Endocrine Pathology
Fatemeh Khatami; Bagher Larijani; Ramin Heshmat; Shirzad Nasiri; Hiva Saffar; Gita Shafiee; Azam Mossafa; Seyed Mohammad Tavangar
Abstract
Background & Objective: Papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) is considered to be the most common type of thyroid malignancies. Epigenetic alteration, in which the chromatin conformation and gene expression change without changing the sequence of DNA, can occur in some tumor suppressor genes and oncogenes. ...
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Background & Objective: Papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) is considered to be the most common type of thyroid malignancies. Epigenetic alteration, in which the chromatin conformation and gene expression change without changing the sequence of DNA, can occur in some tumor suppressor genes and oncogenes. Methylation is the most common type of epigenetic alterations that can be an excellent indicator of PTC invasive behavior. Methods: In this research, we determined the promoter methylation status of four tumor suppressor genes (SLC5A8, RASSF1, MGMT, and DNMT1) and compared the results of 55 PTC cases with 40 goiter patients. For methylation, we used the methylation-sensitive high resolution melting (MS-HRM) assay technique. The resulting graphs of each run were compared with those of 0%, 50%, and 100% methylated controls. Result: Our data showed that the promoter methylation of SLC5A8, Ras association domain family member 1(RASSF1), and MGMT were significantly different between PTC tissue and goiter with P-value less than 0.05. The most significant differences were observed in RASSF1; 77.2% of hyper-methylated PTC patients versus 15.6% hyper-methylated goiter samples (P<0.001). Conclusion: RASSF1 promoter methylation can be a PTC genetic marker. RASSF1 promoter methylation is under the impact of the methyltransferase genes (DNMT1 and MGMT), protein expression, and promoter methylation.
Nephropathology
Atieh Khorsand-Rahimzadeh; Fatemeh Khatami; Salma Sefidbakht; Hiva Saffar; Seyed Mohammad Tavangar
Abstract
Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) accounts for only 3% of adult malignancies, and the lung is the most common site of metastasis of this tumor, which may be accompanied by pleural metastasis. However, solitary pleural involvement is very rare and its presentation with dyspnea as the first manifestation of RCC ...
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Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) accounts for only 3% of adult malignancies, and the lung is the most common site of metastasis of this tumor, which may be accompanied by pleural metastasis. However, solitary pleural involvement is very rare and its presentation with dyspnea as the first manifestation of RCC is extremely rare.We describe a 39-year-old male with episodes of dyspnea dating back 6 months prior to hospital admission. During paraclinical investigations, chest computed tomography (CT) demonstrated pleural effusion and multiple pulmonary nodules, raising the question of primary mesothelioma or metastasis from distant focus. Histopathology and immunohistochemical examinations of pleural biopsy provided evidence of metastatic RCC of the clear cell type. Therefore, an abdominal contrast computed tomography (CT) was performed, revealing a 3 cm right renal mass, which was then removed by partial nephrectomy.Physicians and pathologists should be aware of unusual presentations of RCC with no symptoms attributable to the kidneys, including dyspnea as in our case.
Biology & Genetic
Fatemeh Khatami; Mohammad Tavangar
Abstract
Thyroid cancer is a frequent endocrine related malignancy with continuous increasing incidence. There has been moving development in understanding its molecular pathogenesis recently mainly through the explanation of the original role of several key signaling pathways and related molecular distributors. ...
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Thyroid cancer is a frequent endocrine related malignancy with continuous increasing incidence. There has been moving development in understanding its molecular pathogenesis recently mainly through the explanation of the original role of several key signaling pathways and related molecular distributors. Central to these mechanisms are the genetic and epigenetic alterations in these pathways, such as mutation and DNA rearrangements. That does not mean, however, that all the somatic abnormalities here in a cancer genome have been involved in development of the cancer and just driver mutations are concerned in tumor initiation. By way of illustrations, MAPK pathway which is motivated by BRAFV600E and RAS and RET / PTC rearrangements are suggesting driver genetic alterations in follicular derived thyroid cancers which are considered in this review.
Endocrine Pathology
Fatemeh Khatami; Seyed Mohammad Tavangar
Abstract
Pheochromocytomas (PCCs) are rare neuroendocrine tumors. The current diagnostic tools are based on biochemistry and histopathology results, but heterogeneity of diagnostic markers, signs and symptoms of PCCs bring a lot of difficulties for these two current methods. Unfortunately microscopic understanding ...
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Pheochromocytomas (PCCs) are rare neuroendocrine tumors. The current diagnostic tools are based on biochemistry and histopathology results, but heterogeneity of diagnostic markers, signs and symptoms of PCCs bring a lot of difficulties for these two current methods. Unfortunately microscopic understanding of PCCs is not adequate for its confident prognosis and management. There are data linking specific genotypes of PCCs tumors to specific locations, typical biochemical phenotypes or future clinical behaviors. The detection of a germ-line mutation possibly can guide us to an early diagnosis, appropriate treatment, and regular surveillance with better prognosis not only for the patient but also for their family members. Moreover, the latest discoveries in gene sequencing, circulating DNA (ctDNA) and circulating tumor cells (CTCs) will support the exact molecular pathogenesis of PCCs in order to provide an important basis for future PCCs managements.
