Plasma cell myeloma following a prior diagnosis of chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma.

A 69-year-old man presented with plasma cell myeloma (PCM) 4 years after the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Light chain expressions in the two tumors were different suggesting unrelated cell of origin clonality. Few reports have been added to the literature describing synchronous CLL and PCM in a patient.

Polyisoprenylated Cysteinyl Amide Inhibitors Deplete K-Ras and Induce Caspase-dependent Apoptosis in Lung Cancer Cells.

Background: Non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC) harboring mutation-induced dysregulation of Ras signaling present some of the most difficult-to-manage cases, since directly targeting the constitutively active mutant Ras proteins has not resulted in clinically useful drugs. Therefore, modulating Ras activity for targeted treatment of cancer remains an urgent healthcare need.

Objective: In the current study, we investigated a novel class of compounds, the polyisoprenylated cysteinyl amide inhibitors (PCAIs), for their anticancer molecular mechanisms using the NSCLC cell panel with K-Ras and/or other mutant genes.

HER2 FISH classification of equivocal HER2 IHC breast cancers with use of the 2013 ASCO/CAP practice guideline.

The status of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2, ERBB2) determines the eligibility of breast cancer patients to receive HER2-targeted therapy. The majority of HER2 testing in the U.S.

Acute spontaneous tumor lysis syndrome as the initial presentation of ALK-positive diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is a recently described, uncommon form of DLBCL, which has been seen primarily in young men and which presents with advanced disease. The fact that ALK-positive DLBCL is an uncommon diagnosis is likely due to the combined effects of this being an uncommon disease coupled with the challenges in the pathologic identification of this neoplasm. Prompt and accurate identification of this tumor is becoming increasingly important, however, as we enter the era of therapeutic ALK inhibitors, which are currently undergoing study in several clinical trials.

Use of Web-based training for quality improvement between a field immunohistochemistry laboratory in Nigeria and its United States-based partner institution.

The importance of hormone receptor status in assigning treatment and the potential use of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-targeted therapy have made it beneficial for laboratories to improve detection techniques. Because interlaboratory variability in immunohistochemistry (IHC) tests may also affect studies of breast cancer subtypes in different countries, we undertook a Web-based quality improvement training and a comparative study of accuracy of immunohistochemical tests of breast cancer biomarkers between a well-established laboratory in the United States (University of Chicago) and a field laboratory in Ibadan, Nigeria. Two hundred and thirty-two breast tumor blocks were evaluated for estrogen receptors (ERs), progesterone receptors (PRs), and HER2 status at both laboratories using tissue microarray technique.

Burkitt lymphoma presenting as unilateral deafness in an immunocompetent patient.

A 55-year-old HIV-negative white male presented with right ear deafness, right axillary lymphadenopathy, and weight loss. Laboratory findings included anemia, marked leukocytosis, and thrombocytopenia. Examination of the peripheral smear demonstrated the presence of increased circulating blast-like cells of intermediate size, with basophilic cytoplasm and nuclei with open chromatin.