Skin metastases of cervical cancer: two case reports and review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Although cervix carcinoma is one of the most common malignancies in women, hematogenous metastases are relatively not common. Cutaneous metastases, in particular, are unusual even at an advanced stage of disease. Their presence is a predictor of poor prognosis. CASE PRESENTATION: Case 1: A 63-year-old postmenopausal Moroccan woman was diagnosed as having cervical squamous cell carcinoma. She was treated with radical concurrent chemotherapy and radiation therapy followed by low-dose brachytherapy. Six months after finishing the therapy, multiple skin nodules appeared on her abdomen and chest wall. An excision biopsy was performed and showed metastatic squamous cell carcinoma. Her disease progressed and she died before completing her fourth course of palliative chemotherapy. Case 2: A 48-year-old Moroccan woman was diagnosed as having cervical squamous cell carcinoma; she was treated with concurrent chemoradiation. Before a planned high-dose brachytherapy, she noticed many nodular lesions on her arms, thighs, and chest wall. An excision biopsy was performed and showed metastatic squamous cell carcinoma. She then underwent a series of imaging examinations, including computed tomography of her chest, abdomen, and pelvis, and a whole body bone scan that showed disseminated disease involving her lungs and bones. She died after two courses of palliative chemotherapy, 2 months after the appearance of the skin lesions. CONCLUSION: We report two cases to illustrate a rare localization of metastasis from cervical carcinoma that is highly aggressive requiring early detection and aggressive management.

[Spontaneous uterine rupture due to uterine leiomyosarcoma]. / Rupture utérine spontanée sur léiomyosarcome utérin.

Uterine sarcomas are rare cancers characterized by clinical and histological polymorphism. They are malignant tumors of poor prognosis. Inaugural manifestation of acute abdomen with hemo-pneumoperitoneum and spontaneous uterine rupture remains exceptional. The authors report the case of a uterine leiomyosarcoma manifesting itself as an inaugural generalized acute peritonitis in a 43 year old woman. Uterine rupture due to malignant tumor was suspected during urgent preoperative imaging (ultrasound and CT scan) and confirmed histologically.

Breast cancer associated with neurofibromatosis type 1: a case series and review of the literature.

INTRODUCTION: Neurofibromatosis type 1, also known as Von Recklinghausen's disease, is a rare neuroectodermal disease that mainly affects the skin and the nervous system. Patients with neurofibromatosis type 1 have a higher risk of developing various types of cancers, especially tumors derived from the embryogenic neural crest. However, its association with breast cancer has seldom been reported. CASE PRESENTATION: We report the cases of three white Arabic women diagnosed with neurofibromatosis type 1, with a median age of 40-years-old (range: 39 to 43), who sought treatment at our centre for breast cancer. CONCLUSIONS: The association between neurofibromatosis type 1 and breast cancer is uncommon. In our case series we readdress this association through a literature review.