[Recurrence of a glassy cell carcinoma of the vagina: An exceptional situation]. / Récidive d'un glassy cell carcinoma du vagin : une situation exceptionnelle.

Glassy cell carcinoma is a rare neoplasm that occurs most frequently in the uterine cervix. We describe the second reported case of glassy cell carcinoma arising in the vagina. We present a case of a 24-year-old woman with a history of post-coïtal bleeding associated with menometrorrhagia. Different explorations have concluded in a glassy cell carcinoma arising in the vagina, with clinical staging III according to the International Federation of Obstetrics and Gynecology. The patient received three cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy with a good response. Then she had a para-aortic lymphadenectomy and ovarian transposition. Following the surgery, she had radiotherapy. The gynecological examination showed no budding lesion and the biopsy was negative. Six months later, the patient complained of a pelvic pain. The examination revealed a locoregional recurrence. Surgical revision was not possible and the patient was a candidate for a palliative chemotherapy. Although, glassy cell carcinoma runs an aggressive clinical course, an early diagnosis may help in a more effective management and offer a better prognosis.

[Retroperitoneal fibrosis in adults: Main characteristics and relevance of the diagnostic procedures based on a retrospective multicenter study on 77 cases]. / Fibrose rétropéritonéale de l'adulte : analyse descriptive et évaluation de la pertinence des examens complémentaires réalisés à visée diagnostique à partir d'une série rétrospective multicentrique de 77 cas.

INTRODUCTION: Retroperitoneal fibrosis (RPF) is a rare disorder characterized by the sheathing of retroperitoneal structures by fibro-inflammatory process. It can be either isolated or associated with an underlying disease or condition. In the absence of consistent and consensual approach, the objective of this study was to assess the relevance of diagnostic tests performed during the diagnostic work-up of RPF. METHODS: Seventy-seven patients were included in this retrospective multicenter study. The diagnosis of RPF was defined by the presence of a thickened circumferential homogeneous tissue unsheathing the infrarenal aorta, excluding peri-aneurysmal fibrosis and a clear evidence of a cancer. RESULTS: In 62 cases (80.5%), the RPF was considered as being primary or "idiopathic". Surgical (n=31) or CT-guided (n=9) biopsies of the RPF were performed in half of the patients showing some fibrotic or non-specific inflammatory lesions in 98% of cases. A bone marrow biopsy was performed in 23 patients leading to diagnosis of low grade B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma in a single patient who also had a monoclonal gammopathy IgM. The systematic search for autoantibodies or serum tumor markers was of no diagnostic value. CONCLUSIONS: Although the diagnostic procedure was heterogeneous, no cause or associated disease was found in the majority of cases of FRP in this series. In the absence of any clinical or paraclinical evidence suggesting an underlying disease or any atypical features at presentation, a number of non-invasive tests (autoantibodies, tumor markers, bone scintigraphy) and also more invasive diagnostic tests (bone marrow and RPF biopsies) seem of little relevance.

Human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8)-associated primary effusion lymphoma in two renal transplant recipients receiving rapamycin.

The Akt/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling cascade has been demonstrated to be constitutively activated in several malignancies, including Kaposi sarcoma (KS) and human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8)-associated primary effusion lymphoma (PEL). In organ transplant recipients, therapeutic change from cyclosporin to the mTOR inhibitor rapamycin can lead to regression of KS lesions. Recent experiments using PEL cell lines and murine xenograft PEL models suggested that rapamycin could inhibit the growth of PEL cells. In the present report, we describe the cases of two HIV-1-negative males of African origin who underwent renal transplantation and developed PEL while receiving rapamycin as immunosuppressive treatment. Both patients were retrospectively found to be HHV-8 seropositive before renal transplantation. The present case report suggests that rapamycin may not protect HHV-8-infected renal transplant recipients from occurrence of PEL or progression of pre-existing PEL.