Imaging of Pediatric Testicular and Para-Testicular Tumors: A Pictural Review.

Pre- and post-pubertal testicular tumors are two distinct entities in terms of epidemiology, diagnosis and treatment. Most pre-pubertal tumors are benign; the most frequent are teratomas, and the most common malignant tumors are yolk-sac tumors. Post-pubertal tumors are similar to those found in adults and are more likely to be malignant. Imaging plays a pivotal role in the diagnosis, staging and follow-up. The appearance on ultrasonography (US) is especially helpful to differentiate benign lesions that could be candidates for testis-sparing surgery from malignant ones that require radical orchidectomy. Some specific imaging patterns are described for benign lesions: epidermoid cysts, mature cystic teratomas and Leydig-cell tumors. Benign tumors tend to be well-circumscribed, with decreased Doppler flow on US, but malignancy should be suspected when US shows an inhomogeneous, not-well-described lesion with internal blood flow. Imaging features should always be interpreted in combination with clinical and biological data including serum levels of tumor markers and even intra-operative frozen sections in case of conservative surgery to raise any concerns of malignity. This review provides an overview of imaging features of the most frequent testicular and para-testicular tumor types in children and the value of imaging in disease staging and monitoring children with testicular tumors or risk factors for testicular tumors.

Pulmonary Fibrosis in Children.

: Pulmonary fibrosis (PF) is a very rare condition in children, which may be observed in specific forms of interstitial lung disease. None of the clinical, radiological, or histological descriptions used for PF diagnosis in adult patients, especially in situations of idiopathic PF, can apply to pediatric situations. This observation supports the view that PF expression may differ with age and, most likely, may cover distinct entities. The present review aims at summarizing the current understanding of PF pathophysiology in children and identifying suitable diagnostic criteria.

Metastatic squamous-cell carcinoma of the lung arising in a 12-year-old boy with juvenile recurrent respiratory papillomatosis of neonatal onset.

Juvenile recurrent respiratory papillomatosis is the most common benign neoplastic disease of the larynx in children, characterized by numerous squamous papillomas caused by Human Papilloma Virus type 6 and 11. HPV is thought to be acquired at the time of vaginal delivery from maternal genital condylomas. Juvenile recurrent respiratory papillomatosis can be protracted by surgical interventions performed to avoid airway obstruction and extend below the vocal cords as far as the main stem bronchi. Lung involvement in Juvenile recurrent respiratory papillomatosis seems to be more prevalent than non-systematic reviews have reported until now and progression to cancer occurs in a significant proportion of these cases at a younger age than previously reported. This would suggest that closer attention should be paid to these children. We report a case of malignant transformation in a 12 year-old boy followed-up since the birth for an invasive juvenile recurrent respiratory papillomatosis with pulmonary involvement. The presence of HPV 6/11 was demonstrated by PCR analysis performed on material obtained from a metastatic vertebral lesion.

Characteristics of disorders associated with genetic mutations of surfactant protein C.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: To present diagnosis and treatment modalities of children with interstitial lung disease associated with frequent or rare surfactant protein C gene (SFTPC) mutation. PATIENTS: Twenty-two children with chronic lung disease associated with SFTPC mutation in a heterozygous form. RESULTS: Mutations located in the BRICHOS domain ('BRICHOS domain' group) were identified in six children, whereas 16 children carried mutations located outside the BRICHOS domain ('non-BRICHOS domain' group). The median age of onset was 3 (0-24) months. Four patients had neonatal respiratory distress, and symptom onset was associated with acute bronchiolitis in nine patients. Cough, tachypnoea and failure to thrive were initially noticed in all the children. Physical examination at presentation revealed tachypnoea (n=22), clubbing (n=1) and crackles (n=5). Low oxygen saturation (<95%) was observed in 18 patients. The predominant findings on initial high-resolution CT (HRCT) scans were basal-predominant ground-glass opacity (n=21) and cystic spaces (n=3). Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) cell counts showed 379+/-56x10(3) cells/ml with increased neutrophil percentage (18+/-4%) independent of the mutation status. The median follow-up was 3.2 (1-18.3) years. Eighteen patients were treated by monthly methylprednisolone pulses associated with oral prednisolone (n=16), hydroxychloroquine (n=11) and/or azithromycin (n=4). Fifteen patients benefited from enteral nutrition. CONCLUSION: Initial diagnosis is based on clinical presentation, radiological features and BALF analysis, but the definitive diagnosis requires genetic analysis. Although progressive improvement was seen in most patients, the development of new therapeutic strategies with minimal side effects is needed.