Pituitary carcinoma: A cytopathologic dilemma when metastatic to cervical lymph nodes.

Pituitary carcinomas are rare tumors defined by distant metastasis or cerebrospinal spread. The morphologic features are poorly characterized because only a handful of reports have been described by fine-needle aspiration cytology. We present a case of pituitary carcinoma diagnosed in a 64-year-old male and highlight this rare entity's key cytomorphologic features and differential diagnosis.

Ameloblastoma with adenoid features: Case report with cyto-histopathologic correlation and molecular findings.

Ameloblastomas are benign but locally aggressive odontogenic tumors that commonly present as expansile lesions in the tooth-bearing areas. Fine-needle aspiration (FNA) biopsies of ameloblastomas are rare in clinical practice, and only a handful of case reports and series have described their cytologic features. We present the case of a 70-year-old woman with a large and disfiguring maxillary sinus soft tissue mass sampled via transcutaneous FNA. Aspirate smears were composed of small clusters of cohesive and monotonous basaloid cells. The accompanying cellblock showed similar clusters of basaloid cells in gland-like, or "adenoid," configurations, eliciting a differential diagnosis that included sinonasal and salivary gland neoplasms. Excisional surgery material was consistent with ameloblastoma with adenoid morphology. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) analysis demonstrated FGFR2 and SMO pathogenic variants. This case exemplifies several uncommonly described features of ameloblastomas in cytology, including cyto-histologic correlation, adenoid morphology, and NGS findings. Awareness of the cytologic features of this neoplasm are important for cytopathologists confronted with maxillary sinus lesions.

A Rare Case of Osteoinvasive Amelanotic Melanoma of the Nail Unit.

INTRODUCTION: Amelanotic melanoma is a rare subtype, which may be clinically difficult to diagnose due to lack of pigmentation and variable histopathological features. Osteoinvasion is another rare characteristic of melanoma. There are few reports in the literature of amelanotic melanoma of the nail unit (nail bed, matrix, and nail folds) with invasion of bone. CASE PRESENTATION: We present a case of a 73-year-old Caucasian male with a 13-month history of an ungual lesion on his right hallux. The lesion was initially treated as a chronic diabetic ulceration with failure to resolve with standard of care. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: A heightened index of suspicion for a malignant process is necessary when standard of care fails to lead to improvement or resolution. In these instances, biopsy should be seriously considered.

Thyroseq V3 Molecular Profiling for Tailoring the Surgical Management of Hürthle Cell Neoplasms.

Hürthle cell predominant thyroid nodules often confound the diagnostic utility of fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) with cytology often interpreted as a Hürthle cell lesion with an indeterminate risk of malignancy, Bethesda category (BC) III or IV. Molecular diagnostics for Hürthle cell predominant nodules has also been disappointing in further defining the risk of malignancy. We present a case of a slowly enlarging nodule within a goiter initially reported as benign on FNAB, BC II but on subsequent FNAB suspicious for a Hürthle cell neoplasm, BC IV. The patient had initially requested a diagnostic lobectomy for a definitive diagnosis despite a higher risk of malignancy based on the size of the nodule > 4 cm alone. To better tailor this patient's treatment plan, a newer expanded gene mutation panel, ThyroSeq® v3 that includes copy number alterations (CNAs) and was recently found to have greater positive predictive value (PPV) for identifying Hürthle cell carcinoma (HCC), was performed on the FNAB material. Molecular profiling with ThyroSeq® v3 was able to predict a greater risk of carcinoma, making a more convincing argument in favor of total thyroidectomy. Surgical pathology confirmed a Hürthle cell carcinoma with 5 foci of angioinvasion and foci of capsular invasion.

High-dose cyclophosphamide without stem cell rescue in immune-mediated necrotizing myopathies.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the experience managing treatment-refractory immune-mediated necrotizing myopathies (IMNM) with high-dose cyclophosphamide (HiCy) therapy. METHODS: Five patients with severe refractory IMNM who were treated with HiCy without stem cell rescue were identified. Their medical records were reviewed to assess demographic, clinical, and histologic characteristics as well as response to therapy. RESULTS: Three patients with anti-signal recognition particle (SRP) and 2 patients with anti-HMG-CoA reductase autoantibodies were included. The mean follow-up time after HiCy therapy was 37 ± 28 months. Two patients demonstrated substantial response, evidenced by improved muscle strength and decreased muscle enzymes after HiCy therapy; both of these patients were anti-SRP positive. Four patients experienced febrile neutropenia after HiCy therapy, one of which required a prolonged intensive care unit stay for infectious complications, from which they eventually recovered. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that HiCy therapy without stem cell rescue may be considered as an alternative for the treatment of refractory IMNM.

"Hiker's feet": a novel cutaneous finding in the inflammatory myopathies.

Mechanic's hands is a well-characterized manifestation of select idiopathic inflammatory myopathy (IIM) syndromes. Less well characterized is the hyperkeratosis of the toes and plantar surface of the feet that can also accompany these disorders. We aim to describe common pedal signs in the context of IIM, and suggest that it may be another key feature in the presentation of these syndromes. A cohort of 2145 myositis patient charts gathered since 2003 were retrospectively reviewed using the key search terms "mechanic's feet" and/or "mechanic's foot." Charts that included either phrase were further reviewed for clinical characteristics. Nine patients were identified with documentation describing "mechanic's feet" or "mechanic's foot." All nine affected individuals carried a diagnosis of DM, seven of whom also met criteria for antisynthetase syndrome. In eight patients (89%), it presented in conjunction with mechanic's hands. Six (67%) presented with anti-Jo-1 antibodies, and three (33%) were seronegative. Although the term "mechanic's feet" has been used to describe this clinical finding in patients in our myositis cohort, we propose the term "hiker's feet," given that the presentation resembles a callousing pattern more typical of avid hikers or long-distance walkers. Prevalence data are not yet known but should be considered for further study. If the presenting signs of IIM are expanded to include hiker's feet, it could aid in not only diagnosis and management but also provide insights into the pathophysiology of these diseases.

