Incidental Tracheocele as an Unusual Presentation of Pneumomediastinum in the Trauma Setting.

BACKGROUND Tracheocele are rarely encountered air cysts formed due to tracheal wall outpouching through a weak vantage point. The majority are acquired in the adult population and are associated with conditions that weaken the tracheal wall. Most tracheoceles are diagnosed incidentally since many are asymptomatic or present with nonspecific symptoms. Multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) scans are the most common imaging modality for diagnosis of silent tracheal cysts. Tracheocele have been very rarely documented in the trauma setting; therefore, in the setting of multiple body trauma diagnosis can be challenging. CASE REPORT We report a case of an acquired tracheocele after a high-impact blunt thoracic trauma with an admission diagnosis of suspected tracheal perforation. MDCT of the neck and chest demonstrated an irregularly multicystic-shaped air collection at the right posterolateral trachea upon evaluation. Flexible laryngoscopy and bronchoscopy results were unremarkable. CONCLUSIONS Tracheocele are rare and asymptomatic pseudo-diverticulum of the tracheal wall. Many are diagnosed incidentally with imaging studies for other conditions. Nevertheless, in the trauma setting its diagnosis can be challenging and misleading. Consideration of conditions such as tracheocele is important to prevent any unwarranted treatment modalities.

The addition of a pregnenolone pendant group enhances the anticancer properties of titanocene dichloride in a mcf-7 xenograft model.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Titanocene dichloride held great promise as a chemotherapeutic compound in pre-clinical studies. However, subsequent clinical trials revealed hepatoxicity and nephrotoxicity, which limited its use in clinical applications. Therefore, we used steroid pendant groups to improve the targeting of titanocene in MCF-7 breast cancer cells, and demonstrated a 10-fold lower effective dose compared to titanocene in in vitro assays. The aim of the present study was to test the efficacy of a titanocene functionalized with pregnenolone (Ti-Preg) in an in vivo breast cancer model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Xenografts from the MCF7 breast cancer cell line were implanted into athymic nu/nu mice to evaluate the potential of Ti-Preg as an anti-breast cancer agent. RESULTS: Ti-Preg demonstrated significant inhibition of MCF-7 tumor growth when compared to vehicle and to titanocene controls. CONCLUSION: Our findings demonstrate the potential of steroid pendent groups for targeting chemotherapeutics to steroid hormone-dependent cancer.