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Volume 39, Issue 1, 2025

Online ISSN: 3042-3511

ISSN: 3042-3503

Volume 39 , Issue 1, (2025)

Published: 31.03.2025.

Open Access

Welcome to Issue 39, No. 1 – the first of our two annual publications for this year. Inside, you'll find a curated selection of articles. Start your year with the essential knowledge and perspectives offered in this timely edition

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01.04.2018.

Poster session

Pathohistological evaluation of tumor regression at breast cancer after neoadjuvant therapy

Aim: Evaluation of pathological estimation results of therapeutic response of primary breast carcinoma to applied neoadjuvant therapy. Introduction: Breast carcinoma is heterogeneous disease, that could be classified into several molecular subtypes by using immunohistochemical analysis and in situ hybridization. Neoadjuvant therapy is applied in cases of locally advanced breast carcinoma and for tumor chemosensitivity evaluation, which is very significant for disease prognosis. Material and Methods: The research was conducted on 35 female patients, that were treated with radical mastectomy in 2017, after IV cycle of neoadjuvant therapy, in Clinical Centre of Montenegro. Before treatment, all patients underwent core biopsy (confirmed invasive breast carcinoma, molecular subtype determined).Pathohistological response of primary tumor to applied therapy was estimated as complete response (pCR), partial response (pPR) and no response (pNR). Results: Average age in examined group of patients was 59,25 years.In 68,58% of cases it was invasive ductal, in 17,14% invasive lobular and in 14,28% mixed invasive carcinoma. Representation of molecular subtypes was (without change in respect to the core biopsy): 34,28% Luminal A, 42,85% Luminal B Her2 negative, 5,71% Luminal B Her2 positive, 8,58% Her2 positive and 8,58% triple negative. In 6 patients (17,15%) pCR was obtained, in 21 (71,42%) pPR, and in 4 (11,43%) no response. In group of patients confirmed for pCR, it was Her2 positive or triple negative carcinoma. Conclusion: Applying of neoadjuvant therapy leads to tumor response to applied therapy. Most commonly it is partial response, while complete response most commonly occurs in Her2 positive or triple negative carcinomas.

Tatjana Culafic, Mirjana Miladinovic, Ljiljana Vuckovic, Mileta Golubovic, Filip Vukmirovic, Ivana Jelicic, Tanja Lakic, Janja Raonic

01.04.2018.

Poster session

Reliability of determination of steroid and human epidermal growth factor 2 receptors expression and tumor molecular subtypes in breast core biopsy

Aim: To investigate concordance rate between the results of expression of steroid receptors, human epidermal growth factor 2 receptors (Her2) and determined molecular subtypes in surgical specimens (SS) and samples obtained by core biopsy (CB). Introduction: CB is widely accepted method in the initial diagnosis of breast cancer, but its reliability in determining the status of steroid and Her2 receptors, Ki67 index and molecular subtypes is still a matter of debate. Material and Methods: We analyzed 54 cases of invasive breast cancer, in which the expression of estrogen (ER), progesterone (PR) and Her2 receptors and Ki67 index were determined both in CB and SS. Concordance rate for ER, PR and Her2 receptors expression and molecular subtypes, between CB and SS, was calculated using k-test (p<0.001). Results: The average age of patients was 62. In SS, Luminal A subtype was most commonly diagnosed (48%), followed by: Luminal B Her2-(31%) and TNBC (13%), while Luminal B Her2 and Her2-enriched subtypes were represented by 4% each. Frequencies of molecular subtypes in CB were: Luminal A (41%), LuminalB Her2- (33%), TNBC (15%), Luminal B Her2 (7%), Her2-enriched (4%). Concordance rate for ER receptors was 93.8%(Kappa=0.936), for PR 77.5%(Kappa=0.773), for Her2 80.0%(Kappa=0.78) and for molecular subtypes 80.9%(Kappa=0.753). Conclusion: Statistical analysis showed very good agreement in terms of determined molecular subtypes and ER receptors expression and good agreement for the expression of PR and Her2 receptors. CB represents reliable method for determining the status of expression of steroid and Her2 receptors, as well as tumor molecular subtypes.

Janja Raonic, Ljiljana Vuckovic, Jelena Vucinic, Filip Vukmirovic, Mileta Golubovic, Tanja Nenezic, Tatjana Culafic, Tanja Nenezic, Mirjana Miladinovic

01.04.2018.

