Malignant mesothelioma of tunica vaginalis testis: Report of a very rare case with review of the literature.

INTRODUCTION: Mesothelioma of the tunica vaginalis testis is a extremely rare tumor and represents 0.3 to 0.5% of all malignant mesotheliomas. Exposure to asbestos often precedes illness. Because of its low incidence and nonspecific clinical presentation, it is mostly diagnosed accidentally during surgery for other reasons and the prognosis is usually poor. We present a case of a patient with a mesothelioma of tunica vaginalis testis, diagnosed secondarily during hydrocele surgery, with long-term survival after radical surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: a 40 years old patient was admitted to our department for routine surgery of a left hydrocele. During the operation a frozen section analysis was requested because of the unusual nodular thickening of the tunica vaginalis: the examination revealed a diffuse malignant mesothelioma with epithelioid structure and tubular-papillary proliferation. Therefore a left hemi-scrotectomy with left inguinal lymph node dissection was performed. RESULTS: The definitive histology confirmed the previous report of diffuse malignant mesothelioma with angio-invasion but normal testicle findings and negative lymph nodes. No metastases were found on the CT-scan. For the first 2 years a CT was repeated every 4 months, for other 3 years every 6 months and then yearly. Six years after surgery the patient is classified as no evidence of disease. CONCLUSIONS: malignant mesothelioma of the tunica vaginalis testis is a rare entity, often initially thought to be a hydrocele or an epididymal cyst. An aggressive approach with hemiscrotectomy with or without inguinal and retroperitoneal lymphadenectomy can reduce the risk of recurrence.

Increased frequency of bronchiolar histotypes in lung carcinomas associated with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

AIMS: The association between lung cancer and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is well known, but the significance of this association is poorly understood. Bronchiolar honeycomb cysts have been proposed as possible precursors for the development of carcinoma, but limited evidence in support of this hypothesis is available. The aim of this study was to investigate this hypothesis analysing a series of carcinomas arising in IPF by immunohistochemistry. METHODS AND RESULTS: Thirty-three lung carcinomas arising in patients with IPF were analysed with a panel of immunohistochemical markers. The antibodies included those against pneumocyte markers [thyroid transcription factor 1 (TTF1), napsin-A, and surfactant protein A], the goblet cell marker mucin 5AC, markers of basal/squamous cell differentiation [cytokeratin (CK) 5/6 and ΔN-p63], and markers related to enteric differentiation (CDX2, mucin 2, CK20, and villin). A series of 100 consecutive lung adenocarcinomas arising in smokers without IPF were investigated as controls. All carcinomas arising in IPF patients were peripherally located on imaging analysis. The diagnoses were: eight squamous cell carcinomas, 20 adenocarcinomas, three small-cell carcinomas (including one composite small-cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma), and two large-cell carcinomas. Among adenocarcinomas, a 'pneumocyte' profile (TTF1/napsin-A/SPA1-triple-positive) was observed in seven of 20 (35% versus 84% in non-IPF controls, P = 0.0001). The remaining 13 adenocarcinomas (65%) showed rare histotypes: four invasive mucinous adenocarcinomas (20% in IPF patients versus 1% in non-IPF controls, P = 0.002), seven tumours (35%) that were characterized by variable expression of markers of enteric differentiation, and two tumours (10%) that showed a peculiar basaloid component. CONCLUSIONS: The immunohistochemical characterization of carcinomas arising in IPF patients shows striking divergence from that in non-IPF smokers. The prevalence of rare entities showing bronchiole-related markers is in line with the hypothesis that these tumours arise from transformed small airways in honeycomb lung areas where abnormal bronchiolar proliferation takes place.

Digital clubbing in primary intestinal lymphangiectasia: a case report.

Primary intestinal lymphangiectasia (PIL), also known as Waldmann's disease, is a rare disorder characterized by dilated intestinal lacteals resulting in lymph leakage into the small bowel lumen and responsible for protein-losing enteropathy leading to lymphopenia, hypoalbuminemia and hypogammaglobulinemia. The symptoms usually start in early infancy. We report a case of secondary hyperparathyroidism, osteopenia, monoclonal gammopathy and digital clubbing in a 57-year-old patient with a 12-year history of discontinuous diarrhea. Malabsorption with inability to gain weight, and finally weight loss and formation of leg edema were associated with protein-losing enteropathy. A low-fat diet associated with medium-chain triglyceride supplementation was clinically effective as medical management in reducing diarrhea and leg edema, and promoting weight gain. Double-balloon enteroscopy and small bowel biopsy histopathology confirmed dilated intestinal lacteals. Digital clubbing associated with primary intestinal lymphangiectasia which may causally be related to chronic platelet excess has not been reported before.

Tracheobronchopathia Osteochondroplastica: A Case Report Illustrating the Importance of Multilevel Workup Clinical, Endoscopic and Histological Assessment in Diagnosis of an Uncommon Disease.

BACKGROUND Tracheobronchopathia osteochondroplastica (TO) is a rare idiopathic disease with a stable course, which involves the lumen of the tracheobronchial tree. Clinical manifestations at time of presentation may differ, typically including hoarseness, persistent and/or productive cough, hemoptyses, and dyspnea. There are no well-established guidelines for diagnostic workup and treatment. Our aim here is to present a paradigmatic case of TO together with a concise survey of the most important clinical, radiological, and histological criteria. CASE REPORT We report a case of a 62-year-old non-smoker male with persisting cough and no prior history of respiratory disease. Chest radiography (RX) and computed tomography (CT) were unremarkable. Given the persistence of symptoms, the patient underwent bronchoscopic examination, which revealed protruding sessile nodules into the tracheal lumen, with cobblestone appearance. Histopathological examination of biopsies taken during bronchoscopy showed cartilaginous and osseous submucosal nodules consistent with the diagnosis of TO. CONCLUSIONS TO is not always an easily recognized disease, and a multidisciplinary team work is often required for diagnosis, with particular importance of endoscopic-pathological correlation.

