18F-FDG avidity was noted in 52 % of gastric MALT lymphoma and this avidity is correlated with gross morphological characteristics, tumor stage, and Ki-67 index. SUVmax, lesion-to-liver SUVmax ratio, and lesion-to-blood pool SUVmax ratio are correlated only with Ki-67 index, and only lesion-to-liver SUVmax ratio was independently associated with Ki-67 score.

No abstract

CTLA-4 function as a negative regulator of T cell-mediated immune response is well established, whereas much less is known about the immunoregulatory role of its soluble isoform (sCTLA-4). No data are available on CTLA-4 expression and prognostic impact in malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). We investigated, by immunohistochemistry, CTLA-4 expression in tumor tissues and, by ELISA, sCTLA-4 levels in sera and matched pleural effusions from 45 MPM patients. Prognostic effect of CTLA-4 expression on overall survival (OS) was assessed through Cox regression and prognostic significance expressed as death rate ratio (HR). We found that 56.0 % of MPM tissues expressed CTLA-4 with variable intensity and percentage of positive cells estimated by the immunoreactive score. sCTLA-4 levels were significantly higher in sera (S-sCTLA-4) than in pleural effusions (PE-sCTLA-4) (geometric mean ratio = 2.70, P value = 0.020). CTLA-4 expression at the tissue level was higher in the epithelioid histological subtype than in the sarcomatoid, whereas at the serum level, it was higher in the sarcomatoid subtype. A homogeneous favorable prognostic effect was found for CTLA-4 overexpression in tissue, serum and pleural effusion. Interestingly, only the PE-sCTLA-4 was found to be a statistically significant positive prognostic factor (HR = 0.37, 95 % CI = 0.18-0.77, P value = 0.007). Indeed, PE-sCTLA-4 correlated with CTLA-4 expression in tissues, whereas this latter expression showed a weak association with OS. To confirm our findings, further experimental evidences obtained from a larger cohort of MPM patients are required. However, our results would indicate a positive correlation of PE-sCTLA-4 levels and OS in MPM patients.

No abstract

Many groups have examined of androgen the effects on normal and neoplastic colon tissues, but no clear picture has hitherto emerged. In particular, the presence and the function of the androgen receptor (AR) has only partially been investigated in the past. The present study reports analysis of expression of the AR gene as messenger RNA and as protein in surgical samples of neoplastic colon mucosa and of corresponding healthy surrounding tissue. Specific binding for DHT, demonstrating the presence of AR, was observed in almost all the samples (2 samples out of 12 were negative). No significant difference was observed between healthy and neoplastic mucosa, or between male and female patients. A further characterization of AR was performed with Western blot, using 2 different primary antibodies. Both AR isoforms, AR‐B and AR‐A, were detected in healthy mucosa, while only AR‐A, resolving at 87 kDa, was observed in neoplastic mucosa. RT‐PCR analysis revealed the transcript for AR in both healthy and neoplastic mucosa in 10 samples; no message was detectable in 2 samples (negative also for binding); 2 additional samples presented AR mRNA only in healthy colon mucosa, 2 others only in neoplastic mucosa. In addition, a variant AR messenger RNA, probabily derived from alternative splicing, was observed. We found that AR is expressed both in healthy and in neoplastic colon mucosa, either as mRNA or as protein. Neoplastic colon tissue shows a characteristic loss of expression of the AR‐B isoform, while AR‐A expression is maintained. These findings underscore the possible role of androgen and its receptor in colon carcinogenesis. Int. J. Cancer 86:325–330, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.