OBJECTIVE To conduct a systematic review of the role that the hedgehog signaling pathway has in pancreatic cancer tumorigenesis. METHOD PubMed search (2000-2010) and literature based references. RESULTS Firstly, in 2009 a genetic analysis of pancreatic cancers found that a core set of 12 cellular signaling pathways including hedgehog were genetically altered in 67-100% of cases. Secondly, i...

introduction: numerous studies have investigated the prevalence, incidence and clinical manifestations of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (gists). however, little is known about gists in iran. this pioneer study focuses on description of 36 patients with gists in iran. methods: a database was created for 36 patients suffering from gist who were treated in loghman medical center and tehran cance...

PURPOSE To report an upper eyelid mass which proved to be a desmoplastic trichilemmoma. METHODS A 60-year-old man had a slowly enlarging upper eyelid mass. The tumor was excised. The pathologic evaluation of the tumor was centered on the differential diagnosis. RESULTS The clinical appearance of this lesion is nonspecific and can simulate a verruca, follicular keratosis, or basal cell carci...

The invasive growth of malignant cells induces an admixture of host reactions including desmoplasia, angiogenesis, and immune reactions Pancreatic cancer has a prominent and characteristic host reaction at the site of primary invasion. To obtain new insights into the process of tumor invasion, we studied global patterns of gene expression using serial analysis of gene expression in pancreatic c...

spinal cord injury (sci) is a debilitating disease which leads to progressive functional damages. because of limited axonal regeneration in the central nervous system, there is no or little recovery expected in the patients. different cellular and molecular approaches were investigated in sci animal models. cellular transplantation of stem cells can potentially replace damaged tissue and provid...

The hallmark of pancreatic tumours, the desmoplastic reaction, provides a unique microenvironment that affects pancreatic tumour behaviour, its ability to grow and metastasize as well as resist the effects of chemotherapy. Complex molecular interactions and pathways give rise to the desmoplastic reaction. Breakdown or penetration of the desmoplastic reaction may hold the key to overcoming the l...

Background Endometriosis is the presence of endometrial tissue outside of the uterine cavity and is the most common gynecologic disorder in women of reproductive age. We have preliminary evidence that in the presence of a 3-dimensional (3-D) fibrin matrix, human endometrial glands, stroma, and neovascularization can develop in vitro, mimicking the earliest stages of endometriosis. The aim of th...

A 9-year-old male Yellow-headed Amazon (Amazona oratrix) with a history of anorexia and vomiting died of a liver tumor. The tumor consisted of neoplastic cells with hepatocellular and cholangiocellular differentiations and their intermingled areas. Neoplastic hepatocytes showed islands or trabecular growth with vacuolated eosinophilic cytoplasm. Cells showing biliary differentiation formed duct...