AFP-producing acinar cell carcinoma treated by pancreaticoduodenectomy in a patient with a previous radical subtotal gastrectomy by gastric cancer

We report a case of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP)-producing acinar cell carcinoma (ACC) of the pancreas. The tumor was diagnosed in a 72 yearold female after radical subtotal gastrectomy (Billroth I) due to early gastric cancer six months before. The initial serum AFP levels were increased to 2,254.1 IU/ml and preoperative imaging studies showed a mass with approximately 2.5 cm in diameter near the neck of the pancreas. A pancreaticoduodenectomy was performed. The pathologic examination revealed an ill-defined lobulating tumor confined to the pancreas (T1 stage). Immunohistochemical study showed that the tumor cells expressed AFP. The Adenosine triphosphate-based chemotherapy response assay (ATP-CRA) suggested that cisplatin would be more desirable than gemcitabine in AFP-producing ACC of the pancreas as an adjuvant chemotherapy. However, the adjuvant chemotherapy was not performed due to the early pathological stage. The patient died from carcinomatosis and pneumonia. Even if the tumor was on a relatively early stage, an adjuvant treatment should be considered ACC.

A Case of Pulmonary Mucormycosis with Necrotizing Pneumonia and Bronchopleural Fistula Cured by Surgical Resection / 대한내과학회지

Pulmonary mucormycosis is an uncommon opportunistic fungal infection associated with diabetes mellitus, leukemia, lymphoma, and other debilitating diseases. It is diagnosed by the pathologic demonstration of typical hyphae, and the condition requires aggressive surgical treatment to reduce the risk of mortality. Pulmonary mucormycosis is associated with various clinical and radiological characteristics. Therefore, a rapid diagnosis and aggressive surgical approach based on early suspicion are important in high-risk patients in order to cure pulmonary mucormycosis. Here, we report the successful treatment of pulmonary mucormycosis in a 58-year-old male with glottic cancer and uncontrolled diabetes who had rapidly progressive necrotizing pneumonia and a bronchopleural fistula via an aggressive pathologic diagnosis and surgical resection.

A Case of Atypical Giant Cell Arteritis Presenting as a Fever of Unknown Origin

Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is a systemic vasculitis predominantly found in individuals of Northern European ancestry over 50 years of age. Typically it presents with new-onset persistent headache, claudication of jaws, and existence of an abnormal temporal artery. However, the diagnosis of GCA and the assessment of its activity remain challenging, especially in patients presenting with a variety of non-specific symptoms and laboratory tests. In those cases, 18F-fluorodeoxy-glucose positron emission tomography (18F-FDG-PET) is useful for the diagnosis of GCA. Recently, the number of foreign patients who visit domestic hospitals for medical care is increasing in Korea. Here-in, we report a Russian patient who was admitted to our hospital with fever of unknown origin (FUO). FUO study was performed to search for infection or malignancy and GCA was suspected by 18F-FDG-PET. The patient was eventually diagnosed with GCA by random temporal artery biopsy.

The Definition of Minimal Extrathyroid Extension in Thyroid Pathology by Analyzing Sizable Intra- and Extrathyroid Blood Vessels

BACKGROUND: To define the exact boundary of the intrathyroid and extrathyroid aspects of a gland when determining the extent of cancer invasion, we plan to clarify the definition of sizable vascular structures, which is one of the helpful histologic clues in determining a minimal extrathyroid extension. We hypothesized that arterial wall thicknesses in extrathyroid soft tissue would be significantly different from the arteries in the thyroid parenchyma. METHODS: Twenty cases of papillary carcinoma were selected. The numbers and wall thicknesses of the arteries and arterioles in intrathyroid and extrathyroid tissue were evaluated. The absence of nerve tissue in the thyroid gland was confirmed using the S-100 protein immunohistochemical stain. RESULTS: The comparison of the mean thicknesses of the total arteries between the extrathyroid and intrathyroid tissues in the retrospective study (26.88 micrometer vs. 15.07 micrometer, respectively) and the prospective study (35.24 micrometer vs. 16.52 micrometer, respectively) revealed significant differences (p=0.000). The greatest thickness of the intrathyroid arteries was 67.93 micrometer. CONCLUSIONS: According to our results, the study showed that the extrathyroidal arteries were significantly thicker than the intrathyroidal arteries. We suggest that the sizable blood vessels of extrathyroidal arteries should be greater than 67.93 micrometer in thickness.

Cytologic Features of Giant Cell Ependymoma: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Here, we present a case of anaplastic giant cell ependymoma (GCE) occurring in a 15-year-old woman. Squash smear slides for intraoperative frozen section diagnosis revealed oval to round cell clusters with a papillary structure in a fibrillary background. This was occasionally accompanied by the presence of bizarre pleomorphic giant cells with hyperchromatic nuclei and prominent intranuclear inclusions. These intranuclear inclusions were a key clue to diagnosis of ependymoma. Histologic analysis revealed features of a high-grade tumor with perivascular pseudorosettes and bizarre pleomorphic giant cells, which established the diagnosis of GCE. We performed a review of literatures about the cytologic features of GCE, including our case, thus proposing that intraoperative frozen diagnosis of GCE would be established by squash smear preparations featuring the mitosis and necrosis, as well as the high cellularity, and the presence of giant cells showing hyperchromatic nuclei with eosinophilic cytoplasm and intranuclear inclusions/pseudoinclusions.

A Neurogenic Tumor as a Rare Differential Diagnosis of a Perithyroidal Masses / 대한내분비외과학회지

We report here on a case of a neurogenic tumor of the neck with an uncertain origin on the preoperative evaluation. A 67-year-old woman with a palpable mass in the left side of the neck was referred to our hospital. The mass had slowly grown over 7 years and her dyspnea had gradually become more severe over the recent 6 months. Computerized tomography and magnetic resonance imaging showed an 8 cm sized solid mass that abutted the trachea and the esophagus without invasion, but the origin of the mass was not clearly identified. During surgical exploration, we identified that the tumor was located in the esophageal muscle layer. Immunohistochemical staining revealed that the tumor cells were positive for S-100 protein, which confirmed a diagnosis of schwannoma.