Primary breast sarcoma: Case report and literature review.

INTRODUCTION: Primary breast sarcoma (PBS), excluding phyllodes tumors, is an extremely rare and heterogeneous group of cancers, accounting for <1 % of all breast cancers. PBS is typically diagnosed in the fifth or sixth decades of life. There are no pathognomonic clinical or radiological features. Diagnosis is generally established through a microbiopsy. For young women, the diagnosis can be confused with a benign pathology. CLINICAL PRESENTATION: Our patient was 27 years old, with no family or personal history of breast cancer, which was initially brought to the emergency department with a breast abscess. The clinical diagnosis of abscessed mastitis was made. The patient underwent tissue excision with evacuation of blood clots and necrotic tissue. Histopathological examination revealed a primary breast sarcoma. An MRI showed locally advanced retro-glandular tumor. An abdominal and pelvic CT scan performed showed no evidence of secondary locations. Therefore, the patient was referred for neoadjuvant radiotherapy and chemotherapy. After the third course of chemotherapy, the patient died following cardiogenic shock. DISCUSSION: The PBS in younger women is extremely rare. The etiopathogenesis remains undetermined. The clinical and radiological characteristics of PBS mimic breast adenocarcinoma. Mastectomy is the treatment of choice but in the case of locally advanced tumor, the use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy can be indicated. PBS presents a significantly poorer prognosis. CONCLUSION: Breast sarcomas are rare malignant tumors for which treatment protocols are not well-established. Further research efforts are needed to improve the understanding and treatment of PBS.

Solid pseudopapillary tumor of the pancreas: E-cadherin, ß-catenin, CD99 new useful markers with characteristic expression (about two case reports).

Solid pseudopapillary neoplasm of the pancreas is a rare tumor that has favorable prognosis. It poses frequently diagnostic challenges. We describe two cases of solid pseudopapillary tumor of the pancreas managed in our department between 2007 and 2011. Two females have mean age of 36.5 years. Clinical presentation include: abdominal pain, bloating and palpable abdominal mass. Tumor is localized in the head of the pancreas in one case and in the tail in the other case. The mean size of the mass was 6 cm (range: 5 to 7 cm). Surgical treatment was performed in two cases. Histological examination confirms the diagnosis of solid pseudopapillary tumor of the pancreas. Immunohistochemical analysis was concordant to the literature data especially concerning CD99 which positivity was in dot, loss of positivity of E-cadherin and nuclear staining of ß-catenin. CD10 and α-1-antitrypsin were also positive. One patient was dead 3 days postoperative and neither cancer recurrence nor distant metastases were detected on the follow up of the other. However, solid pseudo-papillary tumor of the pancreas has a distinctive histological appearance; some cases are problematic requiring the use of immunohistochemistry to distinguish it from other pancreatic neoplasm which prognosis is different.

Status of Her2 over expression in muscle invasive urothelial bladder carcinoma: Report of 21 cases.

BACKGROUND: Invasive urothelial bladder carcinomas have a poor prognosis even with cystectomy and chemotherapy. A high number of these patients have Her2 overexpression. The goal of this study is to assess the Her2 status in muscle invasive urothelial bladder carcinoma, to evaluation heterogeneity and discordance with metastases. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 21 specimens of transurethral resection or cystectomy in patients with invasive urothelial bladder carcinoma. We selected one representative section from primary tumors and metastases for immunohistochemistry analysis. Staining was evaluated according to the same criteria of breast cancer. A chromogenic in situ hybridization (CISH) was performed in case of 2+ score or in heterogeneous samples. RESULTS: Median age of our patients was 62 years. Intratumoral heterogeneity was observed in 2 cases (less than 1%). One case showed a Her2 3+ score (high grade, pT2 stage) and 3 cases showed a 2+ score (all low grades, stage T2, T4, M1, respectively). Two metastatic lymph nodes scored 1+ for the first (primary 1+) and 2+ for the second (primary 1+). Two cases showed CISH gene amplification. The first one scored 2+ and had area of 3+ score. The second one scored 1+ and had area with 2+ score. Four patients died from disease, one of them had Her2 3+ score. CONCLUSION: Her2 overexpression can be observed in muscle invasive urothelial bladder carcinoma in an important number of patients. Evaluation criteria must be standardized, especially with heterogeneous cases. Metastases tests can also readdress the expression of Her2, which gives the patient a supplementary therapeutic tool.