Unveiling Rarity: A Case Report on Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma of Lung

Primary salivary gland-type tumours of the lung (PSGT) are very rare and constitute less than 1% of all primary lung tumours and commonest subtype of PSGT is pulmonary mucoepidermoid carcinoma (PMEC). We present such a case in 28-year-old male with history of fever, haemoptysis and dyspnoea, he had gross pallor, thin built and his x-ray showed opacity in left lower zone. His CECT chest showed endobronchial mass and PET-CT was suggestive of bronchial carcinoid. Final diagnosis of PSGT was confirmed with help of histopathology and immuno-histochemistry. We aim to emphasize the importance of this rare tumour as close differential of carcinoid tumour

MALDI-TOF based Proteomics Analysis of Breast Cancer in Clinical Pathology: A Valuable Tool for Biomarker Identification

This study analyse the performance of tissue-based proteomics for early diagnosis of breast cancer for reducing its risk by identifying the causal factors. Breast cancer was induced by 7, 12-Dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA) in female albino mice followed by blood and tissue sample collection for biochemical and histological analysis. Total protein was isolated and quantified and peptides were detected by SDS-PAGE. For proteomics analysis and generation of peptide peaks, Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization-Time of Flight-Mass Spectroscopy (MALDI-TOF-MS) was used and identification of unknown molecular weight was done by Mascot Server. DMBA induced tumor weighing 8.96± 0.90 g with a volume of 3.24± 0.65 cm3 was observed compared to no growth of controlled mice. Biochemical parameters like lipid peroxide (malonaldehyde), pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1b, IL-6 and TNF-a), enzymatic antioxidants (SOD and CAT) and non-enzymatic antioxidants (GSH, GPx and vitamin C and E) were found significantly increased. Further, MALDI-TOF mass spectroscopy generated unique peaks with molecular weight 2061.7961, 2064.968 and 2067.0154 with their respective peptide sequences. Computational analysis with mascot server identified unique signature metabolites of breast cancer. Therefore, this study safely submit that proteomic technologies can be employed to identify breast cancer protein patterns offering better diagnostic possibilities in the form of effective markers for early disease diagnosis.</jats:p

Arsenic Induced Breast Cancer Risk in Population of Bihar, India

Abstract Globally, ~ 300 million people are exposed to arsenic poisoning while in India an estimated 70 million people are affected by consumption of arsenic contaminated water. The state of Bihar is an endemic belt for arsenic contamination in groundwater affecting over 10 million people with moderate to serious health manifestations. Life threatening disease like cancer is not uncommon now, and carcinoma type of cancer cases are on the rise. Breast cancer incidences in the state follows closely with more and more women getting affected. Approximately, 23% of the cancer types in women are related to breast cancer, diagnosed at a fairly advanced stage (III or IV) of the disease. The etiology of the disease is not clearly known though faulty lifestyle and genetic makeup cannot be ruled out. The present study attempts to derive a relation between increasing breast cancer cases with the sustained arsenic intake in the second most populated state of the country. Pathologically confirmed, female breast cancer patients (n = 55) from across the state were included in the study. Sampling of the breast tissue, blood, hair and toe nail was carried out by the surgical oncology department of the institute. As a part of cross-sectional study, (n = 12) female breast benign cases were taken as the control group and their biological samples were also collected. All the samples as per the protocol of NIOSH were digested and analysed by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometer. For the epidemiological parameter study, their age, type of malignancy, stage and demographic information was compiled. The results were correlated with the arsenic concentration in groundwater as per their endemic status and anomalous values on GIS platform. The role of geological studies to establish the morpho-stratigraphic control and aquifers with higher concentration was brought to use. The results are fairly indicative of the high correlation of anomalous concentration of arsenic with the sample population with diagnosed malignancy as compared to the control group. The maximum arsenic concentration observed in the biological samples in blood was 1856µg/L, in breast tissue 446.4µg/Kg, in hair 1296·9µg/Kg and in toenail 621·83µg/Kg respectively. The scattered plots correlate the relationship between age of the breast cancer patients with arsenic contamination, while the geospatial distribution positively correlates with the districts with increased arsenic endemicity in a predominantly alluvium dominated country. The high arsenic contamination in the biological samples of the breast cancer patients is an indicative marker to the possible relation of the disease to arsenic, as compared to the control population exposed to a much lesser toxicity. Consumption of water with more than 10 ppb arsenic contamination over a sustained longer time span has possibly exposed the population to a larger threat to disease as inferred from the findings. The disease breeding as a silent killer with reduced or unnoticeable symptoms upto a fairly advanced stage has further accentuated the problem. The present study thus endeavours to identify a significant relation of the disease with sustained intake of arsenic consumed through water and food products laden with anomalous concentration.</jats:p