COVID-19 infection: from stress-related cortisol levels to adrenal glands infarction.

Cortisol is a key element in acute stress including a severe infection. However, in coronavirus-associated disease, 20% of subjects experience hypocortisolemia due to direct or immune damage of pituitary and adrenal glands. One extreme form of adrenal insufficiency is found in 2∕3 of cases with viral and post-viral adrenal infarction (AI) (with∕without adrenal hemorrhage) that is mostly associated with a severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection; it requires prompt glucocorticoid intervention. Some reports are incidental findings at computed tomography (CT)∕magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans for non-adrenal complications like pulmonary spreading and others are seen on post-mortem analysis. This is a review of PubMed-accessible, English papers focusing on AI in addition to the infection, between March 1, 2020 and November 1, 2021. Exclusion criteria were acute adrenal insufficiency without the histopathological (HP) and∕or imaging report of adrenal enlargement, necrosis, etc., respective adrenal failure due to pituitary causes, or non-COVID-19-related adrenal events. We identified a total of 84 patients (different levels of statistical evidence), as follows: a retrospective study on 51 individuals, two post-mortem studies comprising nine, respectively 12 patients, a case series of five subjects, seven single-case reports. HP aspects include necrosis associated with ischemia, cortical lipid degeneration (+/- focal adrenalitis), and infarcts at the level of adrenal cortex, blood clot into vessels, acute fibrinoid necrosis in arterioles and capsules, as well as subendothelial vacuolization. Collateral potential contributors to adrenal damage are thrombotic events, coagulation anomalies, antiphospholipid syndrome, endothelial dysfunction, severe COVID-19 infection with multiorgan failure, etc. Clinical picture is variable from acute primary adrenal insufficiency to asymptomatic or mild evolution, even a retrospective diagnostic; it may be a part of long COVID-19 syndrome; glucocorticoid therapy for non-adrenal considerations might mask cortisol deficient status due to AI∕hemorrhage. Despite its rarity, the COVID-19-associated AI/hemorrhage represents a challenging new chapter, a condition that is essential to be recognized due to its gravity since prompt intervention with glucocorticoid replacement is lifesaving.

Peripheral-type primitive neuroectodermal tumor of the ovary with EWSR1-FLI1 fusion transcript: a case report and brief review of literature.

Primitive neuroectodermal tumors (PNETs) of the ovary are extremely rare tumors composed of undifferentiated small cells with round nuclei and scant cytoplasm. They are rare in general and extremely rare in the female gynecological tract, where they most commonly affect the ovary, followed by the uterine corpus. The most common presenting symptoms are abdominal pain, bloating and the presence of a pelvic mass. Diagnosis mainly relies on immunohistochemical and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Due to the rarity of these tumors, there are no standard therapeutic guidelines and treatment consists of surgery, various chemotherapy regimens and/or radiotherapy. In this article, we report the case of a 30-year-old female with peripheral-type PNET (pPNET) of the ovary featuring Ewing sarcoma breakpoint region 1-Friend leukemia integration 1 (EWSR1-FLI1) fusion transcript, confirmed by next-generation sequencing (NGS).

Somatostatin receptors in normal and acromegalic somatotroph cells: the U-turn of the clinician to immunohistochemistry report - a review.

This is a narrative review of literature introducing somatostatin receptors (SSTRs) as part of understanding the somatotroph cells since they are positive in normal cells but also in tumoral cells as seen in somatotropinoma, a growth hormone (GH)-producing neoplasia, which causes acromegaly. They are five subtypes of SSTRs (1 to 5), which are immunohistochemically positive in different proportions in somatotropinomas. SSTR types 2 and 5 are most frequent in GH-secreting adenomas and they are both targeted by medical therapy with somatostatin analogues (SSTAs) like first generation Octreotide and Lanreotide (mainly targeting SSTR2) and second generation Pasireotide (with highest affinity for SSTR5), thus heterogeneous SSTRs configuration into the tumor explains different pattern of response to treatment and it might predict it once the SSTRs immunostaining is performed. Monoclonal antibodies are used for immunohistochemical detection of SSTRs; currently, a lack of standardization is presented, and scoring systems, such as Volante, H-score or human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-score, are applied. Immunoreactive markers like SSTRs are the U-turn in clinical practice regarding somatotropinomas since the configuration of subtypes 2 and 5 explains the responsiveness to medical therapy like SSTA. Further achievement of disease control is imperiously necessary because acromegaly has an increased rate of morbidity and mortality.

