Myoepithelial carcinoma of the breast with focal rhabdoid features.

Myoepithelial carcinoma of the breast is extremely rare and only 33 cases have been reported in the English literature. Herein, we report a case of myoepithelial carcinoma of the breast with focal rhabdoid features. The patient was a 67-year-old woman, who presented with a lump of the left breast that rapidly grew to 3 cm in diameter within 3 months. Lumpectomy revealed a solid and whitish colored tumor, which was composed mainly of elongated spindle-shaped cells with mild atypia, focal necrosis, and infiltrative margin. In a small area of the lesion, ovoid tumor cells exhibited eccentric nuclei with centrally located nucleoli and plump cytoplasm including round eosinophilic inclusions, resembling a rhabdoid tumor. Immunohistochemically, both types of tumor cells exhibited a myoepithelial phenotype. MIB-1 index was 30%. The cytoplasmic inclusion of the ovoid cells exhibited immunopositivity for both vimentin and cytokeratin. From these findings, this tumor was diagnosed as a myoepithelial carcinoma with focal rhabdoid features. Although rhabdoid features have been reported in some types of malignant and benign tumors, this is the first report of such features in myoepithelial carcinoma of the breast.

[Extracorporeal partial nephrectomy and auto-transplantation after presurgical targeted therapy with tyrosine kinase inhibitors for renal cell cancer].

A 74-year-old woman who had previously undergone left nephrectomy because of calculi was referred to our department with a right renal mass that was detected by computed tomography (CT) during treatment for pyelonephritis. Repeated CT showed a contrast-enhanced 4.7 cm tumor close to the renal sinus, and no metastatic lesion was detected. Sunitinib was administered as a presurgical therapy ; however, the patient experienced grade 3 neutropenia and thrombocytopenia, and sunitinib was discontinued. Sorafenib was administered 7 days after discontinuation of sunitinib ; however, the patient experienced febrile neutropenia and rash, and sorafenib was discontinued. Extracorporeal partial nephrectomy and auto-transplantation were performed 24 days after discontinuation of sorafenib. Though peri-graft abscess was suspected to be present and resolved by antibacterial therapy, severe complications were not experienced, and the patient did not require dialysis therapy after surgery. There was no evidence of recurrence at 30 months after the surgery.

[Successful treatment of a case of advanced adult Wilms' tumor with pre-surgical chemotherapy, irradiation and radical nephrectomy].

A 37-year-old male was referred with a huge renal mass and multiple lung lesions. Abdominal and chest computed tomographic scan revealed a 11×15×17. 5 cm right renal tumor and multiple lung metastases. Neither tumor was enhanced, and no lymph adenopathy was detected. Percutaneous needle core biopsy was performed and the tumors were diagnosed as Wilms' tumor histologically supported by immunohistological positive staining to WT-1 and CD56. Since lung metastases were detected and the renal tumor reached the abdominal aorta on the left side, presurgical systemic chemotherapy (ifosphamide＋ carboplatin＋etoposide ; ICEx 4 courses) was performed. The renal tumor and the lung metastases were markedly decreased in size and subjected to a radical nephrectomy. Histological examination confirmed the diagnosis of Wilms' tumor without anaplastic change categorized as mesenchymal type. As an adjuvant therapy, irradiation to renal bed (40 Gy/20 fr) and bilateral lung (12 Gy/8 fr) were performed. Six months after the end of the therapy, no evidence of recurrence was detected.

Acute kidney injury and inflammatory immune reconstitution syndrome in mixed genotype (A/E) hepatitis B virus co-infection in HIV-associated lymphoma.

We report a first case of HIV-associated lymphoma (HAL) presenting with acute kidney injury (AKI) and inflammatory immune reconstitution syndrome (IRIS). A 39-year-old male, treated with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for one month prior to admission, developed AKI, left testicular tumor, and recurrent swelling of the right parotid gland. A resected testicular tumor exhibited features intermediate between diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and Burkitt lymphoma. Renal biopsy showed hydro-degeneration of renal tubules, interstitial inflammatory cells, and a small number of lymphoma cells in the sub-capsule, compatible with acute interstitial nephritis. His renal dysfunction rapidly recovered following chemotherapy and combination antiretroviral therapy (cART). He developed pneumonia concomitantly with a decrease in HIV-RNA level and an increase in CD4+ cells after the first cycle of chemotherapy, which spontaneously resolved after the second cycle of chemotherapy without additional anti-infection drugs; thus, his pneumonia fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for IRIS. We suggest that IRIS may frequently develop during chemotherapy for HAL, but may be overlooked. He was coinfected with hepatitis B virus (HBV), which genotypes known as is associated with liver-related mortality and response to antiviral therapy; recently, an intimate interplay between HIV and HBV in the onset of lymphoma has been reported. Therefore, we addressed the HBV genotype in the patient. The analysis revealed that he exhibited a mixed genotype (A/E) not native to Japan and primarily found in Europe and North America or West Africa. These findings suggest that universal vaccination for juveniles against HBV is warranted in Japan.

