A comparison of histological appearances of Hodgkin's disease in Pakistani and Saudi patients

BACKGROUND

Hodgkin's disease (HD) is a relatively rare lymphoma that affects younger as well as older persons. It is reported in the Western as well as Asian studies that HD is a rare disease in developing world. It is commoner in males in most of the countries and shows a bimodal pattern of age. The commonest subtype is nodular sclerosis in the west and mixed cellularity in the eastern and developing countries. The present study compares eight years' data of HD as regard age, sex, site of anatomical presentation and subtypes according to WHO classification among Pakistani and Saudi patients.

METHODS

This retrospective comparative study included 211 cases of HD from various institutions of Lahore, Pakistan; and 78 cases retrieved from the data of King Abdul Aziz Hospital and Oncology Centre, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

RESULTS

The analysis of both data of HD showed lack of bimodal age pattern and was common among younger age. Male was the dominating sex. Cervical group of lymph nodes was the commonest presenting site. Mixed cellularity HD (MCHD) was the commonest subtype among Pakistani patients whereas Nodular Sclerotic HD (NSHD) was more common among Saudis.

CONCLUSION

A comparison of the pattern of Pakistani and Saudi data of HD showed lack of bimodality in both. The male sex predominated. Morphologically the MCHD and NSHD were the commonest subtypes in Pakistani & Saudi patients respectively.

Mutation of p53 in skin papilloma and tubular breast adenoma of albino mice

OBJECTIVE

To determine the mutation of p53 in chemically induced carcinogenesis on albino mice in skin papilloma and tubular adenoma breast by immunohistochemistry.

DESIGN

An experimental study.

PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY

The animal house of Postgraduate Medical Institute and Pathology Department of King Edward Medical College University, Lahore, for the duration of 20 weeks, from 15 February, 2004 to 15 July, 2004.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

Twenty five albino mice (male and female) were selected for a study on chemical carcinogenesis. These animals were divided into five groups (A-E), five animals in each. DMBA (Dimethylebenz[a] Anthracene) and TPA (Tetradecanoyl-phorbal-13-Acetic Acid) [chemical carcinogens] were given to produce the tumors and mutation of p53 expression was evaluated on the tumors appearing during this period of carcinogenesis. Squamous cell papillomas and tubular adenoma breast were selected for this study.

RESULTS

All the papillomas showed faint reactivity for immunomarker p53, while tubular adenomas were nonreactive.

CONCLUSION

The results of this study show that p-53 is a marker for premalignant lesions and helps in selecting patients for constant monitoring, upon the clinical verification of these results.

Epstein-barr virus detection in tumors of upper gastrointestinal tract. An in situ hybridization study in Pakistan

To examine the potential role of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in the carcinogenesis of upper gastrointestinal tract, we conducted an in situ hybridization assay for EBV-encoded small RNA (EBER) expression in the tumors of 56 oral and 50 esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) cases, and 52 stomach adenocarcinoma cases diagnosed in the King Edward Medical College and Allama Iqbal Medical College Lahore, Pakistan between 1996-2002. There were no malignancies with positive EBER expression in oral and esophageal SCC. Only one out of the 52 gastric adenocarcinoma cases (1.9%) was positive for EBER expression, and this frequency was relatively low as compared to cases reported worldwide. The case was a 42 year-old male patient and histologically classified as moderately differentiated tubular adenocarcinoma. In conclusion, the frequency of EBV-associated gastric carcinoma was relatively low in Pakistan. The present study could not confirm the involvement of EBV in the carcinogenesis of oral and esophageal SCC.