Metastasis of the epididymis and spermatic cord from pancreatic adenocarcinoma: A rare entity. Description of a case and revision of literature.

INTRODUCTION: Metastatic epididymal and spermatic cord adenocarcinoma from epithelial tumors are a rare condition. The most frequent primary cancers are prostate, lung, kidney, gastrointestinal tumors and breast. In literature, there are very low number of cases reporting metastasis from pancreatic cancer to epididymis and spermatic cord. CASE DESCRIPTION: We report a case of 70-years old man with history of left orchiectomy for undescended testicle, who presented to our department with a palpable nodule in the right scrotum. Scrotal ultrasound revealed an inhomogeneous hypoechoic nodule of epididymis and/or spermatic cord. Neoplastic markers showed high levels of CEA (carcinoembryonic antigen) and bHCG (beta Human Chorionic Gonadotropin). The patient underwent right surgical scrotal exploration with orchifunicolectomy. Pathologic examination revealed pathologic tissue showing rare glandular structures. Immunohistochemistry profile was compatible with malign epithelial neoplasm with glandular differentiation. Total body CT-scan revealed pathologic tissue in pancreas between head and body and a suspect pathologic lesion in liver and 18-FDG PET-scan confirmed the pancreatic neoplastic mass and a suspect secondary hepatic lesion. Biopsy of pancreatic pathologic area was positive for ductal pancreatic adenocarcinoma. The patient was sent to oncologic evaluation and started chemotherapy. CONCLUSIONS: Malignancies of epididymis and spermatic cord are rare entities and, in literature, very low number of cases of metastasis from pancreatic carcinoma to epididymis and spermatic cord are described. Early differential diagnosis is fundamental mostly in those patients with age range unusual for testis cancers.

Vaginal metastasis of bladder urothelial carcinoma: Description of a case and revision of literature.

Vaginal metastases from urothelial cancer are a rare entity and in literature, few cases are described. We report a case of a 68 year-old woman with history of bladder urothelial carcinoma underwent to radical cystectomy who came in our department after 5 months for pelvic pain and vaginal bleeding. Objective examination revealed an ulcerative, solid vaginal lesion in the upper vaginal wall. We performed a vaginal biopsy that showed urothelial carcinoma compatible with the primitive bladder cancer. The patient underwent to surgery and was sent to oncological evaluation.

A retrospective comparison between transrectal and transperineal prostate biopsy in the detection of prostate cancer.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to analyze the differences between TRUSguided transrectal prostate biopsy (TR) and transperineal prostate biopsy (TP) in the diagnosis of prostate cancer. The two biopsy methods were evaluated in terms of diagnostic sensitivity and of early and late complications. METHODS: This retrospective study was realized through the review of clinical records of 219 men that received a prostate biopsy between 2004 and 2014. The biopsy was performed because of elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA), abnormal digital rectal examination findings (DRE), abnormal transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) findings and symptoms due to prostate diseases. The cohort study was subdivided in two groups: 108 patients received a transrectal biopsy between 2004 and 2006 and 111 received a transperineal biopsy between 2007 and 2014. In both groups, first biopsy was performed with 12 cores scheme whereas second or third biopsy were performed with 18 cores scheme; in this study we excluded patients who underwent to biopsies with different number cores to reduce the bias. Both groups were evaluated on the basis of age, total PSA, PSA ratio (F/T), DRE/TRUS findings, presence/absence of low urinary tracts symptoms (LUTS), presence/absence of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), histologic findings of biopsy cores and immediate/postoperative complications. Then, it was evaluated the overall cancer detection rate and the stratified cancer rate on the basis of the previous reported parameters. Finally, we analyzed the early and late complication rate in both groups. U Mann-Whitney test was used to evaluate the quantitative variables and χ2-test or Fisher exact test for qualitative variables. p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: 66 cancers were detected in 219 patients of the study; 29 cancers were detected in the TP group and 37 in the TR group. There were no statistically significant differences in the overall cancer rate detected in both groups (26.13% e 34.26% respectively; p = 0.190). However, TP biopsy detected more cancers at first biopsy than TR biopsy (89.7% vs 78.4% respectively; p = 0.021). Moreover, TP biopsy detected more cancers in those patients with low cancer suspect (PSA < 4 ng/ml, F/T > 15%, negative TRUS), instead TR biopsy had more sensitivity in detecting cancer in those patients with high cancer suspect (PSA > 10 ng/ml, F/T < 15%, TRUS with abnormal lesions). The presence of BPH did not influence sensitivity in both cases. There were no significant differences in the early complication rate whereas a statistically significant difference was observed in the late complication rate (4% vs 11% in TP and TR biopsy, respectively; p = 0.019). CONCLUSIONS: No statistically significant differences in sensitivity were observed between TP and TR biopsy, but TP biopsy detected more cancers at first time biopsy. Complications rate was lower in the TP group. Therefore, we conclude that the Urologist has the final choice in deciding the most appropriate biopsy technique, considering sensitivity and complications.

Primitive neuroectodermal tumour of kidney with thrombosis of the inferior vena cava and good responsive to surgical and medical treatment: description of a case and revision of literature.

Primitive neuroectodermal tumour (PNET) of kidney is a rare cancer typical of young adults with few cases described in the literature. We report a case of renal PNET in a 31-year-old man who presented to our department with a computed tomographic (CT)-scan revealing a large renal mass of 20 cm, massive thrombosis of the inferior vena cava (IVC). The patient underwent radical nephrectomy with contextual retroperitoneal lymphadenectomy and resection of IVC needing Dacron prosthesis substitution. Definitive histopathological examination showed PNET of kidney infiltrating ipsilateral adrenal gland, massive cava thrombosis with infiltration of vena cava wall and one lymph nodal metastasis. Postoperative PET-scan showed metastatic lesions in bilateral adrenal glands and pancreas. The patient received chemotherapy, and currently, he is in follow-up after 26 months from first diagnosis without any sign of recurrence of disease. Kidney PNET usually is associated with poor prognosis, so, it needs an early identification and differentiation from other similar small cells tumours in order to obtain a good response to the treatments.

Evaluation of urinary and general symptoms and correlation with other clinical parameters in interstitial cystitis patients.

AIMS: Interstitial cystitis (IC) has been deemed by some authors as a local manifestation of a systemic disease, particularly one of the autoimmune disorders. In order to provide an answer to the question whether IC patients do or do not indiscriminately report high scores for various somatic symptoms, we compared University of Wisconsin scores (U-W scores), including both urinary and non-urinary symptoms, for 30 IC female patients and 30 female controls. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 30 female patients with IC and 30 healthy female controls were recruited for the study. All patients had to meet the symptom criteria established by the National Institute for Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Each patient completed a University of Wisconsin symptom scale, after translation (WICS). RESULTS: In the IC group median score was zero for all, but two of the reference symptoms: abdominal cramps and dizziness. All urinary symptoms were significantly increased in IC patients compared to controls. In the control group, the median value of urinary symptoms was zero. The duration of the disease was then related to IC symptoms in the patient group. Among the bladder-related symptoms, a good correlation was found for several specific symptoms and urinary symptoms as a whole. An association could be found between a positive potassium sensitivity test (PST) and burning bladder sensation, as well as pelvic discomfort. CONCLUSIONS: IC patients had significantly higher scores for the seven urinary symptoms compared to controls. The duration of disease was found to be correlated with the group of seven urinary symptoms.