Plasmablastic lymphoma affecting the lung and bone marrow with CD10 expression and t(8;14)(q24;q32) translocation.

Plasmablastic lymphoma is a rare variant of a diffuse, large B-cell lymphoma, which typically presents in the oral cavity in immunocompromised patients. In HIV positive patients, this tumor has a tendency to manifest in extramedullary sites. In this report, we document a rare instance in which this neoplasm besides affecting the bone marrow also involved the lung.

Prospective evaluation of transient elastography for the diagnosis of hepatic fibrosis in Asians: comparison with liver biopsy and aspartate transaminase platelet ratio index.

Background: Transient elastography (TE) is a reliable non-invasive predictor of hepatic fibrosis, but data on TE in Asians are limited.

Aim: To evaluate prospectively the accuracy of TE for diagnosis of hepatic fibrosis in Asians compared with APRI (aspartate transaminase to platelet ratio index).

Methods: One hundred and twenty consecutive patients who underwent liver biopsy were enrolled.

Outcome after surgical treatment of suspected gastrointestinal stromal tumors involving the duodenum: is limited resection appropriate?

Introduction: Present surgical opinion is divided regarding the optimal method for the treatment of duodenal gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) with some supporting the selective use of limited resection (LR) versus others who prefer pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD).

Methods: A retrospective review of 22 patients who underwent surgery for suspected GIST involving the duodenum.

Results: There were 15 GISTs, 1 leiomyosarcoma and 6 other non-GIST benign submucosal tumors.

Intraabdominal schwannomas: a single institution experience.

Introduction: Intraabdominal schwannomas are rare, benign tumors. This study presents a single institution experience with 12 such tumors.

Methods: Between 1991 to 2006, 12 patients with a pathologically proven intraabdominal schwannoma were identified from a series of 216 mesenchymal tumors and were reviewed retrospectively.

Detection and comparison of epidermal growth factor receptor mutations in cells and fluid of malignant pleural effusion in non-small cell lung cancer.

Cells or cell-free fluid of malignant pleural effusion could be important clinical specimen for epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation screening in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. However, their usefulness in mutation detection has not been well compared. In this study we recruited 26 East Asian NSCLC patients with malignant pleural effusion, determined the mutation status of EGFR in both cells and matched cell-free fluid with the use of sequencing and mutant-enriched PCR.

Youth health conference 2006: what's it going to take? Call to action statement.

Conference delegates from 15 countries throughout the Asia Pacific region and beyond put forward their joint concerns and ideas at the Fifth Australian and New Zealand Youth Health Conference in Sydney, 13-15 November 2006. Delegates contributed to the Conference Call to Action Statement, with the aim of creating greater commitment to, and immediate action for improving the health and well-being of Australia's young people. The Call to Action Statement promotes greater investment in, and support of policy development, service improvement and delivery, youth participation, cross-sectoral coordination and collaboration.

Cyclin-dependent kinases control septin phosphorylation in Candida albicans hyphal development.

Cyclin-dependent kinases (Cdks) control cytoskeleton polarization in yeast morphogenesis. However, the target and mechanism remain unclear. Here, we show that the Candida albicans Cdk Cdc28, through temporally controlled association with two cyclins Ccn1 and Hgc1, rapidly establishes and persistently maintains phosphorylation of the septin cytoskeleton protein Cdc11 for hyphal development.

Diagnosis of adenoid cystic carcinoma of the lung by bronchial brushing: a case report.

Background: A diagnosis of pulmonary adenoid cystic carcinoma on exfoliative cytology specimen is very uncommon. The diagnostic cytologic material typically is obtained following a tissue biopsy. No previous report of the diagnosis has been made on bronchial brushing cytologic material when the procedure preceded a tissue biopsy.

Effects of gelatine and medium molecular weight starch as priming fluid in cardiopulmonary bypass--a randomised controlled trial.

Perioperative volume replacement after cardiopulmonary bypass is complicated by post-bypass systemic inflammatory process. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of using two different colloid solutions as priming fluids in cardiopulmonary bypass. The study's primary end point was to measure the amount of fluid replacement needed during and post-cardiopulmonary bypass; blood loss, change in blood profile and intraocular pressure were secondary end points, used as measures of plasma oncotic pressures.

