The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2). COVID‐19 symptoms are not limited to the respiratory tract, but complications have been described involving other organs including brain. At present, data on SARS‐CoV‐2 neuropathological features are limited [4, 5, 8, 10] and most frequently focused on cases presenting neurological symptoms.

Triple-negative breast carcinomas constitute a wide spectrum of lesions, mostly being highly aggressive. Nevertheless, some special histologic subtypes can have low malignant potential. The purpose of the present paper is to review diagnostic criteria and prognostic parameters of breast neoplasms of special histotypes. Specifically, adenoid cystic carcinoma, adenomyoepithelioma, acinic cell carcinoma, mucoepidermoid carcinoma, tall cell carcinoma with reverse polarity, and secretory carcinoma will be discussed. For each tumour, definition and morphological and molecular features, together with prognostic parameters, will be presented. Paradigmatic cases will be illustrated.

Neurological symptoms are increasingly recognized in SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals. However, the neuropathogenesis remains unclear and it is not possible to define a specific damage pattern due to brain virus infection. In the present study, 33 cases of brain autopsies performed during the first (February–April 2020) and the second/third (November 2020–April 2021) pandemic waves are described. In all the cases, SARS-CoV-2 RNA was searched. Pathological findings are described and compared with those presently published.

Background: Prognosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is difficult to exactly assess on pre-operative biopsies. Since OSCC DNA methylation profile has proved to be a useful pre-operative diagnostic tool, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the prognostic impact of DNA methylation profile to discriminate OSCC with high and low aggressive potential. Methods: 36 OSCC cases underwent neoplastic cells collection by gentle brushing of the lesion, before performing a pre-operative biopsy. The CpG islands methylation status of 13 gene (ZAP70, ITGA4, KIF1A, PARP15, EPHX3, NTM, LRRTM1, FLI1, MiR193, LINC00599, MiR296, TERT, GP1BB) was studied by bisulfite Next Generation Sequencing (NGS). A Cox proportional hazards model via likelihood-based component-wise boosting was used to evaluate the prognostic power of the CpG sites. Results: The boosting estimation identified five CpGs with prognostic significance: EPHX3-24, EPHX3-26, ITGA4-3, ITGA4-4, and MiR193-3. The combination of significant CpGs provided promising results for adverse events prediction (Brier score = 0.080, C-index = 0.802 and AUC = 0.850). ITGA4 had a strong prognostic power in patients with early OSCC. Conclusions: These data confirm that the study of methylation profile provides new insights into the molecular mechanisms of OSCC and can allow a better OSCC prognostic stratification even before surgery.

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Summary The WHO 2021 classification of central nervous system cancers distinguishes diffuse gliomas that arise in adults (referred to as the “adult type”) and those that arise in children (defined as “paediatric”) based on clinical and molecular characteristics.”). However, paediatric-type gliomas may occasionally be present in younger adults and occasionally adult-type gliomas may occur in children. Diffuse low-grade paediatric glioma includes diffuse astrocytoma altered by MYB or MYBL1, low-grade polymorphic juvenile neuroepithelial tumour, angiocentric glioma, and diffuse low-grade glioma with an altered MAPK pathway. Here, we examine these newly recognised entities according to WHO diagnostic criteria and propose an integrated diagnostic approach that can be used to separate these clinically and biologically distinct tumor groups.

Objective: Pituitary macroadenomas (PAs) are usually defined as benign intracranial tumors. However, they may present local aggressive course. High Ki67 labelling index (LI) values have been related to an aggressive tumor behavior. A recent clinicopathological classification of PA based on local invasiveness and proliferation indexes, divided them in groups with different prognosis. We evaluated the utility of conventional MRI (cMRI) and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), in predicting the Ki67- LI according the clinicopathological classification. Methods: 17 patients (12 M and 5 F) who underwent surgical removal of a PA were studied. cMRI features, quantification of T1W and T2W signal intensity, degree of contrast uptake (enhancement ratio, ER) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values were evaluated by using a 3 T scan. Statistics included Mann–Whitney test, Spearman’s test, and receiver operating characteristic analysis. A value of p ≤ 0.05 was considered significant for all the tests. Results: Negative correlations were observed between Ki-67 LI, ADCm (ρ = - 0.67, p value = 0.005) and ER values (ρ = −0.62; p = 0.008). ER values were significantly lower in the proliferative PA group (p = 0.028; p = 0.017). ADCm showed sensitivity and specificity of 90 and 85% respectively into predict Ki67-LI value. A value of ADCm ≤0, 711 x 10–6 mm2 emerged as a cut-off of a value of Ki67-LI ≥ 3%. Conclusion: Adding quantitative measures of ADC values to cMRI could be used routinely as a non-invasive marker of specific predictive biomarker of the proliferative activity of PA. Advances in knowledge: Routinely use of DWI on diagnostic work-up of pituitary adenomas may help in establish the likely biological aggressive lesions.

BACKGROUND Glioblastoma with multiple localizations (mGBMs) can be defined as multifocal, where enhancing lesions present a connection visible on magnetic resonance imaging fluid-attenuated inversion recovery imaging, or multicentric, in the absence of a clear dissemination pathway. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the role of the extent of resection (EOR) in the treatment of mGBMs and its correlation with overall survival (OS) and progression free survival (PFS). METHODS One hundred patients with mGBMs were treated at our Institution between 2009 and 2019. Clinical, radiological, and follow-up data were collected. EOR of the contrast-enhancing part of lesions was classified as gross total resection (GTR, absence of tumor remnant), subtotal resection (STR, residual tumor < 30% of the initial mass), partial resection (PR, residual tumor > 30% of the initial mass), and needle or open biopsy (residual tumor > 75% of the initial mass). RESULTS Approximately 15% of patients underwent GTR, 14% STR, 32% PR, and 39% biopsy. Median OS was 17 mo for GTR, 11 mo for STR, 7 mo for PR, and 5 mo for biopsy. Greater EOR was associated with a significantly longer OS than biopsy. GTR and STR were associated with a longer PFS in Kaplan-Meier survival analyses. After adjusting for age, Karnofsky performance status (KPS), number of lesions, and adjunctive therapy in multivariable Cox regression analyses, GTR, STR, and PR were still associated with OS, but only GTR remained associated with PFS. CONCLUSION Our study suggests that EOR may positively influence survival of patients with mGBM. Surgical resection can be a reasonable option when performance and access to adjuvant treatment can be preserved.