A Glomus Tumor With Recurrence and Malignant Transformation in the Chest Wall: A Cautionary Tale of Seeding?

Glomus tumors are rare tumors most often occurring in the extremities of the limbs. We report a unique case of a glomus tumor, originally arising in the paraspinal region, which was excised and subsequently recurred in the chest wall with malignant transformation. The recurrence is likely to have been caused by wound seeding.

Mediastinal paraganglioma: time to panic?

Paragangliomas (extra-adrenal phaeochromocytomas) are tumours arising from extra-adrenal chromaffin tissue. The authors describe a case of a 54-year-old woman presenting with shortness of breath and chest pain. CT pulmonary angiogram demonstrated a mediastinal mass.

Positron emission tomography may underestimate the extent of thoracic disease in lung cancer patients.

Objective: Although widely utilised in the staging of lung cancer various studies have questioned whether the accuracy of this staging modality is sufficient to replace conventional invasive staging techniques. We have therefore reviewed our experience in order to assess the accuracy of PET CT as an intrathoracic staging tool for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods: Two hundred patients referred for surgery between June 2006 and January 2008 underwent PET CT followed by staging mediastinoscopy and, if appropriate, resection.