Germline p53 mutation in a Micronesian child with adrenocortical carcinoma and subsequent osteosarcoma.

In 1990, an 18-month-old Micronesian girl was initially diagnosed with a right adrenocortical carcinoma. More than a decade later (2003), she was diagnosed with metastatic osteosarcoma with the primary in her right proximal fibula. Given this child's remarkable history of malignancy, she underwent testing for a genetic mutation that is associated with increased cancer formation.

Shunt-related abdominal metastases in a child with choroid plexus carcinoma: case report.

Objective And Importance: Metastasis of primary brain neoplasms to the abdomen through a ventriculoperitoneal shunt (VPS) has been described for many types of tumors, including medulloblastoma, germ cell tumors, astrocytoma, oligodendroglioma, lymphoma, ependymoma, and melanoma. Choroid plexus tumors (CPTs) are located within the cerebrospinal fluid-containing spaces of the brain and frequently disseminate throughout the craniospinal subarachnoid space, yet VPS-related metastasis of a CPT to the abdomen has not been reported previously.

Clinical Presentation: We present the case of a 3-year-old boy with choroid plexus carcinoma of the lateral ventricle and preoperative intraventricular dissemination of the tumor.

Polymorphisms within the angiotensinogen gene (GT-repeat) and the risk of stroke in pediatric patients with sickle cell disease: a case-control study.

Stroke is one of the most devastating complications of patients with sickle cell disease (SCD). Currently, there are no known molecular or genetic markers that can be used to assess the risk of stroke in this population. We have previously shown that relative hypertension may be one risk factor for stroke in SCD.

Pseudomalignant heterotopic ossification.

Pseudomalignant heterotopic ossification is a rare, self limited connective tissue disorder of unknown origin that may occur atypically during childhood and can simulate either soft tissue sarcoma or fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva. A complex constellation of diagnostic features usually enable the differentiation of pseudomalignant heterotopic ossification from extraosseous osteosarcoma and fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva during a time span of approximately 8 to 12 weeks. Orthopaedic surgeons who treat children with connective tissue tumors should be familiar with pseudomalignant heterotopic ossification and its differential diagnosis.