Poster session

Lung carcinosarcoma: a case report

The significance of pathohistological analysis of operative material and tumor immunophenotype in differential diagnosis of sarcomatoid carcinoma and carcinosarcoma rare malignant lung neoplasms. Introduction: Lung carcinosarcoma, biphasic tumor, composed of non-small caracinomatous and sarcomatous heterogeneous components, is a rare neoplasm and represents less than 1% of all malignant lung tumors. Case report: A 64-year old man reported to physician complainig of fever that lasted for two months. Chest CT showed signs of right lung infiltration, close to the hilus and mediastinal lymphadenopathy. After bronchoscopy and biopsy of the suspected changes pathohistological finding was: carcinoma squamosum invasivum. Lobectomy of upper right lobe and mediastinal lymphadenectomy were performed. On gross examination, distanced 5 mm from the resection margin, withish tumor (22x7x5mm) infiltrating the wall of the lobar bronch was found. Histological analysis found that tumor tissue was partly consisted of atypical epithelial cells, with larger, mitotically active nuclei with focuses of keratinization and partialy of atypical oval and spindle cells,with hyperchromatic, pleomorphic nuclei, with high mitotic index. Lymph nodes were negative for tumor tissue. Results of immunohistochemical tumor tissue analysis: Cytokeratin - positive in carcinomatous component, Vimentin - positive in sarcomatous component, Actin, Desmin and S100 - negative. According to the results of morphological and immunohistochemical analysis of the tumor tissue lung carcinomsarcoma was diagnosed. Conclusion: For establishing definitive pathohistological diagnosis in biphasic tumor cases, a pathohistological examination of operative material is necessary, and morphological assessment should be suported by immunohistochemical analysis.

Tanja Nenezic, Filip Vukmirovic, Ljiljana Vuckovic, Tatjana Culafic, Mileta Golubovic, Janja Raonic, Jelena Vucinic

01.04.2018.

Poster session

Metastasis in the upper urinary tract as initial presentation of invasive lobular breast cancer

Aim: Reporting a patient with unusual metastatic site of invasive lobular breast cancer (ILC) as initial presentation of the disease. Introduction: Due to specific growth pattern, ILC rarely forms an apparent tumor, which makes diagnosis very challenging at early stage. ILC is also known for unconventional metastatic spread, with deposits being discovered prior to the primary tumor in 3-10% of cases. Case report: While evaluating renal function in 51-year old female patient hospitalised at the Urology Clinic (Clinical centre of Montenegro), static scintigraphy revealed left kidney functional capacity of 7-8%. Nephrectomy was indicated. Kidney, 11x6x4cm in size, with slightly reduced, paler parenchyma, firmly attached fatty capsule and pyelocaliceal system and ureter of regular gross appearence, was delivered to the Centre for Pathology. Analysis of H E sections revealed chronic pyelonephritis. In a few sections taken from urether, pyelon and subcapsular parts of parenchyma, infiltrates of small, cuboid, atipical cells, mostly arranged in one-cell-thick files, were noted. Immunohistochemistry reveiled strong pozitivity for EMA, CK(ae1/ae3), CK7, estrogen and mammaglobin, with Ki67<10%. A few cells were progesteron positive, while vimentin, CK20 and neuroendocrine markers were negative. ILC metastasis was suspected. ILC, with axillary lymph POSTER SESIJA 66 MATERIA MEDICA • Vol. 34 • Issue 1, suplement 1 • april 2018. node involvement, was confirmed later, although there was no macroscopically apparent tumor in the breast. Tumor cells were estrogen and progesterone positive, HER2 negative, with Ki67 of 3%. Conclusion: While assessing metastatic deposits in unconventional sites in women, primary ILC should be considered. Special diagnostic algorhytm is required for efficient initial detection of the primary tumor.

Jelena Vucinic, Janja Raonic, Ljiljana Vuckovic, Filip Vukmirovic, Mileta Golubovic, Tanja Nenezic, Petar Kavaric

01.04.2018.

Abstracts

Fine needle aspiration cytology: current perspective and the role in diagnosis of the breast lesions

