Retroperitoneal liposarcoma mimicking pheochromocytoma.

Retroperitoneal liposarcomas are rare mesenchymal tumors which carry a poor prognosis because of their late presentation. When symptoms do occur, they are usually nonspecific and related to mass effect or invasion of local structures. Rarely, retroperitoneal liposarcomas can clinically and biochemically mimic phaeochromocytomas.

Global Pathology Training in Residency and Fellowship: A Mutually Beneficial Intervention.

Context.—: Most cancers occur in lower and middle income countries, where pathologists are scarce. Despite this, few pathology training programs offer global health electives, and trainees are not exposed to challenges associated with practicing in resource-restricted settings.

Large left posterior fossa meningioma presenting with quadriplegia in a woman with history of carbidopa-levodopa resistant parkinsonism.

A 56-year-old Afro-Trinidadian woman with a history of a carbidopa-levodopa resistance Parkinsonian-like syndrome for 2 years, presented with acute onset spastic quadriplegia and decreased responsiveness. Diagnosis involved clinical and MR-imaging correlation consistent with a large left posterior fossa meningioma. Surgical removal of the tumor led to complete reversibility of the neurological manifestations associated with cerebellar tonsillar herniation beyond the foramen magnum and mass effect on the brainstem, cerebellum and midbrain regions.

Epidemiology of salivary gland tumours in an Eastern Caribbean nation: A retrospective study.

Objective: The epidemiology of the salivary glands tumour is not well documented in the Caribbean countries. Therefore, the aim of this study is to determine the local trend of salivary gland tumours with a review of current diagnostic techniques.

Design & Methods: Retrospective data was collected from the electronic database at the Pathology department of the San Fernando Teaching Hospital between the periods January 2005 to June 2015.

Giant Cystic Pheochromocytoma with Low Risk of Malignancy: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Giant pheochromocytomas are rare silent entities that do not present with the classical symptoms commonly seen in catecholamine-secreting tumors. In many cases they are accidentally discovered. The algorithm to diagnose a pheochromocytoma consists of biochemical evaluation and imaging of a retroperitoneal mass.

A case report of the clear cell variant of gallbladder carcinoma.

Introduction: Clear cell gallbladder carcinoma accounts for less than 1% of all gallbladder malignancies and demonstrates its unique histopathological characteristics in patients with no prior medical illness or familial predisposition.

Presentation Of Case: Here we present a case of a 56-year-old female, with no prior medical conditions presented with a 2-month history of upper abdominal pain. Routine hematological and biochemical tests were unremarkable.

Rare nodular malignant melanoma of the heel in the Caribbean: A case report.

Introduction: Malignant melanoma of the heel is a rare melanoma subtype with incidence rates that reflect the complex relationship between sun exposure at certain geographic locations, individual melanin levels and overall melanoma risk. It is oftentimes characterized by poor prognosis because of delays in presentation resulting in longitudinal tumor invasion, lymph node involvement and metastasis.

Presentation Of Case: A 59-year-old woman was admitted to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Trinidad and Tobago with a 5mm pruritic lesion on her left heel.

Right sided spleen laying retro-duodenal: A case report and review of the literature.

Introduction: Unlike left sided accessory spleen that are seen in 10-30% of cases at autopsy, cases of right accessory spleens are extremely rare. This congenital body of healthy splenic tissue simulates tumors from neighboring organs and presents a challenge in formulating a differential diagnosis.

Presentation Of Case: We present the case of a patient whose CT scan of the abdomen showed a large mass, 11×8cm, arising retro-duodenal and lying just anterior to the right kidney.

Clinical validation of a next-generation sequencing screen for mutational hotspots in 46 cancer-related genes.

Transfer of next-generation sequencing technology to a Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments-certified laboratory requires vigorous validation. Herein, we validated a next-generation sequencing screen interrogating 740 mutational hotspots in 46 cancer-related genes using the Ion Torrent AmpliSeq cancer panel and Ion Torrent Personal Genome Machine (IT-PGM). Ten nanograms of FFPE DNA was used as template to amplify mutation hotspot regions of 46 genes in 70 solid tumor samples, including 22 archival specimens with known mutations and 48 specimens sequenced in parallel with alternate sequencing platforms.

Frequency and spectrum of BRAF mutations in a retrospective, single-institution study of 1112 cases of melanoma.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved vemurafenib to treat patients with metastatic melanoma harboring the BRAF c.1799T>A (p.V600E) mutation.

Detection of ABCC1 expression in classical Hodgkin lymphoma is associated with increased risk of treatment failure using standard chemotherapy protocols.

Background: The mechanisms responsible for chemoresistance in patients with refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma (CHL) are unknown. ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters confer multidrug resistance in various cancers and ABCC1 overexpression has been shown to contribute to drug resistance in the CHL cell line, KMH2.

Findings: We analyzed for expression of five ABC transporters ABCB1, ABCC1, ABCC2, ABCC3 and ABCG2 using immunohistochemistry in 103 pre-treatment tumor specimens obtained from patients with CHL.

