Miguel N Burnier Jr

McGill University | McGill

Uveal melanoma is the most common intraocular tumor in adults. Our group has previously developed a human uveal melanoma animal model; however, adverse effects caused by the immunosuppressive agent, cyclosporine A, prevented animals from surviving more than 12 weeks. In this study, we tested multiple cyclosporine A doses over an extended disease co...

Background Although rare, uveal melanoma (UM) is a life-threatening malignancy. Understanding its biology is necessary to improve disease outcome. Three-dimensional (3D) in vitro culture methods have emerged as tools that incorporate physical and spatial cues that better mimic tumor biology and in turn deliver more predictive preclinical data. Here...

Objective: This study aims to objectively measure the degree of zonular dehiscence in postmortem eyes and to assess for clinical and anatomic correlates. Design: Cross-sectional study. Materials: Four hundred and twenty-seven postmortem pseudophakic human eyes. Methods: Eyes were obtained from the Lions Gift of Sight Eye Bank. Microscope pho...

Background/aims Uveal melanoma is the most common type of non-cutaneous melanoma and the most common ocular malignancy in the adult population, especially affecting Caucasians (98% of cases). Despite its low incidence rate, we have noted increasing incidence trends in recent years. Methods We analyzed uveal melanoma incidence data using the Canadi...

The current case presentation highlights the potential of cemiplimab, a programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1) inhibitor, as first-line treatment for periocular metastatic cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) without requiring curative surgery or radiotherapy. A 64-year-old male presented with a progressing 4.5 × 3.0 cm left upper eyelid lesion...

Metastatic orbital tumors are uncommon. A case series of 7 metastatic orbital tumors is presented herein. The primary sites included breast, skin (sweat gland carcinoma) and prostate. Accurate pathological diagnosis with an immunohistochemical panel is crucial to identify the primary site based on the specimens of the metastatic site. Metastatic or...

Purpose: Remnant lens epithelial cells (LECs) within the capsular bag (CB) undergo epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and acquire a myofibroblast phenotype, depositing extracellular matrix (ECM) components, leading to posterior capsular opacification (PCO). This study histopathologically analyzes the LEC-to-myofibroblast transition and de...

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a major cause of blindness in elderly. It is characterized by the loss of central vision due to damaged retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells and photoreceptors. Blue Light (BL) exposure was proposed as a risk factor for AMD progression. We undertook this study to determine the effects of BL on the behavio...

Background Uveal melanoma (UM) is the most common intraocular tumor in adults. Despite good primary tumor control, up to 50% of patients develop metastasis, which is lethal. UM often presents asymptomatically and is usually diagnosed by clinical examination and imaging, making it one of the few cancer types diagnosed without a biopsy. Hence, altern...

ABSTRACT Objective: To describe ocular surface findings in impression cytology obtained from healthy rabbit conjunctiva treated with interferon alpha-2b eyedrop, and compare them to findings after use of mitomycin C 0.02%. Methods: An experimental study using a rabbit model was performed between September 2013 and October 2014 at the Faculdade de M...

Epithelial thinning and breaks in Bowman’s layer are the most common histopathological findings in keratoconic explanted corneas. However, histopathological changes can also be observed in all five layers of the cornea. Compaction of deep stromal layers and fold or breaks in Descemet’s membrane are associated with severe keratoconus. This chapter p...

Pterygium is a common lesion consisting of fleshy conjunctival growth extending towards the cornea. There is no documented risk of malignant transformation; however, concomitant disease is not rare, and its link to sunlight exposure indicates a risk of other malignancies. The purpose of our study is to describe histopathological features of resecte...

Introduction: Acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) has been investigated for a potential anticancer role in several cancers, such as colorectal, ovarian, and endometrial cancer. Moreover, ASA has been shown to abrogate various processes that contribute to tumor growth and progression. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of ASA on...

Purpose: We analyzed the frequency, viability, and genetic characteristics of T. gondii in pork heart samples.Methods: Thirty-five fresh pork samples were purchased in a slaughterhouse in Erechim city. The DNA was extracted and qPCR was performed. T. gondii genotyping was performed using PCR-RFLP analysis. Positive samples were digested and inocul...

