Small cell carcinoma of the stomach: A report of two cases and a review of the literature.

Primary small cell gastric carcinomas (SCGC) are rare tumors with an aggressive nature, characterized by early, widespread metastases and poor overall prognosis. SCGC shares similar clinicopathological and molecular characteristics with small cell lung carcinoma and is usually treated in a similar manner. Here, two cases of SCGC in young Caucasian male patients are presented. One patient had metastatic and the other locoregional disease. Multimodal treatment was applied in each case; the resulting survival time was 20.2 months in the patient with initially locoregional disease whereas the remains alive and disease-free 20 months after initial diagnosis. A review of the literature is also presented.

Adrenal incidentalomas in cancer patients are not always "innocent": a case report and review of the literature.

Herein, we report an unusual case of a 78-year-old woman with synchronous presentation of sigmoid cancer and a nonfunctioning primary adrenal cortex carcinoma, who developed superior vena cava syndrome due to metastatic lymphadenopathy from the latter malignancy. Our case suggests that adrenal incidentalomas during initial staging evaluation after cancer diagnosis are not always "innocent" and should not be "a priori" considered incidental findings attributed to hyperplasia, adenoma or even a non life-threatening metastasis from the primary tumor. It also emphasizes the importance of a continuous assessment of patients with synchronous primary malignancies, in order to timely evaluate changes in clinical or biological behavior and administrate the appropriate treatment.

Clinical studies in the second line setting of advanced pancreatic cancer: are we making any progress?

Despite the enormous advances in clinical research in oncology, the prognosis of pancreatic carcinoma remains poor. The therapeutic options in this type of cancer are very limited, with modest results at present. In the 2012 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, four interesting trials on the second line treatment of pancreatic cancer were presented. The first study (Abstract #4017) with a phase II design suggested that maintenance therapy with sunitinib, after a complete course of standard first line treatment, was feasible and effective while the second phase I/II study (Abstract #4034) evaluated the role of trabedersen, an agent that inhibits TGF-ß2 expression. Finally, the efficacy and toxicity of lapatinib combined with either FOLFOX (Abstract #e14533) or capecitabine (Abstract #e14569) were examined in the second line setting of pancreatic cancer.

Bone lesions in recurrent glucagonoma: A case report and review of literature.

Glucagonomas are rare neuroendocrine tumors that arise from α cells of the pancreatic islets. Most of them are malignant and usually present as metastatic disease. Sites most commonly involved in metastases are the liver and regional lymph nodes. Bone metastases are rare events and only a few cases have been reported in the literature. We present the case of a 53-year-old male with a medical history of recurrent non-functioning glucagonoma. He presented 17 years after the initial diagnosis with new blastic bone lesions involving the T1 vertebra and the sacrum. Diagnostic steps and medical management in metastatic glucagonoma are also reviewed.