Breast cancer (BC) is the most prevalent cancer in the world among women and there are nearly 1.7 million new cases worldwide each year. Due to a number of remarkable advances made in both diagnosis and therapy, the survival rates for BC patients have increased in those regions with adequate medical facilities. According to contemporary recommendations, any pathological diagnosis of breast lesions, before any treatment, should be based on a Core Needle Biopsy (CNB), or on a Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology (FNAC), if CNB is not available. The prognosis of the newly diagnosed breast cancer patient depends on a number of factors, among which the most important is the extent of the spread of the disease to the axillary lymph nodes. Because any further treatment is influenced by the presence and number of axillary lymph nodes involved, a complete evaluation of the axillary lymph nodes is performed on every patient that is able to tolerate it, after a formal diagnosis of invasive carcinoma. At the very least an ultrasound with guided fine needle aspiration or core biopsy of suspicious lymph nodes should be undertaken.Although CNB is the main method employed in breast lesions diagnostics, FNAC still plays a significant role in the evaluation of pathological processes in the breast, a fact that has been well documented in the relevant literature in the last 20 years. The advantages of FNAC are: the sampling is quicker; the sampling technique usually does not require the use of anaesthetics; the trauma is small, and therefore more convenient for women using anticoagulant therapy; complications are rare; the availability of the results is within a few hours; skilled operators and pathologists regard this method as being highly sensitive in the detection of any malignant cells and the equipment is less expensive. The United Kingdom National Health Service Breast Screening Program (UK NHSBSP), began in 1988. Its guidelines have been published with regards to the mode of categorizing cell changes that may be seen in cytological samples obtained by needle aspiration. Five categories have been identified: C1 (unsatisfactory specimen - non-representative), C2 (benign), C3 (atypical - most likely benign), C4 (suspected - most likely malignant) and C5 (malignant). In 1996, the American National Cancer Institute (NCI) also suggested 5 categories for cytological diagnostics of breast lesions: benign, atypical, suspected, malignant and unsatisfactory. Patients with C3 and C4 categories, namely, atypical and suspected, which carry the risk of a malignant tumour, need to undergo further examination. C1 and C2 categories have to be correlated with the results of clinical and radiological examinations. C3 and C4 categories should not be represented in more than 5% of all analyzed aspirates. Currently, there is no individual morphological criterion that cytological diagnostics of malignant breast tumours could be based on. The most important cytological criteria that indicate whether it is a benign pathological process or a malignant tumor are: cellularity of the sample (a very important criterion, but it should be carefully interpreted), loss of cell cohesiveness (characteristic of malignant tumors), cellular arrangements, cell size, biphasicity in smear, the characteristics of the nucleus (size, contour, the appearance of chromatin, the appearance of nucleolus), characteristics of cytoplasm, nuclear-cytoplasmic ratio, APSTRAKTI 93 MATERIA MEDICA • Vol. 34 • Issue 1, suplement 1 • april 2018. mitotic figures, background appearance (necrosis, peripheral blood cells, mucus…) and the presence of inflammatory cells. It is also possible to perform immuno-histochemical staining on cytological samples, flow cytometry and molecular analyses. The FNAC treatment is characterised by solid sensitivity, specificity and predictive value. The sensitivity of FNAC ranges from 89% to 98% and the specificity is between 98% and 100%. Major shortcomings of this method are the impossibility of diagnosing in situ carcinoma and lesions followed by any abundant production of connective tissue. The CNB treatment has gained remarkable popularity since the 1980s and in many institutions has replaced FNAC. The limitations of both methods are; atypical ductal hyperplasia, fibroepithelial tumours, radial scarring and papillary lesions. In the diagnosis of breast lesions apart from aspiration cytology, other sampling techniques for cytological analysis are also applied. In the era of breast conservation therapy, breast tissue is most commonly sent for intraoperative consultation. A frozen section analysis is performed through freezing and sectioning the surgical specimen with subsequent staining, in order to obtain an extemporaneous assessment of the margins. Although this technique is extensively used by many surgeons to avoid the need for a postponed rescission, some pitfalls have been reported, such as the occurrence of artefacts due to the freezing and thawing of the adipose tissue in the specimen. A different intraoperative method for margins evaluation is imprint cytology, which consists of pressing each of the 6 faces of the specimen on 6 different slides, so that any malignant cell on any involved margin is theoretically present on the cytology of the respective slide, because of the tendency of tumour cells to adhere to glass as compared to adipocytes. Imprint cytology can also be used in assessing the representational value of the CNB samples. A significant number of authors suggest that the application of the imprint of cytology reduces the number of inadequate samples obtained by CNB and can also provide a preliminary diagnosis, especially in cases of adequately sampled malignant tumours. Nipple discharge (ND) accounts for approximately 5% of the breast-related symptoms and is the third most common reason women seek medical attention. Approximately 7% to 15% of unilateral NDs are caused by malignant lesions, primarily ductal carcinoma in-situ (DCIS). A cytological examination of the obtained content is significant in the final treatment decision. Cytological analysis, in particular FNAC, continues to play an important role in the diagnoses of breast cancer. Skilled professionals can determine breast cancer through an analysis of the cytological sample as a reliable and accurate method.

Ljiljana Vuckovic, Filip Vukmirovic, Mileta Golubovic

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