Acute Liver Failure from Tumor Necrosis Factor-α Antagonists: Report of Four Cases and Literature Review.

BACKGROUND: Tumor necrosis factor-α antagonists (anti-TNF-α) have been associated with drug-induced liver injury. However, cases of anti-TNF-α-associated acute liver failure have only been rarely reported. AIMS: To identify cases of anti-TNF-α-associated acute liver failure and evaluate patterns of liver injury and common characteristics to the cases. METHODS: The United States Acute Liver Failure Study Group database was searched from 1998 to 2014. Four subjects were identified. A PubMed search for articles that reported anti-TNF-α-associated acute liver failure identified five additional cases. RESULTS: The majority of individuals affected were female (eight of nine cases). Age of individual ranged from 20 to 53 years. The most common anti-TNF-α agent associated with acute liver failure was infliximab (n = 8). The latency between initial drug exposure and acute liver failure ranged from 3 days to over a year. Of the nine cases, six required emergency LT. Liver biopsy was obtained in seven cases with a preponderance toward cholestatic-hepatitic features; none showed clear autoimmune features. CONCLUSIONS: Anti-TNF-α-associated acute liver failure displays somewhat different characteristics compared with anti-TNF-α-induced drug-induced liver injury. Infliximab was implicated in the majority of cases. Cholestatic-hepatitic features were frequently found on pre-transplant and explant histology.

Acute Myocardial Infarction in Patient With Triple Negative Breast Cancer After Paclitaxel Infusion: A Case Report.

A 47-year-old woman with breast cancer suffered progressive chest pain and flushing within 5 minutes of her second exposure to paclitaxel. Her symptoms progressed and she became pulseless. Advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) was initiated, and after a series of chest compressions the cardiac monitor revealed ventricular fibrillation. With ongoing ACLS she was transferred to the emergency department where she regained a pulse. Review of electrocardiogram revealed prominent ST elevation in leads V1, V2 and V3 with reciprocal ST depression. She was transferred urgently to the catheterization laboratory. Angiography revealed a high-grade stenosis in the proximal left anterior descending artery (LAD), and drug-eluting stents were placed without complications. She was then transferred to the floor and shortly thereafter suffered pulseless electrical activity and died despite prolonged attempts at resuscitation. Herein, we describe the development of acute myocardial infarction after paclitaxel administration, discuss potential etiologies and review evidence for an allergic component.

Sclerosing Sertoli cell tumor without expression of typical sex cord stromal tumor markers: case report and literature review.

Sertoli cell tumor is a potential histologic mimic of other tumors, such as seminoma due to similar histology and overlapping clinical presentation. Sclerosing Sertoli cell tumor is a rare sex cord stromal tumor variant, with 16 cases reported in the English literature. We present an unusual case of sclerosing Sertoli cell tumor in a 33-year-old Caucasian male, which was negative or weakly reactive using immunohistochemical markers typically positive in Sertoli cell tumors. The tumor was positive for cytokeratin AE1/AE3, CAM 5.2, vimentin, CD56, CK8, synaptophysin and S100, and negative for inhibin, calretinin, WT1, CD99, CD117, CK5/6, CK7, chromogranin A, placental alkaline phosphatase, neuron specific enolase, D2-40, smooth muscle actin, Melan-A, epithelial membrane antigen and carbonic anhydrase IX. This is the second reported case of a Sertoli cell tumor with reactivity limited to neuroendocrine markers and the first such case of the sclerosing variant. A literature review of sclerosing Sertoli cell tumor, including English and non-English literature, is described. Our case highlights that expected immunohistochemical markers may be negative, and awareness of antigenically unreactive tumors is needed to avoid confusion between Sertoli cell tumor and other entities.