Sister Mary Joseph's nodule of the umbilicus: is it always of gastric origin? A review of eight cases at different sites of origin.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this analysis was to evaluate our management and outcome of eight cases of Sister Mary Joseph's Nodule of the umbilicus (SMJN). METHODS: Between 2002 and 2009, we collected eight cases of SMJN and their clinical data were studied in a retrospective manner. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 50.6 years (range, 34-58). There were three males and five females. Five cases were discovered preoperatively during an abdominal examination and in the remaining three patients, the umbilical nodule was noticed during surgery. Most patients presented with abdominal pain. Various signs were discovered during clinical examination. Exhaustive investigations done included ultrasound, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography, gastrointestinal endoscopy, mammogram, bone scan, and a panel of tumor markers. The primary tumors were gastric adenocarcinoma (two patients), ovarian adenocarcinoma (two patients), pancreatic carcinoma (one patient), colonic adenocarcinoma (one patient), gallbladder adenocarcinoma (one patient), and cholangiocarcinoma (one patient). As the disease was advanced and metastatic in all patients, only palliative therapy was offered. All patients died within a short period after clinical presentation, ranging from four to 58 weeks (mean, 20 weeks). CONCLUSION: SMJN is a rare manifestation of a variety of advanced malignancies, usually of gastrointestinal origin. A majority of the patients present at a late stage and many harbor distant metastases. The patient's survival is very short (mean, 20 weeks) leading to a poor outcome. We believe that if the primary cancer is discovered at an early stage, the prognosis may improve.

Gigantic jejunal leiomyosarcoma.

Jejunal leiomyosarcoma is a rare neoplasm. We report a case of gigantic leiomyosarcoma of the jejunum in a 30-year old man who presented with abdominal distension, pain and constipation. Computerized tomography scan revealed a giant tumor filling the entire abdominal cavity. Fine needle aspiration cytology was suspicious. At laparotomy, a huge jejunal leiomyosarcoma measuring 30 x 25 x 19 cm and weighing 13 kg was completely excised. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of a giant jejunal leiomyosarcoma.

Penile metastasis from rectal carcinoma.

We are presenting a 65-year old patient with metastatic carcinoma of the penis which was discovered 19 months after abdomino-perineal resection for rectal cancer (Duke A). There was also metastasis in the perineum and one rib. Penile biopsy and cavernosography were carried out and established the metastatic nature. The patient declined further therapy and died 5 months after diagnosis.

Primary gastrointestinal cancers in the Western Region of Saudi Arabia. Is the pattern changing?

OBJECTIVE: To determine the age, sex and relative frequencies of various gastrointestinal malignancies in patients registered with the National Cancer Registry from the Western Region of Saudi Arabia from January 1994 till December 1997, and compare this data with previous hospital based studies about the pattern of these malignancies in Saudi Arabia. METHODS: A National Cancer Registry was established in Saudi Arabia in 1992, and since 1st January 1994 all cancer cases in Saudi Arabia have been registered with the National Cancer Registry. All National Cancer Registry data on patients with primary gastrointestinal cancers from the Western Region of Saudi Arabia from January 1994 till December 1997 was retrieved and analyzed according to ethnic origin, site, age, sex and relative frequencies of various tumors. RESULTS: Out of a total of 1833 cases with primary gastrointestinal malignancies 1207 (66%) were Saudis, while the rest were Non-Saudis. Colorectal cancer was the the most common malignancy found in both population groups accounting for 28.5% of cases in Saudis and 36% in Non-Saudis. Malignancies of liver, stomach and esophagus followed in decreasing frequencies. The mean age of the Saudi population was 58+16 years (standard deviation) with male to female ratio of 1.67:1. About 80% of the patients were above 40 years of age and the peak of onset for most of the tumors was between 50 and 70 years of age. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights that colorectal cancer is the most common gastrointestinal malignancy seen in the Western Region of Saudi Arabia followed by hepatocellular carcinoma. This is in sharp contrast to the previous hospital based studies from Saudi Arabia and national trends as seen in the cancer incidence report from the National Cancer Registry of Saudi Arabia. The factors for this changing pattern of gastrointestinal malignancy remain to the determined.

Torsion of the greater omentum.

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Pancreatic tuberculosis: A rare occurence.

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