Metastasis of Colon Cancer to the Breast.

Breast metastases from extramammary neoplasms are extremely rare, and even more so is metastasis of colon cancer to the breast. Despite its rarity, metastatic disease to the breast is an important diagnostic issue because its treatment differs greatly from that of primary cancer. Proper diagnosis of this rare event requires an accurate clinical history, proper immunohistochemical workup, and a high level of suspicion.

Filiform polyposis in a patient without inflammatory bowel disease.

Filiform polyposis is a rare condition of uncertain pathogenesis that is usually found in patients with a history of inflammatory bowel disease. Here I report a case of filiform polyposis with no associated inflammatory bowel disease. Numerous finger-like polypoid lesions with the appearance of stalactites were noted in the transverse colon at the time of colonoscopy. Filiform polyps may be misinterpreted on colonoscopy as unusual villous adenomas or small carcinomas. Endoscopists should be familiar with the varied morphology of filifform polypsis in order to arrive at a correct diagnosis, and to ensure proper management.

Primary pure squamous cell carcinoma of the breast might be sensitive to Cisplatin-based chemotherapy.

Pure squamous cell carcinoma of the breast (PSCCB) is a rare condition. Surgery is usually the initial treatment. In some cases, complete excision of the tumor may be enough, while in other cases a mastectomy is required. In the literature, studies reported that PSCCB is an extremely aggressive disease associated with frequent locoregional and distant relapses and resultant death. Better therapy is therefore needed to improve patients' outcome. A literature review revealed that several patients with locoregional and distant metastasis were successfully treated using cisplatin-based regimens. I encountered a case of a patient with PSCCB who received neoadjuvant therapy using cytoxan, epirubicin, and fluorouracil without any response. Therefore, she underwent a mastectomy with lymph node dissection. Local recurrence occurred 3 weeks after surgery. She was started on taxotere and cisplatin. Four months after therapy, the recurrent tumors completely regressed. At this point, there is only circumstantial evidence that cisplatin-based regimens could be a promising option for the treatment of PSCCB. Clinical trials including large series of PSCCB are needed to increase our knowledge.

Human pulmonary dirofilariasis in Taiwan.

Pulmonary dirofilariasis is a rare zoonotic disease in the United States. Most reported cases were from the southeastern or Gulf states. The disease is caused by Dirofilaria immitis (dog heartworm), a filarial nematode, and is transmitted to humans by mosquitoes. A 69-year-old asymptomatic man was found to have a pulmonary nodular lesion on chest x-ray during routine health examination. The lesion was resected, and pulmonary dirofilariasis was diagnosed based on histological findings. Postoperatively, recovery was uneventful. This is the second reported case of human pulmonary dirofilariasis in Taiwan. Awareness of this entity is important, since the clinicoradiographic presentation of human pulmonary dirofilariasis may mimic lung neoplasia. This case may help alert clinicians, radiologists, or pathologists that pulmonary dirofilariasis should be included in the differential diagnosis when a subpleural 'coin-like' lesion is observed on chest x-ray.

Cystic meningioma--a case report.

A case of cystic meningioma is presented. The cyst in this particular case is within the tumor. Preoperatively, the diagnosis has been confused with astrocytoma, hemangioblastoma and neuroblastoma. Retrospectively, we conclude that careful evaluation of CT scan and angiogram will lead to accurate diagnosis.