Sebaceous carcinoma (SebCa), is the second most frequent malignancy of the eyelid. It often presents with non-specific clinical features and is known for mimicking benign inflammatory lesions such as chalazion. The masquerading ability of this highly invasive neoplasm can delay or mislead the diagnosis, resulting in significant morbidity and mortal...

Introduction: Optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging has been used as a diagnostic tool for retinal disease for several years, and OCT apparatuses are becoming increasingly powerful. However, OCT has yet to reach its full potential in ophthalmology clinics. Alike retinal layers, it has been shown that OCT is able to generate cross-sectional im...

Tumor biopsies in uveal melanoma (UM) serve mainly the purpose of prognostication and assessment of individual metastatic risk, but can be used for diagnosis in selected cases. The importance of precise information is paramount for selecting adequate surveillance protocols, patient counseling, and optimization of treatment strategies. However, intr...

Mixed tumour of the skin is a rare entity that was initially described over a century ago. Its terminology has been discussed several times. Other commonly used names are chondroid syringoma or pleomorphic adenoma of the skin. It generally presents as a slow-growing subcutaneous mass and it is most commonly seen on the nose or scalp. Whilst its cli...

Objective Patients have shown a lowering of intraocular pressure (IOP) after cataract surgery. Histopathology studies have reported trabecular meshwork (TM) changes in pseudophakic eyes with posterior chamber intraocular lens (PCIOL) and have eluded to the mechanisms for IOP decrease. Unlike PCIOLs, TM histopathology changes after implantation of a...

Background Ocular surface squamous neoplasia (OSSN) is the most common non-pigmented ocular surface malignancy. It is classified as invasive OSNN (IOSSN) when the underlying stroma are infiltrated by dysplastic squamous epithelial cells through the basement membrane. Here, we present the descriptive epidemiology and geographical distribution of IOS...

Background Ophthalmic lymphoma (OL) is the most common orbital tumour, particularly in older individuals. Little is known about the epidemiology and geographic distribution of OL in Canada. Descriptive demographic statistics are an important first step in understanding OL burden and are necessary to inform comprehensive national cancer prevention p...

Background: Melanoma is a life-threatening group of cancers mainly affecting the skin (cutaneous melanoma, CM) and the eyes (uveal melanoma, UM). Nearly half of patients with UM develop liver metastases regardless of the primary treatment. For this reason, adjuvant therapy to prevent disease progression is essential to improve survival of patients...

Animal models play an important role in increasing our understanding of tumor biology, growth, and metastasis, as well as in helping to establish novel therapies against human malignancies. This chapter provides an introduction to the types of animal models that have been established for studying uveal melanoma (UM). Animal models in UM can be grou...

PURPOSE: To determine the incidence rates and geographic distribution of retinoblastoma in Canada to aid cancer control programs. METHODS: Patients with retinoblastoma whose data were available from the Canadian Cancer Registry (CCR) and Le Registre Québécois du Cancer (LRQC) were studied. Using third edition International Classification of Diseas...

Background In the developed countries, uveal melanoma is the most common primary intraocular malignancy in adults. Little is known about the epidemiological and geographical distribution of uveal melanoma in Canada. Methods To determine the incidence patterns and geographical distribution of uveal melanoma cases in Canada, we conducted the first c...

Purpose: To evaluate the effects of ranibizumab and amfenac in human uveal melanoma cell lines and to explore the ability of these compounds to sensitize uveal melanoma cells to radiation therapy. Methods: The 92.1 human uveal melanoma cell line was cultured and subjected to the proposed treatment (ranibizumab, amfenac, and a combination of both...

Purpose Granuloma annulare (GA) is a rare clinical entity that does not classically arise from the peri-orbital area in adults. The purpose of this case report is to present a 69-year-old female with GA of the orbit. As well, the pathological and immunohistochemical features of these tumors will be discussed. Observations One case of GA of the orb...

Objective: This study aims to assess the use of optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging for periocular skin lesions and to determine which characteristic features of these images can be correlated to histopathology. Design: This is an ongoing prospective study with Research Ethics Board approval. Participants: Fifty patients over 18 years o...

Purpose/aim: Posterior capsular opacification (PCO) is the leading complication following cataract surgery. However, PCO grading methods vary between studies and rely on subjective scoring methods, hence they are prone to error. Therefore, software that reduces subjectivity and enhances reproducibility is needed. The aim of the study was to evaluat...

