Regression of mesenchymal hamartoma of the liver with sarcoma chemotherapy.

We present a young patient with metastatic Ewing sarcoma that had hepatic lesions. As we were unaware of hepatic metastases in Ewing sarcoma, liver biopsy was performed. The pathologic findings were diagnostic of mesenchymal hamartoma of the liver. Surprisingly, the combined chemotherapy for metastatic sarcoma resulted in almost complete resolution of the hamartoma in the liver. This option may be useful in extreme cases when resection is not feasible.

Role of MRI in the management of children with diffuse pontine tumors: a study of 15 patients and review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Pontine tumors carry the worst prognosis of all brain tumors. In most cases, the diagnosis is based solely on MR imaging, without biopsy. OBJECTIVE: To describe the MR findings of pontine tumors at diagnosis and during follow-up and correlate those with prognosis and to assess the value of MR imaging in patient management compared to clinical evaluation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ninety-one MR scans of 15 children with diffuse pontine tumors were reviewed at diagnosis and during follow-up. The parameters analyzed were as follows: tumor extent, area, and volume; encasement of the basilar artery; presence of exophytic component; necrosis; cysts; hydrocephalus; and intensity and enhancement. Findings were correlated to length of progression-free and overall survival. Trends of amelioration or worsening on imaging were compared with the clinical findings. RESULTS: Median length of progression-free survival was 10 months, and median survival was 20 months. Only hydrocephalus at presentation was associated with shorter progression-free survival (P=0.02). On the last examination of each patient, the craniocaudal diameter was significantly greater than at diagnosis (P=0.03). The concordance between the imaging and the clinical findings was good. CONCLUSION: MR is the mainstay for the diagnosis and management of pontine tumors. Cranial growth seems to be an ominous sign. However, the prognostic value of MR is limited. MR findings correlate well with the clinical examination.

CATSPER2, a human autosomal nonsyndromic male infertility gene.

In the course of positional cloning of the Congenital Dyserythropoietic Anemia type I (CDAI) [MIM 224120] gene on 15q15.1-15.3, we examined a family of French origin, in which the propositus suffered from asthenoteratozoospermia and nonsyndromic deafness in addition to CDAI. Two of his brothers had a similar phenotype. All three siblings were homozygous carriers of the CDA1 mutation as well as of a distally located approximately 70 kb deletion of the proximal copy of a 106 kb tandem repeat on chromosome 15q15. These repeats encode four genes whose distal copies may be considered pseudogenes. Lack of functional stereocilin and CATSPER2 (a voltage-gate cation channel expressed specifically in spermatozoa) may explain the observed deafness and male infertility phenotypes. To the best of our knowledge, the involvement of CATSPER2 in asthenoteratozoospermia is the first description of a human autosomal gene defect associated with nonsyndromic male infertility.

Acquired trisomy 21 and distinct clonal evolution in acute megakaryoblastic leukaemia in young monozygotic twins.

An intrauterine origin of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) was proven by the identical clonotypic gene rearrangement in the concordant leukaemias of monozygotic twins, arising from a single clonogenic progeny. The monozygotic twins, presented at the age of 22 months with acute megakaryoblastic leukaemia (AML-M7) in one and myelodysplasia transformed to AML-M7 in the other. Leukaemic cells in both twins carried trisomy 21 and additional different clonal evolution changes of del(20q) in the first twin and trisomy 8 in the second. AML-M7 of late infancy with trisomy 21 may be included in the leukaemias of intrauterine origin, possibly a result of genotoxic insult.