Tumoral calcinosis is a disorder characterized by deposits of calcium phosphate in the subcutaneous tissues near large joints. While often resembling a neoplasm, the soft tissue deposits of tumoral calcinosis are benign in nature. The deposits can, however, cause significant morbidity to patients due to tissue pressure or impingement. The ...

The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) determined from MR diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) has shown promise for distinguishing World Health Organization grade II astrocytoma (AS) from the more prognostically favorable grade II oligodendroglioma (OD). Since mixed oligoastrocytomas (OAs) with codeletions in chromosomes 1p and 19q confer prognoses similar to those of ...

In chronic dialysis patients, ectopic, extraosseous calcifications can cause significant morbidity. Uremic tumoral calcinosis is an uncommon and severe complication of dialysis therapy. It is defined as deposition of dense nodular calcium-containing masses surrounding the large joints of the body, generally associated with the presence of high serum calcium-and-phosphorus product. ...

Bioimaging and therapeutic agents accumulated in ectopic tumors following intravenous administration of hybrid nanocrystals to tumor-bearing mice. Solid, nanosized paclitaxel crystals physically incorporated fluorescent molecules throughout the crystal lattice and retained fluorescent properties in the solid state. Hybrid nanocrystals were significantly localized in solid tumors and remained in the tumor ...

Giant cell tumor (GCT) of the distal end of the ulna is an uncommon site for primary bone tumors. When it occurs, en-bloc resection of the distal part of the ulna with or without reconstruction stabilization of the ulnar stump is the recommended treatment. We present a case of a ...

The standard transclavicular approach allows only limited and narrow exposure if the cervical thoracic region for the resection of tumors of the brachial plexus is involved. We report 2 cases of retroclavicular tumors of the brachial plexus. We performed a complete resection in both cases using the transmanubrial transclavicular approach. ...

Osteochondroma (OC) of the mandibular condyle is a relatively rare condition that causes a progressive enlargement of the condyle, usually resulting in facial asymmetry, temporomandibular joint (TMJ) dysfunction, and malocclusion. Radiographically, there is a unilaterally enlarged condyle usually with an exophytic outgrowth of the tumor from the condylar head. We ...

Thyrotropin-secreting pituitary adenomas (TSHomas) are a rare cause of hyperthyroidism and account for less than 2% of pituitary adenomas. Medical therapy with somatostatin analogues (SSAs) effectively reduces TSH secretion in approximately 80% of patients and induces shrinkage in about 45% of tumors. According with previous data, resistance to SSA treatment ...

Tenosynovial giant cell tumors (TGCTs) are pigmented villonodular proliferative lesions originating from the synovium, bursa, or joint. TGCTs tend to be locally aggressive, and there is a chance for multiple occurrences, which often lead to impairment of joint function. In this article, we report the case of a diffuse-type extra-articular ...

Tumor-induced osteomalacia (TIO) is a rare and fascinating paraneoplastic syndrome in which patients present with bone pain, fractures, and muscle weakness. The cause is high blood levels of the recently identified phosphate and vitamin D-regulating hormone, fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23). In TIO, FGF23 is secreted by mesenchymal tumors that ...

The American Joint Committee on Cancer staging system for hilar cholangiocarcinoma may be inaccurate because the bile duct lacks discrete tissue boundaries. To examine the accuracy of the American Joint Committee on Cancer staging schemes and to determine the prognostic implications of tumor depth. From January 1, 1987, through December ...

Since tumor growth is highly dependent on the formation of new blood vessels, angiogenesis inhibitors have become important players in anticancer treatments. Although less cytotoxic than conventional chemotherapy, most of the available anti-angiogenic agents may provoke severe adverse effects which can limit their use. The design of new anti-angiogenic strategies ...

