Expression levels ofβcatenin and galectin-3 in meningioma and their effect on brain invasion and recurrence:a tissue microarray study

Objective:Meningiomas are neoplasms that arise from the meninges of the central nervous system(CNS).They constitute about25.6%of CNS tumors diagnosed in Egypt.Some morphological variants of meningiomas display aggressive behavior,leading to brain-invasive growth pattern.Although meningiomas are usually treated by complete surgical excision,the risk of postoperative recurrence remains.Hence,additional biomarkers for predicting aggressive behavior must be discovered.This study aims to explore the clinical and biological relevance of the protein expression levels ofβ-catenin and galectine-3 in meningioma and to understand the pathobiology of this neoplasm.Methods:This retrospective study was carried out on 153 cases of meningioma by using tissue microarrays and immunohistochemistry forβ-catenin and galectine-3.Results:Highβ-catenin expression was significantly associated with transitional and meningiotheliomatous meningiomas,low tumor grade,low recurrence rate,and low incidence of brain invasion.Meanwhile,high galectin-3 expression was associated with brain invasion,recurrence,high tumor grade,and tumor type.Logistic regression analysis indicated that among all variables included in the model,β-catenin and galactin-3 expression levels were significant predictors of tumor recurrence(P<0.001).Conclusions:Galectin-3 andβ-catenin are involved in meningioma recurrence but not in brain invasion.These molecules could be important potential therapeutic targets and predictors for meningiomas.

Difference between papillary and follicular thyroid carcinoma outcomes:an experience from Egyptian institution

Objective： Differentiated thyroid carcinomas （DTCs） are classified into papillary thyroid carcinoma （PTC） and follicular thyroid carcinoma （FTC）. DTCs are analyzed as a single group in clinical studies that investigated the prognostic factors and prognosis of these malignancies. However, the biological behaviors of these carcinomas significantly differ. In the present study, we aimed to detect differences in the outcomes between PTC and FTC in Mansoura University Hospital in Egypt. Methods： A total of SS8 patients with histologically proven thyroid carcinomas from January 2003 to December 2012 were retrospectively enrolled. The clinical and pathological data of patients were reviewed. Results： Large primary tumor size, lymph node involvement, extrathyroid extension, and distant metastasis were significant poor prognostic factors for overall survival （OS） in old PTC patients. Cox hazard analysis showed that the patient＇s age, extra thyroid extension, and distant metastasis were the only independent prognostic factors. In FTC patients, only the distant metastasis and degree of tumor invasion were significant poor prognostic factors in OS univariate analysis. However, these factors were nonsignificant in multivariate analysis. The 10-year OS rates were 97% and 89% for PTC and FTC, respectively （P=0.003）. The 10-year disease-free survival （DFS） rates were 77.2% in PTC vs. 65% in FTC （P=0.179）. Conclusion： The significant prognostic factors vary between the two types of DTCs. Therefore, PTC and FTC patients need to be analyzed and reported independently. PTC survival is widely and significantly affected by age, extrathyroid extension, and distant metastasis. By contrast, these factors were nonsignificant in FTC, which showed poorer survival than PTC.