An extremely rare primary sarcoma of the lung with peritoneal and small bowel metastases: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Primary sarcoma of the lung is a very rare malignant tumor accounting for less than 0.5% of all lung tumors and presenting diagnostic and treatment challenge. We describe a case of a patient diagnosed with primary lung undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma developing subsequent peritoneal and small bowel metastases, which stand for highly unusual disease presentation. CASE PRESENTATION: A 57-year-old male presented with extensive partially necrotic tumor in the left upper lobe (LUL) of the lung that involved LUL bronchus and extended to the visceral pleura. There was no evidence of nodal or visceral dissemination. After initial presentation, the patient was admitted to the hospital's pulmonology department for further workup. The most likely diagnosis based on biopsy specimen was poorly differentiated sarcoma. Left pneumonectomy with mediastinal lymph node dissection was performed. The final pathohistological diagnosis (PHD) was undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma (UPS). Three months after lung surgery, a follow-up CT scan was done which showed a 60-mm obstructive metastatic intraabdominal lesion with small bowel infiltration and further separate peritoneal deposits. Unfortunately, an urgent surgery had to be performed as the patient developed signs of acute abdomen due to bowel perforation. Only 2 months later, the patient passed away at home. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment options of UPS are based on algorithms used in treatment of extremity lesions with well-established role of surgery. However, the role of perioperative chemotherapy remains equivocal with no strong evidence-based data due to the rarity of the disease. Small bowel is an unexpected metastatic site, but of significant clinical relevance.

Successful resection of hepatocellular cancer not amenable to Milan criteria and durable complete remission induced by systemic polichemotherapy after development of metastases - should we think about revising the current treatment guidelines in selected patients?

OBJECTIVES: To refresh clinical diagnostic and therapeutic dilemmas in patients presenting with hepatocellular cancer (HCC) and to report a rare success of systemic polichemotherapy in metastatic HCC. METHODS: Case report of a patient with successfully resected HCC although initially deemed inoperable according to current guidelines, and who was successfully treated by systemic polichemotherapy after development of metastatic disease, resulting in a sustained complete remission. RESULTS: We describe a 71-year-old female with HCC initially treated by atypical liver resection, although not amenable to initial surgery according to current treatment guidelines, which resulted in 6 months disease-free interval. After development of pulmonary metastases, the patient was treated by systemic polichemotherapy, due to local unavailability of novel biologic agents. After 3 months of chemotherapy biochemical remission was confirmed, and after 10 months of active treatment complete radiological remission was verified according to Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) criteria, now exceeding 9 months in duration. CONCLUSION: There is an increasing body of evidence that criteria for surgical interventions in HCC should be revised and expanded, and our case is an example of such an approach. Although novel biologic therapies are not widely available in all regions of the world due to their cost, currently there are no hard recommendations for use of chemotherapy in such areas. Since this is a large problem in clinical practice, we conclude that chemotherapy should be offered to selected patients of good performance status if novel agents are unavailable.

Paraneoplastic stiff person syndrome associated with colon cancer misdiagnosed as idiopathic Parkinson's disease worsened after capecitabine therapy.

OBJECTIVES: To refresh clinical diagnostic dilemmas in patients presenting with symptoms resembling to those of parkinsonism, to report rare association of colon cancer and paraneoplastic stiff person syndrome (SPS), and to draw attention on the possible correlation of capecitabine therapy with worsening of paraneoplastic SPS. METHODS: Case report of the patient with paraneoplastic SPS due to colon cancer that was misdiagnosed as idiopathic Parkinson's disease (iPD), whose symptoms worsened after beginning adjuvant capecitabine chemotherapy. RESULTS: We describe a 55-year-old woman with subacute onset of symmetrical stiffness and rigidity of the truncal and proximal lower limb muscles that caused lower body bradykinesia, gait difficulties, and postural instability. Diagnose of iPD was made and levodopa treatment was initiated but failed to provide beneficial effect. Six months later, colon cancer was discovered and the patient underwent surgical procedure and chemotherapy with capecitabine thereafter. Aggravation of stiffness, rigidity, and low back pain was observed after the first chemotherapy cycle and capecitabine was discontinued. Furthermore, levodopa was slowly discontinued and low dose of diazepam was administered which resulted in partial resolution of the patient's symptoms. CONCLUSION: Paraneoplastic SPS is rare disorder with clinical features resembling those of parkinsonian syndrome and making the correct diagnosis remains a challenge. The diagnosis of parkinsonian syndrome should be re-examined if subsequent examinations discover an associated malignant process. Although it remains unclear whether the patients with history of SPS are at the greater risk for symptoms deterioration after administration of capecitabine, clinicians should be aware of capecitabine side effects because recognition and appropriate management can prevent serious adverse outcomes.