Rapid detection and quantitation of BRAF mutations in hairy cell leukemia using a sensitive pyrosequencing assay.

BRAF protooncogene is an important mediator of cell proliferation and survival signals. BRAF p.V600E mutation was recently described as a molecular marker of hairy cell leukemia (HCL).

Glioma-associated oncogene homologue 3, a hedgehog transcription factor, is highly expressed in Hodgkin and Reed-Sternberg cells of classical Hodgkin lymphoma.

The hedgehog signaling pathway has been shown to play a pathogenic role in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and anaplastic large cell lymphoma, but has not been assessed in classical Hodgkin lymphoma. Glioma-associated oncogene homologues 1, 2, and 3 are transcriptional effectors of the hedgehog pathway. In this study, we first used real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction to investigate the expressions of GLI1, GLI2, and GLI3 in 3 classical Hodgkin lymphoma cell lines.

Selected topics on lymphoid lesions in the head and neck regions.

Lymphoid tissue located in the head and neck region include multiple regional lymph node chains as well as mucosa associated lymphoid tissue of the conjunctiva, buccal and nasopharyngeal cavities (Waldeyer's ring), and thyroid and salivary glands. This region is a rich source of antigenic stimuli including infectious agents coming from the outside environment. Many reactive conditions that affect lymphoid tissue in this region may mimic neoplasia.

Comparison of thyroid transcription factor-1 expression by 2 monoclonal antibodies in pulmonary and nonpulmonary primary tumors.

Thyroid transcription factor-1 (TTF-1) is a transcription factor that plays a role in the development and physiology of the thyroid and lungs. Expression of TTF-1 is used as a marker of lung and thyroid clinically. Commercially available clones of TTF-1 monoclonal antibodies, 8G7G3/1 and SPT24, have been reported to have different sensitivities for the detection of neoplasms of different origins.

GCDFP-15 positive and TTF-1 negative primary lung neoplasms: a tissue microarray study of 381 primary lung tumors.

Gross cystic disease fluid protein (GCDFP-15) is currently used as an immunohistochemical marker of breast cancer, whereas thyroid transcription factor (TTF-1) is commonly used as a marker of primary lung neoplasms. Traditionally, a GCDFP-15+/TTF-1- immunohistochemical profile in lung tumors has been considered as highly suggestive of metastatic carcinoma of the breast. Here, we investigated the expression of GCDFP-15 and TTF-1 on a tissue microarray consisting of 381 primary lung carcinomas.

Prognostic value of aspartyl (asparaginyl)-beta-hydroxylase/humbug expression in non-small cell lung carcinoma.

Despite improvements in the detection and use of biomarkers, including epidermal growth factor receptor, ERCC1, and p16, the 5-year survival rate with non-small cell lung cancer remains at 15%. This suggests that additional biomarkers are needed to better prognosticate clinical course and guide therapeutic approaches. Previous studies showed that increased levels of aspartyl (asparaginyl)-beta-hydroxylase and a highly related molecule, humbug, correlate with clinical course and survival with hepatic, biliary, pancreatic, and colon carcinomas.

Renal sinus myelolipoma coexistent with renal pelvis papillary transitional cell carcinoma: a case report.

A unique case of renal sinus myelolipoma presenting as a mass coexistent with papillary transitional cell carcinoma is reported. The patient was a 64-year-old man with a history of bladder transitional cell carcinoma. He presented with gross hematuria and a filling defect in the renal pelvis on computed tomography scan.

Hepatic adenomatosis.

Hepatic adenomatosis was first described in 1985 by Flejou et al as multiple adenomas, arbitrarily more than 10, in an otherwise normal liver parenchyma. Several authors have suggested that it is a distinct entity from hepatic adenoma, which is predominantly seen in young women taking oral contraceptives. Although considered a benign disease, it can be associated with potentially fatal complications such as malignant transformation and intraperitoneal hemorrhage due to rupture.

Synchronous development of acute myeloid leukemia in recipient and donor after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation: report of a case with comments on donor evaluation.

Background: A case of donor cell leukemia (DCL) is reported. A 42-year-old female developed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) of donor cell origin 18 months after a bone marrow transplant (BMT) from her brother. At the time DCL presented, the donor-brother was also diagnosed with AML showing identical cytogenetic abnormalities.

The diagnostic and prognostic utility of claudin expression in renal cell neoplasms.

This study evaluated the expression patterns of claudins 1, 3, 4, 7, and 8 in human renal cell carcinomas and oncocytomas and correlated expression with patient prognosis. Tissue microarrays were created from paraffin-embedded tissue samples from 141 patients with renal cell carcinomas or oncocytoma (90 clear cell, 22 papillary, 17 chromophobe renal cell carcinomas, and 12 oncocytomas). The staining pattern for claudins 3, 4, 7, and 8 was membranous and/or cytoplasmic, whereas claudin 1 was predominantly membranous in both nonneoplastic renal tissue and tumors.