Brain metastasis from cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma coexistent with extramammary Paget's disease: A case report.

We report a case of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC), initially coexisting with invasive extramammary Paget's disease (EMPD), in the scrotum of an 84-year-old man. The patient initially had a rash and pruritus before presenting with a pedunculated scrotal mass surrounded by widespread erythema. He underwent total gastrectomy for adenocarcinoma 1 year previously and had been receiving TS-1 (Tegafur/Gimeracil/Oteracil pottasium) orally. Histopathologically, the tumor consisted of invasive SCC, with invasive EMPD in the erythematous region. From the clinical presentation and histopathological findings, we assumed that CSCC developed in the background of the EMPD. The CSCC metastasized to several inguinal lymph nodes and to the brain in the following years. While the histogenesis of each of the tumors remains to be elucidated, the fact that the CSCC rather than the EMPD metastasized to a distant site in this patient is to be noted for future treatment considerations.

A case of heavily pretreated metastatic cardiac angiosarcoma treated successfully using eribulin.

Eribulin mesylate (eribulin) is a nontaxane microtubule inhibitor approved in Japan for treating soft tissue sarcoma irrespective of histological subtypes. Thus, our department routinely uses eribulin to treat any histological subtype of sarcoma for patients who have experienced disease progression during standard therapy. However, evidence on the efficacy of eribulin in treating sarcomas that are neither liposarcoma nor leiomyosarcoma is limited. Recently, we encountered a case of a heavily pretreated cardiac angiosarcoma that responded well to eribulin treatment. The patient was a 34-year-old Japanese woman with advanced angiosarcoma, who had been pretreated heavily using several lines of chemotherapy. Eribulin was administered as the eighth line of treatment and the dose was adjusted because of grade 4 neutropenia. After three cycles of treatment, contrast-enhanced computed tomography showed a partial tumor response, which was sustained for ~4 months. This case suggests that eribulin may be a potential therapeutic option for angiosarcoma. Further studies are needed to confirm the benefit of eribulin for patients with angiosarcoma and to establish predictive markers for eribulin sensitivity.

Adenomatoid mesothelioma arising from the diaphragm: a case report and review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Adenomatoid mesothelioma is a rare subtype of malignant mesothelioma that can be confused with adenomatoid tumors, which are classified as benign. The clinical features and optimal management of adenomatoid mesothelioma have not been elucidated in the literature. In this report, we present an extremely rare case of adenomatoid mesothelioma that developed on the peritoneal surface of the diaphragm as well as a literature review of adenomatoid mesothelioma in the abdominal cavity. CASE PRESENTATION: The patient was a 61-year-old Japanese woman who had undergone resection of a malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor of the hand 18 years prior. She was diagnosed with clinical stage I lung adenocarcinoma on follow-up chest radiography. Simultaneously, a 20-mm enhancing nodule with slow growth on the right diaphragm was detected on contrast-enhanced computed tomography. She presented no specific clinical symptoms. At this point, the lesion was suspected to be a hypervascular tumor of borderline malignancy, such as a solitary fibrous tumor. After a left upper lobectomy for lung adenocarcinoma, she was referred to our department, and laparoscopic tumor resection was performed. Adenomatoid tumors were also considered based on the histopathological and immunohistochemical analyses, but we made the final diagnosis of adenomatoid mesothelioma using the results of the genetic profile. The patient remains alive, with no recurrence noted 6 months after surgery. CONCLUSION: We encountered a valuable case of adenomatoid mesothelioma of peritoneal origin. There are some previously reported cases of adenomatoid mesothelioma and adenomatoid tumors that may need to be recategorized according to the current classification. It is important to accumulate and share new findings to clarify the clinicopathological characteristics and genetic status of adenomatoid mesothelioma.

A familial case of alveolar capillary dysplasia with misalignment of the pulmonary veins: the clinicopathological features and unusual glomeruloid endothelial proliferation.

BACKGROUND: Alveolar capillary dysplasia with misalignment of pulmonary veins (ACD/MPV) is a rare disorder of pulmonary vascular abnormality with persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn. The symptom usually presents within hours after birth, leading to an early demise. Heterozygous de novo point mutations and genomic deletions of the FOXF1 (forkhead box F1) gene or its upstream enhancer have been identified in most patients with ACD/MPV. Most cases of ACD/MPV are sporadic; however, familial cases are also reported in 10% of patients. CASE PRESENTATION: We herein report a case of familial ACD/MPV that showed unusual glomeruloid proliferation of endothelial cells. In this family, three of the four siblings died within two to 3 days after birth because of persistent pulmonary hypertension and respiratory failure. Only the second child remains alive and healthy. An autopsy was performed for the third and fourth children, resulting in a diagnosis of ACD/MPV based on the characteristic features, including misalignment of smaller pulmonary veins and lymphangiectasis. In both of these children, glomeruloid endothelial proliferation of vessels was noted in the interlobular septa. The vessels were immunohistochemically positive for D2-40, CD31, Factor VIII, and ERG, suggestive of differentiation for both lymphatic and blood vessels. CONCLUSIONS: Unusual glomeruloid endothelial proliferation was observed in a familial ACD/MPV case. This histologic feature has not been described previously in ACD/MPV or any other pulmonary disease. Although the histogenesis of this histologic feature is unclear, this finding may suggest that ACD/MPV is a compound vascular and lymphovascular system disorder that exhibits various histologic features.

Molecular cloning and characterization of DMRT genes from the medaka Oryzias latipes and the platyfish Xiphophorus maculatus.

The DMRT genes constitute a family of genes, which possess a common motif called the DM domain. DMRT1 is considered to be involved in sex determination and/or sex differentiation, but not much information exists about the function of the other gene family members. We cloned DMRT genes of two important model fish species, the medaka, Oryzias latipes, and the platyfish, Xiphophorus maculatus. Based on sequence similarity and genomic structure with known DMRT genes, the gene from the medaka was identified as OlaDMRT4, and those from the platyfish as XmaDMRT2 and XmaDMRT4. OlaDMRT4 was assigned to the linkage group 18 (LG18) of the medaka by linkage analysis and fluorescence in situ hybridization. The earlier cloned medaka DMRT1, 2 and 3 genes form a cluster on LG9. Therefore, OlaDMRT4 does not belong to the DMRT gene cluster. In adult medaka fish, OlaDMRT4 is expressed in the brain, eyes, gill, kidney, as well as testis and ovary. During development, OlaDMRT4 exists as maternal transcripts, and is expressed until early larval stages. This pattern of expression differs from the other known medaka DMRT genes. Surprisingly it is also not the same as its putative tilapia ortholog (DMO). These differences in expression suggest that DMRT4 might fulfill divergent functions in different species.