Mucormycosis is an emerging angioinvasive fungal infection caused by ubiquitous saprophytic filamentous fungus that belongs to the class Zygomycosis. Mucormycosis or black fungus infections in patients with recent COVID-19 infections has given rise to a new epidemic during the second wave of this current COVID-19 pandemic in India. Steroid misuse, poor glycemic control, use of industrial grade oxygen, improper humidification and specific variants strains have resulted in profound immunosuppression and are attributed for the high incidence of COVID associated Mucormycosis (CAM) in India. The aims of the present study were to assess the age and gender specific incidence of CAM, the utility of special stains (PAS and GMS) for diagnosing mucormycosis (false negatives and sensitivity). In the present study emphasis was laid on identifying if there exists a correlation between host response, angioinvasion and bone invasion with mortality. The Present study is a retrospective, cross sectional analytical study taken up in the Department of Pathology, Guntur Medical College for a period of 2 months between 1st of May 2021 to 30th of June 2021. Results were tabulated in Microsoft excel 2016 and SPSS software version 14 was used for calculation of odds ratio and for performing multivariate analysis. All samples were routinely fixed using 10% buffered formalin, processed and sectioned. All the sections were stained with Haematoxylin and Eosin and also special stains for fungus like periodic acid Schiff (PAS) and Gomori Methenamine silver (GMS) were used wherever required. CAM is a serious complication after recovery from COVID-19 infection due to its high morbidity and mortality (13.7% in this series). CAM epidemiology and presentation is mostly similar to non-COVID mucormycosis seen in pre-COVID era.

BACKGROUNDTumours of the adrenal medulla can be heterogeneous in morphology and unpredictable in biological behaviour. Diagnosis of these tumours requires histopathological evaluation along with clinical and radiological correlation. These tumours are categorized into neuroblastoma and pheochromocytoma groups based on specific features. However, in some cases distinguishing malignancy becomes extremely difficult, especially in case of pheochromocytoma. Moreover, differential diagnosis of neuroblastoma and pheochromocytoma from adrenal cortical tumours and metastatic lesions poses many challenges to the pathologist. Careful gross and microscopic examination of these lesions is essential for an accurate diagnosis and immunohistochemistry is crucial for confirmation.

Background Colorectal adenocarcinoma is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. These tumors are heterogeneous in terms of genomic alterations, immune response of the microenvironment, drug responsiveness, and biological behavior. Physiologically and pathologically, programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) is a key immune-regulatory molecule that suppresses immune response. PD-L1 expression on tumor cell has been implicated as a cause of immune evasion by tumor cells in many cancers. However, its activity in colorectal carcinomas is still under study. Objectives The aim of this study is to correlate PD-L1 marker expression with patient demographics, clinicopathological features, and TNM (tumor size, node involvement, and metastasis status) stage, and to find if there exists any significant correlation between them. Materials and Methods The present study is a 3-year retrospective analytical study conducted in a tertiary care hospital in South India. Specimens were routinely fixed, processed, and cut. Hematoxylin and eosin–stained sections and corresponding PD-L1-stained sections were analyzed and data were tabulated. Statistical analysis Results were tabulated and statistical analysis was done using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software (version 24). The chi-squared test was used to calculate the value of significance (p value). Results PD-L1 expression on tumor cells was significantly associated with female gender, right-sided tumors, poorly differentiated tumors, higher number of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, and higher T and N statuses. Conclusion High PD-L1 expression on tumor cells is a marker for poor prognosis. A subset of colorectal adenocarcinoma may benefit with anti-PD-L1-targeted therapy.

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Introduction: Micronuclei and other nuclear abnormalities are biological indicators of genotoxicity and chromosomal instabilities. Breast lesions are frequently encountered in routine clinical practice and Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology (FNAC) is used as a routine diagnostic modality. Aim: To identify the utility of micronucleus scoring in classifying and diagnosing palpable breast lesions with FNAC. Materials and Methods: The present study was a two year retrospective analysis in the Department of Pathology of Guntur Medical College and Government General Hospital, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. Case records and FNAC smears of breast lesions in the period from March 2018 to February 2020 were retrieved from the departmental archives. Data was analysed in the month of September 2020. A total of 108 cases were included in the study. Micronucleus scoring was done on the FNAC smears independently by two institutional pathologists who were blinded to clinical data and final diagnosis and mean micronuclear scores were obtained. Statistical analysis was done using Chi-square test on Statistical Package of the Social Sciences (SPSS) software (version 14) to determine the significance of micronuclear score in differentiating benign and malignant lesions, and in grading the malignant tumours. Results: All the cases were classified into four categories: benign, atypical favouring benign, suspicious of malignancy, invasive breast carcinoma on cytology. In the present study it was found that micronucleus scoring was effective in differentiating various benign and malignant breast lesions (p-value=0.0001) and also in grading of malignant tumours (p-value=0.05). The results obtained showed that there exists a significant level of correlation with other well established standard grading systems (Pearson correlation coefficient=0.94). Conclusion: The present study revealed that micronucleus scoring is indeed a useful and reliable method for diagnosing breast lesions and can be used as an adjunct in classifying difficult and borderline cases on cytology