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BACKGROUND: Neoplasms from the ventricular system share a common location but have highly variable histogenesis. Many are slowly growing tumors that behave in a benign fashion. They can be classified as primary and secondary tumors. The most common primary tumors are ependymomas, subependymomas, subependymal giant cell astrocytomas, central neurocytomas, choroid plexus tumors, meningiomas, germinomas, pineal parenchymal tumors, papillary tumors of the pineal region, chordoid gliomas, rosette-forming glioneuronal tumors of the fourth ventricle, and craniopharyngiomas. Pilocytic astrocytomas, medulloblastomas, and atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumors often show secondary involvement of the ventricular system. SUMMARY: Advances in neurosurgery have facilitated access to the ventricular system increasing the number of cases in which such tumors can be biopsied. In this context, cytology has been proven to be an extremely useful diagnostic tool during intraoperative pathologic consultations. Many ventricular tumors are infrequent, and the cytologic information available is limited. In this review, we describe the cytologic features of the uncommon ventricular tumors and report on unusual findings of the more common ones. For the cytologic evaluation of brain tumors, many neuropathologists prefer formalin fixation and hematoxylin and eosin staining. In this review, we highlight the cytologic findings as seen with Diff-Quik, a very popular staining method among cytopathologists. In fact, when pathologists are unfamiliar with cytology, it is common to request the assistance of cytopathologists during the evaluation of intraoperative procedures. Key Message: Ventricular tumors of the central nervous system comprise a group of heterogeneous tumors with very different cytologic features. The cytomorphology of these tumors, including rare entities, is often very characteristic, allowing a precise recognition during intraoperative pathologic consultations. Diff-Quik is a valuable staining method that can be used alone or as a complement to hematoxylin and eosin staining. Diff-Quik allows for clear visualization of the overall architecture, cytoplasmic details, and extracellular material.

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BACKGROUND: Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a good option for the treatment of Bowen's disease (BD). However, BD occasionally can progress into a squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) after PDT. OBJECTIVE: Find predictors of aggressiveness of BD after PDT METHODS: Two biopsies of patients with BD treated with PDT with progression to SCC within three months were selected for immunohistochemical (IHC) studies. Conventional PDT was applied. IHC analysis was performed together with hematoxylin-eosin in the biopsies prior to and after treatment with PDT. RESULTS: Among the IHC markers studied, none showed different expressions between pre-treatment and post-treatment biopsies except for HSP70 CONCLUSIONS: The expression of Hsp70 in BD may predict future aggressive behaviour in BD when treated with PDT. Nevertheless, due to the small number of biopsies studied, further investigations are required to draw conclusions.

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Pure renal sarcomas are rare; sometimes they are related to the renal capsule or blood vessels and a few cases of osteosarcoma have been reported. We report an unusual case of renal osteosarcoma in an 80-year-old man who underwent nephrectomy for pyelo-ureteral stenosis and hydronephrosis. The tumor was hemorrhagic and attached to the pyelocaliceal surface. Histopathology revealed a pleomorphic neoplasm with features of telangiectatic osteosarcoma. No areas of transitional or renal cell carcinoma or other sarcomatous component were present. Relevant features, such as calcifications and osseous metaplasia, were present at the implantation zone of the tumor. The present case differs from previously reported ones as it was an unexpected finding observed in a non-functioning kidney with good clinical behavior and corresponded to an unusual morphologic variant of osteosarcoma, the telangiectatic type. Finally, the relation with areas of calcification and ossification poses interesting questions as to its histogenenis (AU)

Los sarcomas renales son raros y en ocasiones se relacionan con la cápsula renal o vasos sanguíneos. Dentro de este grupo se han descrito algunos casos de osteosarcoma. En este artículo describimos un caso peculiar de osteosarcoma renal. Un varón de 80 años fue sometido a nefrectomía por estenosis pieloureteral e hidronefrosis. Se observó un tumor hemorrágico adherido a la superficie pielocalicial. Microscópicamente mostró características histológicas propias de osteosarcoma telangiectático. No asociaba áreas de carcinoma urotelial o renal ni otro componente sarcomatoso. Un dato relevante fue la presencia, en la zona de implantación del tumor, de calcificaciones distróficas y focos de osificación heterotópica. El presente caso difiere de los anteriormente publicados. Fue un hallazgo incidental, en un riñón no funcionante, y ha mostrado buen comportamiento clínico. Histológicamente correspondía a la variante telangiectática de osteosarcoma. Por último, la relación con áreas de calcificación y osificación plantea posibles implicaciones histogenéticas (AU)

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Roots of Iostephane heterophylla (Cav.) Benth ex Hemsl are used mainly in Mexican traditional medicine to heal skin problems. The development of a column high-performance liquid chromatography (LC)-UV detector method for the determination of xanthorrhizol, the major and active component of the roots of I. heterophylla, is described in this paper. The content of this compound was quantitatively determined employing a Symmetry C18 5 microm particle size column with the isocratic mobile phase acetonitrile-water (85 + 15). The flow rate was 1.0 mL/min, and UV detection was at 230 nm. The limits of detection and quantitation were 0.2 and 0.5 microg/mL, respectively. Quantities of xanthorrhizol measured by this method ranged between 1.8 to 10.94 mg/g of root of the plant in 11 different samples of I. heterophylla. Xanthorrhizol was not detected in a sample of I. madrensis, so xanthorrhizol could be used as a marker compound of I. heterophylla. The LC method described here was shown to be reliable, reproducible, and accurate.

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