Despite the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy or combination antiretroviral therapy (HAART and cART, respectively) patients infected with HIV might develop certain types of cancer ...more frequently than uninfected people. Lymphomas represent the most frequent malignancy among patients with HIV. Other cancer types that have increased in these patients include Kaposi sarcoma, cancer of the cervix, anus, lung and liver. In the post-HAART era, however, patients with HIV have experienced a significant improvement in their morbidity, mortality and life expectancy. This Review focuses on the different types of lymphomas that generally occur in patients with HIV. The combination of cART and antineoplastic treatment has resulted in remarkable prolongation of disease-free survival and overall survival among patients with HIV who develop lymphoma. However, the survival in these patients still lags behind that of patients with lymphoma who are not infected with HIV. We also provide an update of epidemiological data, diagnostic issues, and strategies regarding the most-appropriate management of patients with both HIV and lymphomas.
Introduction: Hologic is developing a digital cytology platform. An educational website was launched for users to review these digitized Pap test cases. The aim of this study was to analyze data ...captured from this website. Materials and Methods: ThinPrep® Pap test slides were scanned at ×40 using a volumetric (14 focal plane) technique. Website cases consisted of an image gallery and whole slide image (WSI). Over a 13 month period data were recorded including diagnoses, time participants spent online, and number of clicks on the gallery and WSI. Results: 51,289 cases were reviewed by 918 reviewers. Cytotechnologists spent less time (M Median = 65.0 s) than pathologists (M = 82.2 s) reviewing cases (P < 0.001). Longer times were associated with incorrect diagnoses and cases with organisms. Cytotechnologists matched the reference diagnoses in 85% of cases compared to pathologists who matched in 79.8%. While in 62% of cases reviewers only examined the gallery, they attained the correct diagnosis 92.7% of the time. Pathologists made more clicks on the gallery and WSI than cytotechnologists (P < 0.001). Diagnostic accuracy decreased with increasing clicks. Conclusions: Website participation provided feedback about how cytologists interact with a digital platform when reviewing cases. These data suggest that digital Pap test review when comprised of an image gallery displaying diagnostically relevant objects is quick and easy to interpret. The high diagnostic concordance of digital Pap tests with reference diagnoses can be attributed to high image quality with volumetric scanning, image gallery format, and ability for users to freely navigate the entire digital slide.
Objectives:
Molecular testing of lung adenocarcinomas for epidermal growth factor (EGFR) mutations and an anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) translocation is important to guide directed therapy with ...tyrosine kinase inhibitors. The goal of this study was to determine whether transthoracic computed tomography–guided core needle biopsy (CNB) and fine-needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy specimens were equally suitable for molecular testing.
Methods:
We determined the percentage of 52 CNB and 120 FNA specimens that contained sufficient paraffin-embedded tumor tissue for EGFR, KRAS, and ALK testing over a period of 2 years. We correlated sample sufficiency with the sampling method, tumor size, biopsy operator, pathologist assessing the adequacy of the sample, and the number of FNA passes performed.
Results:
Univariate analysis showed that CNB specimens provided a significantly higher number of samples sufficient for molecular testing than did FNA specimens (67% vs 46%; P = .007) and that one operator achieved a significantly higher percentage of sufficient FNA specimens. Binomial logistic regression found sufficiency of FNA samples to correlate with tumor size (P = .015) but not operator.
Conclusions:
When paraffin-embedded tissue is used for molecular testing of lung cancer, CNB specimens are more likely than FNA specimens to provide adequate tissue for molecular testing. Obtaining a sufficient FNA specimen depends on the tumor size and the individual performing the biopsy.
Kaposi sarcoma (KS) is a multifocal, vascular lesion of low-grade malignant potential that presents most frequently in mucocutaneous sites. KS also commonly involves lymph nodes and visceral organs. ...This article deals with the manifestation of KS in unusual anatomic regions. Unusual locations of KS involvement include the musculoskeletal system, central and peripheral nervous system, larynx, eye, major salivary glands, endocrine organs, heart, thoracic duct, urinary system and breast. The development of KS within wounds and blood clots is also presented. KS in these atypical sites may prove difficult to diagnose, resulting in patient mismanagement. Theories to explain the rarity and development of KS in these unusual sites are discussed.
