Multiple intracranial melanoma metastases: case report and review of the literature

Although intracerebral metastases of malignant melanoma are common, those located in the sellar region and within the pontocerebellar area are extremely rare. Furthermore, to our knowledge, there is no report about melanoma metastasis to the epiphysis published so far. We report here a 46-year-old patient who had metastatic lesions in the sellar region, cerebellopontine area and epiphysial gland, preceded by a primary melanoma at her left shoulder. The diagnosis of sellar metastasis was confirmed histopathologically following a stereotactic biopsy. The patient received whole-brain irradiation therapy combined with chemotherapy. After 10 months, she died from a severe hemorrhage in the cerebellopontine angle. Autopsy findings confirmed melanoma metastases both in the cerebellopontine angle and additionally in the epiphysial gland. To our knowledge, this is the first case of multiple intracranial melanoma metastases including the suprasellar region, the pontocerebellar and epiphysial area.     

Metastatic malignant melanoma of the gallbladder: a case report and review of the literature

Both primary and metastatic melanoma of the gallbladder are rare. Involvement of the gallbladder occurs in about 15% of all gastrointestinal metastatic localizations in post-mortem case records. It is often difficult to differentiate primary from metastatic lesions on the basis of clinical, radiological and histopathological features. Melanoma involving the biliary tree seldom causes relevant symptoms during life, and this is why cases reported in the literature are few and those documented in living patients even fewer. We report a case of a young woman with a metastatic gallbladder melanoma who presented with a long and vague clinical history of symptoms that mimicked chronic cholecystitis with epigastric right hypochondrial pain without instrumental evidence of disease until the development of acute cholecystitis. We report this case to emphasize the need for awareness of the possibility of gallbladder involvement in the melanoma patient and to underline the necessity of meticulous investigation of unclear lesions of the gallbladder and biliary tree in patients with a past history of malignant melanoma. The clinical presentation, diagnosis, histopathology, prognosis and treatment of primary and metastatic melanoma of the gallbladder are also discussed and reviewed.     

Bladder metastasis of malignant melanoma: a case report and review of literature

Metastatic malignant melanoma of the bladder is extremely rare in clinical practice with less than 10 cases reported in the last 30 years in the English literature. We report a case of malignant melanoma metastasis into the bladder, and review of the pertinent literature. A 60-year-old woman with a history of malignant melanoma in the distal phalanx on the right middle finger, excised 8 years ago presented with gross hematuria and weight loss. She underwent cystoscopy and complete transurethral resection of the bladder tumor. Pathological examination showed metastatic malignant melanoma of the bladder mucosa. The patient eventually died 7 months after transurethral resection.     

Malignant carcinoid of the gallbladder: Third reported case and review of the literature

The case of a 26-year-old male with malignant carcinoid of the gallbladder is presented. Extensive review of the literature reveals this patient to be the third case of a metastasizing gall bladder carcinoid and the twelfth reported case in the literature.     

Carcinosarcoma of the gallbladder: report of a case

Carcinosarcomas of the gallbladder are rare tumors characterized by malignant epithelial and mesenchymal components that grow intermingled into each other. Herein we present a case that illustrates the difficulties in the diagnosis and the clinical management of this entity.     

Carcinoma of the gallbladder: autopsy findings in 287 cases and review of the literature

From 1950 to 1982, 287 patients with cancer of the gallbladder were autopsied. The ratio of men to women was 1:3.7. The average age of women was 70 years; that of men was 69.5 years. Most tumors (67.7%) had grown by diffuse infiltration and one-third (32.3%) were polypous-exophytic. Fundus and collum of the gallbladder showed an equal frequency (24%) of tumor localisation. The percentage of all gallbladder malignomas that were adenocarcinomas of various differentiation was 84.6, and 10.9% were anaplastic carcinomas, the rest consisted of squamous cell carcinomas (3.7%) and 0.8% sarcomas. Metastases were found in 265 cases (92.3%). Tumorous infiltration, lymph node metastases, and visceral metastases are discussed. A cholelithiasis was found in 78.4%. The results are compared with the literature.     

