The Laboratory Report Spring 2011

The

Spring 2011

Laboratory Report A Publication of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

New Department Chair

James M. Musser, M.D., Ph.D.

O

n July 1, 2010, James M. Musser, M.D., Ph.D. became the new chair of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, succeeding Michael W. Lieberman, M.D., Ph.D. who retired in June after 22 years as chair.

“I am extremely honored and humbled to have been given the opportunity to lead our Department. I applaud Dr. Lieberman’s relentless efforts on behalf of our patients, and his unwavering commitment to excellence in all departmental activities,” said Dr. Musser. “Our Department is extremely fortunate to have many world-class pathologists. We will continue to meet the many diagnostic challenges and therapeutic needs of our patients, medical staff, and community,” said Musser.

“Dr. Musser is a tremendous asset to Methodist and we are fortunate to have his talents, expertise, and leadership,” said Ron Girotto, president and chief executive officer of The Methodist Hospi-

tal System. Dr. Musser assumes his leadership role at a time when the national pathology and health care landscapes are undergoing a period of change. “The effects of the Affordable Care Act on health care and, specifically, the practice of pathology, remain unclear. With an outstanding and fast-growing hospital system and new technology, the department will be nimble, embrace change, and innovatively solve diagnostic problems,” said Dr. Musser.

“I am especially excited about our new initiative in digital pathology made possible by the strong support of The Methodist Hospital. This new technology will help us deliver enhanced, state-of-the -art diagnostic services to all Methodist System hospitals,” said Dr. Musser.

Musser, a past recipient of the Chugai Award for Excellence in Mentoring and Scholarship from the American Society for Investigative Pathology, also plans to enhance already strong departmental education and training programs. Pathology is home to the most ACGMEaccredited training programs of any department at Methodist. A new departmental Grand Rounds was started in 2010. A post-sophomore year-out training program will be implemented this year to help attract the highest caliber of trainees.

Additional fellowships are under consideration.

Dr. Musser holds the Fondren Endowed Distinguished Chair and is the codirector and executive vice president of The Methodist Hospital Research Institute. He also directs the Center for Molecular and Translational Human Infectious Diseases Research. Dr. Musser’s clinical emphasis is diagnostic microbiology.

His research focuses on group A Streptococcus and Mycobacterium tuberculosis with a special emphasis on genomewide analyses of host-pathogen molecular interactions. He is an elected member of many medical societies, including the American Society for Investigative Pathology and Association of American Physicians. Dr. Musser was recently elected vice president of the American Society for Investigative Pathology.

For more information on Dr. Musser, please visit methodisthealth.com/Musser. 

Table of Contents

2

Dr. Mary Schwartz Receives Lifetime Achievement Award Dr. Alberto Ayala Receives Koss Medal

3

Methodist West Houston Pathology Department Opens San Jacinto Laboratory Obtains New Instruments

4

Demand Increases at Sugar Land and Willowbrook Laboratories New Diagnostic Test Offerings

5

Digital Pathology Section Added Record Year for Residency Applications New Fellowship Program Added

6

Trainee Spotlight Three Department Faculty Receive Simmons Funding

7

Office of Academic Development Opens NIH Awards Grant to Dr. Paul Sumby

The

LABORATORY REPORT

2

Dr. Mary Schwartz Receives Lifetime Achievement Award from CAP

Mary R. Schwartz, M.D.

M

ary R. Schwartz, M.D., the medical director of Anatomic Pathology, was one of eight recipients of the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award from the College of American Pathologists (CAP) at an awards ceremony on September 25, 2010 at the CAP Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL. CAP presents the award to its mem-

bers who have made a broad and positive impact on the pathology profession through contributions to one or more areas of the College over an extended period of time. Dr. Schwartz was recognized for her contributions as a superb educator, diagnostic pathologist, and pathology activist.

“I am deeply honored and overwhelmed to receive the CAP Lifetime Achievement Award,” said Dr. Schwartz.