Ocular toxoplasmosis (OT) is the most common etiology of posterior uveitis. The high incidence of macular scarring associated with OT is a leading cause of visual morbidity. Serum biomarkers of the disease would aid in its diagnosis. This study sought, for the first time, to elucidate serum biomarkers for OT by mass spectrometry. Blood samples were...

Purpose: Pemphigus foliaceus (PF) is a rare, autoimmune blistering disorder characterized by the production of autoantibodies against desmoglein 1. The mainstay for diagnosis is the demonstration of immune complex deposition by direct immunofluorescence (DIF) in fresh tissue samples. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) recognizes autoantibodies in formalin-...

Metastatic tumours to the orbit account for only a small proportions of orbital mass lesions and typically come from breast, prostate, lungs or metastatic melanomas. Identifying the source of the primary tumour may represent a challenge, as they are sometimes undiagnosed or the malignancies may sometimes have a different microscopic morphology. In...

We appreciate the valuable comments from Drs. Abdelmaksoud and Vestita regarding our study about the in situ expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and endoglin in patients with pemphigus foliaceus (PF) and pemphigus vulgaris [1]. We proposed that the severity of PF is related not only to the level of circulating autoantibodies but...

The authors report a case of an orbital metastasis from an occult breast carcinoma. A 66-year-old woman presented with a growing left orbital tumour. Orbital CT scan was consistent with lymphoma. However, ocular pathology revealed small neoplastic cells showing an ‘indian file pattern’ suggestive of metastatic carcinoma and immunohistochemistry was...

Programmed cell death-1/ligand (PD-1/PD-L1) interaction negatively regulates T cell activity. PD-L1 expression in tumor cells, antigen-presenting cells, and lymphocytes of the tumor microenvironment is associated with response to treatment with PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors, but there is still debate on the cutoff value that correlates with responders. In...

Background: Erythroderma is a severe manifestation of pemphigus foliaceus (PF), a blistering disease mediated by IgG autoantibodies against desmoglein-1. Increasing evidence supports the contribution of angiogenic mediators in the pathogenesis of erythroderma. Objective: To evaluate the in situ expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (V...

Purpose: Superior limbic keratoconjunctivitis (SLK) is a chronic and recurrent condition of unknown etiology. It is often managed conservatively, but there is a high rate of success with surgical management for severe or recalcitrant cases. The purpose of this article is to describe and analyze clinicopathological features of patients with SLK who...

This study reports the first case of intravitreal angiostrongyliasis in South America treated with posterior worm removal via pars plana vitrectomy. This was a retrospective, observational case study. Data from medical charts, wide-field digital imaging, ocular ultrasound, and visual evoked potential studies were reviewed. A 20-month-old boy presen...

The choroid provides the main blood supply to the eye and plays a key role in eye physiology. Different entities can compromise its structure and function, having a striking impact on vision. Knowing the histology of the normal eye is fundamental for the correct understanding of the pathologic processes. This chapter is therefore organized into pat...

Background Light exposure and more specifically the spectrum of blue light contribute to the oxidative stress in Age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The purpose of the study was to establish whether blue light filtering could modify proangiogenic signaling produced by retinal pigmented epithelial (RPE) cells under different conditions simulatin...

Purpose: Primary mucinous adenocarcinomas (PMAs) of the eyelid are rare clinical entities typically arising from the peri-orbital area. The purpose of this case-series is to report 3 cases of PMA as well as to discuss the pathological and immunohistochemical features of these tumors. Material & methods: Three cases of PMA of the eyelid were identif...

Purpose: There is currently no clinical risk-assessment tool allowing identification of patients at risk for developing uveal melanoma (UM) who might benefit from regular screening. As a first step toward the elaboration of such a tool, we systematically reviewed UM risk factors already established by meta-analysis. Methods: Two reviewers independe...

Purpose: To investigate the effect of nicotinamide on the secretion of pro-an giogenic and pro-inflammatory cytokines in uveal melanoma cell lines. Methods: Two human uveal melanoma cell lines (92.1 and OCM-1) were treated with nicotinamide (10 mmol/L) or control media for 48 hours in culture. The su perna tant from each culture was used in sandwi...

