We performed a retrospective analysis of 96 pediatric posterior fossa ependymomas in order to determine the prognostic value of histological grade based on the current WHO grading scheme. The patients were selected among Children's Oncology Group (previously Pediatric Oncology Group-POG) patients enrolled in clinical trials, and on the basis of central pathology review, location, and age. We excluded entities such as subependymoma, myxopapillary, or clear-cell ependymoma, after a consensus diagnosis by three neuropathologists. A total of 66 males and 30 females with a median age of 48 months were identified. The group was analyzed to determine the effects of histological grade, age, gender, and extent of resection on event-free and overall survival. Our results showed that extent of resection, age, and histological grade were independent prognostic variables for event-free survival. The relative risk for extent of resection and histological grade was calculated as 3.59 (Po0.001) and 3.58 (Po0.001), respectively. Overall survival significantly correlated with extent of resection and age, but not with histological grade. We compared our results with peer-reviewed publications on pediatric intracranial ependymomas in the English language between 1990 and 2005. Selection criteria identified 32 manuscripts involving 1444 patients. Extent of resection was a significant factor in 21, age in 12, and histological grading in nine of these studies. Other factors reported to be significant by more than one study included tumor location and radiation treatment. Our findings suggest that histological grade (WHO Grade II vs III) is an independent prognostic indicator for event-free survival, but may not be so for overall survival in pediatric posterior fossa ependymomas. We believe that an accurate assessment of the prognostic value of histological grade depends on the selection of a well-characterized clinical cohort of sufficient size, and the inclusion of relevant histological criteria as outlined in the WHO classification scheme.

A relatively high incidence of EC is seen in patients with a diagnosis of AEH. Diagnostic results of pipelle biopsy and curettage were comparable. Frozen sections of hysterectomy specimens does not guarantee to exclude the possibility of EC, especially in patients with no myometrial invasion.

We observed an increased incidence of chronic hepatitis and even mortality due to HBV infection. This suggests that HBV and HCV infections are serious causes of morbidity and mortality in children with cancer.

In contrast with the literature reporting the tendency of more aggressive clinical behavior of the BSCC, we can say that BSCC has a behavior similar to conventional squamous cell carcinoma based on our 4 cases.

Cyclin D1 expression in endometrial carcinoma is higher than proliferative endometrium and simple hyperplasia. These findings support that cyclin D1 may play a role in endometrial carcinogenesis.

Pure lipomas of the uterus are very rare tumors that may be misdiagnosed on radiological examination due to their rarity and fat content. We present here the case of a 57-year-old postmenopausal woman who presented to the hospital with lower abdominal pain. Abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy were performed under the prediagnoses of benign cystic ovarian teratoma or leiomyoma. On the histopathological examination of tissue samples, the tumor was composed of mature fat cells. There were a few smooth muscle cells confined to the periphery. Pure uterine lipoma may be asymptomatic or it may have symptoms similar to those of leiomyoma such as vaginal bleeding or pelvic pain. A pure lipoma should be diagnosed only if smooth muscle cells are confined to the periphery.

Association among angiogenesis, survival and clinicopathologic parameters in endometrial carcinoma was evaluated. Sixty patients who had been diagnosed as endometrial carcinoma, from 1993 to 1998, were included in the study. All patients had been surgically staged with bilateral pelvic and para-aortic lymph node dissection. All hysterectomy specimens were stained immunohistologically for factor VIII-related antigen. The area with the most intensified microvasculature was determined under low-power (×100) magnification, and the microvessel count of this area under high-power (×200) magnification was determined as the microvessel density (MVD) of the tumor. The mean MVD was 26.2 ± 13.0 (range 6–68), and it was considered as high (n = 24; 40%), moderate (n = 19; 31.7%) and low (n = 17; 28.3%) when the MVD was >30, between 15–30 and <15, respectively. Statistical analysis included Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis and Spearman rank correlation tests. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to evaluate the difference between angiogenesis and survival. Multivariate analysis with the Cox regression model was used in MVD values and different clinicopathological parameters. There was positive correlation between MVD increase and surgicopathological stage (p < 0.05). A significant difference was seen between MVD increase and lymph node metastasis (p < 0.05). There were no differences between MVD and age, histological type, grade and lymphovascular invasion. MVD did not change in association with myometrial invasion depth. There was a significant difference in means of survival between the low and high MVD groups (p = 0.01). However, MVD was not an independent prognostic factor in multivariate analysis. Increased angiogenesis was found to be associated with advanced stage and decreased survival in endometrial carcinoma.

Psammocarcinoma is a rare type of serous carcinoma arising from the ovaries or the peritoneum. Histopathologically, it has large deposits of psammoma bodies, invasion to surrounding tissues, and low-grade cytologic atypia. Biologic behavior is similar to borderline serous tumors with a favorable survival time. Primary surgical debulking with complete resection of the tumor should be the main surgical approach, while the benefit of postoperative chemotherapy remains unknown. A new case of primary peritoneal psammocarcinoma with survival after an initial diagnosis of 5.5 years is presented with a literature review.