“It has been a special privilege to be able to participate in activities of the College and to serve members of our specialty.”

Dr. Schwartz is actively involved in the mentoring of residents and fellows, as well as teaching medical students; she is the director of the surgical pathology fellowship in the Department.

In addition to publishing regularly, Dr. Schwartz serves on several editorial boards and is an associate editor of Archives of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine.

She has been named one of the Best Doctors in America since 1996, and in 2009,

she received the CAP Spotlight Service Award.

“The hospital and the Department are very proud of Dr. Schwartz. We congratulate her on receiving this prestigious award,” said Dr. James Musser, chair of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. “Dr. Schwartz is a worldclass pathologist and astoundingly hard working. Our patients, our physicians and our department are very fortunate to have her practice at Methodist.”

While practicing in all areas of surgical and cytopathology, Dr. Schwartz’s specific areas of interest include gastrointestinal pathology, breast pathology, and head and neck pathology. Her research interests include discovery and validation of tumor markers in breast and pancreatic cancer.

For more information on Dr. Schwartz, visit methodisthealth.com/Schwartz. For more information on the College of American Pathologists, please visit cap.org. 

Dr. Alberto Ayala Receives Koss Medal from ISUP

Alberto G. Ayala, M.D.

D

r. Alberto Ayala, the elected deputy chief of Pathology, was awarded the Leopold Koss Medal from the International Society of Urological Pathology (ISUP) at the USCAP 2010 meeting in Washington, D.C. He received the prestigious award for his career-level achievement in promoting

excellence in the field of urological pathology.

“The Koss Medal is an esteemed award. Dr. Ayala has earned this medal for an impressive career that spans over four decades,” said Dr. James Musser, chair of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. “Dr. Ayala is a tremendous asset to the Department, the hospital, and the entire pathology community. His rare level of expertise has made him invaluable to all of us.”

The Koss Medal is named for Dr. Leopold Koss, a renowned cytopathologist who is currently professor emeritus in the Department of Pathology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, NY. Dr. Ayala is a surgical pathologist with subspecialty interest in urologic and bone cancers. He joined the Department of Pathology at The Methodist Hospital in 2004 after a 37-year career in the Department of Pathology at The University of

Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center where he served as the director of surgical pathology and deputy chair.

For more information on Dr. Ayala, please visit methodisthealth.com/Ayala. For more information on the International Society of Urological Pathology (ISUP), visit isuporg.org. 

Dr. Ayala’s Koss Medal

The

LABORATORY REPORT

3

New Methodist West Houston Hospital Pathology Department Opens

O

n December 17, 2010, the Methodist West Houston Hospital opened its doors and admitted its first patients. The laboratory on the 4th floor of the hospital officially opened that day under medical director Dr. Thu Ngo. Operations in the laboratory went flawlessly on opening day, largely as a result of the years of planning and months of training that prepared the facility and staff. Drs. Musser, David Bernard, and Rose Anton were on site for the opening and witnessed the inaugural Pathology and Laboratory Medicine test result. Test volumes have increased steadily since opening.

“Getting the new laboratory up and running was exciting and exhausting,” said Dr. Ngo. “The experience I gained in my years of practicing with Dr. Hazel Awalt at Willowbrook helped me exten-

sively in this process. I am fortunate to have a wealth of experience and support from all departmental pathologists in our system hospitals that I can call on at any time.”

The 7,400 square foot laboratory is staffed with 14 medical technologists and has state-of-the-art automated instrumentation that includes two Stago STA Compact hemostasis analyzers, two Radiometer ABL 90 FLEX blood gas analyzers, a Siemens Advia Centaur CP Immunoassay System, an Ortho Clinical Diagnostics VITROS 5,1 Fusion chemistry system, an IRIS IQ200 Series Automated Urinalysis System, a Sysmex XE-5000 and XT2000i for automated hematology testing, and an Ortho ProVue antibody test system.

For more information on Methodist West Houston, visit methodistwesthouston.com. 

