PNET/Ewing's sarcoma of the kidney: imaging findings in two cases.

The CT-imaging findings of primary renal PNET/Ewing's sarcoma in two patients were retrospectively assessed. A large renal mass with heterogenous contrast enhancement and necrotic and hemorrhagic areas were the predominant characteristics. In adolescents or young adults presenting with a large renal mass, PNET/Ewing's sarcoma may be included in the differential diagnosis.

Hemangiomatosis of the spleen in a patient with Klippel-trénaunay syndrome.

Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome is a rare disorder characterized by a triad of port-wine stains, varicose veins, and bony and soft tissue hypertrophy usually involving an extremity. Visceral involvement in Klippel-Trénaunay syndrome is rare, but has been described in the colon, small bowel, bladder, kidney, spleen, liver, mediastinum and brain. In this paper we present the case of a 45-year-old woman with Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome in whom routine physical examination unexpectedly revealed the presence of a left upper quadrant mass. Abdominal US, contrast enhanced CT and whole-body PET-CT demonstrated multiple large cystic lesions within a massively enlarged spleen. Based on the clinical history and imaging findings diffuse hemangiomatosis of the spleen was suspected. This diagnosis was confirmed by pathologic examination after splenectomy.

FDG uptake in primary squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. The relationship between overexpression of glucose transporters and hexokinases, tumour proliferation and apoptosis.

AIM: This study aimed at assessing the relationship between over-expression of glucose transporters and hexokinases, tumour proliferation and apoptosis corrected for cellularity and partial volume corrected (pvc) FDG SUV values in primary squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (pSCCHN). PATIENTS, METHODS: In 27 consecutive patients suffering from pSCCHN, FDG SUVmax and mean pvc values of the primary tumour were derived from a pre-surgical routine staging FDG PET/CT examination. GLUT-1, GLUT-3, HK-1, HK-3 expression, tumour proliferation (Ki-67 staining) and the number of apoptotic cells (cleaved caspase-3 staining), corrected for tumour cellularity, were subsequently assessed on the corresponding post-surgically obtained biopsies and tumour specimens. FDG SUVmax and mean pvc values of pSCCHN were correlated with the corresponding histological findings. RESULTS: FDG SUV max and mean pvc values correlated significantly: with GLUT-1 scores r = 0.408 (p = 0.04) and r = 0.439 (p = 0.03) as well as with the number of apoptotic cells r = 0.529 (p = 0.008) and r = 0.484 (p = 0.017). The number of apoptotic cells also correlated to GLUT-3 scores: r = 0.62 (p = 0.001) and GLUT-1 scores r = 0.528 (p = 0.008). CONCLUSION: FDG SUV pvc proved significantly related to GLUT-1 expression by tumour cells and to the absolute number of apoptotic cells. The latter finding warrants further exploration and confirmation by additional studies.