The Reliability of Assessment of Ki-67 Expression on Core Needle Biopsy and the Surgical Specimens of Invasive Breast Cancer: Comparison of Local Pathologists’ Assessment and Central Review

Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess the reliability of Ki-67 expression on core needle biopsy (CNB) and the surgical specimens of invasive breast cancer. We examined the concordance rate of Ki-67 expressions, hormone receptors, and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) status from a CNB with from a surgery in invasive breast cancer. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on a clinical database of patients who underwent surgery for early breast cancer. Of these, 193 patients who underwent CNB before the surgery were enrolled. A cut-off value of 20% was used for Ki-67-positive criteria. Expression of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PgR), and HER2 were examined and compared with that of Ki-67. To evaluate discordance between the pathologists’ earlier assessments, we re-examined Ki-67 expression among the Ki-67 discordant group in a central laboratory. Results: The concordance rate for Ki-67 expression between the two specimen types was 77.7%, which was significantly lower than that for ER, PgR, and HER2 expression (95.9%, 88.1%, and 91.6%, respectively). The concordance rate for re-examined Ki-67 expression among the Ki-67 discordant group improved to 93.8% and was not significantly different from that for the other receptors. Conclusion: The concordance rate for Ki-67 expression between biopsy and surgical specimens was significantly lower than that for ER, PgR, and HER2 expressions, but re-examination of Ki-67 expression in a central laboratory revealed no significant difference among the receptors, suggesting the need for standard pathological assessment of Ki-67 expression for clinical use as a predictive marker of breast cancer.

Standardized Assessment of Ki-67 in Breast Cancer Patients Using Virtual Slides and an Automated Analyzer in Comparison to Central/Local Pathological Assessments

Purpose: To standardize the methods to measure Ki-67, there is an interest in automating the assessment of Ki-67. Therefore, we reviewed the possibility of introducing an automated analyzer to standardize the Ki-67 evaluation method. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed a clinical database of patients who underwent surgery for early breast cancer at Tokyo-West Tokushukai Hospital. Among them, those who underwent preoperative core needle biopsy (CNB) were enrolled. The concordance rates of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PgR), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), and Ki-67 by local pathologists were reviewed (valuations made by local pathologists), and nonmatching cases (from August 2008 to October 2011) were reassessed both by central review and using an automated analyzer with virtual slides. The results were compared with the evaluations made by local pathologists, and we reexamined the concordance rate by using central review and the automated analyzer. Results: The concordance rate of Ki-67 evaluations made by local pathologists in the preoperative CNB and surgical specimens was 78.7% in 287 cases pathologically assessed from October 2008 to March 2013. This rate was significantly lower (p < 0.01) than that of ER (95.6%), PgR (88.5%), and HER2 (91.6%). Reassessment of the 37 cases of nonmatching Ki-67 values from 2008 to October 2011 using central review and an automated analyzer resulted in clear improvement in matching of 22 (92.1%) and 24 (93.1%) of 37 cases, respectively. Conclusion: The concordance rate of Ki-67 in preoperative CNB and surgical specimens was lower than that of other biological markers;however, they were nearly equal by reassessment using central review and an automated analyzer.

Thermal stability of the Cr-coated zirconium alloy microstructure prepared by pulsed laser deposition

Cr-coated zirconium alloy was prepared by pulsed laser deposition(PLD)for the application of accident-tolerant fuel cladding in light water reactors.The microstructural characteristics of the Cr coating and its evolution with temperature were investigated using grazing incidence X-ray diff raction and in situ heating transmission electron microscopy(TEM).Results show that the microstructure of the laser-deposited Cr coatings consists mainly of fine and non-specific shaped nano-crystals in the inner layer and columnar crystals in the outer layer.The recrystallization of the Cr-coating layer starts at 300–400℃ to release the high strain introduced by PLD,and the grain coalescence starts at temperatures>400°C.Upon annealing,the(110)-texture gradually intensifi es because of its high reticular density and low close-packed energy.Additionally,in situ heating TEM observation shows the presence of cavities on the Cr–Zr interface,which may result from the interdiff usion and/or the transformation from amorphous to crystalline.

抽吸获取的脂肪组织中活脂肪细胞、未成活脂肪细胞和其他细胞成分数量的测定

背景分析脂肪组织中脂肪细胞和其他细胞成分生存能力和数量的方法仍需进一步评估。方法作者采用抽吸法获得1g脂肪组织，利用离心分离法将脂肪组织分层（顶层、中层和底层），利用烟酸己可碱33342和碘化丙啶为细胞染色，采用二甲氧唑黄比色法（2，3-bis（2-methoxy-4-nitro-5-sulfophenyl）-5-[（phenyl-amino）carbonyl]-2H-tet-razoliumhydroxide，XTT）和甘油一3．磷酸脱氢酶试验（n=10）评估细胞生存能力和数量。分析配制细胞（脂肪细胞，脂肪基质细胞，和白细胞）数量与XTY和甘油-3-磷酸脱氢酶试验分析结果之间的关联（凡=5）。从相同脂肪组织中分离血管基质部分细胞，并利用多色流式细胞术检测其细胞成分（n=5）。结果烟酸己可碱33342和碘化丙啶染色法将活的脂肪细胞从脂肪粒，死亡脂肪细胞和其他细胞中区分开。作者从1g的抽吸脂肪组织中获得6．9×10^5个未破碎脂肪细胞；原脂肪细胞中有30％发生破碎。XTT和甘油-3-磷酸脱氢酶试验均显示了活脂肪细胞的数量与分析结果之间具有显著相关关系，但是只有甘油-3-磷酸脱氢酶试验结果对脂肪细胞有严格特异性。本研究还发现，脂肪基质细胞与脂肪细胞的比率大于之前研究的描述。结论本研究中单独使用一种或联合使用2种生存能力分析法，均能确定脂肪细胞和其他细胞的数量，但是不采用组织分离而直接评估原始细胞仍有困难。

Oxidation behavior of ferritic/martensitic steels in flowing supercritical water

The oxidation behavior of two Ferritic/Martensitic(F/M)steels including novel SIMP steel and commercial P91 steel were investigated by exposure to flowing deaerated supercritical water(SCW)at 700℃for up to 1000 h.The kinetic weight gain curves follow parabolic and near-cubic rate equations for SIMP and P91 steels,respectively.X-Ray Diffraction analysis showed the presence of magnetite and a spinel phase in flowing SCW for both steels.The morphology and structure of the oxide scales formed on these two steels were analyzed.The relationship between the microstructure and oxidation behavior and the reason that SIMP steel showed better oxidation resistance than P91 steel were discussed.