Cushing disease caused by adrenocorticotropin (ACTH)-secreting pituitary adenomas leads to hypercortisolemia predisposing to diabetes, hypertension, osteoporosis, central obesity, cardiovascular morbidity, and increased mortality. There is no effective pituitary targeted pharmacotherapy for Cushing disease. Here, we generated germline transgenic zebrafish with overexpression of pituitary tumor transforming gene (PTTG/securin) targeted to the ...

BACKGROUND:: The secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC) is a matricellular glycoprotein that is produced by tumor and/or neighboring stroma. SPARC expression is thought to facilitate the intracellular accumulation of nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel (nab-paclitaxel, abraxane [ABX]). Gene hypermethylation is a common mechanism for loss of SPARC expression in ...

The tumor microenvironment is emerging as an important target for cancer therapy. Fibroblasts (Fbs) within the tumor stroma are critically involved in promoting tumor growth and angiogenesis through secretion of soluble factors, synthesis of extracellular matrix and direct cell-cell interaction. In this work, we aim to alter the biological activity ...

Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) and transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) contribute to the growth of some skeletal metastases through autocrine stimulation. Secreted phosphoprotein 24 kDa (spp24) has been shown to bind to both BMP-2 and TGF-β and to markedly inhibit the osteogenic properties of rhBMP-2. We hypothesized that the addition of spp24 ...

Increased levels of ADAM12 have been reported in a variety of human cancers. We have previously reported that urinary ADAM12 is predictive of disease status in breast cancer patients and that ADAM12 protein levels in urine increase with progression of disease. Based on these findings, the goal of this study ...

CD40 is a member of the TNF family of receptors that has been shown to play a crucial role in enhancing dendritic cell activity and fostering anti-tumor immune responses. In this study, we demonstrate the in vitro properties and in vivo efficacious activity of the CD40 agonist antibody, CP-870,893. CP-870,893 ...

p120-catenin (p120ctn) interacts with E-cadherin, but to our knowledge, no formal proof that p120ctn functions as a bona fide tumor suppressor gene has emerged to date. We report herein that p120ctn loss leads to tumor development in mice. We have generated a conditional knockout model of p120ctn whereby mice develop ...

This review presents recent information about the cross-talk between the tumor cells and the microenvironment in the target organ of metastasis at the premetastatic and metastatic stage. The development of metastatic foci is driven not only by the tumor cells intrinsic properties, but also by the interplay with resident and ...

Exosomes are small membrane vesicles secreted from various types of cells. Tumor-derived exosomes contain MHC class I molecules and tumor-specific antigens, receiving attention as a potential cancer vaccine. For induction of efficient anti-tumor immunity, CD4+ helper T cells are required, which recognize appropriate MHC class II-peptide complexes. In this study, ...

Clinically nonfunctioning pituitary tumors are common in tertiary endocrine practice. Although it is widely accepted that patients with these adenomas require long-term surveillance after surgery-particularly those with macroadenomas, which grow much more frequently than microadenomas-a consensus on postoperative monitoring and treatment strategies is lacking. The indications for radiotherapy, which has ...

Exosomes are endosome-derived nanovesicles actively released into the extracellular environment and biological fluids, both under physiological and pathological conditions, by different cell types. We characterized exosomes constitutively secreted by HER2-overexpressing breast carcinoma cell lines and analyzed in vitro and in vivo their potential role in interfering with the therapeutic activity ...

Pheochromocytoma is a catecholamine-secreting tumor. Most cases are intra-adrenal, and intrapericardial pheochromocytomas are extremely rare. We report a case of a 30-year-old woman with a seven-year history of hypertension. The concentration of blood noradrenaline was found to be elevated. Chest computed tomography scan showed a limited bulge in the superior ...

Pituitary tumors may give rise to headache via numerous mechanisms. The traditional explanation for headache is dural stretch and cavernous sinus invasion, although this is not borne out by clinical studies. Certain functional pituitary tumors are associated with headache, notably growth hormone and prolactin-secreting tumors. The observation that somatostatin analogues ...

