Alveolar soft-part sarcoma of the tongue: report of a case

Alveolar soft-part sarcoma(ASPS) is a rare, aggressive malignancy of uncertain histologic origin with a propensity for vascular invasion and distant metastasis. ASPS may mimic benign vascular neoplams of malformation but careful evaluation of the unique imaging features on CT scans, MR images, and angiograms lead to the correct diagnosis. ASPS of the tongue is slow-growing, painless mass, especially ASPS of the base the tongue is difficult to be noticed by patient, dentists or oral and maxillofacial surgeons on oral examintion because of its location and clinical resemblance to a benign lesion. And it leads to delayed or inadequate diagnosis. We report radiologic and clinical features of an ASPS of the basal portion of the tongue in a 17-year-old boy, showing normal appearance, but palpation of the tongue and floor of the mouth reveals the tumor. Among the 23 cases of a primary ASPS of tongue reported, 7 cases occured on the basal region of the tongue, inculding the present one. There has been no recurrence or metastasis as of 3 years postoperatively.

Clinical Correlation between the Serum Pepsinogen I/II Ratio and Gastric Cancer

PURPOSE: In order to clarify the carcinogenesis mechanism from chronic atrophic gastritis toward gastric cancer, we measured the pepsinogen I and II and compared their ratio with several clinical findings. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We measured the preoperative serum pepsinogen I and II by using a radio-immunoassay and compared their ratio with several clinical findings, such as tumor size, mucinous vs non-mucinous tumor, cell differentiation, tumor location, depth of invasion, lymph-node status, Lauren's classification, and peritumoral atrophy in 103 consecutive patients with gastric adenocarcinomas who had received resections at Bundang CHA Hospital during the period from July 2003 to February 2005. RESULTS: There were significant differences in the serum pepsinogen I/II ratio between patients with mucinous vs non-mucinous tumors (n=4 vs 9 and mean pep I/II=1.29 vs. 2.99, P=0.0288), with tumor size more than and less than 10 cm2 (n=55 vs. 48 and mean pep I/II=2.64 vs. 3.24, P=0.0491), and with or without peritumoral atrophy (n=94 vs. 9 and mean pep I/II=2.83 vs. 3.89, P=0.0466). In patients with peritomoral atrophy, the pepsinogen I/II ratio was also lower in larger tumors (n=48 vs. 46 and mean pep I/II=2.44 vs. 3.23, P=0.0083). Well-differentiated carcinomas showed significantly lower serum pep I/II ratios than signet-ring-cell types. There was no correlation between serum pep I/II ratio and tumor location, depth of invasion, lymph-node status, or Lauren's classification. CONCLUSION: We proved the existence of a correlation between serum pepsinogen level and musosal atrophy, but these results are not sufficient for clinical application of serum pepsinogen level as a screening tool for gastric cancer.