Multi-center prospective survey of hepatocellular carcinoma in Kerala: More than 1,200 cases.

BACKGROUND: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is considered uncommon in India. The aim of this study was to document the demographic characteristics and clinical aspects of HCC in Kerala, India. METHODS: A survey of HCC in Kerala was performed. All gastroenterologists in the region were invited. From May 2018 to April 2020, data was collected in a standardized questionnaire. RESULTS: Forty-three doctors from 15 centers contributed the data. Total 1217 patients were analyzed. This is the largest state-wide survey of HCC in India. HCC was more common in men (90%) than in women (p < 0.01). The etiology of liver disease was hepatitis B virus (7%), hepatitis C virus (4%) and alcohol (40%). Diabetes mellitus was present in 64%, hypercholesterolemia in 17% and hypertension in 38%. Obesity was present in 33% and 15% were overweight. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) with or without metabolic syndrome was present in 44%. Serum alpha-fetoprotein was > 400 ng/mL in 24%, total tumor diameter was > 5 cm in 59%, portal vein invasion was seen in 35% and distant metastasis was seen in 15%. Specific therapy was given to 52%. Treatments given included liver transplantation (n = 24), liver resection (n = 39) and transarterial chemoembolization (TACE, n = 184). Although the study was not designed to compare survival, patients who had liver transplantation had longer survival (median 69 months) compared to matched patients given only TACE (median 18 months) (p = 0.03). CONCLUSION: HCC is common in Kerala, India. NAFLD has a predominant association with HCC in Kerala. Most of the patients report late when curative treatment is not possible.

Radiological Features of Zollinger-Ellison Syndrome: A Report of Two Cases.

Hypersecretion of gastrin from duodenal or pancreatic gastrinomas results in a rare clinical entity called Zollinger-Ellison syndrome (ZES). It mostly presents with abdominal pain and diarrhea. ZES may be sporadic or occur in association with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1. Usually, ZES manifests between 20 and 50 years. We report two cases of patients who presented with abdominal pain, vomiting, watery diarrhea, and significant weight loss.

A rare case of collision tumour of the ovary complicated by torsion.

Collision tumour is the coexistence of two adjacent, but histologically distinct tumours without histologic admixture. Collision tumours are rare in the ovary. It is mostly a histopathological diagnosis often missed in preoperative imaging. The radiologist, gynaecologists and pathologists should be aware of such a combination of tumours to avoid misdiagnosis. We describe the finding of a rare collision tumour, mature cystic teratoma and ovarian fibroma complicated by torsion.

Hepatobiliary and Gastrointestinal Involvement in Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis-Spectrum of Three Cases.

Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is a rare group of disorder, due to clonal neoplastic proliferation of dendritic cells in the bone marrow expressing a Langerhans cell phenotype. 1 This disease particularly affects the pediatric age group and young adults and often presents with skin rashes, lung infiltrates, and bone lesions. It can also manifest with endocrine dysfunction and hematopoietic disorders. Involvement of gastrointestinal tract is very rare. Herein, we present a spectrum of three cases with gastrointestinal involvement.

Benign Pericardial Hemangioma-A Rare Cause of Cardiac Tamponade.

Pericardial tumors are very rare. It can be primary or secondary, of which secondary tumors are more common. Pericardial hemangiomas are extremely rare primary neoplasms and there are only very few cases published in the literature. These patients can be asymptomatic. When symptomatic, they present with dyspnea, palpitation, or atypical chest pain. Severity of symptoms depends on the size and location of the tumor. Pericardial effusion with features of cardiac tamponade can lead to a life-threatening situation. Here, we report a case of pericardial hemangioma in a patient who presented with breathlessness and tamponade which was diagnosed preoperatively with computed tomography.

Role of Imaging in a Case of Toxoplasmosis Presenting as Generalized Lymphadenopathy.

Toxoplasmosis is caused by Toxoplasma gondii an obligate protozoan intracellular parasite. The disease has variable prevalence globally and is usually asymptomatic. Pregnant and immunocompromised people are at risk of getting infected. Enlarged lymph nodes are the most frequently observed clinical form of Toxoplasma in humans, mostly affecting posterior cervical nodes. Other organs usually affected are the brain and eyes. We present a case of toxoplasmosis with generalized lymphadenopathy mimicking metastasis in a lady with a previous history of operated pancreatic neoplasm.

18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron-Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography Detected Inguinal Lymph Nodal Metastasis from Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) usually metastasizes to the regional abdominal lymph node, lungs, and bones. Nonregional lymph node involvement by HCC in the absence of regional lymph nodes is rare. We describe the 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron-emission tomography-computed tomography findings of an HCC patient with histopathologically proven inguinal lymph nodal metastasis in the absence of regional lymph nodal metastases.

18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography-Computed Tomography in Malignant Transformation of Paget's Disease of Bone.

Malignant transformation Paget's disease of bone to sarcoma is relatively rare, occurring in approximately 1% of these patients. Although few clinical and imaging findings may help in prediction of malignant transformation, most of them are nonspecific. We describe a case of carcinoma vocal cord and Paget's disease of bone with sarcomatous transformation, where 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography-computed tomography was helpful in accurate diagnosis by demonstrating differential intense FDG uptake in transformed areas of pagetic bone and also FDG-avid osteoblastic pulmonary metastasis.