Intraductal papillary neoplasms of the bile duct (IPNB) have been recently proposed as the biliary counterpart of intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms of the pancreas (IPMN-P). However, in contrast to IPMN-P, IPNB include a considerable number of the tumors without macroscopically visible mucin secretion. Here we report the similarities and differences ...

The tumor microenvironment is now recognized as a major factor in determining the survival and growth of disseminated tumor cells at potential metastatic sites. Tumor cells send signals to stroma cells and stimulate them to produce factors that in turn create favorable conditions for tumor cell metastasis. Activated fibroblasts constitute ...

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Inhibition of tumor-induced angiogenesis may restrict tumor growth and metastasis. Long-term systemic delivery of angiogenic inhibitors is associated with toxicity as well as other severe side effects. The utility of cells as vehicles for gene therapy to deliver therapeutic molecules has been suggested to be an efficient approach. Mesenchymal ...

Endoglin is an accessory receptor for TGF-β that has been implicated in prostate cancer cell detachment, migration, and invasiveness. However, the pathophysiologic significance of endoglin with respect to prostate tumorigenesis has yet to be fully established. In this study, we addressed this question by investigation of endoglin-dependent prostate cancer progression ...

The mediators and cellular effectors of inflammation are important constituents of the local environment of tumors. In some occasions, oncogenic changes induce an inflammatory microenvironment that promotes the progression of tumors. In gliomas, the presence of microglia may represent tumor-related inflammation and microglia activation, and subsequent inflammatory responses may influence ...

Waldenström's macroglobulinemia (WM) is a rare, lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma characterized by hypersecretion of immunoglobulin M (IgM) protein and tumor infiltration into the bone marrow and lymphatic tissue. Our understanding of the mechanisms driving the development and progression of WM is currently by the shortage of representative cell models available for study. ...

Pheochromocytoma (PHEO) and paraganglioma (PGL) are rare catecholamine-secreting neuroendocrine tumors arising from chromaffin tissue and can occur within the adrenal medulla (PHEO) or extra-adrenal sites (PGL). The most common site for PGL is the organ of Zuckerkandl, extra-adrenal chromaffin tissue near the origin of the inferior mesenteric artery.We here present ...

It is becoming increasingly recognized that the host microenvironment is essential for regulating tumor cell behavior. The cellular stromal compartment can modulate angiogenesis either directly through enhanced secretion of pro-angiogenic factors or reduced secretion of antiangiogenic factors, or indirectly by modulating the surrounding extracellular matrix. Control of angiogenesis represents a ...

Background/Aim: The expression of Wingless/int-1 (Wnt)-induced secreted protein-1 (WISP-1/CCN4), a member of the Cyr61-CTGF-Nov (CCN) family, has been examined in several types of cancer. However, the correlation between the WISP-1 expression and the clinical features of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) remain to be elucidated. This study aimed to clarify ...

Chromogranin A, although it exhibits limitations, is currently the most useful general tumor biomarker available for use in the diagnosis and management of gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (NETs). The value of the chromogranin A lies in its universal cosecretion by the majority of neuroendocrine cells that persists after malignant transformation. Clinicians ...

Accumulating evidence has indicated that expression levels of YKL-40, a secreted glycoprotein, were elevated in multiple advanced human cancers. Recently, we have identified an angiogenic role of YKL-40 in cancer development. However, blockade of the function of YKL-40, which implicates therapeutic value, has not been explored yet. Our current study ...

The PI3 kinase/Akt pathway is commonly deregulated in human cancers, functioning in such processes as proliferation, glucose metabolism, survival and motility. We have previously described a novel function for one of the Akt isoforms (Akt3) in primary endothelial cells: the control of VEGF-induced mitochondrial biogenesis. We sought to determine if ...

Stromal cell-secreted chemokines including CCL2 have been implicated in the primary tumor microenvironment, as mediators of tumor cell migration, proliferation, and angiogenesis. Expression of CCL2 and its principal receptor CCR2 was analyzed by RQ-PCR in primary tumor cells and breast cancer cell lines. Breast cancer cell lines (MDA-MB-231, T47D) were ...