Dr. Thu Ngo in the new Methodist West Houston Hospital laboratory

San Jacinto Laboratory Obtains New Instruments

T

he Pathology Laboratory at San Jacinto Methodist Hospital has replaced its two chemistry analyzers and acquired a new hemostasis analyzer to improve efficiency and address the growth in surgical volumes at the hospital.

“As our hospital continues to grow, we must offer additional pathology services,” said Joyce Maldonado, M.D., the medical director of Laboratory Services at San Jacinto Methodist. “New equipment with newer technology increases laboratory efficiency and decreases test turnaround times, permitting us to better serve our patients and our medical staff.”

Dimension Vista® 500 Intelligent Lab System The new Dimension Vista 500 System is used for chemistry and immunoassay testing. The instrument has the capacity to process up to 1,000 tests per hour. It provides high-sensitivity immunoassays

integrated with rapid turnaround time using one primary sample.

This new technology will improve laboratory efficiency by allowing more of the San Jacinto core laboratory tests to be performed onsite, resulting in improved patient care.

TEG® 5000 Thrombelastograph® Hemostasis Analyzer The TEG 5000 System provides a comprehensive analysis of hemostasis including clotting time, clot formation kinetics, clot strength and clot lysis from one whole-blood sample. Moreover, it includes the assessment of the effects of antiplatelet drugs including aspirin, clopidogrel, tirofiban and others. The real -time hemostasis data can be viewed anywhere in the hospital, including the operating room.

The addition of the TEG 5000 comes as the hospital opened its new cardiovascular surgical suite and hybrid operating

room. With this new system in place, physicians are able to stratify the risk of post-operative bleeding more accurately and use transfusion algorithms more reliably, therefore decreasing transfusion requirements, reducing costs and obtaining improved patient outcomes.

For more information on San Jacinto Methodist, visit sanjacintomethodist.com. 

Clinical chemistry supervisor Lucy Willis and Dr. Claudia Molina in front of one of the new Dimension Vista 500 chemistry analyzers

The

LABORATORY REPORT

4

Hospital Growth Increases Demands on Laboratories at Methodist Sugar Land and Willowbrook

H

ospital growth and expansion continue to increase demands on all areas of the laboratories at Methodist Sugar Land Hospital and Methodist Willowbrook Hospital. In May of 2010, a major expansion at Willowbrook was completed that doubled the size of the hospital.

Hospital admissions have increased 17% and surgeries have increased 21% compared to 2009. Cardiovascular surgery was initiated in March of 2010, and a small pediatric unit opened later that year.

Overall laboratory testing volumes have increased 38%, including new on-site testing such as the thromboelastography with platelet mapping to support the new cardiovascular and vascular procedures, platelet function analysis to support surgical procedures, creatinine iSTAT to support Radiology patient efficiency and best practices, and HIV-1 and

HIV-2 and HBsAg to meet required turnaround time standards for the Labor and Delivery unit.

Dr. Hazel Awalt, medical director of Laboratory Services for Methodist Willowbrook (left), and histology technician Beth Beck prepare to receive specimens from the busy operating rooms.

The Methodist Sugar Land laboratory also implemented several new tests onsite including P2Y12 and aspirin platelet function testing in support of interventional cardiology activities, creatinine whole blood testing in support of Radiology patient efficiency and best practices, platelet mapping in support of cardiovascular surgery, TSH, free T4 and rapid HIV-1 and HIV-2 to improve service standards, A1 subtyping in the Blood Bank in support of the new transplant evaluation program and fern testing to support Women’s Services.

To improve outpatient satisfaction and service, the laboratory opened a second phlebotomy station located in Diagnostic Imaging (Main Pavilion).

For more information on Methodist Sugar Land, visit methodisthealth.com/ sugarland. For more information on Methodist Willowbrook, visit methodisthealth.com/ willowbrook. 

