Publications by authors named "Suntrea T Hammer"

Objectives: Metastases are common in non-cirrhotic livers but are considered unlikely in the setting of cirrhosis. However, the degree of fibrosis in cirrhosis may vary; thus metastases may still access the liver vasculature and present as a mass in cirrhotic livers. This possibility may affect pathologists' diagnostic algorithms when faced with a liver mass biopsy.

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A 48-year-old man with hepatitis C virus (HCV) cirrhosis complicated by hepatocellular carcinoma underwent liver transplantation. His course was complicated by fever, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and pancytopenia. He developed a diffuse erythematous rash, which progressed to erythroderma.

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Objectives: To describe a sporadic form of lymphoplasmacytic cholecystitis (LPC), a condition known to occur in patients with chronic biliary tract disease.

Methods: One year's worth of cholecystectomies was reviewed for sporadic cases of LPC. Histologic, radiologic, and clinical findings were reviewed and compared with noninflamed controls.

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Pancreatoblastomas are malignant epithelial neoplasms of the pancreas that are heterogeneous and have variable cellular differentiation, complicating the diagnosis. We report a case of pancreatoblastoma occurring in an adult patient, presenting as a pancreatic head mass with liver metastasis and jaundice. The initial liver biopsy diagnosis was metastatic neuroendocrine carcinoma based on morphology and synaptophysin positivity.

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Context: The finding of increased intraepithelial lymphocytes with normal villous architecture (Marsh I lesion) is seen in up to 3% of duodenal biopsies. The differential diagnosis includes a wide range of possibilities, including celiac disease, bacterial overgrowth, nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug damage, reaction to Helicobacter pylori infection, tropical sprue, and chronic inflammatory bowel disease.

Objectives: To highlight the histologic features of the Marsh I lesion, review the diseases and conditions associated with that finding, and to provide pathologists with a rationale and a template for how to identify and report such cases.

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Acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract is an often lethal complication of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant. Clinical severity correlates with outcomes, but histopathologic grading is primarily used to confirm the clinical diagnosis. One barrier to using histopathologic grading to predict clinical outcomes is inter-grader variability among transplant centers.

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Retroperitoneal fibrosis is a rare fibroinflammatory condition involving the abdominal aorta, iliac vessels, and ureters that carries an association with several other autoimmune conditions. Most cases of retroperitoneal fibrosis are thought to be idiopathic. The disorder can affect all age groups but is most common in persons between the ages of 50 and 70 years.

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