The claudin-low molecular subtype of breast cancer includes triple negative invasive carcinomas, with a high frequency of metaplastic and medullary features. The aim of this study was to evaluate the immunohistochemistry expression of claudins in a series of metaplastic breast carcinomas. We also assessed other claudin-low features, such as the cancer stem cell-like and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition phenotypes.

Benign and malignant apocrine lesions of the breast.

Apocrine differentiation occurs in a variety of breast lesions, both benign and malignant. This review is a reflection of our critical view of the recent advances towards the understanding of this particular type of breast lesions. Focus is given to the histological criteria that allow their reproductive identification, with additional attention to the recent microarray studies.