New Diagnostic Test Offerings: illumigene™ C. difficile

Electron microscope image of Clostridium difficile bacteria

T

he Methodist Hospital System has implemented the new illumigene Clostridium difficile molecular assay from Meridian Biosciences, Inc. The assay employs Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP) technology for a simple, faster, and more costeffective testing process. This test per-

mits a more rapid diagnostic result for C. difficile than conventional assays. Because of improved sensitivity and specificity, this test has a much lower false-negative rate and the need for repeat testing has been greatly reduced.

For more information on the illumigene C. difficile assay at Methodist, please

contact Dr. James Davis at 713-441-2437 or jrdavis@tmhs.org. For more information on illumigene molecular diagnostics systems, please visit meridianbioscience.com/ illumigene. 

The

LABORATORY REPORT

5

Department Adds Digital Pathology Section

T

he Department will implement new digital pathology technology into specific pathology services this year. Digital pathology has the potential to transform anatomic pathology and assist faster and more accurate diagnoses. The new Digital Pathology Section is under the direction of Dr. Michael Thrall. This new initiative will be the subject of an article in the next issue of The Laboratory Report.

For more information on digital pathology at Methodist, please contact Dr. Michael Thrall at 713-441-4459 or mjthrall@tmhs.org. 

Record Year for Residency Applications

T

he number of applicants for the Department’s residency training program reached an all-time high this year. In addition to an overall increase in application number, there was also an increase in the geographic diversity of the applicants and the percentage with previous research experience. “The growth in the number of students apply-

ing for training in our Department is testament to the commitment of our faculty and The Methodist Hospital to training the next generation of pathologists,” said Dr. Suzanne Powell, director of the program.

For more information on the training programs offered by the Department, visit methodisthealth.com/pathologytraining. 

Dr. Powell in conference with residents

Department Adds New Fellowship Program

T

he Department recently added a new fellowship program in molecular genetic pathology under the direction of Dr. Federico Monzon.

The fellowship has received approval from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and its first fellow began training in September, 2010. Rotations with the medical genetics programs at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, and Baylor College of Medicine are also part of the program. The program includes basic molecular training coupled with research experiences that produce peerreviewed publications.

Dr. Monzon in the Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory with Dr. Hidehiro Takei

“Our fellowship is designed for physicians who have completed pathology or medical genetics training and are interested in pursuing a career that includes

molecular genetic pathology,” said Dr. Monzon. “Our exceptional faculty, partner institutions in the Texas Medical Center, and unique elective rotations in emerging fields of molecular pathology make our program unusually strong.”

Interest in the new fellowship has been significant, and the fellowship position has already been filled until 2013.

For more information on the training programs offered by the Department, please visit methodisthealth.com/pathology training. 

The

LABORATORY REPORT

6

Trainee Spotlight: Blythe Gorman, M.D.

D

r. Blythe Gorman was the recipient of the first Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Trainee Leadership and Innovation Award. She received this award for her overall initiative, leadership and commitment to excellence in patient care.

Dr. Gorman was also awarded the first place medal for her platform talk, “Comparison of Breast Prognostic/Predictive Markers on Cell Blocks Obtained by Various Methods: Cellient, Formalin and Thrombin,” presented at the January 2011 Texas Society of Pathologists meeting held in San Antonio. Dr. Gorman received her M.D. degree from Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans in 2005 and completed her residency in anatomic and clinical pathology at The University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas. 

Dr. Dina Mody, medical director of Cytopathology, Dr. Gorman and Dr. James Musser at the Texas Society of Pathologists Annual Meeting in San Antonio, TX

Three Department Faculty Receive Research Funding From Simmons Family Foundation

T

hree faculty members in the Department have received research funding from the Virginia and L.E. Simmons Family Foundation Collaborative Research Fund.

Through a five-year initiative to discover new ways to diagnose and treat diseases, the fund supports collaboration among researchers at Rice University, Texas Children’s Hospital and The Methodist Hospital Research Institute.

