Mesenteric Paraganglioma: A Case Report and Literature Review.

We report a rare case of a solitary paraganglioma arising from the small bowel mesentery, found in a 70-year-old female who presented with abdominal pain. Paragangliomas are rare neuroendocrine, neural crest-derived tumors, most commonly found in the adrenal medulla. While extra-adrenal paragangliomas arise from diverse locations, mesenteric origins are extremely rare. Our comprehensive review shows 35 previously documented cases and updates the epidemiology, clinical features, and outcomes of mesenteric paragangliomas.

Superior mediastinal paraganglioma initially suspected of being a mediastinal thyroid goiter.

Paraganglioma is a rare tumor arising from paraganglia. Few reports have described paragangliomas in the superior mediastinum. We report a case of superior mediastinal paraganglioma treated in our department. A 28-year-old woman visited our department because of suspected mediastinal tumor during a medical checkup. Contrast-enhanced CT showed a 39 × 35 × 65-mm tumor with a well-defined border extending from the lower pole of the left thyroid gland to the superior mediastinum. Laboratory tests showed no evidence of catecholamine overproduction. Mediastinal thyroid goiter was the most suspected preoperative diagnosis. We decided to perform a transcervical excision for both diagnosis and treatment. The tumor was easily detached from the lower pole of the left thyroid gland and was not continuous. The tumor capsule was brittle and bled easily. The operating time was 3 h and 11 min, and the amount of bleeding was 571 mL. The pathological diagnosis was paraganglioma. Paragangliomas are characterized by abundant blood flow and are likely to result in a high intraoperative bleeding volume. In addition, if the tumor is functional, circulatory abnormalities can occur during the perioperative period. Accurate preoperative diagnoses are important, and the possibility that paragangliomas can develop in the superior mediastinum should be considered.

Paraganglioma of the Tongue in a Chow Chow Dog: A Comparison With the Human Counterpart and Literature Review.

Over the last 20 years, substantial knowledge has been developed in Veterinary oncology, and tumors previously reported only in humans have been identified in animals. Primary paragangliomas of the tongue are extremely rare tumors in human beings and have never been reported in animals. A Chow Chow dog showed an ulcerated nodule at the lingual body, deeply infiltrated, which extended to the base of the tongue. A full clinical and pathological investigation was conducted, and a post-surgical follow-up of 6 months did not detect recurrence. Cytological, histological, and immunohistochemical features are presented and support the diagnosis of lingual paraganglioma. The paraganglioma of the tongue reported in this Chow Chow dog shares many similarities with the human counterpart.

SDHx-related pheochromocytoma/paraganglioma - genetic, clinical, and treatment outcomes in a series of 30 patients from a single center.

PURPOSE: Germline mutations in the four genes that encode the succinate dehydrogenase complex (SDHx) are a risk factor for developing pheochromocytomas and/or paragangliomas. The precise genotype-phenotype correlations are still uncertain and the most common SDHx genetic defects in the Portuguese population are poorly described. The objectives of our study were to characterize the genetic alterations, clinical features, and treatment outcomes of a cohort of SDHx-related pheochromocytomas and/or paragangliomas patients. METHODS: Single center, retrospective analysis based on the presence of a SDHx mutation in cases diagnosed from 1986 until October 2016. RESULTS: Thirty cases were included. The mean age at diagnosis was 36.8 years (±15.4 years) and 53.3% were females. Remission was observed in 33.3% and stable disease (including partial responses) in 53.0%. SDHC and SDHD patients were prone to develop single and multiple head and neck paragangliomas, respectively. SDHB patients carried an increased risk of malignancy. Deletions in SDHB exon-1 and in SDHD exon-4 were the most common genetic findings. SDHB patients and head and neck paragangliomas had the worse prognosis, the former related to malignancy, and the latter to cranial nerve deficits, unresectable disease, and multimodality interventions. Peptide receptor radionuclide therapy and radioactive iodine MIBG therapy proved to be ineffective. Radiotherapy represented a good alternative in unresectable head and neck paragangliomas and in bone metastases. CONCLUSION: This single center study is the most complete Portuguese cohort in the literature and helps to understand the behavior of tumors based on their genotype and anatomical location.

CT-guided fine needle aspiration cytology diagnosis of extra-adrenal pheochromocytoma.

Pheochromocytoma is a rare tumor, accounting for <0.1% of the hypertensive population. Extra-adrenal pheochromocytomas (EAPs) are rarer still, accounting for 10% of all pheochromocytomas. Pheochromocytomas are functional catecholamine-secreting tumors of the paraganglionic chromaffin cells found in the adrenal medulla and the extra-adrenal paraganglia cells. EAPs are readily detected by computed tomography (CT) as soft tissue masses closely associated with the entire length of the abdominal aorta. Here, we present a rare case of EAP in a 45-year-old male hypertensive patient diagnosed by CT-guided fine needle aspiration cytology. The smears showed loosely cohesive tumor cells with prominent anisokaryosis and abundant eosinophilic, granular cytoplasm. The diagnosis was later confirmed by histopathology. The present case also highlights the fact that fine needle aspiration of pheochromocytoma is not necessarily contraindicated.

Benign Mimickers of Prostate Adenocarcinoma on Needle Biopsy and Transurethral Resection.

Prostate needle biopsy currently is the gold standard method for the diagnosis, management, and prognosis of prostate cancer. Obtaining an accurate diagnosis is crucial for pursuing proper patient management. This article discusses histologic mimickers of prostate carcinoma highlighting microscopic features that are helpful to reach a correct diagnosis and emphasizing potential diagnostic pitfalls.