•Development and validation of a brightfield quantitative image analysis CD8 algorithm.•136 CD8 cells/mm2 or more is associated with better prognosis in oropharyngeal HNSCC.•Automated TIL assessment ...has prognostic value and may be useful in clinical decisions.
In head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) high numbers of tumor infiltrating CD8 T cells in the tumor microenvironment are associated with better outcome. However, no investigators have employed automated image analysis on whole slide images to permit CD8 scores for use in clinical practice. The aim of this study was to develop and validate an image analysis algorithm to automatically quantify CD8 T cells in patients with oropharyngeal HNSCC.
Using brightfield image analysis results were cross-validated with fluorescence based quantification (AQUA™). A nuclear image algorithm designed to run on whole slide images was optimized to manual count. The algorithm was locked down and used on a cohort of whole tissue sections from HNSCC patients. Multivariate clinicopathologic parameters and outcomes were statistically correlated with image analysis results.
Linear correlation between manual counts and the customized CD8 algorithm was 0.943. A total of 74 oropharyngeal HNSCC cases were analyzed for CD8 immune cell infiltrate using this image analysis algorithm. A CD8 immune cell density above 136 cells/mm2 was associated with median survival of 18 years compared to 5 years. When multivariate modeling was performed, HPV infection was the only predictor of survival; however, when HPV was excluded only CD8 cell density predicts survival.
We report the successful technical development and clinical validation of an image algorithm to automate CD8 immune cell density for oropharyngeal HNSCC. Employing brightfield image analysis on entire tumor sections instead of tumor subcompartments permits this strategy to be widely implemented.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has clear guidelines regarding the use of Ki67 index in defining the proliferative rate and assigning grade for pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (NET). WHO mandates ...the quantification of Ki67 index by counting at least 500 positive tumor cells in a hotspot. Unfortunately, Ki67 antibody may stain both tumor and non-tumor cells as positive depending on the phase of the cell cycle. Likewise, the counter stain labels both tumor and non-tumor as negative. This non-specific nature of Ki67 stain and counter stain therefore hinders the exact quantification of Ki67 index. To address this problem, we present a deep learning method to automatically differentiate between NET and non-tumor regions based on images of Ki67 stained biopsies. Transfer learning was employed to recognize and apply relevant knowledge from previous learning experiences to differentiate between tumor and non-tumor regions. Transfer learning exploits a rich set of features previously used to successfully categorize non-pathology data into 1,000 classes. The method was trained and validated on a set of whole-slide images including 33 NETs subject to Ki67 immunohistochemical staining using a leave-one-out cross-validation. When applied to 30 high power fields (HPF) and assessed against a gold standard (evaluation by two expert pathologists), the method resulted in a high sensitivity of 97.8% and specificity of 88.8%. The deep learning method developed has the potential to reduce pathologists' workload by directly identifying tumor boundaries on images of Ki67 stained slides. Moreover, it has the potential to replace sophisticated and expensive imaging methods which are recently developed for identification of tumor boundaries in images of Ki67-stained NETs.
The increasing application of ultrasound (US) in recent years has led to a greater number of thyroid nodule diagnoses. Consequently, the number of fine needle aspirations performed to evaluate these ...lesions has increased. Although the majority of thyroid nodules are benign, identifying methods to define specific lesions and tailor risk of malignancy has become vital. Some of the tools employed to stratify thyroid nodule risk include clinical factors, thyroid US findings, and reporting systems for thyroid cytopathology. Establishing high concordance between US features and cytologic diagnoses might help reduce healthcare costs by diminishing unnecessary thyroid procedures and treatment. This review aims to review radiology US classification systems that influence the practice of thyroid cytology.
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