Midgut NET With Orbital, Myocardial, Testicular, Lymph Nodal and Pulmonary Metastases Presenting With Bilateral Proptosis-Role of 68Ga-DOTANOC PET/CT.

Neuroendocrine tumors (NET) are rare neoplasms and commonly metastasize to liver, lymph nodes and less frequently to bones and lungs. Metastases to other organs are extremely rare and we report a case of NET clinically presenting with bilateral proptosis secondary to metastases in orbits. Ga-DOTANOC PET/CT demonstrated somatostatin receptor overexpressing lesions in bilateral orbits, small intestine, lymph nodes, lungs, heart and testes in the absence of liver metastases.

18F-FDG PET/CT in Lymphomatoid Papulosis Mimicking Primary Cutaneous Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma.

Lymphomatoid papulosis is a benign self-healing condition, presenting as papulonodular skin eruptions and mimicking malignant cutaneous lymphomas histopathologically. F-FDG PET/CT findings in this benign condition have not been described in detail in the literature. We present a case of lymphomatoid papulosis mimicking primary cutaneous anaplastic large cell lymphoma histopathologically and demonstrating intensely FDG-avid cutaneous lesions on F-FDG PET/CT, which disappear spontaneously in the follow-up scan.

Peritoneal Lymphomatosis Mimicking Peritoneal Carcinomatosis from Ovarian Malignancy on F-18 Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography.

Peritoneal lymphomatosis is relatively uncommon cause of diffuse malignant peritoneal disease, and differentiating it from other causes of diffuse peritoneal disease such as peritoneal carcinomatosis is often difficult on imaging. Common findings observed in peritoneal lymphomatosis in contrast to other etiologies include frequent nodal involvement and splenomegaly. We present a case of diffuse peritoneal disease along with ovarian lesions in the absence of abdominal lymphadenopathy or splenomegaly on fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography-computed tomography in the setting of elevated cancer antigen-125 levels, mimicking primary ovarian malignancy causing peritoneal carcinomatosis, which was finally proven to be lymphoma.

Isolated Fluorodeoxyglucose Avid Right Pleural Deposits/Effusion on an F-18 Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography in Patients with Ovarian Cancer - Are they almost Certainly Metastatic? An Extrapolation of Atypical Meigs' Syndrome.

Majority of ovarian cancer (OC) patients are usually diagnosed at advanced stage and present with peritoneal spread/ascites. Some patients develop pleural deposits/effusion secondary to transdiaphragmatic spread of peritoneal disease/ascites. However, pleural deposits/effusion from OC in the absence of peritoneal disease/ascites are very rare. We present a case of serous carcinoma of the left ovary with fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) avid right pleural deposits and effusion in the absence of peritoneal disease/ascites on FDG positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT), showing excellent response to chemotherapy in subsequent PET/CT. We also discuss the pathophysiology of pleural abnormalities in patients with ovarian diseases, a characteristic disease spread pattern and recognition of which would help in the imaging interpretation.

A Rare Case of Liver Metastasis from Prostate Cancer Mimicking Hepatocellular Carcinoma on Immunohistochemistry: Role of F-18 Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography in Diagnosis.

We present a case with space-occupying lesion in cirrhotic liver, diagnosed as hepatocellular carcinoma on immunohistochemistry, who underwent F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG PET/CT) and showed FDG-avid lesions in liver as well as in the prostate. These findings guided in establishing the diagnosis of prostate cancer, metastasizing to liver by performing additional immunohistochemical markers. PET/CT was also useful in identifying coexisting non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Eosinophilic Meningitis: Report of Three Cases from a Hilly Area in Kerala.

Normal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) does not contain eosinophils. The presence of >10 eosinophils/µL in CSF or at least 10% eosinophils in total CSF leukocyte count confirms eosinophilic meningitis. We present three patients with eosinophilic meningitis from the same locality with peripheral eosinophilia.

Atypical Presentation of T-Cell Large Granular Lymphocytic Leukemia Mimicking Pleural Malignancy on 18F-FDG PET/CT.

T-cell large granular lymphocytic leukemia is a rare form of leukemia, caused by clonal proliferation of cytotoxic T-cells, characterized by modest lymphocytosis and cytopenias of other lineage with hepatosplenomegaly and relatively rare lymph nodal involvement. Involvement of other organs is extremely rare. It is predominantly an indolent disease and most of patients remain asymptomatic for a long period. We present a rare case of aggressive form (CD56 positive) of large granular lymphocytic leukemia with atypical presentations mimicking pleural malignancy on F-FDG PET/CT.

18F-FDG PET/CT of Internal Mammary Lymph Node Hepatocellular Carcinoma Metastases.

Hepatocellular carcinoma usually metastasizes to regional abdominal lymph nodes. Distant lymph nodal metastases are relatively rare with most common extra abdominal sites being mediastinum and juxtaphrenic regions. Metastasis to internal mammary lymph nodes is extremely rare, and we present a case of hepatocellular carcinoma with histopathologically proven internal mammary lymph nodal metastasis in the absence of regional abdominal lymph nodal metastases.

Upper ureteric obstruction secondary to entrapment between twin segments of inferior vena cava--an unusual occurrence.

A retrocaval ureter is a rare congenital cause of upper ureteric obstruction that results from entrapment of the upper ureter by the inferior vena cava (IVC) as it courses posterior to the cava. We report an interesting scenario of upper ureteric obstruction secondary to entrapment between twin segments of IVC.