Not Your Everyday Duodenal Ulcer: Massive Gastrointestinal Bleed Secondary to Extramedullary Plasma Cell Myeloma.

The differential for gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding is broad, ranging from peptic ulcers and Helicobacter pylori infection to variceal hemorrhage and neoplasms. The rarer causes of GI bleeds are frequently overlooked and as such can ultimately be more dangerous. Extramedullary multiple myeloma, an atypical plasma cell dyscrasia arising outside of the bone marrow, involves the GI tract in <5% of cases and often presents with nonspecific symptoms. We describe a rare case of such GI involvement of a plasma cell tumor, with subsequent transmural duodenal ulceration involving the gastroduodenal artery, ultimately resulting in a fatal GI bleed.

Loss of Mismatch-repair Protein Expression and Microsatellite Instability in Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma and Clinicopathologic Implications.

BACKGROUND: Upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) may arise in the setting of hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer (Lynch syndrome [LS]) or sporadically. Variable frequencies of microsatellite instability (MSI) were found in UTUC. For advanced solid MSI tumors, targeted therapy with programmed death-ligand 1 inhibitors is available. Therefore, we aimed to determine the prevalence of mismatch repair (MMR) protein loss and MSI in UTUC using a tissue microarray approach and further molecular and correlation analysis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We studied the immunohistochemical expression of MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, and PMS2 on tissue microarrays containing formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded samples of 128 patients with UTUC. MSI analysis was performed in 79 cases with deficient MMR protein expression, and/or in patients aged 60 years and below, and/or other tumors possibly related to LS. RESULTS: Loss of MMR protein expression was seen in 24 (18.8%) of 128 cases. MSI analysis revealed MSI-high in 29, MSI-low in 7 cases. The Fisher exact test demonstrated significant differences between MSI and loss of MMR protein expression, clinically possible LS, tumor growth pattern, inverted growth pattern, and death (P < .001, P < .001, P = .002, P = .003, and P = .033, respectively). MSI does not appear to influence survival (overall and progression-free), but there was a significant shorter progression-free survival in MSI-high versus MSS patients who had received chemotherapy. CONCLUSION: The frequency of MSI in UTUC was 36 (28.1%) of 128 patients with a good accuracy of immunohistochemistry. In daily practice, MSI screening especially is recommended in patients with advanced UTUC and inverted papillary tumor growth pattern with the aim of screening patients for possible targeted therapy.

Evaluation of a pre-treatment assessment to select mand topographies for functional communication training.

Recent research has suggested that variables related to specific mand topographies targeted during functional communication training (FCT) can affect treatment outcomes. These include effort, novelty of mands, previous relationships with problem behavior, and preference. However, there is little extant research on procedures for identifying which mand topographies to incorporate into FCT. In the current study, a mand topography assessment was conducted following functional analyses to identify the proficiency with which individuals used several different mand topographies. Two mand topographies (high and low proficiency) were then compared during FCT-based treatments. FCT was more effective when the mand topography identified as high proficiency was incorporated into FCT as compared to FCT that included the lower proficiency response. The results are discussed in terms of the need for individualized assessment procedures for selecting mand topographies that are targeted during FCT.