A case report of an unusual presentation of ocular rhinosporidiosis as a conjunctival cystic mass

Ocular involvement of rhinosporidiosis is seen in about 15% of cases and clinically appears as a freely mobile, granular, pink, fleshy sessile or pedunculated mass. The conjunctiva is the most common site of origin. A 25-year-old male presented with a painless mass in the lower part of the left eye for 6 months which was gradually progressive. Examination revealed a pedunculated mass of 15 mm x 15 mm arising from the lower palpebrae of the left eye retracting the lower lid. It appeared to be vascular with few white spots at the apex. Rest of the ocular examinations was within the normal limit. The presentations of ocular rhinosporidiosis vary. Though the conjunctival origin is very common, it may not have a classic pink fleshy appearance at all times. A vascular/cystic painless conjunctival mass should also be considered as a case of rhinosporidiosis in prone areas.     

The tipping point: The critical role of therapeutic apheresis in a case of refractory acquired hemophilia

Acquired hemophilia A (AHA) is a rare autoimmune disorder that leads to factor VIII (FVIII) deficiency via autoantibody formation. Standard treatment options include FVIII bypassing factors and immunosuppression. However, the role of therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) is not clear in the treatment of AHA. We present a case of idiopathic AHA in a 66 year old female with severe bleeding and a FVIII inhibitor of 17.6 Bethesda units (BU). She failed to respond to standard treatment including maximum dose of recombinant FVIIa (rFVIIa), rituximab, and other immunosuppressive agents. Her FVIII inhibitor rapidly increased to 140 BU and FVIII was below 5%. TPE was initiated 3 weeks after admission and her bleeding stabilized after the first treatment and completely stopped after three treatments. Repeat testing revealed increased FVIII to 15% and FVIII inhibitor decreased to 2.0 BU. After an additional TPE treatment, her FVIII increased to 27% and FVIII inhibitor decreased to 0.6 BU and she was discharged without bleeding 40 days after admission. In this case, TPE played a critical role in reducing FVIII inhibitor, which resulted in a recovery of FVIII activity and hemostasis. Therefore, TPE should be initiated early in AHA patients with bleeding and high titer of FVIII inhibitor.     

Correlation of PD-L1 Expression with Tumor Mutation Burden and Gene Signatures for Prognosis in Early-Stage Squamous Cell Lung Carcinoma

Objectives

Anti–programmed cell death 1 (PD-1)/programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) immunotherapy has demonstrated success in the treatment of advanced NSCLC. Recently, PD-1/PD-L1 blockade also has demonstrated interesting results in small trials of neoadjuvant treatment in stage IB to IIIA NSCLC. In addition, several clinical trials using anti–PD-1/PD-L1 immunotherapy as an adjuvant or neoadjuvant treatment in patients with resectable stage NSCLC are ongoing. However, few analyses of anti–PD-1/PD-L1 immunotherapy–related biomarkers in early-stage squamous cell lung carcinoma (SqCLC) have been reported. In this study, we evaluated PD-L1 protein expression, tumor mutation burden, and expression of an immune gene signature in early-stage SqCLC, providing data for identifying the potential role for patients with anti–PD-1/PD-L1 treatment in early-stage SqCLC.