Hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia with multiple complications presenting in an older patient.

Hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) is a rare autosomal dominant multi-organ vascular disorder associated with bleeding and a reduced life expectancy. We present a 91-year-old woman with complications of previously undiagnosed HHT. This case demonstrates three potential complications: pulmonary arteriovenous malformation (AVM) resulting in a right to left shunt, cerebral infarctions and pericardial effusion. Despite these potentially life-threatening complications and the reduced life-expectancy associated with HHT the patient has survived to an advanced age. Due to the patient's late diagnosis and frailty, the treatment options of AVM embolization and pericardiocentesis were deemed inappropriate. The patient was treated with tranexamic acid to reduce bleeding severity and discharged home with a care package and home oxygen.

A "Patient-Like" Orthotopic Syngeneic Mouse Model of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Metastasis.

The majority of cancer-related deaths are caused by the metastasis of the cancer rather than the primary tumor itself. Yet, the underlying mechanisms of cancer metastasis are still unclear. Animal models are essential for elucidating the mechanisms and for evaluating novel strategies for the treatment of metastatic cancers. Here, an in-depth description of a "patient-like" orthotopic syngeneic mouse model for exploring the mechanisms of metastasis of solid organ tumors is provided. The survival surgical implantation of BNL 1ME A.7R.1 mouse hepatocellular carcinoma cells directly into the liver (the organ of origin) of the inbred wild-type immune competent laboratory mouse strain, BALB/c is described. The success and reproducibility of this methodology recommends it for widespread use in elucidating the biological mechanisms of solid organ cancer metastasis.

Isolation and Propagation of Circulating Tumor Cells from a Mouse Cancer Model.

Cancer metastasis is the foremost cause of cancer-associated deaths. Recent studies have shown that circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are important in cancer metastasis. Indeed, the number of CTCs correlates with tumor size. Here, a detailed description is provided of a methodology for isolation and propagation of CTCs from a syngeneic mouse model of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) which allows for downstream analysis of potentially important molecular mechanisms of solid organ tumor metastasis. This method is efficient and reproducible. It is a non-invasive technique and, therefore, has potential to replace the invasive biopsy of tissues from humans which may be associated with complications. Therefore, the method discussed here allows for the isolation and propagation of CTCs from whole blood samples such that they can be examined and characterized. This has potential for future adaptation for clinical applications such as diagnosis, and personalized targeted therapy.