[Case of sarcoidosis with myelodysplastic syndrome in an elderly woman].

An 85-year-old woman, who had been given a diagnosis of myelodysplastic syndrome with refractory anemia 2 years previously and required blood transfusion once a month, was admitted with complaints of fever, general fatigue, and dry cough. A chest X-ray film showed multiple small nodules in bilateral lung fields which were not observed 1 month previously. Although smear and culture tests for acid-fast bacilli in her bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, urine, and bone marrow aspiration fluid were all negative, miliary tuberculosis was strongly suspected. Antituberculosis drugs were administered, but neither her symptoms nor chest X-ray findings improved. Five months later, right oculomotor nerve palsy, followed by left abducens nerve paralysis occurred. Lumber puncture examination revealed lymphocytosis, and increased protein and ACE levels, suggesting neurosarcoidosis. A transbronchial lung biopsy specimen demonstrated non-caseating epithelioid granulomas. Oral administration of 30 mg/day prednisolone improved her symptoms as well as the chest X-ray findings.

Alpha-Fetoprotein-Producing Lung Hepatoid Adenocarcinoma with Brain Metastasis Treated with S-1.

Lung hepatoid adenocarcinoma (HAC) is a rare primary lung carcinoma pathologically characterized by hepatocellular carcinoma-like tumor cells, the majority of which produce alpha-fetoprotein (AFP). The clinical prognosis of lung HAC is generally poor, and effective therapeutic regimens for inoperable or recurrent cases have not been established. Here, we report a case of AFP-producing lung HAC with brain metastasis with long-term disease control, treated with the 5-fluorouracil-derived regimen S-1. The patient was a 66-year-old male admitted to the hospital with alexia. Chest X-ray revealed a massive tumor in the left upper lobe, and a head CT scan revealed a metastasis in the left parietal lobe. The laboratory data showed a remarkably elevated AFP level (97,561 ng/mL). Pathological assessment of the resected brain tumor revealed HAC, which was compatible with the lung biopsies. Together with the absence of other metastatic lesions, a final diagnosis of primary lung HAC, stage IV T4N3M1b, was given. The patient first underwent non-small cell lung cancer chemotherapy regimens (carboplatin and paclitaxel as the first line, and pemetrexed as the second line), but had clinical progression. After third-line oral S-1 (tegafur/gimeracil/oteracil) administration, the serum AFP level significantly dropped and the patient achieved long-term disease control without relapse, surviving more than 19 months after disease presentation. The autopsy result was consistent with the diagnosis of primary lung HAC, and immunohistochemical staining was AFP+, glypican 3+, and spalt-like transcription factor 4+. Here, we report the case of a rare primary lung HAC with apparent disease control on S-1 therapy, together with a literature review.

[A case of adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma with primary lung cancer].

CASE: A 55-year-old man attended our hospital because of a mass at the above his right eye. Cranial MRI showed an enlarged mass 5cm in diameter with intracranial invasion and metastatic brain tumors. The mass was pathologically diagnosed as adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL) because of a high HTLV-1 antibody titer, and radiation therapy was started. Furthermore, since we noted multiple cervical lymphadenopathy, we performed an additional biopsy, which showed poorly-differentiated adenocarcinoma. The primary lesion was the lungs, with bilateral pleural effusion and lymphangitis carcinomatosis. We diagnosed stage IV primary lung cancer and started chemotherapy. However, he developed dyspnea due to pleural effusion and his performance status gradually decreased to 3. Fifteen days after readmission to hospital, he manifested sudden respiratory failure and shock, and died the next day. Autopsy showed ATLL and extensive lung cancer with multiple metastases. There was invasion of ATLL in systemic lymph nodes, which coincided with invasion of adenocarcinoma. CONCLUSION: We encountered a rare case of ATLL and primary lung cancer. Accumulation of cases and further investigations are awaited.

Relationships among smoking habits, airflow limitations, and metabolic abnormalities in school workers.

BACKGROUND: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is caused mainly by habitual smoking and is common among elderly individuals. It involves not only airflow limitation but also metabolic disorders, leading to increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. OBJECTIVE: We evaluated relationships among smoking habits, airflow limitation, and metabolic abnormalities. METHODS: Between 2001 and 2008, 15,324 school workers (9700 males, 5624 females; age: ≥ 30 years) underwent medical checkups, including blood tests and spirometry. They also responded to a questionnaire on smoking habits and medical history. RESULTS: Airflow limitation was more prevalent in current smokers than in ex-smokers and never-smokers in men and women. The frequency of hypertriglyceridemia was higher in current smokers in all age groups, and those of low high-density-lipoprotein cholesterolemia and diabetes mellitus were higher in current smokers in age groups ≥ 40 s in men, but not in women. There were significant differences in the frequencies of metabolic abnormalities between subjects with airflow limitations and those without in women, but not in men. Smoking index was an independent factor associated with increased frequencies of hypertriglyceridemia (OR 1.015; 95% CI: 1.012-1.018; p<0.0001) and low high-density-lipoprotein cholesterolemia (1.013; 1.010-1.016; p<0.0001) in men. Length of smoking cessation was an independent factor associated with a decreased frequency of hypertriglyceridemia (0.984; 0.975-0.994; p = 0.007). CONCLUSIONS: Habitual smoking causes high incidences of airflow limitation and metabolic abnormalities. Women, but not men, with airflow limitation had higher frequencies of metabolic abnormalities.

Diagnostic and prognostic value of procalcitonin in community-acquired pneumonia.

INTRODUCTION: The value of measuring procalcitonin (PCT) in patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is unclear. The aim of this study was to determine the value of PCT as a marker for microbial etiology and a predictor of outcome in CAP patients. METHODS: A single-center observational study was conducted with CAP patients. On admission, their leukocyte count, serum C-reactive protein level, and serum PCT level were determined, and microbiological tests were performed. Patients were classified into 4 groups according to the A-DROP scoring system, which assesses the severity of CAP. RESULTS: A total of 102 patients were enrolled. The pathogen was identified in 60 patients, and 31 patients had streptococcal pneumonia. The PCT levels were significantly higher in those patients with pneumococcal pneumonia than in those patients with other bacterial pneumonias (P < 0.0001). Multivariate regression analysis revealed that high PCT levels were associated with a pneumococcal etiology [odds ratio, 1.68; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.02-2.81; P = 0.04] after adjustment for disease severity and demographic factors. The PCT levels were correlated with the A-DROP score (r = 0.49; P < 0.0001). The area under the curve for predicting mortality was highest for the A-DROP score (0.97; 95% CI: 0.92-0.99), followed by the area under the curve for PCT (0.82; 95% CI: 0.74-0.89) and C-reactive protein (0.77; 95% CI: 0.67-0.84). CONCLUSIONS: High PCT levels indicate that pneumococcal pneumonia and PCT levels depend on the severity of pneumonia. PCT measurements may provide important diagnostic and prognostic information for patients with CAP.

Intrapulmonary localized fibrous tumor of the lung: a very unusual presentation.

Most localized fibrous tumors arise from the visceral pleura on a stalk and project into the pleural cavity in a pedunculated manner. The origin of the tumors is now believed not to be mesothelial but rather submesothelial, based on studies using conventional histology, immunohistochemistry, and ultrastructural analysis. While inward tumor growth into the lung parenchyma with attachment to the pleura is uncommon, the tumor with an entirely pulmonary location is extremely rare. We present here a rare case of entirely intrapulmonary localized fibrous tumor (ie, localized fibrous tumor of the lung), and we review the pertinent literature.