Pancreatic cancer is a very aggressive disease characterized by a marked desmoplasia with a predominant Th2 (GATA-3+) over Th1 (T-bet+) lymphoid infiltrate. We found that the ratio of GATA-3+/T-bet+ tumor-infiltrating lymphoid cells is an independent predictive marker of patient survival. Patients surgically treated for stage IB/III disease with a ratio ...

The thymus is a central lymphatic organ that is responsible for many immunological functions, including the production of mature, functional T cells and the induction of self-tolerance. Benign or malignant tumors may originate from the thymus gland, with thymoma being the most common and accounting for 50% of anterior mediastinal ...

Paragangliomas are rare catecholamine-secreting tumors arising from chromaffin tissue of the autonomic nervous system. Although they can arise anywhere along the paravertebral axis, the majority is intra-abdominal in location. Frequently, these tumors are closely associated with major vascular structures, necessitating open techniques for resection. As laparoscopic techniques have advanced, minimally ...

INTRODUCTION: Gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs) are uncommon but clinically challenging and fascinating tumors. GEP-NETs present as either functional or as nonfunctional tumors. Functional tumors are commonly associated with a specific hormonal syndrome directly related to a hormone secreted by the tumor, like gastrinomas with a Zollinger-Ellison syndrome or carcinoid syndrome ...

A variety of different diseases affect the synovium, including infection, noninfectious immunologic inflammatory conditions, degenerative arthroses, crystal deposits, trauma, and tumors. Tumors of the synovium are relatively uncommon. Any mesenchymal tumor may arise in the synovium, but most recapitulate its normal counterpart including synoviocytes, blood vessels, fat, and fibrous tissue. ...

Calcifications in mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) of the salivary glands are considered to be exceptionally rare and are often associated with high-grade tumors. This study reviewed 30 cases of MECs to access the frequency of calcifications and the clinical profile of the patients and histopathologic aspects of the tumors. In total, ...

The cytomegalovirus (CMV) promoter is one of the most commonly used promoters for expression of transgenes in mammalian cells. The aim of our study was to evaluate the role of methylation and upregulation of the CMV promoter by irradiation and the chemotherapeutic agent cisplatin in vivo using non-invasive fluorescence in ...

Current guidelines suggest proving angiotensin-independent aldosterone secretion in patients with primary aldosteronism. It is further recommended to demonstrate unilateral disease because of its consequence for therapy. A general screening for excess secretion of other hormones is not recommended. However, clinically relevant autonomous aldosterone production rarely originates in adrenal tumors, compromised ...

No information exists on the role of neuropeptide Y (NPY) in cholangiocarcinoma growth. Therefore, we evaluated the expression and secretion of NPY and its subsequent effects on cholangiocarcinoma growth and invasion. Cholangiocarcinoma cell lines and nonmalignant cholangiocytes were used to assess NPY mRNA expression and protein secretion. NPY expression was ...

Clinical trials on gene therapy using a viral delivery system for glioma have been limited. Recently, gene therapy using stem cells as the vehicles for delivery of therapeutic agents has emerged as a new treatment strategy for malignant brain tumors. In this study, we used human umbilical cord blood-derived mesenchymal ...

Alphastatin, an endogenous angiogenesis inhibitor, has recently been used as an anticancer agent in several tumor models. This study was to investigate whether local sustained long-term expression of alphastatin could serve to diminish tumor growth of a human xenograft glioma model. We found that the recombinant alphastatin lentiviruses were able ...

Metastasis is a multistep process that requires acquisition of malignant cell phenotypes which allow tumor cells to escape from the primary tumor site. Each of the steps during metastatic progression involves co-evolution of the tumor and its microenvironment. Although tumor cells are the driving force of metastasis, new findings suggest ...