Tata Memorial Hospital

About: Tata Memorial Hospital is a healthcare organization based out in Mumbai, India. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Cancer & Breast cancer. The organization has 3187 authors who have published 4636 publications receiving 109143 citations.

Osteosarcoma of the head and neck region: lessons learned from a single-institution experience of 50 patients.

Abstract: Background. Osteosarcoma of the head and neck region is a rare tumor and is a therapeutic challenge because of its aggressive nature and complex anatomical location. Stand- ard management guidelines are lacking due to paucity of pub- lished data. Methods. Fifty patients with head and neck osteosarcoma treated at our institute from 1995 to 2004 were reviewed. Results. There were 32 men and 18 women (median, 30 years). Mandible (56%) was the most common site. Chondro- blastic (46%) was the most common histopathological variant. Treatment comprised multimodality approach using surgery (100%), radiotherapy (36%), and chemotherapy (58%). After a median follow-up of 16.6 months, 46% were alive and disease free. Median overall survival was 45.7 months, and progression- free survival was 13.7 months. Mandible and maxilla were favor- able sites. Postoperative adjuvant radiotherapy improved local control in patients with adverse prognostic factors. Conclusions. Surgery remains the mainstay of the treatment of head and neck osteosarcoma. Adjuvant radiotherapy improves outcome in patients with adverse factors. V C 2008

Pathology of Ewing's sarcoma/PNET: Current opinion and emerging concepts.

Abstract: Ewing's sarcoma/PNET are small round cell tumors showing a varying degree of neuroectodermal differentiation. They are one of the commonest tumors of childhood and occur in bone and within soft tissues. Traditionally, light microscopy with the aid of immunohistochemical stains was suitable for diagnosis. But now translocation analyses are being used not only for the diagnosis and classification of small round cell tumors, but to ascertain their prognostic significance, detect micrometastasis, and monitor minimal residual disease, with potential for targeted therapy. This article analyzes the pathology, biology, and molecular aspects of Ewing's sarcoma/PNET and discusses their clinical and therapeutic implications.

Plakophilin3 downregulation leads to a decrease in cell adhesion and promotes metastasis

Abstract: Plakophilin3 is a desmosomal plaque protein whose levels are reduced in poorly differentiated tumors of the oropharyngeal cavity and in invasive colon carcinomas. To test the hypothesis that plakophilin3 loss stimulates neoplastic progression, plakophilin3 expression was inhibited by DNA vector driven RNA interference in 3 epithelial cell lines, HCT116, HaCaT and fetal buccal mucosa. The plakophilin3-knockdown clones showed a decrease in cell-cell adhesion as assessed in a hanging drop assay, which was accompanied by an increase in cell migration. The HCT116 plakophilin3-knockdown clones showed a decrease in desmosome size as revealed by electron microscopy. These altered desmosomal properties were accompanied by colony formation in soft agar and growth to high density in culture. The HCT116-derived clones showed accelerated tumor formation in nude mice and increased metastasis to the lung, a phenotype consistent with the increased migration observed in vitro and is consistent with data from human tumors that suggests that plakophililn3 is lost in invasive and metastatic tumors. These data indicate that plakophilin3 loss leads to a decrease in cell-cell adhesion leading to the stimulation of neoplastic progression and metastasis.