Sertoliform Cystadenoma of the Rete Testis: Report of a Case and Review of the Literature.

Sertoliform cystadenoma is a rare benign tumor of the rete testis with 8 previously reported cases and an additional 14 cases reported in an abstract form. It usually presents with a unilateral scrotal mass, clinically and radiologically indistinguishable from malignant testicular tumors. We report a 39-year-old man who presented with a right testicular mass. The patient underwent radical inguinal orchiectomy. Grossly, no masses were appreciated. After histologic examination with subsequent immunohistochemical staining, a sertoliform cystadenoma of the rete testis was diagnosed.

Thigh muscle MRI in immune-mediated necrotising myopathy: extensive oedema, early muscle damage and role of anti-SRP autoantibodies as a marker of severity.

OBJECTIVES: The aims of this study were to define the pattern of muscle involvement in patients with immune-mediated necrotising myopathy (IMNM) relative to those with other inflammatory myopathies and to compare patients with IMNM with different autoantibodies. METHODS: All Johns Hopkins Myositis Longitudinal Cohort subjects with a thigh MRI (tMRI) who fulfilled criteria for IMNM, dermatomyositis (DM), polymyositis (PM), inclusion body myositis (IBM) or clinically amyopathic DM (CADM) were included in the study. Muscles were assessed for intramuscular and fascial oedema, atrophy and fatty replacement. Disease subgroups were compared using univariate and multivariate analyses. Patients with IMNM with anti-signal recognition particle (SRP) autoantibodies were compared with those with IMNM with anti-HMG-CoA reductase (HMGCR) autoantibodies. RESULTS: The study included 666 subjects (101 IMNM, 176 PM, 219 DM, 17 CADM and 153 IBM). Compared with DM or PM, IMNM was characterised by a higher proportion of thigh muscles with oedema, atrophy and fatty replacement (p<0.01). Patients with IMNM with anti-SRP had more atrophy (19%, p=0.003) and fatty replacement (18%, p=0.04) than those with anti-HMGCR. In IMNM, muscle abnormalities were especially common in the lateral rotator and gluteal groups. Fascial involvement was most widespread in DM. Fatty replacement of muscle tissue began early during the course of disease in IMNM and the other groups. An optimal combination of tMRI features had only a 55% positive predictive value for diagnosing IMNM. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with patients with DM or PM, IMNM is characterised by more widespread muscle involvement. Anti-SRP-positive patients have more severe muscle involvement than anti-HMGCR-positive patients.

An atypical case of dermatomyositis associated with chromophobe renal cell carcinoma.

Dermatomyositis and polymyositis are the major idiopathic inflammatory myopathies in adults. They are associated with an elevated risk of malignancy. However, renal tumours have rarely been described in dermatomyositis patients. We report the case of a 27-year-old Caucasian man with chromophobe renal cell cancer (ChRCC) and antinuclear matrix protein (NXP-2)-associated dermatomyositis. To the best of our knowledge, there are no previous reports of ChRCC presenting with dermatomyositis.

Polymyositis and dermatomyositis: novel insights into the pathogenesis and potential therapeutic targets.

Polymyositis (PM) and dermatomyositis (DM) are the two major forms of inflammatory muscle diseases. They are characterized clinically primarily by proximal muscle weakness. The disease mechanisms that cause muscle damage and dysfunction are not fully understood. However, because of the association with other autoimmune diseases, the presence of autoantibodies, and response to immunosuppressive medication, they are believed to be autoimmune in origin. Recent studies have highlighted the importance of the innate immune system and non-immune mechanisms and described novel adaptive immune-based pathways in the pathogenesis of polymyositis and dermatomyositis. Stimulation of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) by endogenous antigens, e.g., aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase enzyme, may trigger activation of signaling pathways and thereby induces expression of multiple genes involved in the inflammatory response. High-mobility group box-1 (HMGB1) might interact with the same receptors and cause skeletal muscle inflammation. In addition, this protein may be involved in T lymphocyte survival in muscle tissue. A newly described T cell subset, CD28(-) T cells, may have strong myotoxic properties and comprises the predominant muscle-infiltrating T cell phenotype. Future studies should focus more on understanding the relative contribution of each pathway to the pathogenesis of inflammatory myopathies. Given the connections between the pathways, targeting multiple pathways through combination therapies may be beneficial.

Inclusion body myositis: update.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To examine new developments in sporadic inclusion body myositis (IBM), including updated clinical and prognostic factors, novel autoantibody associations, unique histopathologic findings, proposed new clinical diagnostic criteria, and novel therapeutic agents. RECENT FINDINGS: IBM is a slowly progressive disease, leading to wheelchair use, on average, 12-20 years after onset of symptoms; however, it does not appear to interfere with life expectancy. Older age at the onset of first symptoms as well as immunosuppressive therapy are likely associated with more rapid disease progression. Quantitative muscle strength of knee extensor and the IBM functional rating scale seem to be sensitive disease progression markers and may be useful clinical trial outcome measures. Newly proposed diagnostic criteria utilize data-driven approaches with very high sensitivity and specificity. A novel autoantibody, as well as unique proteins seen histopathlogically, may help hone in on diagnosis as well as to deepen our understanding of IBM pathophysiology. Novel treatments, including follistatin and bimagrumab, are directed at potential therapeutic targets. SUMMARY: We have observed an explosion of knowledge in IBM in the recent past, which challenges traditional dogma and ushers in a new era of understanding with potential clinical implications for those who suffer with IBM.