Cystic appearance - a new feature of solid fibrous tumours in the lacrimal gland: a case report with literature review.

BACKGROUND: Solitary fibrous tumours (SFTs) rarely occur in the orbit, especially in the lacrimal area. These tumours are mostly solid. Cystic changes have been documented, but they remain very rare. Only three cases of primary orbital solitary fibrous tumours with cystic changes have been reported in the literature, but no cases have been reported to occur in the lacrimal gland. Solitary fibrous tumours generally follow a benign course and are treated definitively with surgical excision. Data from the literature suggest that the cystic nature of SFT presents a risk of recurrence and could be a harbinger of malignancy. CASE PRESENTATION: A 42-year-old woman was admitted to the endocrinology department for right unilateral exophthalmia and epiphora in the last 8 months. An ophthalmological evaluation showed exophthalmia only in the right eye (22 mm) and normal visual acuity, visual field and extraocular movements. Investigations revealed normal thyroid function. Orbital magnetic resonance imaging detected a 4 × 2,2 × 2,7 cm septate pseudocystic mass in the right lacrimal gland. Given her lacrimal gland tumour diagnosis, the patient was submitted for neurosurgical intervention with total ablation of the tumoural mass and complete right dacryoadenectomy. Although the intraoperative extemporaneous examination results were suggestive of a haemangiopericytoma, histological and immunocytochemical examination showed an extrapleural SFT. The postoperative clinical evolution was favourable, with remission of the exophthalmia. Fifteen months after surgery, no signs of recurrence were noticed. CONCLUSIONS: We report the first case of an SFT with cystic changes in the lacrimal gland. Although the presence of cavitary lesions alone does not necessarily indicate aggressive behaviour, cystic changes pose a risk of recurrence and may suggest malignant transformation over time. As a result, our case requires long-term follow-up due to recurrence and malignant potential.

Endometrial stromal sarcoma in a 27-year-old woman. Case report and literature review.

Endometrial stromal tumors are very rare, representing approximately 0.2% of uterine malignancies, having an incidence of one to two from a million of women. The diagnosis cannot be established by imaging, it is histopathological only, often necessitate supplementary immunohistochemistry tests. We report the case of a 27-year-old woman who had an initial diagnosis, in another hospital, of uterine adenomyoma, established by dilatation and uterine curettage and then by subsequently histopathological exam. This diagnosis led to an initial non-oncological surgery, with interannexial total hysterectomy. The establishment of the final histopathological diagnosis of stromal endometrial sarcoma has led to a serious reassessment of the case. Making a review of the literature, we found very few cases of endometrial stromal sarcoma in young women less than 30 years old and we have not identified any clear strategy of treatment. However, from precautionary and considering that may be at risk, even with very few cases reported, the distance metastases can be present, sometimes at large intervals of time, we decided, for oncological safety, reintervention after one month. At the second surgery, it was practiced bilateral salpingo-ovarectomy, cardinal ligaments excision, partial omentectomy, bilateral pelvic lymphadenectomy extended lumbo-aortic and interaortico-cava, sampling biopsy from the inguinal femoral adenopathy and re-excision of the vaginal vault. The evolution was favorable, the patient being follow-up together with the oncologist specialist.

Bilateral serous surface papillary borderline ovarian tumor in 19-year-old patient. Ultrasound, immunohistochemical and therapeutic particularities of reproductive age.

