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Laser-scanning confocal microscopy provides immediate images that correspond well with those of hematoxylin-eosin staining. An improved probe-type LCM endomicroscope is being developed which should provide better histological images of colorectal lesions in vivo.

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To understand the role of BRAF dysfunction in the carcinogenesis and progression/development of colorectal tumors, the authors investigated genetic alterations in the BRAF gene in human colorectal neoplasms as well as the effects of an RAS inhibitor in BRAF-mutant cells. Seven colon cancer cell lines and 116 colorectal tumors (34 adenomas and 82 adenocarcinomas) were analyzed. Genetic alterations in the BRAF and K-ras genes were examined using polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism and direct sequencing analyses. The growth-inhibitory and apoptosis-inducing effects of the FTI-277 RAS inhibitor in colon cancer cell lines were analyzed as well. An immunohistochemical study was also performed to investigate the correlations between the clinicopathologic parameters involved in the Ki-67 labeling index and the number of apoptotic bodies in tumor cells. FTI-277 did not suppress the proliferation of BRAF-mutant cells (WiDr and TCO), but remarkably inhibited the growth of K-ras mutant cells (LoVo). Interestingly, LoVo cells underwent apoptosis by FTI-277 in a dose-dependent manner, whereas WiDr cells were resistant to this agent. In tumor samples, BRAF mutations were found in 1 (3.0%) of 33 adenomas and 6 (7.2%) of 83 adenocarcinomas. No tumor exhibited mutations in both the BRAF and K-ras genes. Neither BRAF nor K-ras mutations correlated with the Ki-67 labeling index immunohistochemically. However, the number of apoptotic bodies was significantly decreased in the BRAF-mutant tumors. Mutation in the BRAF gene may contribute to colorectal carcinogenesis by upregulating the antiapoptotic role of the RAS/RAF/MEK/ERK pathway. ' 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

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The expression of COX-2 is associated with disruption in gastric epithelial kinetics and hence may play a role in gastric carcinogenesis.

The clinicopathological implications of ovarian cancer immunoreactive antigen domain containing 2 (OCIAD2) in lung adenocarcinoma were investigated. The expression of OCIAD2 in 191 surgically resected lung adenocarcinomas was examined using immunohistochemistry. OCIAD2 expression was quantified using the H‐score and dichotomized as high or low. High OCIAD2 protein expression was significantly correlated with vascular invasion (P = 0.0018), lymphatic permeation (P = 0.049), T factor (P = 0.0024), and pathological stage (P = 0.0003). High OCIAD2 expression was significantly associated with poorer overall survival (OS) (n = 191, P = 0.0325). In peripheral‐type lung adenocarcinomas (n = 161), high OCIAD2 expression was significantly associated with both poorer OS (P = 0.0214) and poorer disease‐free survival (P = 0.0496). Adenocarcinoma in situ (AIS) and minimally invasive adenocarcinoma (MIA) showed weaker OCIAD2 expression than invasive adenocarcinoma. Among small adenocarcinomas measuring 2 cm or less in greatest dimension classified according to the Noguchi's classification (n = 79), invasive adenocarcinomas showed significantly higher OCIAD2 expression than non‐invasive adenocarcinomas (P = 0.0007). Interestingly, OCIAD2 was expressed heterogeneously even within a tumor, and its expression was higher in areas of invasion than in areas of in situ spread. Our results suggest that OCIAD2 could be a useful prognostic biomarker of lung adenocarcinoma.

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