Primary angiosarcoma of the colon.

Angiosarcoma of gastrointestinal tract is extremely rare. Since 1948, we can find only six reported cases of primary colonic angiosarcoma. The review of the six reported cases and a report on the first colonic angiosarcoma to be seen in an adolescent male are presented. The treatment of the colon angiosarcoma is wide surgical excision. The prognosis is poor. Our case is the second one to be alive, more than 18 months after surgery, with no evidence of recurrent disease.

Gastric MALT-lymphoma, gastrin and cyclooxygenases.

Malt-lymphoma, gastrin and COX-2 interaction. Low grade, mucosal associated lymphoid tissue (MALT)-lymphoma is an unique among gastric malignancies where causal involvement of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection has been proposed based on complete regression of the tumor following the eradication therapy. In this report ten primary, low-grade MALT-lymphomas have been examined before and 6 months after one week of successful eradication therapy (clarithromycin + amoxicillin + omeprazole). Gastric biopsy samples from tumor and intact antrum and corpus mucosa were obtained during endoscopy before and after eradication for assessment of expression of gastrin and gastrin receptor (CCKB-R) as well as cyclooxygenase (COX)-1 and COX-2 using RT-PCR. The gastric lumen and serum gastrin and mucosal and tumor tissue PGE2 biosynthesis were determined by RIA before and after H. pylori eradication. Eradication of H. pylori resulted in complete endoscopic and histological remission of MALT-lymphoma in 9 out of 10 patients as assessed 6 months after this eradication. Before eradication, the mRNA expression for gastrin and CCKB-R as well as mRNA expression for COX-1 and COX-2 were observed in tumor tissue and infected mucosa, while corpus mucosa expressed only CCKB-R and antrum mucosa only gastrin. Six months upon the eradication when MALT-lymphoma completely regressed both endoscopically and histologically in 9 of 10 tested subjects, the expression of gastrin and COX-2 disappeared from the former area of MALT-lymphoma tumor. Gastrin mRNA remained detectable only in antrum mucosa, CCKB-R mRNA in corpus mucosa and COX-1 mRNA both in antrum and corpus mucosa. Gastric luminal and serum gastrin levels and gastric mucosa and tumor PGE2, which were greatly elevated before eradication, became normalized after this procedure. This study demonstrates that low-grade MALT-lymphoma is linked to H. pylori infection which may promote the expression and excessive release of gastrin and COX-2 expression that could be involved in the pathogenesis of MALT-lymphoma.

Haemangioendothelioma epithelioides. Case report of a rare soft tissue tumour.

A case of a rare angiogenic tumor in a 77-year-old man is reported. The clinical data and histological features are analyzed. The diagnosis was confirmed by immunohistochemical studies.

[Diagnostic problems in patients with superior vena cava syndrome]. / Problemy diagnostyczne u chorych z zespolem zyly glównej górnej.

Diagnostical difficulties were shown in 275 patients with the superior vena cava syndrome (SVCS) evaluated in the years 1970-1982. Men consisted 84 percent of the group. In 68 percent the symptoms preceded hospitalization by less than one month. 31 percent of the patients were treated without histopathological verification. In 83 percent the cause of the SVCS was lung cancer. Only in 10 patients (5.3%) non-malignant causes were present. Basing on analysis of their material the authors conclude that it it possible to make a diagnosis of SVCS etiology in the majority of the patients. This is mandatory because the etiology of this syndrome is variable, and the therapy may produce unwarranted and unjustified side effects in many cases.