Duodenal metastasis from recurrent invasive lobular carcinoma of breast: a case report and literature review

We present a rare case of duodenal metastasis from invasive breast lobular carcinoma, which first presented clinically as elevated serum tumor marker levels, followed by jaundice but with no other clinical evidence of recurrence and metastasis. A 53-year-old woman underwent modified radical mastectomy of the left breast (pT2 N3 M0 stage III c) followed by postoperative chemo-radiotherapy and hormonal therapy. After about 3 years, the patient presented with elevated serum tumor marker levels and mild jaundice. She was subsequently admitted to the hospital for nausea and severe vomiting. A duodenoscopy revealed the thickening of duodenal papilla on the lateral wall and stenosis. A duodenal tissue biopsy revealed poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma, and immunohistochemical staining suggested that the carcinoma was of breast origin. The patient received further radiation and chemotherapy. Although duodenal metastases of breast cancer are rare, physicans should be alert and vigilant when a patient with a history of breast cancer presents with new gastrointestinal symptoms.     

Spontaneous regression of metastatic malignant melanoma of the parotid gland and neck lymph nodes: a case report and a review of the literature

We report the case history of a patient with complete spontaneous regression of metastatic cutaneous melanoma with parotid and neck lymph node metastases. Complete spontaneous regression of metastatic melanoma is very rare, with an estimated incidence of 0.22%–0.27%. We review the literature on this subject. Elucidation of the process of spontaneous regression may offer the possibility of improved methods of treating and preventing cancer.     

Pituitary metastasis from medullary carcinoma of thyroid: case report and review of literature

Pituitary is a rare site for metastases from thyroid cancer. Most reported cases have been of papillary and follicular carcinoma. Metastases from medullary thyroid carcinoma have not been reported. We report a case of intrapituitary metastasis from medullary carcinoma thyroid in a 38-year-old male, who had been operated for pituitary adenoma 5 years earlier. At the time of presentation in Nov 2006, he had visual field defects and a painless thyroid nodule. Further evaluation revealed medullary carcinoma thyroid, cervical and mediastinal lymphadenopathy, elevated serum calcitonin levels, and lobulated pituitary tumor. After surgical excision of thyroid and lymph node clearance, he underwent craniotomy and subfrontal excision of pituitary tumor. All the tumors were of identical histology, i.e., medullary carcinoma thyroid. Pituitary tumor was positive for calcitonin.     

CARCINOSARCOMA OF GALLBLADDER： A CASE REPORT

Carcinosarcoma is a rare entity of neoplasma, and even rarte in gallbladder. The tumor is composed of both malignant epithelial and mesenchymal components that may grow intermingled or separated. The prognosis is generally poor with a median survival of 7.8 months, mimicking that of gallbladder carcinoma. Here we report one case that achieved long-term survival after surgical resection and adjuvant therapy with oxaliplatin- containing regimen. Case Report A 75 year-old man presented with a ma…     

Advanced gallbladder carcinoma: a case report and review of the literature

A case with carcinoma of the gallbladder and recurrent metastases to regional lymph nodes is reported. Following primary surgery, secondary resection of node recurrence, and long term combination chemotherapy, the patient is alive and disease free after 9 years. The possibility of a successful cancer suppression, as mirrored by a depressed RES-function test during the treatment with anticancer drugs, is discussed. Only nine other cases with advanced gallbladder cancer and 5 year survival are found in the literature.     

Metastatic colorectal cancer presenting with bone marrow metastasis: a case series and review of literature

With advances in treatment, patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) are now living longer with an apparent increase in the incidence of bone and bone marrow metastases (BMM). Common sites of metastatic disease from CRC include the liver and lungs with bone metastasis rarely occurring in the absence of visceral metastatic disease. We report a series of three patients presenting with isolated bone and BMM leading to a diagnosis of primary CRC. We have reviewed the literature regarding diagnosis, potential mechanisms leading to the development of osseous metastasis and outcome. A high level of clinical suspicion and in-depth understanding of the natural history of these rare metastases may guide future management and treatment decisions.     

Radiation recall dermatitis: case report and review of the literature

"Radiation recall"-also called "radiation recall dermatitis"-has been defined as the "recalling" by skin of previous radiation exposure in response to the administration of certain response-inducing drugs. Although the phenomenon is relatively well known in the medical world, an exact cause has not been documented. Here, we report a rare occurrence of the radiation recall phenomenon in a breast cancer patient after palliative radiotherapy for bone, brain, and orbital metastases.     

