Head and neck cancers (HNC), 90% of which are squamous cell carcinomas (SCC), rank sixth among all malignancies worldwide and comprise 40-50% of the total number of malignancies in India. In addition to alcohol and tobacco usage, which is the major source of oral carcinogens, viruses such as human papilloma virus (HPV) may also contribute to development of the malignancy. The aim of this study was to identify the prevalence of HPV in head and neck cancers using material from metastatic site. A total of 111 cases of neck nodal metastases were included in this study. The primary was identified as oral cavity, oropharynx and nasopharynx. In a subset, the primary remained "unknown." Polymerase chain reaction was carried out to detect HPV DNA on the fine needle aspirates. HPV was detected in 32.4% cases. Maximum positivity was observed in metastases from primary in the oral cavity (47.1%) with tongue (55%), followed by oropharynx (25%) and nasopharynx (5%) cases. In the unknown primary group, HPV was detected in 52.9% cases. Study defines the association of HPV with HNC in population of northern India. There was varied association of HPV depending on site of primary tumor arising in mucosal surfaces of head and neck region.

Aims and objectives: To build an artificial neural network (ANN) model for the detection of carcinoma in effusion cytology.Materials and methods: We selected a total of 114 effusion cytology cases consisting of 57 each benign and malignant case. In all these cases, detailed cytological features, image morphometric data, densitometric data, and chromatin textural data were collected. Based on these data, we made a back propagation ANN model for diagnosing malignancy in effusion cytology. This network was designed as 25-2-1 (input nodes-hidden nodes-output node). Online back propagation method was applied for training the network. The training of the network was continued until the network error was reduced to 0.000654. Simultaneously, we also performed logistic regression (

Poorly differentiated (insular) thyroid carcinoma is defined as a thyroglobulin-producing non-follicular non-papillary thyroid carcinoma, having an intermediate behavior between well-differentiated and anaplastic carcinomas. FNAC is widely used as aid for workup of thyroid gland lesion. However, scant information is available in the literature about cytologic findings of this rare entity. Ten cases of surgically resected insular carcinoma with a corresponding cytology were selected. The cytologic smears and histological sections were reviewed for presence of cytomorphologic features including cellularity, predominant cytoarchitectural pattern, additional cytologic co-patters pattern, cell size, cell shape, nuclear pleomorphism, nuclear/cytoplasmic (N/C) ratio, chromatin pattern, amount of cytoplasm, mitotic figures, colloid, background debris, nuclear grooves, and intranuclear pseudoinclusions. In all the cases, the cells were arranged predominantly in solid clusters. Focal microfollicular pattern was identified in five cases of which three cases showed presence of inspissated colloid within the follicles. Singly scattered malignant cells and bare nuclei were seen in all cases. Cells were monomorphic, round with high N/C ratio, finely granular chromatin and inconspicuous nucleoli. Background showed presence of cellular debris in two cases. Mitotic figures were obvious and atypical mitosis was also identified. Cellular smears composed of monomorphic population of small cells arranged in large clusters and sheets with high N/C ratio and high mitosis suggest the possibility of insular carcinoma. Background cellular debris/necrosis also supports the diagnosis. Cell block preparation in these cases may be of additional help in accurate diagnosis.

Our study of archival cytological material illustrates the importance of PCR as a potentially useful tool for the detection of M. tuberculosis DNA from FNAC of thyroid lesions, which could provide an alternative for rapid diagnosis of thyroid tuberculosis in AFB-negative cases.

A diagnosis of SFT on cytology smears is challenging. Careful attention given to certain cytological features in an appropriate clinicoradiological setting and application of immunochemistry, including CD34 and CD99 immunostaining on cytological samples, can help in the diagnosis of SFT in some cases. It is important to consider cytological overlaps of this tumour in order to avoid false-negative or false-positive results.

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Background IgA nephropathy(IgAN) is a common glomerular disease with a higher risk of progression to end stage renal disease (ESRD) in certain ethnic populations. Since galactose deficient IgA1(Gd-IgA1) is a critical molecule in its pathogenesis, it has generated interest as a biomarker for this disease. Methods We measured serum Gd-IgA1 levels using a non- lectin based enzyme linked immunoassay(ELISA) in 136 immunosuppression naïve patients with primary IgAN and 110 controls(60-non IgA glomerular diseases, 50-healthy volunteers). Results Median serum Gd-IgA1 levels were significantly higher in IgAN patients [13135.6(2723.3,59603.8)ng/ml] compared to those with non IgA glomerular disease [4954.8(892.9,18256.2) ng/ml] and healthy controls [6299.5(1993.2,19256) ng/ml] and this was observed even after log transformation and adjustment for age and gender(p<0.0001). Considering a cut-off value of serum Gd-IGA1≥7982.1ng/ml, the sensitivity for diagnosing IgAN compared to healthy controls was 74.3% and specificity was 72.0% with a positive predictive value of 87.8% and negative predictive value of 50.7%. The serum Gd-IgA1 level did not co-relate with baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate, urine protein creatinine ratio and the M, E, S, T and C scores on renal biopsy. The renal survival (absence of >30% decrease in eGFR, ESRD or death) was lower in patients with higher serum Gd-IgA1 levels(≥7982ng/ml) than those who had lower levels but it was not statistically significant(p = 0.486). Conclusion Serum Gd-IgA1 level is higher in IgAN patients compared to non-IgA glomerular diseases and healthy controls and has a good positive predictive value for diagnosis. However, it does not correlate with clinical and histological characteristics of disease severity and does not predict disease progression.

Granular cell tumor (GCT) also known as Abrikossoff’s tumor is a benign neoplasm that is usually seen in the fourth to sixth decades of life with slight female preponderance. It is most frequently seen in the oral cavity, skin, and subcutaneous tissue. Gastrointestinal tract involvement is uncommon, in which esophagus is the most commonly affected site. There are case reports of GCT in stomach, appendix, colon and rectum. In this article, we report a case of GCT involving cecum. The cell of origin in GCT is controversial. There are various pools of thoughts regarding its histogenesis, the details of which are reviewed in this article with emphasis on the diagnostic difficulties encountered in this tumor.