The effectiveness of nab-paclitaxel plus gemcitabine and gemcitabine monotherapy in first-line metastatic pancreatic cancer treatment: A real-world evidence.

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal malignancies with a rise in mortality rates. FOLFIRINOX and nab-paclitaxel plus gemcitabine demonstrated a survival benefit compared to gemcitabine alone. Both protocols are now considered the standard of first-line treatment with no significant difference between them, primarily based on observational studies. Although new therapeutic options have emerged recently, the prognosis remains poor. We conducted a retrospective single-center study on 139 patients treated for metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma (mPDAC) with gemcitabine monotherapy (Gem) or nab-paclitaxel + gemcitabine (Nab-P/Gem) in the first line. The aim of our study was to evaluate the effectiveness in terms of overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) as well as the influence of patient and disease characteristics on outcomes. Nab-P/Gem resulted in OS of 13.87 months compared to 8.5 months in patients receiving Gem. The same trend was achieved in PFS, 5.37 versus 2.80 months, respectively, but without reaching statistical significance. Furthermore, the 6-month survival in the Nab-P/Gem group was also higher, 78.1% versus 47.8%. In terms of survival, the group of elderly patients, patients of poorer performance, with higher metastatic burden and liver involvement, benefited the most from combination therapy. In our analysis ECOG performance status (p.s.), previous primary tumor surgery, and liver involvement were found to be independent prognostic factors. The addition of nab-paclitaxel to gemcitabine resulted in a significant improvement in the OS of patients with mPDAC. Subgroup analysis demonstrated that patients with some unfavorable prognostic factors benefited the most.

Fluorouracil, leucovorin and irinotecan combined with intra-arterial hepatic infusion of drug-eluting beads preloaded with irinotecan in unresectable colorectal liver metastases: side effects and results of a concomitant treatment schedule. Clinical investigation.

AIM: Safety evaluation of concomitant systemic chemotherapy and liver chemoembolization in patients with colorectal cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Seven patients with metastases confined to the liver were included and stratified into two groups, depending of dosage of systemic chemotherapy. The first group received systemic chemotherapy (FOLFIRI) with 20% dose reduction, and the second group received the full dose of the same chemotherapy. In both groups, chemoembolization of liver metastases with drug-eluting bead irinotecan (DEBIRI) was performed following the application of systemic chemotherapy. The toxicity profiles of the two groups were compared. RESULTS: Of the 7 patients included, 4 received the reduced systemic chemotherapy dose and 3 received the full chemotherapy dose. DEBIRI was performed in all 7 patients. The main toxicities observed in the reduced chemotherapy dose group were leukopenia (25%), anorexia (75%), diarrhea (25%), vomiting (25%), right upper abdominal quadrant pain (100%) and elevated serum amylase level (25%). Main toxicities observed in the full chemotherapy dose group were anorexia (66.6%), vomiting (33.3%), right upper abdominal quadrant pain (100%), and elevated serum amylase level (66.6%). There were no significant differences between the two groups ( P = 0.78541). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with isolated liver metastases from a colorectal primary can safely be treated with DEBIRI chemoembolization and a full dose of systemic chemotherapy (FOLFIRI).