Renata Margarida Etchebehere

Immunostaining of stromal CD56 cells in ovarian malignancies

The aim of this study was to evaluate CD56 immunostaining in the stroma of benign and malignant ovarian epithelial neoplasms and associate the CD56 immunostaining with prognostic factors and survival in ovarian cancer. Patients with ovarian epithelial neoplasia (n=77) were studied with a prospective cohort. The CD56 immunostaining was evaluated in the peritumoral stroma. Two groups were evaluated: benign ovarian neoplasms (n=40) and malignant ovarian neoplasms (n=37). Data were recorded for histological type and grade, International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics staging, molecular subtype, and lymph node metastases. Fisher's exact test and Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used, with a significance level of ≤0.05. We found greater CD56 stromal immunostaining in malignant neoplasms when compared to the group of benign neoplasms (p=0.00001). There was no significant difference in relation to the prognostic factors and survival. Malignant ovarian neoplasms showed higher stromal CD56 immunostaining. As the prognostic value of natural killer in ovarian cancer is controversial, knowing the specific function of each cell present both in the tumor tissue and systemically may help guide successful immunotherapies in the near future.

Evaluation of cytokine immunostaining in ovarian neoplasms and endometriomas

The objective of our study was to quantify and compare the immunostaining of IL-2, IL-5, IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α in endometriomal tissue, non-neoplastic tumors, benign neoplasms, and malignant ovarian neoplasms. The study involved 90 patients: 15 non-neoplastic ovarian lesions, 28 ovarian benign neoplasms, 28 ovarian malignant neoplasms, and 19 ovarian endometriomas were diagnosed. Immunohistochemistry was performed for cytokines IL-2, IL-5, IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α and their concentrations were compared in these groups. Fisher's exact test was used, requiring a P-value of < 0.05 for significance. IL-5 and IL-8 epithelial immunostaining is stronger in endometriomas than in ovarian cancer (P-values of 0.0046 and 0.0149, resp.). The stromal immunostaining of TNF-α, IL-5, IL-6, and IL8 is stronger in endometriomas than in ovarian cancer (P-values of 0.0008, < 0.0001, 0.0003, and 0.0006, resp.). Stronger immunostaining of some cytokines in endometriomas compared to ovarian cancer reflects an inflammatory and immune response that could be future targets for new discoveries about the infiltrative behavior of endometriosis.

Endometrioid adenocarcinoma with sacral metastasis

Most bone tumors are metastatic. Breasts, lungs, kidneys, and thyroid are the primary sites most commonly involved in bone metastasis-type outcomes. This case study describes the involvement of a patient with a bone tumor located in the axial skeleton, initially in the sacral region. However, the primary site was undefined. Therefore, it was necessary to expand the investigation with immunohistochemistry, which demonstrated a metastatic tumor compatible with endometrioid adenocarcinoma. But even after examination, no active lesion was found in the endometrial region. The study was observational, descriptive, and aimed to discuss the importance of more specific investigative methods. In this context, immunohistochemistry stands out as an exquisite method capable of optimizing diagnosis, therapy, and consequently, prognosis. Key words: bone neoplasm – endometrioid adenocarcinoma – immunohistochemistry