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the presence of Toxoplasmosis gondii in samples of peripheral blood from patients with varying etiologies of uveitis. Whole blood from patients with different forms of uveitis was tested for the presence of T. gondii using real-time PCR targeting the well-characterized 529 bp fragment. Extracted DNA was bot...

Background: Retinoblastoma (RB) is the most common primary intraocular malignancy. Current therapies are associated with high morbidity in the short- and long-term. Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) is a transmembrane protein detected in 15-30% of breast cancers, but it has also been described in other malignancies. Recently, it has...

Purpose: To determine whether pretreatment of retinal pigmented epithelial (RPE) cells with lutein can affect the response of cells to bevacizumab therapy. Methods: One human RPE cell line (ARPE-19) was used for all experiments. The cells were treated with lutein in different concentrations (0.01, 0.1, 1, 10, or 100 μg/ml). After 24 h, all plate...

The cutoff presented in the current classification of canine melanocytic lesions by Wilcock and Pfeiffer is based on the clinical outcome rather than morphological concepts. Classification of tumors based on morphology or molecular signatures is the key to identifying new therapies or prognostic factors. Therefore, the aim of this study was to anal...

Invasive ductal breast carcinomas (IDBCs) are the most frequent and aggressive subtypes of breast cancer, affecting a large number of Canadian women every year. Part of the diagnostic process includes grading the cancerous tissue at the microscopic level according to the Nottingham modification of the Scarff-Bloom-Richardson system. Although reliab...

Background: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the leading cause of blindness among the working-age population. The earliest morphological manifestation of the disease is pericyte loss, as shown by animal models. Aims: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the presence of pericytes in vitreous samples (VS) from diabetic and nondiabetic patients....

Conjunctival melanoma is the second most common conjunctival malignancy. Its differential diagnosis with other conjunctival melanocytic neoplasms is inherently difficult. The presence of epithelial cysts is a useful feature in conjunctival tumors and favors a benign lesion. Herein 2 cases of conjunctival melanoma with cysts are presented. To the be...

Gnathostomiasis is a parasitic disease caused by nematode larvae ingestion of 15 known species of the genus Gnathostoma (one of the Gnathostomatidae family members). This parasite uses freshwater fish as a host and can infect - through the consumption of raw fish or their viscera - other animals such as dogs, cats, chickens, pigs, and humans. This...

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of clinically unsuspected ocular surface squamous neoplasia (OSSN) in cases of biopsied pterygium (PT). Methods: We reviewed 15,016 cases presented at the Henry C. Witelson Ocular Pathology Laboratory during the period 1993-2013. All cases with a clinical diagnosis of PT were included...

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) expression in squamous lesions (SLs) and to assess its diagnostic value for different lesions within the SL spectrum. Methods: A total of 70 conjunctival SLs, including 19 papillomas, 22 cases of conjunctival intraepithelial neoplasia (ConINs) I, 11 cases of ConIN II...

. Ocular involvement in mycosis fungoides (MF) cases occurs in one-third of patients with the eyelid being the most frequent site affected; however, conjunctival involvement is rarely reported. Herein, we report a rare case of conjunctival involvement of MF. Case Presentation . A 66-year-old man who was previously diagnosed with MF in 2010 and was...

Conjunctival melanoma is a rare malignant tumour of the eye. Its diagnosis represents a challenge for general pathologists due to low exposure to ocular biopsies and a broad differential diagnosis. In addition, conjunctival samples are often small and are associated with a high frequency of artefacts due to their processing. Here, we present the fi...

A 56-year-old Asian woman presented with an upper eyelid mass. The lesion was exposed after eversion of the eyelid revealing a thickened tarsus with yellowish areas. Working diagnosis was sebaceous carcinoma. Biopsy was performed. Histopathological studies showed a mycotic eumycetoma with Splendore-Hoeppli phenomena and - microbiologic cultures gre...

A 68-year-old male with a previous history of 3 dysplastic skin nevi was referred to ophthalmology for a 1-year history of a progressive growth of a firm nodule in the lower left eyelid. Examination revealed a firm nodule in the inferior anterior orbit and mild conjunctival pigmentation on the left inferior fornix. A conjunctival incisional biopsy...