Stem Cell Research Aleksandar Babic, M.D., Ph.D., associate medical director of Transfusion Medicine, will lead a team of investigators to evaluate whether stem cells can be obtained from human amniotic fluid, thus avoiding the limitations of harvesting them from embryos or other sources. Dr. Babic will collaborate with Dr. Malcolm Brenner from the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy and Drs. Kenneth

Moise and Eric Yvon from Texas Children’s Hospital.

Dr. Zu in his laboratory at TMHRI

Lymphoma Nanotherapy Youli Zu, M.D., Ph.D., co-director of Hematopathology, will collaborate with Michael Wong, Ph.D. at Rice University to develop a unique nanoparticle-based

therapy for the treatment of anaplastic large-cell lymphoma (ALCL).

Brain Cancer Treatment Suzanne Powell, M.D., director of Neuropathology, will collaborate with Stephen Wong, Ph.D. (TMHRI Bioinformatics) and Chris TszKwong Man, Ph.D. at Texas Children’s Hospital to leverage massive amounts of data on childhood medulloblastoma to characterize the four known subtypes of the disease with the potential of developing novel, more targeted therapies for them. Other collaborators include Dr. Rudy Guerra at Rice University, and Drs. Pamela New and Robert Grossman at The Methodist Hospital.

For more information about the Virginia and L.E. Simmons Family Foundation Collaborative Research Fund, visit collaborativeresearchfund.org. 

The

LABORATORY REPORT

7

New Office of Academic Development Opens

A

new Office of Academic Development (OAD) was opened in January to help our trainees and faculty increase their scholarly contributions. OAD staff provide manuscript, grant and poster editing services; assist in identifying new research funding opportunities; and present seminars and training in areas such as grantsmanship and Kathryn Stockbauer, Ph.D. Philip Randall scientific writing. The office Manager, OAD Scientific Writer, OAD and its initial menu of services arose from a departmental needs open for business and look forward to assessment conducted in the fall of 2010. providing services that will help our “Our goal is to help the academic efdepartment to succeed,” said Kathryn forts of all faculty and trainees. We are

Stockbauer, Ph.D., manager of the OAD. “Let us know how we can help you and if you have suggestions for additional services we can provide.”

Philip Randall will be providing writing and editorial services for the OAD, and will assist Dr. Stockbauer with the development of the training classes.

For more information about the Office of Academic Development, call 713-441-5889 or visit our department website at methodisthealth.com/OAD. 

Dr. Paul Sumby Receives NIH Grant for Strep Studies

Dr. Sumby in his laboratory at TMHRI

D

r. Paul Sumby, an investigator in the Department’s Center for Molecular and Translational Human Infectious Diseases Research, has received a five-year R01 grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to study the molecular mechanisms that determine group A Streptococcus (GAS) virulence, and identify new drug targets. GAS causes a broad spectrum of diseases, including

pharyngitis, rheumatic fever and necrotizing fasciitis, also known as flesheating disease.

Dr. Sumby will use genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic methods to investigate how GAS uses small RNA molecules to regulate production of virulenceenhancing proteins, with a view to inhibiting this regulation as a novel therapeutic approach. He recently spoke about his discoveries at the Frontiers in Translational

Medicine symposium held on February 18 to commemorate the opening of The Methodist Hospital Research Institute building.

For more information on Dr. Sumby and his laboratory, visit methodisthealth.com/ Sumby. 

The

LABORATORY REPORT

8

RECENT PUBLICATIONS Beck D, Ayers S, Wen J, Brandl MB, Pham TD, Webb P, Chang CC, Zhou X. Integrative analysis of next generation sequencing for small non-coding RNAs and transcriptional regulation in Myelodysplastic Syndromes. BMC Med Genomics. 2011 Feb 23;4(1):19.

Cagle PT. Pathologists as leaders, innovators, and devoted physicians: special section on pathology in resource-poor nations. Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2011 Feb;135(2):170.

