Idiopathic vocal cord paralysis in the radiated neck: a harbinger for malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumour.

Objective: Patients with previous neck external beam radiotherapy (XRT) diagnosed with idiopathic vocal cord paralysis (VCP) can harbour sinister pathology. A case series of such patients found to have vagal malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumours (MPNSTs) is presented and combined with a literature review. Management and survival outcomes are analyzed.

Epithelioid malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor arising in a schwannoma, in a patient with "neuroblastoma-like" schwannomatosis and a novel germline SMARCB1 mutation.

Epithelioid malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors arising in preexisting schwannomas are extremely rare. We report an unusual example occurring in a patient with multiple schwannomas (schwannomatosis), all but 1 of which showed "neuroblastoma-like" histology. By immunohistochemistry, both the epithelioid malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor and the schwannomas showed a complete loss of the Smarcb1 protein.

Detection of c-KIT and PDGFRA gene mutations in gastrointestinal stromal tumors: comparison of DHPLC and DNA sequencing methods using a single population-based cohort.

Mutational analysis of c-KIT or PDGFRA has become an important laboratory assay for patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) because the results are useful in predicting the responsiveness to imatinib. To assess the diagnostic usefulness of denaturing high-pressure liquid chromatography (DHPLC) in this setting, we performed DHPLC and DNA sequencing to study exons 9, 11, 13, and 17 of c-KIT and exons 12 and 18 of PDGFRA in 54 consecutive cases of GIST collected from a single population. Most (40/54 [74%]) carried c-KIT mutations, and 7 (13%) carried PDGFRA mutations.

Glomus tumor and knee pain: a report of four cases.

We present four cases of glomus tumors presenting as knee pain. All cases were treated by surgical excision of the tumor. All patients made an immediate recovery with return to full normal function.

Solitary fibrous tumor of the anterior mediastinum: a rare extrapleural neoplasm.

Solitary fibrous tumors are uncommon spindle cell neoplasms originally thought to be restricted to the pleura. We describe a 62-year-old woman who presented with stridor and an anterior mediastinal mass. At thoracotomy, a 10.

Epiglottic histoplasmosis presenting in a nonendemic region: a clinical mimic of laryngeal carcinoma.

Histoplasma capsulatum is a dimorphic fungus endemic to North America. Histoplasmosis is primarily an inhalation-acquired mycosis that is encountered rarely outside of endemic regions. In nonendemic regions, histoplasmosis may present a diagnostic challenge and both clinical and laboratory vigilance are required to accurately identify infection.

Endothelial lesions of soft tissues: a review of reactive and neoplastic entities with emphasis on low-grade malignant ("borderline") vascular tumors.

Soft tissue proliferations composed of endothelial cells are a heterogeneous group of lesions that can cause diagnostic difficulty. Further complicating the issue is the constantly changing nomenclature of some entities, as well as reclassification of some vascular tumors from the high-grade malignant category to the low-grade malignant or borderline category. Modern ancillary techniques such as immunohistochemistry and cytogenetics have done little to advance our knowledge of these lesions.