Hypokalaemia and peripheral oedema in a Cushingoid patient with metastatic prostate cancer.

We report on a 75-year-old man with a history of metastatic prostate cancer who presented with haematuria, peripheral oedema, metabolic alkalosis, hypokalaemia, and hypertension. Laboratory evaluation was compatible with the diagnosis of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)-dependent cushing's syndrome and suggestive of ectopic ACTH production. Pathology of a prostate biopsy specimen showed a large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC) of the prostate.

Subcutaneous angiomatoid fibrous histiocytoma mimicking metastatic melanoma.

Angiomatoid fibrous histiocytoma is an uncommon soft-tissue tumor of intermediate malignancy that is often misdiagnosed initially. As there is not one immunohistochemical marker that consequently stains positive or negative for angiomatoid fibrous histiocytoma, molecular diagnostics are becoming more widely used. So far three translocations have been reported to arise in angiomatoid fibrous histiocytoma: FUS-ATF1, EWSR1-CREB1, or EWSR1-ATF1.

A Merkel cell carcinoma presenting as a solitary lymph node metastasis without a primary lesion. Report of a case and review of the literature.

Merkel cell carcinoma is an uncommon, aggressive neuroendocrine tumour of the skin. At presentation regional lymph nodes are involved in approximately one third of the patients. In this report a patient is presented in whom Merkel cell carcinoma presented as a solitary lymph node metastasis with an unknown primary skin lesion.

Ultrastructural proof of polyomavirus in Merkel cell carcinoma tumour cells and its absence in small cell carcinoma of the lung.

Background: A new virus called the Merkel Cell Polyomavirus (MCPyV) has recently been found in Merkel Cell Carcinoma (MCC). MCC is a rare aggressive small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma primarily derived from the skin, morphologically indistinguishable from small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC). So far the actual presence of the virus in MCC tumour cells on a morphological level has not been demonstrated, and the presence of MCPyV in other small cell neuroendocrine carcinomas has not been studied yet.

Chronic urticaria is associated with mast cell infiltration in the gastroduodenal mucosa.

Chronic urticaria (CU) is characterized by recurrent itching skin eruptions caused by mast cell degranulation. Relapses can be provoked by food intake. The aim of this study was to investigate if the mast cell number in the gastroduodenal mucosa is increased in CU patients, and whether mast cell counting by pathologists is clinically useful.