[Poorly differentiated endocrine carcinoma of the colon]. / Carcinome endocrine peu différencié du côlon.

Small-cell endocrine carcinoma is a particularly aggressive form of endocrine carcinoma characterized by its rapid and early metastatic dissemination. We report a 59-year-old man who presented with abdominal pain as the initial manifestation of a colonic small-cell endocrine carcinoma with early liver metastases and poor prognosis. Poorly differentiated endocrine carcinomas are rare tumours that generally occur in the lung, but are exceptionally localized in other sites. Generally, these tumours have an aggressive behaviour with early metastatic spread, and curative surgical resection is often impossible. Despite aggressive chemotherapy, these extended tumours have an unfavourable outcome.

[Ectopic sebaceous glands in the esophagus]. / Ectopie oesophagienne des glandes sébacées.

Ectopic sebaceous glands have been detected in many tissues of ectodermal origin, but their presence in the esophagus remain, until now, a very rare anomaly. We report two new cases diagnosed by endoscopic biopsy.

Case report: incomplete septal cirrhosis with liver cell dysplasia.

A 60-year-old woman was transplanted for end-stage alcoholic cirrhosis. The diagnosis of cirrhosis was made 13 years earlier on the basis of features of portal hypertension and a wedge liver biopsy. Liver function tests were subnormal except for a low prothrombin time. Unproven possible alcohol abuse was the only aetiological factor. Her condition remained unchanged until transplantation, despite complete abstinence. Histological examination of the explant showed incomplete septal cirrhosis associated with distal obstructive portal venopathy, cirrhotic nodules predominantly in the subcapsular areas and nodular regenerative hyperplasia with septal fibrosis elsewhere. In addition, there were areas of large and small liver cell dysplasia. This observation shows the difficulty in making a diagnosis of incomplete septal cirrhosis and the hypothetical link between liver cell dysplasia (which has never been reported in incomplete septal cirrhosis but is well known to be associated with hepatocellular carcinoma in cirrhosis) and rare cases of liver adenomas and carcinomas reported in patients presenting with liver vascular disorders.

Isoelectric focusing (IEF) and immunofixation for determination of disialotransferrin.

OBJECTIVES: A new simplified method for detection and quantitation of disialontransferrin in serum is described. DESIGN AND METHODS: The method is based on polyacrylamide gel isoelectric focusing, direct immunofixation with a specific antibody, and measurement by computerized scanning densitometry. Disialotransferrin levels were determined in 24 teetotallers and 34 alcoholics at 3 moments during detoxification. Three groups of drinkers were arranged: group 1 (without), group 2 (with light), and group 3 (with severe hepatitis). RESULTS: The metho showed very good reproducibility and accuracy with a coefficient of variation between 5 to 8%. Alcoholic patients could be clearly separated from teetotallers, with a specificity of 100% and a sensitivity of 94%. After 12 days of alcohol withdrawal, disialotransferrin values declined in alcoholics but remained slightly high. They were not influenced by the severity of liver disease. No significant difference was found between the 3 groups. CONCLUSIONS: An easy-to-perform, sensitive, and inexpensive method has been developed to quantify disialotransferrin that can be used by laboratories almost everywhere.