Findings of Gynecomastia That Developed in Follow-up Secondary to Bicalutamide Treatment on Bone Scan.

Prostate cancer is a common neoplastic disease especially in elder patients. Metastatic prostate disease has low five-year survival rate. Bicalutamide is an androgen receptor antagonist that acts as an inhibitor by competizing androgen receptors in the target tissue and used as a treatment option in prostate cancer. Bone scan was performed on a 79-year-old male with prostate cancer in our department. Blood pool images showed bilateral hyperemia in the breast regions which was not present on the previous scan one year ago. On physical examination, there was bilateral painful gynecomastia. It was learned that the patient was given Bicalutamide therapy after the first bone scan. Blood pool images may detect this side effect and should be evaluated with physical examination in case of clinical doubt.

Evaluation of microemulsion and liposomes as carriers for oral delivery of transforming growth factor alpha in rats.

The aim of the present study is to develop microemulsion and liposome carrier systems for oral administration of transforming growth factor alpha (TGF-α) and to investigate the effects of these carrier systems on the gastrointestinal efficiency in rats. Microemulsion (w/o) and liposomes (MLV) were developed and characterised. The carrier systems were administered intragastrically by gastric cannula to male Wistar rats. The highest reduction in the basal acid secretion was observed in the microemulsion containing TGF-α and aprotinin group (TAME).The gastric mucus secretion in microemulsion containing TGF-α (TME) and TAME treatment groups increased significantly compared to the other groups. TGF-α levels in both stomach and duodenum were significantly increased in the TAME group. As a result, it was determined through confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM) studies that exogenous-applied TGF-α attached to endogenous EGF receptors. The microemulsion formulation was found to be a more suitable carrier system for oral administration of TGF-α.

The use of technetium-99m hexamethylpropylene amine oxime lung scintigraphy in the detection of subclinical lung injury in patients with noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.

PURPOSE: The aims of this study were to evaluate subclinical pulmonary injury in patients with noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) who showed normal chest radiograph and pulmonary function test results by using technetium-99 hexamethylpropylene amine oxime (Tc-99m-HMPAO) scintigraphy and to investigate the relationship between Tc-99m-HMPAO lung uptake and duration of diabetes, glycemic control, and the presence of diabetes-related microvascular complications. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 40 patients with NIDDM (19 men, 21 women; age 56.5 ± 6.8 years; duration of diabetes: 13.1 ± 6.7 years) were included in this study. The pulmonary vascular damage was represented as lung/liver uptake ratios (L/L ratios) calculated by Tc-99m-HMPAO lung scintigraphy. Results were compared with those of age-matched controls. RESULTS: The L/L ratio was 0.36 ± 0.07 in normal controls and 0.51 ± 0.16 in patients with NIDDM. The L/L ratio was significantly higher in NIDDM patients than in the control group (P=0.002). No correlation was observed between L/L ratio and the presence of diabetic complications, glycemic control, and diabetes duration. CONCLUSION: Tc-99m-HMPAO lung scintigraphy is a sensitive and an objective method for the detection of subclinical lung injury in NIDDM patients. Tc-99m-HMPAO lung uptake serves as an indicator of pulmonary injury due to diabetes, regardless of diabetes age, glycemic control, and the presence of other diabetes-related microvascular complications.

Histiocytic sarcoma: PET-CT evaluation of a rare entity.

Histiocytic sarcoma is a rare malignancy of hematopoietic origin. Lymph nodes, skin, and extranodal sites, especially gastrointestinal tract, are commonly involved. Some cases reported in the past as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma are now classified as histiocytic sarcoma by detailed immunohistochemical studies. Patients with clinically localized disease have a good prognosis whereas those with lymphatic involvement have an aggressive course. In our case, histiocytic sarcoma was detected, originating from the skin over the left shoulder associated with disseminated lymphadenopathy. A positron emission tomography/computed tomography examination was done for evaluating the extent of the disease which showed pathologic increased 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose uptake in the lymph nodes, indicating widespread disease. The pertinent literature is reviewed.

Evaluation of myocardial perfusion in patients with Behçet's disease.

AIM: To estimate the prevalence of silent myocardial ischemia (SMI) in patients with Behçet's disease (BD) and to identify a subgroup of patients at higher risk for the presence of SMI. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We evaluated 41 patients (mean age 42.8 +/- 12.3 years) with BD and 35 healthy control subjects. Treadmill exercise test and thallium-201 myocardial perfusion single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) were performed in all subjects. Coronary angiography was performed in all patients with a diagnosis of SMI in Behçet's group. RESULTS: All subjects had normal resting electrocardiograms. Eight patients with BD (19.5%) had evidence of ischemia on exercise testing and myocardial perfusion SPECT. Only one SMI positivity (2.9%) was recorded in the control group. Significant coronary stenosis was not found with coronary angiography in the patients with a diagnosis of SMI in Beçet's group. SMI positivity was recorded in 2 of 18 female patients (11%) and in 6 of 23 male patients (26.1%) with BD (p = 0.429). The mean duration of BD was 13.8 +/- 2.6 years in patients with SMI and 7 +/- 4.1 in patients without it (p < 0.001). Seven of the 8 patients (87.5%) with SMI had a duration of BD of greater than 10 years. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study show that the prevalence of SMI is high in patients with BD. Based on our findings, screening with myocardial perfusion scintigraphy may be recommended for patients with duration of BD greater than 10 years.

