Size of metastatic lymph nodes.

We present a case and review of the literature of well-differentiated sigmoid adenocarcinoma with numerous metastases into pericolic lymph nodes. All positive lymph nodes were small. The authors concluded that there is no clear correlation between nodal size and the likelihood of metastasis in the lymph node, and the status of small lymph nodes must receive special attention by clinicians and pathologists.

Malignant phyllodes tumor with heterologous liposarcomatous differentiation and tubular adenoma-like epithelial component.

Phyllodes tumor of the breast is a biphasic fibroepithelial neoplasm. A 30-year-old woman presented with a 1-year history of a palpable, asymptomatic right breast mass without axillary lymphadenopathy and family history of breast carcinoma. Malignant phyllodes tumor was diagnosed. The authors present not previously described histological appearance of this tumor where an epithelial component was identical to that of a tubular adenoma of the breast, with the review of the literature. This is in addition to very rare liposarcomatous stromal differentiation in the malignant phyllodes tumor.

Malignant thymoma complicated by amegakaryocytic thrombocytopenic purpura.

We report the case of a 41-year-old man with malignant thymoma complicated by amegakaryocytic thrombocytopenia 10 years after diagnosis of myasthenia gravis. A bone marrow aspirate showed an absence of megakaryocytes with normal maturation and differentiation of myeloid precursors. Three months later, severe neutropenia occurred, and a bone marrow examination confirmed the diagnosis of severe aplastic anemia. Associations between thymoma and myasthenia gravis, between thymoma and pure red cell aplasia, and between thymoma and aplastic anemia are well documented. Amegakaryocytic thrombocytopenia is not a recognized paraneoplastic syndrome complicating thymoma. Amegakaryocytic thrombocytopenia complicating thymoma may be a very early presentation of impending aplastic anemia.

Intravenous iron in a primary-care clinic.

The preferable route of iron delivery for most iron-deficient patients is oral. Parenteral iron therapy is used in patients who cannot tolerate oral iron or in cases in which oral iron is not sufficiently effective. The most frequent indications for parenteral iron therapy are unbearable gastrointestinal side effects induced by oral iron itself, worsening of inflammatory bowel disease symptoms, insufficient intestinal absorption, renal failure-caused anemia that is treated with erythropoietin, and unresolved ongoing bleeding, which would cause the acceptable oral doses of iron therapy to be exceeded. The serious adverse effects of iron dextran that was used in the past could explain the reluctance of medical personnel to prescribe this effective treatment. Patients with iron deficiency anemia were treated with intravenous iron in a primary care clinic. The iron gluconate was given in a dosage of 62.5 mg diluted in 150 mL of normal saline and was infused intravenously over 30 min, while iron sucrose was given in a dosage of 100 mg diluted in the same volume of normal saline and given at the same rate. In total, 724 infusions were administered to 57 patients. Iron sucrose was used in 628 infusions, and iron gluconate was used in the remaining 96. The frequency of the infusion treatments depended on the underlying disease and ranged from three times a week to once a month. Adverse effects were seldom observed and were minor in patients receiving iron gluconate, and were not registered at all in patients treated with iron sucrose. Two cases of flushing with paresthesias occurred. Slowing the infusion rate successfully eliminated these side effects. One case of hypotension was treated successfully with 500 cc of normal saline infusion. One case of dropout occurred, due to the patient's refusal to cooperate. No anaphylactic reactions were observed. Iron gluconate and iron sucrose are effective and safe for use in primary care clinics. The risk of adverse effects is low.

Signet ring cell infiltration in tubular adenoma of ascending colon.

We present a case of signet ring cell infiltration in an adenomatous polyp of the ascending colon and review the literature. The patient had undergone resection of a mucin-producing adenocarcinoma of the proximal sigmoid colon seven months before the findings were reported. We presume that the signet ring cell aggregates are of metastatic origin.

Persistent paraneoplastic neurologic syndrome after successful therapy of Hodgkin's disease.

Paraneoplastic neurologic syndromes may develop in Hodgkin's disease (HD). We describe three young female patients with neurological disorders, not explained by other causes, preceding diagnosis or relapse of HD. The lack of response of the paraneoplastic syndrome to successful treatment of HD among our three patients emphasizes the poor prognosis of longstanding paraneoplastic neurologic symptoms in HD.

The heterogeneity of Castleman disease: report of five cases and review of the literature.

Castleman disease (CD; angiofollicular lymphoid hyperplasia) is a heterogeneous group of lymphoproliferative disorders of uncertain cause. Three histologic variants (hyaline vascular, plasma cell, and mixed) and two clinical types (localized and multicentric) of CD have been described. We report 5 cases of CD treated in our institute and review the literature about the management of this relatively rare disorder. Localized and multicentric CD may be different clinical disorders with overlapping histologic features. Localized disease generally presented with a single enlarged lymph node or widening of the mediastinum, whereas multicentric disease is a systemic lymphoproliferative disorder characterized by lymphadenopathy, hepatosplenomegaly, constitutional symptoms, anemia, hypoalbuminemia, and hypergammaglobulinemia. Unlike the localized type, for which surgical excision is curative regardless of the histologic type, multicentric disease often necessitates aggressive systemic therapy and portends a poorer outcome.

Multiple chromosomal abnormalities in fulminant anaplastic myeloma.

We describe a 58-year-old woman with anaplastic multiple myeloma and multiple chromosomal abnormalities. Her karyotype showed extreme hyperploidy with 77 chromosomes. Some of the aberrations were typical of multiple myeloma (+3, +5, +15, +19, +21, t(11;14)(q13;q32)), others were characteristic of the aggressive anaplastic myeloma (+8), t(11;14)(q13;q32), while three chromosomal abnormalities (t(11;20)(p11;q13); t(4;7)(q31;q11); and t(14;20)(q24;q13)) have not been, to the best of our knowledge, described previously in the literature. The fulminant course of the disease confirms the poor prognosis of multiple karyotypic abnormalities in myeloma.

Complement activation in patients with acute myocardial infarction treated with streptokinase.

Twenty patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) treated with streptokinase (SK) and 11 patients with AMI not treated with SK were clinically and echocardiographically evaluated in the intensive coronary care unit (ICCU). Blood samples, in which complement components C4d, C5b-9, and Bb were measured, were taken immediately after arrival of the patient at the ICCU, 1 hour after SK infusion, and 24 hours later from the SK group, and similar time-matched samples were taken from the control group. The classic, alternative, and common complement pathways were found to be activated in AMI, but this activation was statistically significant only in the SK-treated group. Activation was not related to the site of the AMI nor to the extent of its damage, as assessed by Killip class and ejection fraction. However, in the SK-treated group and even more so in non-SK group, the C5b-9 increment was significantly higher in patients diagnosed with reperfusion, based on ST-segment recovery of > or =50% reduction from the peak ST-segment level. There was little change in complement levels when reperfusion did not occur. Detection of reperfusion without coronary angiography would have important practical clinical implications, and complement activation may predict its occurrence. However, more studies of this phenomenon are needed.