Small Cell Variant of Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma: A Possible Treatment.

Small cell variant of medullary thyroid carcinoma is an extremely rare histologic entity with a paucity of data. As such, there is a lack of literature and clinical experience regarding this disease. In this report, we examine a case of small cell variant of medullary thyroid carcinoma that presented with intractable nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

Carcinoma of unknown primary: check the liver... thanks to TTF-1.

Carcinoma of unknown primary (CUP) is not uncommon and poses both diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. Recent developments in immunohistochemical (IHS) stains in diagnostic pathology help resolve many of these clinical dilemmas. Antibodies against Thyroid Transcription Factor (TTF-1), a relatively new and organ specific marker that stains lung and thyroid malignancies, are commonly included in the first battery of stains when dealing with a CUP.

PD-1 modulates regulatory T cells and suppresses T-cell responses in HCV-associated lymphoma.

T regulatory (T(R)) cells suppress T-cell responses that are critical in the development of chronic viral infection and associated malignancies. Programmed death-1 (PD-1) also has a pivotal role in regulation of T-cell functions during chronic viral infection. To examine the role of PD-1 pathway in regulating T(R)-cell functions that inhibit T-cell responses during virus-associated malignancy, T(R) cells were investigated in the setting of hepatitis C virus-associated lymphoma (HCV-L), non-HCV-associated lymphoma (non-HCV-L), HCV infection alone and healthy subjects (HS).

A bone to pick about chest pain.

Chest pain is an extremely common presenting symptom that is usually related to a cardiac cause. This case illustrates an unusual presentation of multiple myeloma as a cause of atypical chest pain. This case presentation shows the importance of having a broad differential diagnosis while evaluating patients with atypical chest pain.