A case of adult type 1 Gaucher disease complicated by temporal intestinal hemorrhage.

A 21-year-old man with a history of sudden rectal hemorrhage was referred to our hospital. Examination disclosed thrombocytopenia and hepatosplenomegaly. A liver biopsy specimen demonstrated Gaucher cells in Glisson's capsule. Additional investigations revealed a low level of leukocyte ß-glucosidase activity and common mutations of the glucocerebrosidase gene, L444P/D409H. We diagnosed the patient with Gaucher disease type 1. He underwent enzyme replacement therapy. Thrombocytopenia and hepatosplenomegaly improved at a rate of approximately 50 and 20%, respectively, within 6 months. This case suggests that we must pay attention to adult Gaucher disease as a differential diagnosis for cryptogenic thrombocytopenia.

Angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma with dual genotype of TCR and IgH genes.

A 70-year-old man complained of fever and sore throat accompanied by hoarseness of voice. On physical examination, there was no systemic abnormality but a mild lymphadenopathy of cervical lymph nodes. With laryngoscopy, there was a marked outgrowth of the bilateral palatine tonsils proximal to the vocal cord. The histology of the resected tumor was compatible with angioimmunoblastic T cell lymphoma (AITL), revealing the effacement of normal tonsillar architecture and small to medium-sized neoplastic cell proliferation around marked vascular proliferation and atrophic lymphoid follicles. Tumor cells were positive for conventional T-cell antigens as well as for the follicular helper T-cell marker, PD-1, and CXCL13. Large hodgkinoid cells, but no tumor cells, were positive for latent membrane protein-1 and Epstein-Barr virus-encoded small RNA (EBER)-1 (in situ hybridization). Non-neoplastic, double positive cells for EBER-1 and CD20 were also scattered. Southern blot analysis revealed dual TCR-Cß1 and IGH-JH gene rearrangements. Although the swelling of bilateral inguinal and perigastric lymph nodes developed later, the radical resection of tumor and chemotherapy appeared to be effective for the treatment of AITL with clinical stage IIIa. We here report a rare case of AITL involving palatine tonsil as primary site and give a review of the literature.

A case of monocular blindness as the initial presentation of hepatocellular carcinoma with skull metastasis.

A 52-year-old man suffering from monocular blindness, with light perception only, was admitted to our hospital. The symptom had begun as low vision and developed rapidly within 3 weeks into monocular blindness in the right eye, with no other systemic manifestations. Imaging examinations revealed multiple hepatocellular carcinomas in the cirrhotic liver, and tumors at the skull base and vertebra. A pathological and immunochemical study of specimens obtained by endoscopic transnasal tumor biopsy and laminectomy revealed them to be metastatic hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs). Although the patient underwent radiation therapy and chemotherapy, he died 5 months after admission to our hospital. The cranial HCC, involving only the optic canal, may have disturbed the optic nerve in preference to the other cranial nerves. This is the first report of a HCC patient with monocular blindness as the initial presentation of the disease.

(99m)Tc-GSA SPECT analysis was clinically useful to evaluate the effect of interferon in a patient with interferon non-responsive chronic hepatitis C.

We describe a 62-year-old woman with advanced chronic hepatitis C who showed no response to low-dose long-term interferon-beta monotherapy (3 MU, three times a week). The interferon monotherapy was continued for 2 years and 9 months. Despite this lack of response to interferon, the patient's clinical course was good and liver function assessed by (99m)Tc-galactosyl human serum albumin single photon emission computed tomography ((99m)Tc-GSA SPECT) analysis improved significantly. Improvement of the data obtained by (99m)Tc-GSA SPECT analysis justified continuation of the treatment. (99m)Tc-GSA SPECT analysis was clinically useful to evaluate the effect of interferon in a patient with interferon non-responsive chronic hepatitis C, despite a lack of reduction of the ALT level and HCV-RNA titer.