Proximal CD13 Versus Distal GATA-3 Expression in Renal Neoplasia According to WHO 2016 Classification.

Little is known about the aminopeptidase CD13 in renal neoplasia according to the new 2016 World Health Organization renal tumor classification. We selected 175 cases, including 79 clear cell, 31 papillary, 24 chromophobe, 8 clear cell papillary renal cell carcinomas (RCCs), 21 oncoytomas, and 12 microphthalmia transcription factor family translocation RCCs: 4 t(6;11)/transcription factor EB (TFEB), 7 t(Xp11) with 2 cystic variants and 1 t(X;17). GATA binding protein 3 (GATA-3) was inserted as control. Expression of proximal antigen CD13 was observed in 63/79 (80%) clear cell, 25/31 (81%) papillary, 3/8 (37%) clear cell papillary, 1/4 (25%) t(6;11)/TFEB, 2/7 (28%) cystic t(Xp11), and in 1/1 t(X;17) RCCs. All chromophobe RCC (0/24) and all oncocytomas (0/21) resulted negative. CD10 was seen in 76/79 (96%) clear cell, 15/31 (48%) papillary, 10/24 (42%) chromophobe, 1/8 (12%) clear cell papillary RCCs, 4/21 (19%) oncocytomas, 1/4 (25%) t(6;11)/TFEB, 2/7 (29%) cystic t(Xp11), and in 1/1 t(X;17) RCCs. GATA-3 was positive in 3/7 (42%) clear cell papillary RCCs and negative in all remaining RCCs, except a single chromophobe RCC and a single oncocytoma. We concluded that: (1) CD13 and GATA-3 immunostains may serve as a diagnostic aid in differentiating subtypes of RCC; (2) CD13 is always absent in chromophobe RCC and oncocytomas, whereas CD10 can be immunoexpressed in both; (3) CD13 should be included in a panel of antibodies to distinguish "proximal renal tumors" from "distal renal tumors" and between clear cell RCC versus microphthalmia transcription factor family translocations RCCs; and (4) when present, GATA-3 is specific for clear cell papillary RCC.

Impact of the IASLC/ATS/ERS classification in pN0 pulmonary adenocarcinomas: a study with radiological-pathological comparisons and survival analyses.

The aim of this study was: (1) to compare the new pathological findings as detected by the IASLC/ATS/ERS classification with the traditional radiological features in pulmonary pN0 adenocarcinomas, (2) to evaluate their prognostic significance on overall survival (OS). A total of 42 surgically resected pN0 pulmonary adenocarcinomas were analyzed. On CT scans, the following radiological data were recorded: sphericity, predominant margins, cavitation and bronchogram, attenuation and percentage of ground glass opacity (GGO). On pathological examination, tumors were categorized according to the IASLC/ATS/ERS classification; Sica score and grade, pathological stage, tumor major axis, pleural invasion, vascular and lymphatic invasion, peritumoral lymphoid infiltration, and cytological features were also determined. Clinical follow up was available in 37 cases (range 1-117 months). Radiologically, 31 solid and 11 semisolid tumors were found. Morphologically, 2 minimally invasive and 40 invasive adenocarcinomas were diagnosed. In radiological-pathological comparisons, (1) the acinar pattern was higher in tumors with solid attenuation and low GGO (p=0.018); (2) the lepidic pattern was more elevated in tumors with high GGO (p=0.012). In multivariate survival analyses with stage, predominant margins on CT scans (p=0.036) and Sica score (p=0.028) significantly affected OS. This study confirms the validity of the new classification of pulmonary adenocarcinomas in radiological-pathological comparisons and underlines the importance of both radiological and pathological findings in correctly identifying their prognostic features.

Heterogeneity of large cell carcinoma of the lung: an immunophenotypic and miRNA-based analysis.

Large cell carcinomas (LCCs) of the lung are heterogeneous and may be of different cell lineages. We analyzed 56 surgically resected lung tumors classified as LCC on the basis of pure morphologic grounds, using a panel of immunophenotypic markers (adenocarcinoma [ADC]-specific, thyroid transcription factor-1, cytokeratin 7, and napsin A; squamous cell carcinoma [SQCC]-specific, p63, cytokeratin 5, desmocollin 3, and Δnp63) and the quantitative analysis of microRNA-205 (microRNA sample score [mRSS]). Based on immunoprofiles 19 (34%) of the cases were reclassified as ADC and 14 (25%) as SQCC; 23 (41%) of the cases were unclassifiable. Of these 23 cases, 18 were classified as ADC and 5 as SQCC according to the mRSS. Our data show that an extended panel of immunohistochemical markers can reclassify around 60% of LCCs as ADC or SQCC. However, a relevant percentage of LCCs may escape convincing immunohistochemical classification, and mRSS could be used for further typing, but its clinical relevance needs further confirmation.

Unexpected Long Survival in Primary Malignant Melanoma of the Male Urethra.

A case of primary malignant melanoma of the urethra in a 60-year-old male is presented. Despite multiple adverse prognostic factors and against expectations, after a follow-up of 5.5 years he is still alive.