330 Abstracts/Lung Cancer 13 (1995) 323-356

producing small amounts of cytokines could promote the recruitment of cells of DC/LC lineage. Subcellular factors produced by reactive lymphocytes and/or macrophages may intluence the production of GM- CSF and ILIC) by various epithelia. Up-regulation of this production could favor the arrival and differentiation of DCs and activate LC functions.

A benign clear cell tumor of the lung that grew gradually over live years Mishina T, Suzuki I, Fujino M, Watanabe N, Akita H, Narita Yet al. Firsi Department o/Medicine, Hokkaido Univ. School of Medicine, North 15, West 7, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060. Jpn J ThoracDis 1995;33:165- 70.

A 38-year-old man was found to have an abnormal shadow in his chest X-ray film during a general medical examination. A nodule with a homogeneous density and a clear margin was seen in the upper lobe of the right long. Since this shadow gradually enlarged during a Bve- year follow-up period, he was admitted to our hospital. Chest contrast and dynamic CT scans and aortography showed characteristics of a benign tumor with somewhat rich vascularity. The doubling time of this tumor was about 430 days, Transbronchial brushing for Cytologic study and a transbronchial biopsy showed no malignancy. However, the tumor was surgically resected because of its gradual growth over the five years. The resected tumor was histologically diagnosed as a benign clear cell tumor of the lung. This disease was first described by Leibow and Castleman in 1963, as a benign pulmonary tumor similar to metastatic renal cell carcinoma. This disease is extremely rare and only 6 1 cases have been reported: twenty cases, including the present case, in Japan and 41 in other countries.

Detection of K-ras mutations in non-small cell lung carcinoma Neville EM, Ellison G, Kiaris H, Stewart M, Spandidos DA, Fox JC et al. Dept. of Clinical Dental Sciences, University ofLiverpool. Molecular Genetics/Oncology Group, Liverpool L69 3BX. Id J Oncol 1995 ;7:5 ll- 4.

Forty-five non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC) were examined for the presence of K-ras mutations in codon 12 using RFLP (restriction fragment length polymorphism) and ARMS (amplification refractory mutation system) assays. The RFLP analysis consisted of a PCR and subsequent digestion of the product with BstNI. Three adenocarcinomas and one adenosquamous carcinoma were shown to have mutations at codon 12. AR of these samples were also examined using the ARMS assay for mutations at codon 12 and second base G to A transitions at codon 13 of the K-ras gene. The same four samples were confirmed to have a single base change in codon 12. No G to A transitions were found at codon 13. The four mutations were: one G to C transversion, one G to A transition and two G to T transversions. All mutations occurred at the second position of ccdon 12 as shown by the ARMS assay. Both of these techniques are rapid and reproducible for the identification of mutations in the K-ras gene and have potential for use

in cancer diagnosis.

Nuclear DNA and nuclear protein content of tumor cell in adenocarcinoma of the lung Gonullu U, Kato H. Department of Respiratory Medicine, Medicat School ofAnkara University. Mamak Caddesi, Cebeci, Ankara. Lung Cancer (Ireland) 1995;13:13-9.

We measured DNA and protein contents of nuclei in resected tumors from 17 cases (six female and 11 male) of pulmonary primary adeno- carcinoma, The relationship between the contents of nuclear DNA and protein on tumoral behavior was evaluated. We found that the content

of nuclear DNA and protein was signiticantly higher in advanced stages than in early stages in patients with adenocarcinoma (P < 0.05). We also found the nuclear protein, DNA contents and the ratio of nuclear protein to DNA significantly higher in patients under the average age of 61 than in the patients over 61 (P < 0.05). Tumor size was found to be greater in Stage III and IV cases than Stage I cases (P < 0.05). In conclusion, it has been postulated that evaluation of malignant disease and its behavior might be simplified by measuring nuclear DNA and the protein contents of tumors, contributing to disease control.

The value of PE-IO, a monoclonal antibody against pulmonary surfactant, in distinguishing primary and metastatic lung tumours Nicholson AG, McCormick CJ, Shimosato Y, Butcher DN, Sheppard MN. Department of Histopathology, Royal Brompton Hospital. Sydney St, London SW3 6NP. Histopathology 1995;27:57-60.

A new monoclonal antibody (PE-10) raised against components of pulmonary surfactant has been assessed for its ability to distinguish primary from secondary carcinomas in the lung. We applied this antibody to a series of 107 primary lung carcinomas, 40 adenocarcinomas of other sites, and 26 cases of adenocarcinoma metastatic to lung and pleura. Of the primary lung carcinomas, all the non-mutinous bronchiole-alveolar carcinomas were positive whereas all the mutinous cases were negative; 60% of other typesofadenocarcinoma were positive and 10% of large cell undifferentiated carcinomas, 20% of small cell carcinomas and 40% ofatypical carcinoids also showed focal positivity. Squamous cell carcinomas were all negative. Adenocarcinomas of the breast, kidney, large bowel and ovaries were all negative, as were all 26 cases of adenocarcinoma metastatic to the lung and pleura. We conclude that this antibody is highly specifc and modemtely sensitive for primary tumours of the lung.

Primary lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma of the lung: A clinicopathologic study of 11 cases Chan JKC, Hui P-K, Tsang WYW, Law C-K, Ma C-C, Yip ‘FTC et al. Department of Pathology. Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Wfvlie Road, Kowloon. Cancer 1995;76:413-22.

Background. Lympboepithelioma-like carcinoma (LELC), best known to occur in the nasopharynx, can arise in a variety of sites, such as the salivary gland, thymus, lung, stomach, and skin. Primary LELC of the lung is very rare, with only limited information in the literature. Methods. The clinicopathologic features of 11 patients with pulmonary LELC collected from two regional hospitals in Hong Kong are described. Rest&s. The patients, all Chinese, were aged 38 to 73 years (median, 54 years), with equal sex incidence. Two of the 8 patients were smokers. Four presented with coin lesions incidentally discovered on chest X- ray, five with cough and blood- stained sputum, and two with pleural efhrsion. The tumor formed a discrete (9 patients) or an illdetined (1 patient) nodule in the lung, or, rarely, showed extensive bilateral pulmonary involvement (1 patient). The major bronchi were not involved except in 1 patient. Three patients had lymph node metastasis at presentation; two of them had tone metastasis, one at presentation and one tier 9 months. The tumors had pushing margins, and grew in the form of anastomosing islands and sheets, comprising syncytd-appearing large cells with vesicular nuclei and prominent nucleoli. They were infiltrated by an appreciable number of small lymphocytes and plasma cells. Intratumoral amyloid globules were found in one tumor. In five patients, the tumor showed intraepithelial growth within the small bronchi; this could represent either the in-situ phase of the tumor or pagetoid spread into the bronchial epithelium. The neoplastic cells of all patients harbored Epstein- Barr virus (EBV) as demonstrated by in situ hybridization for EBV-encoded small nuclear RNAs. All eight Asian