Cagle PT, Allen TC, Dacic S, Beasley MB, Borczuk AC, Chirieac LR, Laucirica R, Ro JY, Kerr KM. Revolution in lung cancer: new challenges for the surgical pathologist. Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2011 Jan;135(1):110-6. Review.

Cantley RL, Kapur U, Truong L, Cimbaluk D, Barkan GA, Wojcik E, Gattuso P. Fine-needle aspiration diagnosis of metastatic urothelial carcinoma: A review. Diagn Cytopathol. 2011 Jan 6.

Cruz AT, Geltemeyer AM, Starke JR, Flores JA, Graviss EA, Smith KC. Comparing the tuberculin skin test and T-SPOT.TB blood test in children. Pediatrics. 2011 Jan;127(1):e31-8.

Cuirolo A, Canigia LF, Gardella N, Fernรกndez S, Gutkind G, Rosato A, Mollerach M. Oxacillin- and cefoxitin-susceptible meticillinresistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Int J Antimicrob Agents. 2011 Feb;37(2):178-9.

Hu Y, Ma X, Graviss EA, Wang W, Jiang W, Xu B. A major subgroup of Beijing family Mycobacterium tuberculosis is associated with multidrug resistance and increased transmissibility. Epidemiol Infect. 2011 Jan;139(1):130-8.

Jang SJ, Gardner JM, Ro JY. Diagnostic approach and prognostic factors of cancers. Adv Anat Pathol. 2011 Mar;18(2):165-72.

Jung SY, Jeong J, Shin SH, Kwon Y, Kim EA, Ko KL, Shin KH, Ro J, Lee KS, Park IH, Lee S, Kim SW, Kang HS. Accumulation of p53 determined by immunohistochemistry as a prognostic marker in node negative breast cancer; analysis according to st gallen consensus and intrinsic subtypes. J Surg Oncol. 2011 Mar 1;103(3):207-11.

Kim SA, Lee SR, Huh J, Shen SS, Ro JY. IgG4-associated inflammatory pseudotumor of ureter: clinicopathologic and immunohistochemical study of 3 cases. Hum Pathol. 2011 Feb 18.

King KY, Lew JD, Ha NP, Lin JS, Ma X, Graviss EA, Goodell MA. Polymorphic allele of human IRGM1 is associated with susceptibility to tuberculosis in African Americans. PLoS One. 2011 Jan 21;6(1):e16317.

Kosarac O, Takei H, Zhai QJ, Schwartz MR, Mody DR. S100P and XIAP expression in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: potential novel biomarkers as a diagnostic adjunct to fine needle aspiration cytology. Acta Cytol. 2011;55(2):142-8.

Kwon Y, Ro J, Kang HS, Kim SK, Hong EK, Khang SK, Gong G, Ro JY. Clinicopathological parameters and biological markers predicting non-sentinel node metastasis in sentinel node-positive breast cancer patients. Oncol Rep. 2011 Jan 21.

Mody DR, Nayar R, Thrall M. 2001 Bethesda system classification of glandular lesions on cervical cytology. Monogr Clin Cytol.

2011;20:5-14.

Montes M, Sanchez C, Lewis DE, Graviss EA, Seas C, Gotuzzo E, White AC Jr. Normalization of FoxP3(+) regulatory T cells in response to effective antiretroviral therapy. J Infect Dis. 2011 Feb 15;203(4):496-9.

Nelson MI, Tan Y, Ghedin E, Wentworth DE, St George K, Edelman L, Beck ET, Fan J, Lam TT, Kumar S, Spiro DJ, Simonsen L, Viboud C, Holmes EC, Henrickson KJ, Musser JM. Phylogeography of the spring and fall waves of the H1N1/09 pandemic influenza virus in the United States. J Virol. 2011 Jan;85(2):828-34.

