We demonstrated Bcl-2 protein expression and t(14;18)(q32;q21) in a significant minority of cases, suggesting a relationship with NFL. It remains to be seen whether, on longer follow-up, there is any clinical difference in cases with and without t(14;18)(q32;q21).

We have combined data from case control studies designed to test the hypothesis that the c-160a promotor polymorphism in the gene coding for the cell adhesion molecule E-cadherin (CDH1) is associated with stomach cancer. A total of 899 individuals (433 patients and 466 controls) were analyzed. The genotype frequencies did not differ significantly between cases and controls, and the genotype-specific risks were not significantly different from unity, with an odds ratio for heterozygotes compared with the common homozygote of 1.3 (95% CI 0.98 -1.8) and 1.2 (0.68 -2.0) for rare homozygotes compared with common homozygotes. We found no evidence for differences in risk for the intestinal-and diffusetype histopathologic subgroups. © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc. Key words: stomach cancer; CDH1; polymorphism; susceptibility E-cadherin plays a critical role in many aspects of cell adhesion, epithelial development and the establishment and maintenance of epithelial polarity. Somatic mutations in the E-cadherin gene (CDH1) have been identified in about 50% of sporadic diffuse gastric tumors and lobular breast cancers, and protein truncating, germline mutations in CDH1 confer a high risk of diffuse gastric cancer, with the gene acting as a classic tumor supressor. [1][2][3][4] Several polymorphisms have been identified in CDH1, 1 of which, c-160a, has been shown to have a functional effect. The a-allele has been shown to decrease the transcriptional efficiency by 68% compared with the c-allele. 5 However, a more recent study reported no association between the a-allele risk of breast cancer and found that that the effect of the a-allele on transcription was small. 6 Nevertheless, this polymorphism is a good candidate for susceptibility to stomach cancer, and we have combined the data from 3 separate, small case-control studies to test this hypothesis. MATERIAL AND METHODS Cases and controlsCanadian study. Gastric cancer cases were identified through a search of the pathology archives of the Vancouver Hospital. Cases were selected for analysis if they had either lymph nodes or mucosal margins that were negative for malignancy (n ϭ 148). The mean age of the cases was 65 years (range 23-86 years). DNA was extracted from histologically normal paraffin-embedded tissue using a Qiagen kit (Hilden, Germany). Germline DNA from 93 anonymous normal controls was obtained from a pediatric molecular diagnostics laboratory.The E-cadherin gene promoter polymorphism c-160a was detected by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of a 189 bp DNA fragment amplified from the E-cadherin gene proximal promoter region. The PCR amplicon was obtained using the previously published primers 5Ј-TCCCAGGTCTTAGT-GAGCCA-3Ј and 5Ј-GGCCACAGCCAATCAGCA-3Ј and cycling conditions. 5 The PCR products were digested with BstE2 and Af III. BstE2 specifically cleaves fragments with the c-allele, and Af lII specifically cleaves fragments with the a-allele. The fragments were discriminated on a 3% agarose gel.German study. Eligible cases (n ϭ 133) were tho...

We demonstrated Bcl-2 protein expression and t(14;18)(q32;q21) in a significant minority of cases, suggesting a relationship with NFL. It remains to be seen whether, on longer follow-up, there is any clinical difference in cases with and without t(14;18)(q32;q21).

A 53-year-old man reported a pigmented lesion on his forearm that he had first become aware of approximately 30 years previously. More recently, the lesion had become symptomatic and was excised because of concern of melanoma; however, during tissue processing, an embedded metallic object was found. Histologic examination of the tissue surrounding the site of the metallic object confirmed an inner zone of iron deposition with a distinctive histologic appearance indistinguishable from rust, associated with a foreign body reaction. Surrounding this was an outer zone of siderophages with the more usual histologic appearance. Chemical analysis of the foreign body confirmed its ferruginous nature. On subsequent questioning, the patient informed us that he had worked with heavy equipment in a mine at the time that he had first noticed the lesion.