Long-term outcomes of real world 'watch and wait' data for rectal cancer after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy.

Aim: A 'watch and wait' (W&W) strategy after neoadjuvant long-course chemoradiotherapy (NACRT) remains controversial. Whilst encouraging short-term data exist, the strategy will be judged on long-term data. We present long-term, real-world UK data from a single National Health Service trust.

Salivary duct carcinoma arising from the inferior turbinate.

Salivary duct carcinoma (SDC) is an uncommon, aggressive tumour, which carries a poor prognosis. SDC affects the major salivary glands, usually occurring in the parotid gland. A 76-year-old male patient presented with right-sided nasal obstruction and rhinorrhoea.

Ancient schwannoma in the sublingual space masquerading as a plunging ranula.

Ancient schwannomas are benign, slow-growing tumours derived from the neural sheath. They are characterized by degenerative changes which are not seen in the common schwannoma. An unusual case of ancient schwannoma of the sublingual space is reported to highlight the diagnostic challenge that this tumour presents.

Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in an elderly patient.

We report a case of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease(vCJD) in a 74-year old man in whom diagnosis was made at necropsy. The occurrence of vCJD in an individual in this age group is unlikely to be an isolated event. Doctors need to be aware that vCJD can arise in elderly patients so that appropriate investigations (including magnetic resonance imaging) can be done, and permission for neuropathological necropsy requested, in suspected cases.

Clinicopathological characteristics of peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumour of skin and subcutaneous tissue.

Aims: To study the clinical and pathological features of primary malignant peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumours (PNETs) of the skin and subcutaneous tissue, to discuss the differential diagnosis, and to review the existing literature on these tumours.

Methods And Results: Eight cases of PNETs presenting in the skin and subcutaneous tissue were identified from the pathology records of the Christie Hospital, Manchester. Detailed immunohistochemical studies were performed on all cases and seven tumours were subjected to electron microscopic examination.

The nature of atypical multinucleated stromal cells: a study of 37 cases from different sites.

The morphology, immunophenotype and ultrastructure of atypical multinucleated stromal cells in 37 specimens from different anatomical sites were compared. Overall, cellular morphology was similar between sites but nuclear features, immunophenotype and ultrastructure varied and reflected that of adjacent normal mononuclear stromal cells. It is concluded that the atypical multinucleated stromal cells represent a reactive change in the indigenous stromal cells.

Lipomatous hamartoma of the interatrial septum.

Four cases of lipomatous hamartoma of the interatrial septum (LHIAS) were diagnosed at autopsy, three in elderly women, two of whom were morbidly obese. One patient had signs of congestive cardiac failure, without other significant cardiopulmonary disease, which was thought to be a result of the interatrial lipomatous hamartoma, while in the others, the LHIAS was considered an incidental finding. This condition, previously considered a hypertrophic phenomenon, is now best described as hamartomatous, and is being recognized more frequently both by clinicians and pathologists.