Programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) has been investigated in various types of cancer; however, the role of PD-L1 expression in breast cancer remains controversial. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the association of PD-L1 expression with clinicopathological variables, overall survival (OS), and disease-free survival (DFS) in invasive breast cancer. A total of 965 articles were included from CINAHL, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus databases. Of these, 22 studies encompassing 6468 cases of invasive breast cancer were included in the systematic review, and 15 articles were included in the meta-analysis. PD-L1 expression was associated with age ≥ 50 years, lymph node status-negative, progesterone receptor-negative, Ki67 ≥ 20%, and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative. PD-L1 positivity was associated with worse OS (hazard ratio, HR, 2.39; 95% confidence interval, CI, 1.26–3.52; p =< 0.000); however, there was no significant improvement in DFS (HR 0.17; 95% CI −0.12–0.46; p =< 0.252). PD-L1 positivity was significantly associated with the clinicopathological characteristics of favorable and unfavorable prognoses. However, the final clinical outcome was associated with lower OS and had no significant association with DFS.

The rhabdomyomatous mesenchymal hamartoma (RMH) is a rare type of hamartoma, composed of randomly arranged striated muscle fibers in dermis and subcutaneous tissue, associated with normal mesenchymal elements. Our objective is to report a case of this rare entity that occurred in the nasal dorsum of a 4-year-old child.

Mucormycosis is a serious and rare fungal disease caused by opportunistic fungi of the zygomycete class, order Mucorales. The main clinical presentations are rhinocerebral, pulmonary, cutaneous, gastrointestinal, and disseminated infections. There are few reports in the literature of spondylodiscitis caused by mucormycosis. We report a 53-year-old male patient presenting with subcutaneous nodules and severe low back pain radiating to the lower limbs. The patient had systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) for 8 years and corticoidinduced diabetes. He had been using 60 mg/day of prednisone in the last year, with a recent pulse therapy regimen with methylprednisolone and cyclophosphamide to control the renal dysfunction. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) of the spine showed spondylodiscitis. The patient underwent spinal arthrodesis and lesion biopsy. The histopathological study of the vertebra reported a necro suppurative inflammation with numerous fungal structures described as a wide range of hyaline hyphae. The histopathology of the cutane-SUMMARY ous nodule exhibited an extensive suppurative lesion centered on the subcutaneous tissue, associated with a large amount of hyphae, similar to that found in the spinal lesion, suggestive of mucormycosis. The fungal culture showed the growth of Rhizopus spp. Treatment was performed with amphotericin B lipid complex 5 mg/kg/day for 60 days. After antifungal treatment, there was a progressive reduction in the number of subcutaneous nodules and total improvement of the patient's low back pain, with recovery of his gait. At the 18-month outpatient visit follow-up, the patient was stable and without recurrence. In our case, timely diagnosis enabled the removal of the osteoarticular focus and the targeted therapy resulted in a satisfactory clinical response, without sequelae or complications, despite the patient's underlying immunosuppressed status.

Objective: To investigate the immunohistochemical expression of programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) in female invasive mammary carcinoma and to analyze the association of PD-L1 expression with clinicopathological characteristics, overall survival, and disease-free survival. Methodology: The expression of PD-L1 and its association with the main clinicopathological parameters have been evaluated in 232 cases. The Cox regression model was used to assess the possible association of PD-L1 expression with overall survival and disease-free survival. Results: A total of 58 cases (28.7%) were positive for PD-L1 expression. There is an association between PD-L1 expression with tumor size, negative hormone receptors, and triple-negative molecular subtype. Negative estrogen receptor and nodal status (≥10 positive lymph nodes) were associated with a reduction in overall survival, and the latter was associated with a lower disease-free survival. Luminal A tumor phenotype demonstrated a greater overall survival (p=0.042). Despite the significant association with unfavorable clinical and pathological characteristics in univariate and multivariate analyses, no significant correlation was observed between the expression of PD-L1 and overall or disease-free survival. Conclusions: Our data indicate that PD-L1 expression was associated with unfavorable clinical-pathological variables, such as greater tumor size, negative hormone receptors, and a greater number of metastatic nodes. No prognostic value was observed for the expression of PD-L1 in relation to overall survival or disease-free survival.

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