Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Diagnostic Samples (diagnostic + sample)
Selected AbstractsHead and neck cancer patients with pulmonary nodules: Value and role of CT-guided transthoracic needle aspiration biopsiesHEAD & NECK: JOURNAL FOR THE SCIENCES & SPECIALTIES OF THE HEAD AND NECK, Issue 11 2003Benoît Mesurolle MD Abstract Background. To evaluate transthoracic needle aspiration biopsies of pulmonary lesions in patients with squamous cell cancer of head and neck. Methods. Retrospective series of 85 patients with squamous cell cancer of head and neck cancer and pulmonary nodules who underwent CT-guided needle aspiration biopsy. Results. Diagnostic samples were obtained in 85% of patients. There were 8 benign and 77 malignant lesions. Among the 73 proved cases, 4 were false-negative cases. CT-guided biopsy had an accuracy of 81%, a sensitivity of 94%, and a negative predictive value of 60%. Accuracies were 68% for lesions of 20 mm or smaller and 89% for lesions greater than 20 mm. In a subset of 45 solitary lesions, among 30 positive biopsies, 15 were categorized as primary malignancies, 3 as metastatic, and 12 as indeterminate malignancies. Conclusions. In head and neck cancer patients, the prevalence of thoracic malignancies is high when a pulmonary lesion is detected. CT-guided biopsy of pulmonary lesion is an accurate procedure. However, a third of positive biopsies were categorized as indeterminate malignancies. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 25: 000,000, 2003 [source] Quantitative analysis of MUC1 and MUC5AC mRNA in pancreatic juice for preoperative diagnosis of pancreatic cancerINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CANCER, Issue 2 2006Kenoki Ohuchida Abstract Pancreatic juice is a promising type of diagnostic sample for pancreatic cancer, and members of the mucin (MUC) family are diagnostic candidates. To evaluate the utility of MUC family members as diagnostic markers, we measured MUC mRNA expression in pancreatic tissues and pancreatic juice obtained from patients with different pancreatic diseases as well as in pancreatic cancer cell lines by real-time PCR. Furthermore, to support the possibility of early diagnosis by quantification of MUC1 and MUC5AC, immunohistochemistry and microdissection-based quantitative analysis of mRNA were carried out. There was no significant correlation between MUC1 and MUC5AC expression in cell lines. When ,-actin was used as a reference gene, median MUC1 and MUC5AC mRNA expression levels were remarkably greater in tumoral tissues than in non-tumoral tissues, but median MUC4 and MUC6 mRNA expression levels were not. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that quantitative analysis of MUC1 and MUC5AC mRNA in pancreatic juice is better diagnostic modality than that of MUC4 and MUC6 mRNA. Immunohistochemistry showed that MUC1 and MUC5AC were highly expressed in invasive ductal carcinomas (IDC) and moderately expressed in high-grade pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN); no staining was observed in normal ducts. Analysis of cells isolated by microdissection showed stepwise upregulation of MUC1 and MUC5AC in the development of high-grade PanIN to IDC. Our results suggest that MUC1 and MUC5AC are upregulated stepwise in pancreatic carcinogenesis and that quantitative assessment of MUC1 and MUC5AC mRNA in pancreatic juice has high potential for preoperative diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Children and adults with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia have similar gene expression profilesEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF HAEMATOLOGY, Issue 6 2005E. Kuchinskaya Abstract:,Objectives:,To compare the gene expression pattern in children and adults with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) in order to improve our understanding of the difference in disease biology and prognosis. Methods:,The gene expression profiles in diagnostic samples from 29 children and 15 adults with ALL were analysed using the oligonucleotide chip Hu95ver2a, produced by Affymetrix. Results:,Unsupervised hierarchical cluster analysis revealed that, in spite of differences in outcome, patients clustered irrespective of age, first by T-cell or B-precursor immunophenotype, and second by cytogenetic changes within the B-precursor group. The expression pattern analysis allowed the reclassification of some samples into the proper cytogenetic group. We also showed that separate clustering of samples with the BCR/ABL translocation could be explained by different breakpoint regions in the BCR. No significant difference in gene expression was observed between samples with and without CDKN2A deletion within the B-precursor group. Analysis of different age groups revealed a similarity in expression profiles when infants with the MLL translocation and adults over 40 yr of age were compared irrespective of karyotype. Conclusions:,In spite of the difference in clinical outcome, the gene expression pattern in children and adults with ALL is very similar and is primarily dependent on immunophenotype and cytogenetic aberrations. However, when age groups are compared, the expression patterns of infants and adults over 40 show a remarkable similarity. [source] EQAS for peripheral blood morphology in Spain: a 6-year experienceINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LABORATORY HEMATOLOGY, Issue 6 2008G. GUTIÉRREZ Summary The Spanish haematology external quality assessment scheme (EQAS), established in 1984, is run by the Spanish Haematology and Haemotherapy Association (AEHH) [Quality Assurance in Health Care 3 (1991) 75] and functions to evaluate the quality and reproducibility of the assessment of diagnostic samples by clinical laboratories. The Hospital Clinic of the University of Barcelona (HCB) serves as the EQAS Coordination Centre and follows the guidelines established by the International Committee for Standardization in Haematology [Annali dell'Istituto superiore di Sanitŕ 31 (1995) 95; International Journal of Hematology 68 (1998) 45]. During the period 2001,2006, replicates of 25 different blood films were sent to 604 EQAS participants for cell morphology evaluation. Some patient details corresponding to the samples were disclosed, such us age, sex, haemoglobin value and white blood cell count. The participants were asked to select up to four significant morphology features using a coding list, provided by the Coordination Centre, which included significant morphological alterations that appear in haematopoietic cells. For each survey, individual results were assessed against the morphological reference results (MRR) established by the Cytology Group of the AEHH (,true' answers). This paper describes the organization of the 6-year-long study and the evaluation of laboratory performance for blood smear interpretation by the Spanish haematology EQAS. Different performance levels were detected relative to the laboratory category. Laboratories providing services to hospitalized patients showed higher performances compared with laboratories providing services to nonhospitalized patients. Pathological lymphoid cells were the most difficult to identify by the participants. To improve the results in EQAS peripheral blood morphology, the development of specific cytology educational trainings is discussed. [source] Identification of surface protective antigen (spa) types in Erysipelothrix reference strains and diagnostic samples by spa multiplex real-time and conventional PCR assaysJOURNAL OF APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 4 2010H.G. Shen Abstract Aim:, To develop spa multiplex real-time and conventional PCR assays to detect and differentiate between spaA, spaB and spaC genes within Erysipelothrix spp. Methods and Results:, For evaluation of the assays, 28 Erysipelothrix spp. reference strains, 25 tissues from pigs inoculated with reference strains of serotypes 1, 2, 5, 10 or 18, and 15 diagnostic samples were used. SpaA was found to be present in Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae serotypes 1a, 1b, 2, 5, 9, 12, 15, 16, 17, 23 and N; spaB was detected in E. rhusiopathiae serotypes 4, 6, 8, 11, 19 and 21 and spaC was detected in E. sp. strain 2 serotype 18. Spa-related genes were not detected in E. tonsillarum strains (serotypes 3, 7, 10, 14, 20, 22, 24, 25, 26) or E. sp. strain 1 (serotype 13). With the spa multiplex real-time PCR assay, it was also possible to further differentiate spaB into spaB1 (serotypes 4, 6, 8, 19 and 21) and spaB2 (serotype 11). Overall, spaA was detected in seven experimental tissue samples and six diagnostic tissue samples, and spaC in two experimental tissue samples. The detection limits were determined to be five colony-forming units (CFU) per reaction for the spa multiplex real-time PCR assay and 4000 CFU per reaction for the conventional PCR assay. Conclusions:, Both spa PCR assays were specific and reproducible in the identification of spa types in Erysipelothrix spp. Significance and Impact of the Study:, The described spa PCR assays may be useful tools for investigating spa prevalence among strains isolated from field tissues and to determine the role of the Spa proteins in vaccine protection and pathogenesis. [source] A new technique, which clearly distinguishes fibre types in fixed muscle tissueNEUROPATHOLOGY & APPLIED NEUROBIOLOGY, Issue 2 2002W. M. H. Behan Aims:, A method of distinguishing between type 1 and 2 skeletal muscle fibres in wax-embedded tissue is needed. The ATPase method is the basis for fibre identification on frozen tissue and a new method should not give significantly different results. Isoforms of myosin and myofibrillar ATPase are known to correlate. Materials and methods:, We devised an immunohistochemical double-labelling (IHC) protocol using monoclonal antibodies to fast and slow myosin. We compared results in the two methods by morphometric analysis of frozen muscle and then applied the method to paraffin-embedded tissue. Results:, On frozen sections there were no significant differences (P = 0.57) in the percentages of type 1 (46% IHC method vs. 48% ATPase) or type 2 fibres (54% vs. 52%) and 2a and 2b subtypes were distinguished easily. Cross-sectional area (in µm2), diameter (µm) and form factor were all similar. Various diagnostic samples of wax embedded tissue were then examined. These gave excellent results with clear colour contrast: type 1 fibres, black and type 2 fibres, red (see examples). Conclusion:, An IHC method based on the fast and slow isoforms of myosin gives similar results to the ATPase method while providing an important advantage in its applicability to wax-embedded muscle. [source] | ||||||||||