Ann Pathol

[Prognostic value of E-cadherin expression in hepatocellular carcinoma]

Year 1998
Garcia S. Martini F. De Micco C. Andrac L. Sappa P. Hardwigsen J. Lavaut MN. Le Treut YP. Charpin C.
Service d'Anatomie et Cytologie Pathologiques, Faculte de medecine, Marseille.
Expression of E-cadherin (E-cad) was investigated immunohistologically in 91 cases of operated hepatocellular carcinomas. An alteration of E-cad immunodetection was found in 56% of tumours. These alterations were correlated with histopathologic features of prognostic value including tumour size (> 3 cm), high nuclear grade and mitotic index. Patients with down-regulated E-cad expression had statistically significant shorter survival than the others. Although E-cad immunodetection was an independent prognostic factor, the Cox multivariate analysis showed that its prognostic value was low when compared to other prognostic factors.

[Congenital hepatic fibrosis. Five cases with late occurrence in adults]

Year 1998
Mainguene C. Clement N. Cassagnau E. Nomballais F. Gavelli A. Marmorale A. Brunner P. Huguet C.
Service de Pathologie, Hopital Princesse Grace, Monaco.
Congenital hepatic fibrosis (CHF), is an autosomal recessive disease, presenting principally in childhood with portal hypertension and/or cholangitis, and often associated with renal malformations. The forms presenting later in adults are rare, and illustrated herein by 4 cases with dominant cholangitis, and one latent form. Biological tests and radiological imaging are often normal. The histopathologic diagnosis, sometimes difficult on liver needle biopsy is based on fibrous enlargement of portal areas, with numerous and tortuous bile ducts, lined by regular, cuboidal epithelium. Interportal fibrosis can mimic cirrhosis. In CHF, cholangitis are favoured by intrahepatic biliary dilatation, sometimes related to Caroli's disease, associated in 25% of cases. Suppurative complications, sometimes fatal explain the severity of cholangitis forms of CHF, contraindicating inopportune cholangiography and biliary surgery.