Nese N, Martignoni G, Fletcher CD, Gupta R, Pan CC, Kim H, Ro JY, Hwang IS, Sato K, Bonetti F, Pea M, Amin MB, Hes O, Svec A, Kida M, Vankalakunti M, Berel D, Rogatko A, Gown AM, Amin MB. Pure epithelioid PEComas (so-called epithelioid angiomyolipoma) of the kidney: A clinicopathologic study of 41 cases: detailed assessment of morphology and risk stratification. Am J Surg Pathol. 2011 Feb;35(2):161-76.

Olsen RJ, Watkins ME, Cantu CC, Beres SB, Musser JM. Virulence of serotype M3 Group A Streptococcus strains in wax worms (Galleria mellonella larvae). Virulence. 2011 Mar 1;2(2).

Ozcan A, Shen SS, Hamilton C, Anjana K, Coffey D, Krishnan B, Truong LD. PAX 8 expression in non-neoplastic tissues, primary tumors, and metastatic tumors: a comprehensive immunohistochemical study. Mod Pathol. 2011 Feb 11.

Pflughoeft KJ, Sumby P, Koehler TM. Bacillus anthracis sin locus and regulation of secreted proteases. J Bacteriol. 2011 Feb;193(3):631-9.

Continued page 9

The

LABORATORY REPORT

9

RECENT PUBLICATIONS continued Serpa JA, Graviss EA, Kass JS, White AC Jr. Neurocysticercosis in Houston, Texas: an update. Medicine (Baltimore). 2011 Jan;90(1):81-6.

Shea PR, Beres SB, Flores AR, Ewbank AL, Gonzalez-Lugo JH, Martagon-Rosado AJ, Martinez-Gutierrez JC, Rehman HA, SerranoGonzalez M, Fittipaldi N, Ayers SD, Webb P, Willey BM, Low DE, Musser JM. Distinct signatures of diversifying selection revealed by genome analysis of respiratory tract and invasive bacterial populations. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2011 Mar 7. [Epub ahead of print].

Truong LD, Gaber L, Eknoyan G.Obstructive uropathy. Contrib Nephrol. 2011;169:311-26.

Truong LD, Shen SS. Immunohistochemical diagnosis of renal neoplasms. Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2011 Jan;135(1):92-109. Review.

Wen J, Feng Y, Bjorklund CC, Wang M, Orlowski RZ, Shi ZZ, Liao B, O'Hare J, Zu Y, Schally AV, Chang CC. Luteinizing HormoneReleasing Hormone (LHRH)-I antagonist cetrorelix inhibits myeloma cell growth in vitro and in vivo. Mol Cancer Ther. 2011 Jan;10 (1):148-58.

Yang Q, Wang H, Cho HY, Jung SJ, Kim KR, Ro JY, Shen SS. Carcinoma of müllerian origin presenting as colorectal cancer: a clinicopathologic study of 13 Cases. Ann Diagn Pathol. 2011 Feb;15(1):12-8.

Zhao J, Wang Y, Wang H, Jiang C, Liu Z, Meng X, Song G, Cheng N, Graviss EA, Ma X. Low agreement between the T-SPOT®.TB assay and the tuberculin skin test among college students in China. Int J Tuberc Lung Dis. 2011 Jan;15(1):134-6.

Zhao N, Bagaria HG, Wong MS, Zu Y. A nanocomplex that is both tumor cell-selective and cancer gene-specific for anaplastic large cell lymphoma. J Nanobiotechnology. 2011 Jan 31;9(1):2. 

The Laboratory Report The Laboratory Report is a publication of The Methodist Hospital System Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine.

Editor-in-Chief April A. Ewton, M.D. Editorial Committee Hazel L. Awalt, M.D. Christopher Leveque, M.D. Claudia P. Molina, M.D. Seema Mullick, M.D. Thu Ngo, M.D. Steven Shen, M.D., Ph.D. Paul Sumby, Ph.D. Ping Wang, Ph.D. Editorial Coordinator Philip Randall The Methodist Hospital Clare Rose, M.B.A. Manuel Hinojosa, M.H.A.