Metastatic Lymphomas of the Placenta: A Literature Review With an Illustrative Case.

Lymphoma is the fourth most common tumor to display placental metastasis. This study aimed to report a case of high-grade lymphoma involving the placenta and review the literature on lymphomas metastatic to the placenta. A systematic review was performed following the PRISMA guidelines, using the keywords "lymphoma" AND "placenta." All case reports and case series on lymphoma infiltrating the placenta were collected. Eight cases from 7 studies, including the present case, were synthesized. The mean patient age is 29.5 years. The clinical presentation is non-specific. Hematologic derangements included cytopenias or cytoses, and elevated prothrombin time. The mean gestational age (GA) when a diagnosis of lymphoma was rendered is 27 weeks. Five cases presented with either lymphadenopathy or visceral masses on imaging. Four of these cases eventually led to maternal demise. The mean GA when the fetus was delivered is 31 3/4 weeks. Grossly, most placentas had non-specific findings. Leukemic infiltrates were mostly seen within intervillous spaces. Intravillous infiltrates were associated with high-grade lymphomas, resulting in either maternal demise or stillborn fetuses. This study suggests that the placenta has mechanisms to guard against malignancies; however, these defense mechanisms are not foolproof and may be breached by tumor cells.

Association between convalescent plasma treatment and mortality in COVID-19: a collaborative systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials.

BACKGROUND: Convalescent plasma has been widely used to treat COVID-19 and is under investigation in numerous randomized clinical trials, but results are publicly available only for a small number of trials. The objective of this study was to assess the benefits of convalescent plasma treatment compared to placebo or no treatment and all-cause mortality in patients with COVID-19, using data from all available randomized clinical trials, including unpublished and ongoing trials (Open Science Framework, https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/GEHFX ). METHODS: In this collaborative systematic review and meta-analysis, clinical trial registries (ClinicalTrials.gov, WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform), the Cochrane COVID-19 register, the LOVE database, and PubMed were searched until April 8, 2021. Investigators of trials registered by March 1, 2021, without published results were contacted via email. Eligible were ongoing, discontinued and completed randomized clinical trials that compared convalescent plasma with placebo or no treatment in COVID-19 patients, regardless of setting or treatment schedule. Aggregated mortality data were extracted from publications or provided by investigators of unpublished trials and combined using the Hartung-Knapp-Sidik-Jonkman random effects model. We investigated the contribution of unpublished trials to the overall evidence. RESULTS: A total of 16,477 patients were included in 33 trials (20 unpublished with 3190 patients, 13 published with 13,287 patients). 32 trials enrolled only hospitalized patients (including 3 with only intensive care unit patients). Risk of bias was low for 29/33 trials. Of 8495 patients who received convalescent plasma, 1997 died (23%), and of 7982 control patients, 1952 died (24%). The combined risk ratio for all-cause mortality was 0.97 (95% confidence interval: 0.92; 1.02) with between-study heterogeneity not beyond chance (I2 = 0%). The RECOVERY trial had 69.8% and the unpublished evidence 25.3% of the weight in the meta-analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Convalescent plasma treatment of patients with COVID-19 did not reduce all-cause mortality. These results provide strong evidence that convalescent plasma treatment for patients with COVID-19 should not be used outside of randomized trials. Evidence synthesis from collaborations among trial investigators can inform both evidence generation and evidence application in patient care.

A benign maxillary tumour with malignant features.

Non-specific biopsy results such as chronic inflammation, hemorrhage, necrosis can be frustrating to the clinician. This is especially true if the patient presents with clinical features suggestive of an aggressive tumour. This is a review of the clinical features, diagnostic dilemmas and surgical management of a benign maxillary mass with malignant features - a disease called hematoma-like mass of the maxillary sinus (HLMMS). Our experience with five cases will also be cited.

Breast cancer hormone receptor assay results of core needle biopsy and modified radical mastectomy specimens from the same patients.

BACKGROUND: Hormone receptor (HR) expression is the most important biomarker and is the cornerstone in the management of breast cancer. Therefore, the accuracy of its testing is critical in treatment decisions. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 160 consecutive patients accrued to an adjuvant hormonal therapy clinical trial between March 2003 and May 2008 were studied. Estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PgR) protein assays of tissues from modified radical mastectomy (MRM) specimens were compared with their previous core needle biopsy (CNB) ER and PgR immunohistochemical assay results. RESULTS: The tumors of 146 (91.2%) out of the 160 patients with CNB HR-positive disease remained HR positive in MRM specimen assays. Estrogen receptor positivity decreased from 95% in the CNB to 81.9% in MRM specimens and PgR positivity from 93.8% to 86.9%. The overall agreement between CNB and MRM specimens was 81.9% for ER and 85.6% for PgR. The mean Allred scores were significantly higher in CNB than in MRM specimens: ER, 6.6 (SD, 2.02) versus 4.71 (SD, 2.62); PgR, 6.68 (SD, 2.16) versus 5.99 (SD, 2.68); P < .001 and P = .001, respectively. CONCLUSION: Core needle biopsy specimens are associated with the identification of more frequent and higher levels of tumoral hormonal receptor proteins than MRM specimens. Delayed fixation of MRM tissues likely accounted for this finding. Optimal selection of patients for hormonal therapies is dependent on tissue management strategies before formal hormonal receptor protein testing procedures.