Human pathology
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Digital pathology promises a number of benefits in efficiency in surgical pathology, yet the longer time required to review a virtual slide than a glass slide currently represents a significant barrier to the routine use of digital pathology. We aimed to create a novel workstation that enables pathologists to view a case as quickly as on the conventional microscope. The Leeds Virtual Microscope (LVM) was evaluated using a mixed factorial experimental design. ⋯ On the LVM, participants spent a significantly greater proportion of the total task time viewing slides and revisited slides more often. The unique design of the LVM, enabling real-time rendering of virtual slides while providing users with a quick and intuitive way to navigate within and between slides, makes use of digital pathology in routine practice a realistic possibility. With further practice with the system, diagnostic efficiency on the LVM is likely to increase yet more.
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Deregulation of histone H3 trimethylation at lysine 27 (H3K27me3) via aberration of the histone methyltransferase, enhancer of zeste homologue 2 (EZH2), is suggested to play a critical role in cancers including hematologic malignancies. In the present study, implications of H3K27me3 were investigated in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) with respect to clinicopathological factors, especially in association with c-Myc/Bcl2 coexpression and germinal center B-like (GCB) or non-GCB subtype. By immunohistochemistry, a high level of H3K27me3 was observed in approximately one-third (35.3%, 79/224) of DLBCL cases, and this subset of cases was related to poor performance status (Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group scores ≥ 2) (P = .013), elevated lactate dehydrogenase level (P = .001), and a higher international prognostic index risk group (scores ≥3) (P = .005). ⋯ In conclusion, H3K27me3 was related to EZH2 and c-Myc expression, suggesting formation of a MYC-EZH2-H3K27me3 loop in a subgroup of DLBCL cases. H3K27me3 was associated with poor patient outcome and revealed as an independent predictor for overall survival of DLBCL patients. H3K27me3 in DLBCL may be another high-risk phenotype independent of the phenotype of c-Myc/Bcl2 coexpression or other known poor prognostic subgroups.