Retroperitoneal low-grade fibromyxoid sarcoma.

Introduction: Low-grade fibromyxoid sarcoma is an uncommon deep-seated soft-tissue sarcoma that occurs rarely in young adults and children. Although surgical resection provides a long-term prognosis, late local recurrence and metastasis may occur. Case presentation: A 44-year-old woman with no prior medical history presented with breathing and abdominal discomfort. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography scan revealed a retroperitoneal tumor protruding into the thoracic cavity and pleural effusion on the left side. Tumor biopsy revealed sarcoma. We performed complete resection of the tumor along with part of the diaphragm and replaced the diaphragm with a prosthetic patch. Histopathologic findings indicated low-grade fibromyxoid sarcoma. The patient experienced no postoperative complications and received no adjuvant therapy. Furthermore, she survived 4 years after surgery without recurrence. Conclusion: Complete surgical resection is effective for low-grade fibromyxoid sarcoma; therefore, it is important to plan appropriately for complete resection when biopsy reveals malignant findings.

A diagnostically challenging case of inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor primary to the peritoneum.

Introduction: Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors are difficult to diagnose because of the lack of specific indicators. We describe a diagnostically challenging case of an inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor primary to the peritoneum. Case presentation: The patient was a 25-year-old male who presented at our hospital with lower abdominal pain. Computed tomography revealed a mass lesion 80 mm in diameter just above the bladder. This was suspected to be a bleeding tumor of the urachus. Since malignancy could not be ruled out, surgery was planned. This revealed a fragile tumor arising from the peritoneum. Following its removal, the tumor was diagnosed by histopathological analysis as an inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor. Conclusion: We describe a case of inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor primary to the peritoneum diagnosed by histopathology. Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor should be considered in the differential diagnosis of abdominal wall and anterior bladder tumors.

Immune mediators as predictive biomarkers for anti-PD-1 antibody therapy in urothelial carcinoma.

Introduction: This study aimed to identify immune mediators, including cytokines, chemokines, and growth factors, in the plasma for predicting treatment efficacy and immune-related adverse events (irAEs) in advanced urothelial carcinoma (aUC) treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). Methods: We enrolled 57 patients with aUC who were treated with the anti-programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) antibody pembrolizumab after the failure of platinum-based chemotherapy between February 2018 and December 2020. Plasma levels of 73 soluble immune mediators were measured before and 6 weeks after initiating pembrolizumab therapy. The association of estimated soluble immune mediators with clinical outcomes, including overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), anti-tumor responses, and irAEs, were statistically evaluated. Results: In the multivariate analysis, levels of 18 factors at baseline and 12 factors during treatment were significantly associated with OS. Regarding PFS, baseline levels of 17 factors were significantly associated with PFS. Higher levels of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor 1 (sTNF-R1), and IL-12 (p40), both at baseline and post-treatment, were significantly associated with worse OS. Conversely, low IL-6 and high TWEAK levels at baseline were associated with irAEs. Among identified factors, interferon (IFN) γ and IL-12 (p40) were repeatedly identified; high baseline levels of these factors were risk factors for worse OS and PFS, as well as progressive disease. Notably, using correlation and principal component analysis, factors significantly associated with clinical outcomes were broadly classified into three groups exhibiting similar expression patterns. Discussion: Measuring plasma levels of soluble immune mediators, such as IL-6, IL-8, sTNF-R1, IFNγ, and IL-12 (p40), could be recommended for predicting prognosis and irAEs in ICI-treated patients with aUC.

[ADENOCARCINOMA OF THE RETE TESTIS WITH METASTASIS OF THE PENILE AND LUNG: A CASE REPORT].

Adenocarcinoma of the rete testis is a rare malignant tumor with poor prognosis. We report a case of adenocarcinoma of the rete testis. A 55-year-old man became aware of discomfort in the right scrotum. Negative results were obtained for the serum markers AFP, ß-human chorionic gonadotropin (ß-HCG), and LDH. Computed tomography (CT) showed enhancement of the right testis. Radical orchiectomy was performed. Immunohistochemical examination of the resected specimen showed positive results for CEA, and adenocarcinoma of the rete testis was diagnosed. Serum CEA level was elevated. CT showed swelling of the para-aortic lymph nodes. Retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (RPLND) was performed, and serum CEA then normalized. The patient developed penile metastases 4 months after RPLND, and serum CEA level again increased. Total penile resection was performed. TIP (Paclitaxel, Ifosfamide, Cisplatin) therapy was started after lung metastasis and increased serum CEA were identified. CT after 2 cycles of TIP therapy revealed disappearance of lung metastasis and normalization of serum CEA. Five months later, CT showed recurrence of lung metastases.