An alternative approach to determining therapeutic choices in advanced non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC): maximizing the diagnostic procedure and the use of low-volume lung biopsies.

Background: Accurate mutational analysis, especially epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations, of diagnostic biopsies from all Asian NSCLC patients is crucial to their clinical management, but faces problems. Here, we explore, within usual hospital constraints, the practicalities of incorporating mutational analysis in every newly diagnosed case of NSCLC, namely, maximizing tissue acquisition during the diagnostic procedure and determining the maximum quantity and quality of DNA sequence data available from these biopsies.

Methods: Sixty-eight Chinese patients were enrolled.

Pathologic, radiologic and PET scan response of gastrointestinal stromal tumors after neoadjuvant treatment with imatinib mesylate.

Aim: The aim of this study is to review the radiologic, PET scan and pathologic response and the outcome of patients with advanced GIST treated with neoadjuvant IM followed by surgical resection.

Materials And Methods: We report a case and review 36 patients reported in MEDLINE with advanced GIST treated with neoadjuvant IM followed by surgical resection.

Results: Thirty-seven patients with a median age of 56 years (range, 32-76 years) at presentation were treated with neoadjuvant IM.

Pancreatic serous oligocystic adenomas: clinicopathologic features and a comparison with serous microcystic adenomas and mucinous cystic neoplasms.

Introduction: The preoperative distinction between serous cystic neoplasms (SCNs) and mucinous cystic neoplasms (MCNs) is essential, as all MCNs are considered malignant or potentially malignant and should be surgically resected, whereas SCNs are almost always benign. However, the radiologic distinction between SCNs and MCNs is frequently difficult especially with serous oligocystic adenoma (SOA), a morphologic variant of SCN, as both SOA and MCN appear on cross-sectional imaging as a solitary macrocystic lesion in the pancreas. We reviewed all SOAs managed at our institution to determine if any clinicopathologic features would prove useful for establishing a preoperative diagnosis.

Primary retroperitoneal mucinous cystadenocarcinoma in a male patient.

Primary retroperitoneal mucinous cystadenocarcinomas (PRMCs) are rare. This is the first reported case in the literature in English of PRMC in a man. The 64-year-old man presented with a large retroperitoneal cystic tumour measuring 24 x 20 x 16 cm3, which was removed intact.

An unusual cause of granulomatous inflammation: eosinophilic abscess in Langerhans cell histiocytosis.

Eosinophilic abscess inciting a granulomatous response has rarely been reported and appears not to have been described in the setting of a neoplasm. In this report, a case is described where a granulomatous response occurred around eosinophilic abscesses in a patient with Langerhans cell histiocytosis, an association which has not previously been documented. On histology, the excised lymph node showed the presence of eosinophilic abscess and necrosis surrounded by granulomas, which in turn were surrounded by Langerhans cells, a feature confirmed on immunohistochemistry.

Incidental hypoglobus: primary amyloidosis of the superior rectus.

A 69-year-old man who presented with incidental hypoglobus was found to have an isolated superior rectus mass. Diagnosis of primary amyloidosis of superior rectus was made on incisional biopsy and negative systemic work-up. This is an unusual manifestation and site for amyloidosis and should be a differential of any extraocular muscle mass.

Comparative genomics of the human and Fugu voltage-gated calcium channel alpha1-subunit gene family reveals greater diversity in Fugu.

Extensive search for the orthologs of 10 human voltage-gated calcium channel (VGCC) alpha(1)-subunit genes in the Fugu genome sequence revealed 21 alpha(1)-subunit genes in the compact genome of Fugu. Subtype classification of the identified Fugu alpha(1) orthologs based on phylogenetic analysis, genomic organization and sequence comparison of the most divergent II/III loop and the C-terminal regions of the alpha(1)-subunits indicated extra copies of alpha(1S)-, alpha(1D)-, alpha(1F)-, alpha(1A)-, alpha(1E)-, alpha(1H)- and alpha(1G)-subunit genes. Phylogenetic analysis reveals that this is likely due to fish lineage specific alpha(1)-subunit subtype duplication.