The low level of complications along with a high surgical control achieved makes surgery the primary mode of treatment in the vast majority of these tumors, regardless of the size and location.

No abstract

These data suggest that AKAP121 regulates the response to stress in cardiomyocytes, and therefore AKAP121 downregulation might represent an important event contributing to the development of cardiac dysfunction.

The role of macrophages in the growth and the progression of tumors has been extensively studied in recent years. A large body of data demonstrates that macrophage polarization plays an essential role in the growth and progression of brain tumors, such as gliomas, meningiomas, and medulloblastomas. The brain neoplasm cells have the ability to influence the polarization state of the tumor associated macrophages. In turn, innate immunity cells have a decisive role through regulation of the acquired immune response, but also through humoral cross-talking with cancer cells in the tumor microenvironment. Neoangiogenesis, which is an essential element in glial tumor progression, is even regulated by the tumor associated macrophages, whose activity is linked to other factors, such as hypoxia. In addition, macrophages play a decisive role in establishing the entry into the bloodstream of cancer cells. As is well known, the latter phenomenon is also present in brain tumors, even if they only rarely metastasize. Looking ahead in the future, we can imagine that characterizing the relationships between tumor and tumor associated macrophage, as well as the study of circulating tumor cells, could give us useful tools in prognostic evaluation and therapy. More generally, the study of innate immunity in brain tumors can boost the development of new forms of immunotherapy.

No abstract

Cardiac myxoma is the most common benign cardiac tumour, localized generally in the left atrium. The majority of cardiac myxomas occur sporadically, while a relatively small proportion of cases develop as a part of Carney complex syndrome. Currently, the histogenesis of myxoma is poorly understood; however, the mesenchymal and endothelial properties of myxoma cells suggest that a clearer understanding of tumour origins can be achieved through a detailed investigation of heart development and endocardial histogenesis. Growing evidence appears to indicate the reactivated expression in cardiac myxoma of genes encoding heart precursor markers, although the exact mechanisms have not yet been described. In this paper we review the most recent scientific literature concerning cardiac embryology and relate this to recent advances in our understanding of the histogenesis of cardiac myxoma. Moreover, given that much of the literature regarding myxoma is of single case reports, we review progress in our knowledge of the pathology and pathogenesis of this condition.

No abstract

Background: Angiogenesis has been found to be a reliable prognostic indicator for several types of malignancies. Tryptase is a serine protease stored in mast cell (MC) granules, which plays a role in tumor angiogenesis. MCs can release tryptase following c-Kit receptor activation. Method: In this study, immunohistochemistry, image analysis methods and clinical aspects were employed in a series of 41 gastrointestinal cancer patients with stage T_3-4N_2a-bM₀ (by the American Joint Committee on Cancer, AJCC, for colorectal cancer, 7th edition) and T₃N_2-3M₀ (by AJCC for gastric cancer, 7th edition) to evaluate the possible correlation between MCs positive to tryptase (MCPT) in tumor tissue and the number of metastatic lymph nodes harvested. Results: Data demonstrated a positive correlation between MCPT in tumor tissue and the number of metastatic lymph nodes; the validity of these data needs confirmation in larger patient cohorts. Conclusion: This is the first report considering MCPT in tumor tissue as a potential tool for a valid indication of the type of surgical treatment and its radicality, and it might be considered for the prognosis of patients before radical surgical treatment. Our pilot data need confirmation in a larger patient cohort.