The data suggest that at least 8 random biopsies is the minimum to be taken and analyzed with conventional H&E staining to diagnose benign intestinal metaplasia. Taking more biopsies did not statistically increase the diagnosis of intestinal metaplasia except when greater than 16 were taken when 100% yield was obtained.

This report documents a bronchogenic cyst presenting as an adrenal tumour in a 51 year old man with persistent epigastric pain. The cyst is regarded as a developmental abnormality of the primitive foregut, which typically occurs in the chest. Subdiaphragmatic, and retroperitoneal locations in particular, are unusual. The diVerential diagnosis of a bronchogenic cyst in the retroperitoneum includes cystic teratoma, bronchopulmonary sequestration, cysts of urothelial and mullerian origin, and other foregut cysts. (J Clin Pathol 2001;54:801-802)

BACKGROUNDMost studies describing the subtypes of lymphoma in Jordan were carried out in the 1980s at a time when immunohistochemical facilities were unavailable. Using a database established after immunohistochemical studies were introduced, we determined the frequency of the various types of nodal and extranodal lymphomas in the adult and paediatric Jordanian population. We also assessed the incidence of bone marrow involvement at the initial presentation for each lymphoma type.METHODSA retrospective analysis of the histopathological subtypes of various lymphomas was conducted on all primary lymphoma cases diagnosed during a 3-year period between January 2001 and December 2003.RESULTSOf 347 patients included in the study, 78.4% had non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) and 21.6% had Hodgkin’s lymphoma (HL). In the NHL group, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma was the most common (28.2%) followed by follicular lymphoma (15.6%). In the HL group, the nodular sclerosis variant was the most frequent (7.8%) followed by the mixed cellularity type (5.5%). Of all the lymphoma cases, the highest incidence of marrow involvement was seen in patients with lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma. Forty-nine patients were children (age <15 years) in whom Burkitt’s lymphoma (15 cases) and HL (14 cases) were the commonest subtypes. One-hundred six patients with primary extranodal lymphomas (ENL) accounted for 30.5% of all lymphomas.CONCLUSIONSThere is a higher incidence of NHL in Jordan compared with other series in the Middle East. Among the various lymphomas, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma is the most commonly encountered lymphoma in adults. Burkitt’s lymphoma and Hodgkin’s disease are the most frequent childhood lymphomas, followed closely by lymphoblastic lymphoma.

Background: There is lack of knowledge on the epidemiological characteristics of brain tumors in Middle Eastern countries. The objective of this study was to study the epidemiological features of primary brain tumors in Jordan. Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study incorporating data from 16 hospitals in Jordan during a 1 year period (May 1, 2011-April 30, 2012). All primary brain tumors diagnosed in Jordan during the study period were identified. The following parameters were retrieved from patients' files: age, gender, histological type, and location. The demographic data of the country was obtained from the National Department of Statistics. Results: A total of 313 primary brain tumors were identified during the study period. The incidence of primary brain tumors in Jordan among the general population was 5.01 per 100,000 person-years (5.38 in females and 4.65 in males). The incidence in pediatric, adult, and elderly patients was 2.09, 7.29, and 14.38 per 100,000 person-years, respectively. The most common histological types were meningioma (26.2%), glioblastoma (18.9%), astrocytoma (14.1%), and pituitary adenoma (9.3%). Conclusions: The incidence of primary brain tumors in the Jordanian population is relatively low, in part due to the young age of the general population.

BackgroundThe human multi-drug resistance gene (MDR1), which encodes the major trans-membrane transporter P-glycoprotein (P-gp), was found to be associated with susceptibility to cancer and response to chemotherapy. The C3435T Polymorphism of MDR1 gene was correlated with expression levels and functions of P-gp. Here, we studied the association between MDR1 C3435T polymorphism and susceptibility to Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) and patient's response to ABVD chemotherapy regimen.Methodsa total of 130 paraffin embedded tissue samples collected from HL patients were analyzed to identify the C3435T polymorphism. As a control group, 120 healthy subjects were enrolled in the study. The C3435T Polymorphism was genotyped by polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method. Data analysis was carried out using the statistical package SPSS version 17 to compute all descriptive statistics. Chi-square and Fisher exact tests were used to evaluate the genotype distribution and allele frequencies of the studied polymorphism.Resultsthese studies revealed that the frequency of T allele was significantly higher in HL patients compared to the controls (P < 0.05). In addition, the frequency of CT and TT genotypes were also significantly higher in HL patients compared to the controls (P < 0.05). No association between C3435T polymorphism and response to ABVD was detected among HL patients (P > 0.05).Conclusionsthese results suggest that MDR1 C3435T polymorphism might play a role in HL occurrence; however this polymorphism is not correlated with the clinical response to ABVD.