Background: Our laboratory previously reported that imatinib mesylate (IM) has an inhibitory effect on two retinoblastoma (Rb) cell lines in vitro. Aims: The purpose of this project was to determine the immunoexpression of platelet-derived growth factor receptor (PDGFR)-α, PDGFR-β and c-Abl in 61 human samples of Rb to determine if IM-sensitive...

Purpose . To describe the histopathological features of vitreous samples obtained after vitrectomy surgery from diabetic and nondiabetic patients. Methods . Vitreous specimens from 137 patients who underwent vitrectomy for different clinical conditions were analysed. All samples were centrifuged and each resulting pellet was fixed and processed as...

Purpose: Sirtuins (SIRTs) are the family of proteins associated with the cell cycle and that correlate with cancer development and progression. SIRTs have never been studied in uveal melanocytes. The aim of this study is to characterize the expression of SIRT2 in uveal melanoma (UM) cases and compare it with the expression of SIRT2 in melanocytes...

Unlabelled: Bilateral Fuchs uveitis associated with vitreous infiltration and posterior segment involvement requires a thorough diagnostic evaluation. The lack of well-defined diagnostic criteria makes identification of this entity difficult. The aim of this case report was to present the characteristics of a patient with atypical Fuchs uveitis an...

SOX-10 has been shown to be a sensitive marker of cutaneous melanoma. This study aimed to evaluate Sox-10 expression in uveal melanoma. A total of 40 tissue blocks of enucleated eyes with uveal melanoma were cut and stained using an anti-SOX-10 mouse monoclonal antibody and HMB-45 antibody. SOX-10 showed exclusive nuclear positivity in 100% of the...

Uveal Melanoma (UM) is the most common primary intraocular tumor in adults and even with recent progress in treating the primary tumor, mortality rate is still high. Also, some tumors are too large at presentation and do not qualify for radiation therapy, which is the standard treatment. Therefore, there is a need for alternative treatment options....

Background: Despite the fact that retinoblastoma treatment has dramatically increased the survival and vision preservation in these patients, it is still important to pursue new therapeutic targets to minimize the side-effects of current therapies. Gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) has been shown to exert a direct anti-proliferative effect on m...

Uveal melanoma is the most common malignancy of the adult eye. Although it is a relatively infrequent tumor, clinical prognosis is often poor owing to a high incidence of aggressive metastatic disease, for which there are limited treatment options. Little is known about the etiology of this condition, although several risk factors have been identif...

Objective: It was the aim of this study to determine the diagnostic accuracy of high-risk prognostic factors and morphological characteristics of retinoblastomas using digital whole slide images (WSI) generated by a scanner. Methods: Forty-seven H&E sections of glass slides with high-risk morphological features of retinoblastoma were analyzed. S...

SIRT2 and SIRT6 are members of the sirtuin family and are associated with cancer development and progression in certain tumours, but their expression in retinoblastoma has not been studied. The primary objective of our study was to determine the expression of SIRT2 and SIRT6 in human retinoblastoma cases. Eighteen formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded b...

Sebaceous adenomas (SAs) are rare, benign sebaceous gland tumours of the eyelid. SAs may be associated with primary internal malignancies. This association is known as Muir-Torre Syndrome (MTS). The purpose of this study was to approximate the prevalence of SAs, to determine the reliability of the clinical diagnosis of SAs and to demonstrate immuno...

Superficial epithelioma with sebaceous differentiation is a rare benign epithelial neoplasm. It usually involves the head, neck or the back of a middle-age person. To the best of our knowledge, two ocular cases have been reported in the literature. A 46-year-old man of Italian descent, with a known history of testicular seminoma treated by orchiect...

Balloon cell nevus is a rare histopathological lesion characterized by a predominance of large, vesicular and clear cells, called balloon cells. There is only 1 case of balloon cell nevus of the iris reported in the literature. Case report A 55 year-old man presented a pigmented elevated lesion in the right iris since the age of 12 years old. The...

Introduction Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) is implicated in tumor progression and metastatic cascade, and has been shown to be overexpressed in a variety of human cancers. However, the role of FAK in human uveal melanoma (UM) is not well defined. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the expression of FAK in UM tumors and normal eyes, and to dete...