Gastroesophageal signet ring cell carcinoma morbidity and mortality: A retrospective review.

Background: Upper gastrointestinal (GI) signet ring cell carcinomas (SRCC) confer a poor prognosis. The benefit of operative intervention for this patient group is controversial in terms of overall survival.

Aim: To investigate factors relating to survival in patients with upper GI SRCC.

Evaluation of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio as a potential biomarker for acute cholecystitis.

Background: The diagnosis of acute cholecystitis (AC) is frequently associated with an increase in white cell count (WCC) and C-reactive protein (CRP). However, one or both of these inflammatory biomarkers can be normal in AC. The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the discriminative powers of the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) with WCC and CRP in diagnosing AC.

Predicting lymph node metastases in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma: use of a morphological scoring system.

Background: Predicting which patients will develop nodal metastasis from cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) remains difficult. This study evaluates a recently described histological risk model validated for mucosal head and neck SCC (HNSCC) when applied to cutaneous tumours. In this model, morphologic variables including worst pattern of invasion, lymphocytic host response and perineural invasion were shown to predict disease recurrence, loco regional recurrence and overall survival in mucosal HNSCC.

Periocular intralymphatic histiocytosis or localized Melkersson-Rosenthal syndrome?

We describe three cases of periocular edema with histopathologic features of intralymphatic histiocytosis without extravascular granulomas. All were elderly males with no other significant medical problems. Previous reports of periocular Melkersson-Rosenthal syndrome are identical clinically, and some reports show illustrations of intralymphatic histiocytosis histopathologically, in addition to other features typical of the syndrome.

A unique case of neural amyloidoma diagnosed by mass spectrometry of formalin-fixed tissue using a novel preparative technique.

We report here a unique amyloidoma of the radial nerve which could not be subtyped by available techniques, including immunohistochemistry and standard clinical and laboratory evaluation. In order to identify the amyloid monomer, we developed a novel preparative procedure designed to optimize conditions for liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry analysis of formalin-fixed/paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue. Subsequent mass spectrometric analysis clearly identified kappa light chain as the monomer, with no evidence of lambda light chain.

Salivary duct carcinoma arising in IgG4-related autoimmune disease of the parotid gland.

Hyper IgG4 disease or IgG4-related sclerosing/autoimmune disease is a multisystem condition characterized histologically by fibrosis, lymphoplasmacytic infiltration, and abundant IgG4 plasma cells associated with raised serum IgG4 levels. We present a case of salivary duct carcinoma of the parotid gland in a background of chronic sclerosing sialadenitis that also involved the submandibular gland with associated regional lymphadenopathy. The serology showed raised total IgG levels of 16.