Solitary plaque-like telangiectatic glomangioma

We present a new clinicopathological variant of glomangioma. The lesion consisted of a painful solitary telangiectatic plaque on the right shoulder of a 33-year-old woman. It had been present for 3 years. Histopathology revealed ectatic vascular lumina within the dermis surrounded by glomus cells. Immunohistochemical and ultrastructural investigations confirmed the nature of the glomus cells. Acquired solitary plaque-like telangiectatic glomangioma is a new and distinctive variant of cutaneous glomus tumour.

Expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase in breast cancer correlates with metastatic disease

Breast cancer is characterized by its ability to metastasize rapidly. Factors that might facilitate this metastatic potential include tumor vascularity. Nitric oxide (NO), a labile compound synthesized by NO synthase (NOS), is a major regulator not only of physiologic vascular tone but also of the abnormal vascularity associated with many tumors. To test whether NOS is expressed in primary breast tumors and whether its expression is associated with the presence of metastasis, we analyzed the expression of the inducible NOS in 22 primary breast tumors, and to investigate its association to other gene products related to the metastatic ability of tumor cells, we correlated the expression of the inducible NOS with the expression of the nm23 protein (the product of the putative antimetastatic gene nm23). We found a very strong correlation between the presence of NOS and axillary lymph node metastasis and between NOS and the absence of nm23 protein. These data suggest that NO synthesis and the resulting increase in blood flow to the tumor play a role in the facilitation of tumor metastasis.

Immunophenotypic and genotypic analysis in cutaneous lymphoid hyperplasias

BACKGROUND

The clinical utility of immunophenotyping and Southern blot analysis in the evaluation of patients with cutaneous lymphoid hyperplasia (CLH) is controversial.

OBJECTIVE

Our purpose was to determine whether adjunctive immunophenotyping and Southern blot analysis are of diagnostic and prognostic value in patients with CLH.

METHODS

Immunophenotyping was performed on skin biopsy specimens from 26 patients with a routine histologic diagnosis of CLH. Southern blot analysis for immunoglobulin (Ig) gene rearrangements was done on 13 of 26 cases.

RESULTS

Twenty-four of 26 patients had polyclonal CLH on immunophenotyping: 2 of 26 had monoclonal lymphoma. Two of 11 patients with polyclonal CLH studied by Southern blot analysis had clonal Ig gene rearrangements. In both, lymphoma developed within 1 to 6 years; comparison of CLH and malignant lymphoma demonstrated overlapping and different clonal bands. Two additional patients with polyclonal CLH developed lymphoma. No clonal gene rearrangements were detected in the CLH or lymphoma from one; the other was not studied.

CONCLUSION

Immunophenotyping will identify some patients with lymphoma with nondiagnostic histologic features. Southern blot analysis will predict some patients with polyclonal CLH in whom malignant lymphoma will develop and who may benefit from definitive therapy.

Intravascular lymphomatosis: report of an unusual case with T cell phenotype occurring in an adolescent male

Intravascular lymphomatosis is a rare disorder which most often occurs in the elderly. The overwhelming majority of the cases studied immunophenotypically have expressed a B cell phenotype. We report an unusual case of T cell intravascular lymphomatosis occurring in an adolescent male.

Rhabdomyoma of the tongue

Rhabdomyomas, which are rare striated muscle neoplasms, may occur on oral or genital mucosal surfaces as well as on the skin. Little discussion of rhabdomyomas occurs in any dermatology or dermatopathology literature. We report an 84-year-old patient who had a rhabdomyoma of her lateral tongue and discuss the clinical and histologic characteristics of this unusual type of benign neoplasm.