Interdigitating dendritic cell tumor with breast and cervical lymph-node involvement: a case report and review of the literature.

Interdigitating dendritic cell tumor (IDCT) is an extremely rare malignancy. It occurs primarily in lymph nodes, but extranodal involvement has also been reported. A 38-year-old woman with IDCT with breast and cervical lymph-node involvement is reported in this paper. To our knowledge, this is the first case of IDCT originating from the breast. In the breast and lymph node, the tumor displayed diffuse sheets, fascicles and storiform growth pattern. It was composed of oval to spindle cells with pale to eosinophilic cytoplasm, ill-defined cell outlines, oval nuclei with vesicular chromatin and prominent eosinophilic nucleoli. Mitotic activity was three per ten high-power fields. The neoplastic cells were intermingled with small mature lymphocytes and plasma cells. Immunohistochemical studies showed that the tumor cells were strongly and diffusely positive for vimentin, CD68, S-100 protein, CD45/leukocyte common antigen and fascin and focally positive for lysozyme, alpha-1 antitrypsin and CD4. Ki-67 labeling index was 10%. The patient was treated with combined therapeutic approaches, including surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. IDCT has the potential for an aggressive clinical course. However, 32 months after the initial diagnosis, the patient is still alive and being followed with a stable tumor burden.

Late cardiac evaluation of children with solid tumors after anthracycline chemotherapy.

BACKGROUND: The therapeutic potential of anthracycline antibiotics is limited by their cardiotoxicity. Electrocardiography, exercise testing, and two-dimensional echocardiography are non-invasive techniques used in the follow-up of children for cardiotoxicity. Plasma B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels are thought to be useful markers in the early detection of AC induced cardiomyopathy. PROCEDURE: We evaluated cardiac status of 34 patients with solid tumors treated with anthracycline antibiotics. All of the patients were asymptomatic and had no evidence of residual malignancy. They were evaluated by electrocardiography, exercise testing, echocardiography, and plasma BNP levels measured before and after the exercise testing. RESULTS: Electrocardiography revealed only minor abnormalities of little clinical significance. All of the patients completed the exercise testing without complication, and the duration of the exercise for each patient was between normal limits. Cardiac output (CO) and wall stress (WS) were significantly increased in patients, than in controls in echocardiographic evaluation of systolic functions (P < 0.001). Diastolic filling patterns showed various abnormalities; M-E, M-A, T-E, T-A, AT, and IVRT were significantly higher than those of controls. Mean plasma BNP levels of the patients (10.56 +/- 10.22 pg/ml) were significantly higher than BNP levels of the healthy controls (4.09 +/- 2.26 pg/ml) (P < 0.016), before exercise testing. The mean plasma BNP levels of the patients (15.70 +/- 14.06 pg/ml) were higher than resting state after exercise testing, but it was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Our findings demonstrated that echocardiographic and biochemical abnormalities could be found even at low cumulative doses of AC antibiotics. The use of serial echocardiographic studies and plasma BNP determinations to identify high-risk patients for cardiotoxicity needs to be verified by additional studies.

Atrial natriuretic peptide levels in rheumatic mitral regurgitation and response to angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors.

BACKGROUND: Rheumatic mitral regurgitation (MR) causes heart failure by volume overload and an increase in atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) levels by atrial stretching. Symptoms of heart failure improve with ANP treatment. Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) and ANP have similar effects, such as vasodilation, natriuresis and diuresis. OBJECTIVE: To determine ANP levels and response to ACEI treatment in children with rheumatic MR. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients with rheumatic MR were divided into two groups: the digoxin group (10 girls, two boys; age range 10 to 18 years, mean 14 +/- 0.72 years; taking digoxin for at least one year) and the control group (eight girls, four boys; age range eight to 17 years, mean 13.5 +/- 0.81 years). None of the patients in either group had symptoms of heart failure. Serum ANP levels, left ventricular systolic functions, and mitral and aortic stroke volumes of both groups were evaluated on admission. The digoxin group was given ACEI and re-evaluated on the 20th day of treatment. RESULTS: At baseline, ANP levels were higher in the digoxin group (27.3 +/- 6.5 pg/100 microL) than in the control group (6.9 +/- 0.9 pg/100 microL) (P<0.05). On the 20th day of treatment, there were no significant differences in the ANP levels of the digoxin (13.2 +/- 6.1 pg/100 microL) and control groups. There was a significant decrease in ANP levels in the digoxin group between baseline and the 20th day of therapy. Mitral stroke volumes (510.4 +/- 92.8 mL/m2) and left ventricular diastolic volume (108 +/- 12 mL/m2) in the digoxin group at baseline were higher than those in the control group (315.3 +/- 59.9 mL/m2 and 82 +/- 6.5 mL/m2, respectively) on admission; on the 20th day of treatment, there were no significant differences in these values. At baseline, aortic stroke volume in the digoxin and control groups were 86.9 +/- 59.1 and 82.9 +/- 28.3 mL/m2, respectively (P>0.05). On the 20th day of therapy, the aortic stroke volume of digoxin group had increased to 104.7 +/- 70.1 mL/m2, significantly higher than that of the control group. CONCLUSION: ANP levels are a good indicator of volume overload. ACEI should be introduced at an early stage of rheumatic MR because, even if patients are taking digoxin, their heart failure may progress silently.