Cutaneous pancreatic metastasis: a case report and review of literature

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal human cancers and continues to be a major unsolved health problem as we enter the 21st century. This is the case despite advances in imaging technology and surgical management. Indeed, 80-90% of pancreatic cancers are diagnosed either at the locally advanced stage or metastatic stage. Cutaneous metastases originating from pancreatic cancer are relatively rare. The most common site of cutaneous metastasis is the umbilicus, and it is known as the Sister Joseph's nodule. Very few patients have been reported with cutaneous lesions disclosing pancreatic carcinoma at sites other than the umbilical area. To our knowledge, there were no previous reports on cutaneous pancreatic metastasis in Egypt. This is a report of a patient with cutaneous pancreatic metastases at the neck, followed by a review of reported non-umbilical cutaneous metastases from pancreatic carcinoma in the literature.     

黑色素瘤疫苗研究进展

黑素瘤自发性消退现象使人关注到黑色素瘤固有的致免疫性,组织学现象及相应的临床观察亦证实体内的抗肿瘤主动免疫应答.人们利用黑素瘤作为治疗模型开展了一系列肿瘤疫苗的研究.     

Spontaneous pneumothorax in malignancy: A case report and review of the literature

Background:Pneumothorax occurring in the absence of obvious lungdisease is defined as spontaneous pneumothorax. Spontaneous pneumothoraxoccurs in a variety of settings in patients with malignancies. Patients and methods:We present a case report of spontaneouspneumothorax in malignancy and review the literature. Results:No correlation was found between the occurrence ofpneumothorax with age, sex or smoking history. Pneumothorax occurred with avariety of primary tumors. However it was always associated with lungmetastases or lung involvement with tumor. In certain cases the metastaseswere detected after the occurrence of pneumothorax. Conclusions:The occurrence of pneumothorax in a patient withmalignancy should prompt a search for lung metastases.     

Breast carcinoma metastatic to eyelids: case report and review of the literature

Violaceous, indurated plaques around both eyes were found to be cutaneous metastases and the initial clinical presentation of a lobular carcinoma of the breast in an 80-year-old woman. Available literature indicates that breast carcinoma is the most common metastatic tumor of the eyelid and the onset of a palpebral mass may precede the diagnosis of the primary tumor in the breast.     

Osseous metastasis of pineoblastoma: a case report and review of the literature

Summary Purpose: To review the literature on the occurrence of osseous metastases in recurrent pineoblastoma, and to report upon the feasibility and efficacy of treatment using intensive conventional chemotherapy to achieve a remission, followed by consolidation with marrow ablative chemotherapy and autologous hemopoietic stem cell rescue. Patient and Methods:An adult with isolated extraneural, osseous and bone marrow metastases from a pineoblastoma, received conventional cyclical chemotherapy, followed by consolidation with marrow ablative chemotherapy (thiotepa, carboplatin and temozolomide) and autologous hemopoietic stem cell rescue. Results: A complete radiographic and histopathologic response was achieved after almost one year of conventional chemotherapy that was tolerated without significant sequelae. Following successful harvesting of peripheral blood stem cells, the patient underwent myeloablative chemotherapy with autologous stem cell rescue, without difficulty in hemopoietic reconstitution and without serious or permanent side effects. Conclusions: Osseous metastases from pineoblastoma are an extremely rare occurrence. We conclude that conventional chemotherapy can achieve a complete response, and subsequent consolidation with marrow ablative chemotherapy and autologous hemopoietic stem cell rescue is feasible and well tolerated.     

肝脏恶性黑色素瘤1例并文献复习

目的:探讨肝脏恶性黑色素瘤的诊断、鉴别诊断及生物学行为.方法:报道1 例肝脏恶性黑色素瘤,对其进行光镜观察、免疫组织化学及特殊染色检测,并回顾文献.结果:肉眼观察见椭圆形肿物,有明显包膜,局部与肝组织黏连,但二者分界清楚;光镜下瘤细胞呈弥漫性分布,与肝组织分界处有纤维组织分割,但局部瘤细胞突破包膜侵及肝组织;肿瘤细胞异型性明显,呈圆形、多角形或梭形,胞界清,胞质丰富.部分区域瘤细胞胞浆中可见灰黑色颗粒;核圆形或卵圆形,核仁明显,嗜酸或弱嗜碱性,核分裂像易见;免疫组化结果肿瘤细胞显示Vimentin、Melanoma-pan、HMB45和S-100阳性;不表达AFP、CK高、CK18、CEA、CK19、CD34、CD117、NSE、LCA、CK、CHA、HCG、EMA、SCLC、Desmin、SM-actin、SC-actin、myoglobin和Syn等.结论:肝脏恶性黑色素瘤是一种极其罕见的肿瘤,且组织学形态又复杂多样,如遇到诊断有困难的肝脏肿瘤时,应考虑到恶性黑色素瘤之可能.