Borderline tumors have a histological aspect of atypical epithelial proliferation without stromal invasion and typically occur in fertile ages, approximately one-third of women diagnosed are younger than 40. Serous borderline tumors are the most encountered and they can present micropapillary features that are associated with a higher rate of recurrence and the possibility of peritoneal implants. We present the case of a serous borderline ovarian tumor in a young patient and the diagnosis and treatment particularities. The patient presented with no symptoms, for a specialist advice, in the context of failure obtaining spontaneous pregnancy over a period of seven months. Paraclinical, the only modified parameter was CA 125, respectively a slight increase of its value. The atypical appearance on abdominal and transvaginal ultrasound indicated a presumptive diagnosis; both ovaries with multiple irregular vegetation, moderately vascular on Doppler examination, with the starting point in epithelial capsule shell, that appeared thick and hyperechogenic. About 7 cm of pelvic fluid was also present. During exploratory laparoscopic intervention, the surrounding tissue of both ovaries was biopsied and the fragments were sent for histopathological and immunohistochemical exam. Immunohistochemical assays correlated with the histopathological analysis and anatomical clinical data confirmed the diagnosis. After informed consent, the patient underwent radical surgery with a quick and uneventful recovery. The series of investigations had the objective to establish the best management of the case and reviewing the possibility of a conservative surgery. Patient clinical aspect matched with the patterns of ovarian borderline tumors by the asymptomatic presence of the bilateral adnexal masses.

Cribriform-morular variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma at pediatric age - case report and review of the literature.

Cribriform-morular variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma (CMV-PTC) is a rare tumor, which exceptionally occurs at pediatric age. CMV-PTC may develop in patients with familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) or may be a sporadic tumor. The authors present a case of CMV-PTC in a 10-year-old girl patient without FAP history, who presented with a left neck mass. The patient underwent total thyroidectomy with central compartment neck dissection. Histopathological diagnosis was compatible with cribriform-morular variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma and Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Immunostaining was positive for thyroglobulin, ß-catenin, CD10 and p53. Molecular test showed the absence of BRAF, K-RAS mutations, deletions or duplications of APC (adenomatosis polyposis coli) gene and showed the presence of RET÷PTC (rearranged during transfection÷papillary thyroid carcinoma) rearrangements. At 32 months follow-up, the patient was without signs of recurrence. This particular form of thyroid carcinoma should raise suspicion of a possible familial cancer syndrome, therefore early diagnosis and thoroughly evaluation, which includes colonoscopy and genetic screening are mandatory.

Immature ovarian teratoma with unusual gliomatosis.

This study aimed to investigate an unusual case of immature ovarian teratoma with onset of mature glial cells implanted on the contralateral ovary, a challenge in the diagnosis of the second ovarian tumor. We report the case of a 31- yr-old woman, who developed at the age of 16 an immature teratoma in the right ovary that was surgically removed. Six years later mature glial implants were present on the left ovary and six months later at the level of peritoneum that relapsed after other six months. The patient suffered three surgical resections after the initial one. Paraffin sections and immunohistochemical examinations using antibodies against glial and neuronal antigens were performed. In the teratoma, the neuroectodermal tissue expressed Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), S100 protein, Epithelial membrane antigen (EMA) and Cytokeratin 34 beta E12 (Ck34beta E12), wheares the implants expressed only GFAP and S100 protein. The immature teratoma is the rarest type of ovarian teratomas. Gliomatosis peritonei is an exceptional finding, expecially with onset on the contralaterally ovary. The implant of the mature glial cells has a high risk of relapse, as seen in our case, thus close follow-up of the patient is necessary.

Sertoli-Leydig cell tumor - a rare androgen secreting ovarian tumor in postmenopausal women. Case report and review of literature.

Sertoli-Leydig cell tumors (SLCT) constitute only 1-0.5% of all primary ovarian neoplasms. We report a SLCT in a postmenopausal woman aged 69 years. The physical examination revealed severe hirsutism. Basal hormonal evaluation showed high plasma testosterone and estradiol values, with suppressed plasma gonadotropins. Computer tomograph scan revealed a right ovarian tumor mass of 4,3/3 cm, confirming an androgen secreting ovarian tumor. The histopathological and immunocytochemical examination established the diagnosis of well differentiated Sertoli-Leydig cell tumor. The tumor was positive for cytokeratin KL 1 and S-100 protein and, in isolated tumor cells, positive for alpha-fetoprotein. Postsurgical evolution was favorable; controls after 6 months and 3,5 years showed marked reduction of hirsutism, normal plasma testosterone values and gonadotropins in normal postmenopausal range. We discuss the complex aspects of etiology and pathogenesis, the clinical and hormonal settings, the role of immunocytochemical markers in diagnosis, as well as the therapy and the prognostic features of this ovarian tumor.