Congenital ileal-mesenteric fibrous band remnant of the vitelline artery causing small bowel obstruction in an adult female: a case report.

The vitelline circulation connects the fetus and yolk sac in the first few weeks of fetal development. Its components are the vitelline duct, vitelline arteries and vitelline vein. This gradually breaks down as the placenta grows and overtakes the function of yolk sac as the primary nutrition source. In the event of persistence of these structures, multiple anatomical anomalies can arise such as a Meckel´s diverticulum, fibrous bands and others. We report on a rare finding of an ileal-mesenteric fibrous band remnant of a vitelline artery causing small bowel obstruction in an adult female. Our patient, a 40-year-old female presented with both clinical and radiological signs of small bowel obstruction. She had had no previous abdominal surgery or abdominal trauma. Intraoperatively we found an isolated ileal-mesenteric fibrous band situated at approximately 7 cm from the ileocecal junction. It spanned from the antimesenteric border of the terminal ileum to the border of the mesentery at a 15 cm breadth. In the snare-like loop that was created, part of the small bowel was trapped, creating a strangulated internal hernia which presented as a small bowel obstruction. The fibrous band was transected and the viable small bowel was freed during a laparotomy procedure. The post-operative period was uneventful and the patient was discharged on day 5. A fibrous band should be considered one of the rare causes of small bowel obstruction in a virgin abdomen in adults.

Breast cancer molecular subtypes and receptor status among women at Potchefstroom Hospital: a cross-sectional study.

INTRODUCTION: this study aimed to determine the prevalence of receptor status and molecular subtypes in women with breast cancer treated at Potchefstroom Regional Hospital, South Africa and to analyze the association of molecular subtypes with some clinicopathologic characteristics of the tumor. METHODS: the study population for this cross-sectional study consisted of 116 women with primary invasive breast cancer, treated at the hospital from 1st January 2012 to 31st December 2018. Molecular subtypes were classified by immunohistochemical surrogates as luminal A (estrogen receptor (ER) positive and/or progesterone receptor (PR) positive, HER2-; Ki-67 <30%), luminal B HER2- (ER+ and/or PR+, HER2-; Ki-67 ≥30%), luminal B HER2+ (ER+ and/or PR+, HER2+; any Ki-67), HER2 enriched (ER- and PR-, HER2+; any Ki-67), or triple-negative (ER-, PR-, HER2-, any Ki-67). RESULTS: the proportions of breast cancer receptor status of ER+, PR+ and HER2-, were 71.6%, 64.7% and 75.9%, respectively. The molecular subtypes of 29.3% of patients were luminal A-type, 24.1% were luminal B HER2-, 22.4% were triple-negative, 18.1% were luminal B HER2+ and 6% were HER2-enriched. Molecular subtypes were significantly associated with tumor grade (p <0.001; Cramér's V=0.337), but independent of age (p=0.847), menopausal status (p=0.690), histology type (p=0.316), cancer stage (p=0.819), lymph node status (p=0.362), or tumor size (p=0.255). CONCLUSION: the study has revealed that most of the breast cancer in our setting was receptor-positive; approximately one-quarter were triple-negative. Furthermore, the study showed that luminal type A and B are the preponderant molecular subtypes. Molecular subtypes were associated with tumor grade but independent of age and menopausal status. The current study may assist in guiding the therapeutic strategy for patients with breast cancer in the Potchefstroom hospital catchment area.

Epidemiological, clinical and diagnostic profile of breast cancer patients treated at Potchefstroom regional hospital, South Africa, 2012-2018: an open-cohort study.

INTRODUCTION: Breast cancer is the second most diagnosed cancer worldwide. We aimed to depict the diagnostic approach as well as the epidemiological and clinical profile of patients with breast cancer at Potchefstroom regional hospital, South Africa. METHODS: This descriptive open-cohort study included patients with primary invasive breast cancer, confirmed by histology results and treated at the hospital from 01 January 2012 to 31 December 2018. Data such as demographics, patient history, histology, breast clinical findings, physical mass description and diagnostic investigations were captured from hospital registries and patient files. RESULT: One-hundred thirty-eight patients (mean age 56.2 (SD: 14.4) (95% CI 54.6-59.7) years) met inclusion criteria. Most patients were female (98.6%), from African (67.4%) or Caucasian (23.9%) descent. Findings included mostly left-sided breast involvement (51.8%), lesions in the upper-outer quadrant (43.1%), extensions to the skin (25.6%, N = 39), and tumour size of 2 ≤ 5 cm (49.3%), or > 5 cm (39.1%). Most patients (57.9%, N = 135) were categorised as BIRADS-5, with a ductal pattern (89.6%) (p < 0.01). Patients mostly presented in stages II to IV of disease (89.1%; p < 0.05). Late-stage (stages III-IV) at time of diagnosis (n = 84) was significantly associated with mass location (p = 0.006; Cramér's V = 0.280), tumour size (p < 0.001, Cramér's V = 0.239), and skin changes (p = 0.027, Cramér's V = 0.492). CONCLUSION: Most patients consulted at a late-stage of the disease, indicating a need for the promotion of breast awareness campaigns, early detection, and timeous referral.