Benign retroperitoneal schwannoma presenting as a giant adrenal tumor.

We report a 51-year-old man with a primary adrenal tumor presenting as a giant juxta-adrenal benign schwannoma. The patient was initially admitted for persistent fevers and underwent a sepsis workup. Abdominal ultrasound initially revealed an incidental right suprarenal mass, which measured 10 x 10 x 11 cm, estimated by computed tomography. Following a successful laparotomy, histologic examination confirmed that this giant tumor was a benign retroperitoneal schwannoma. Postoperatively, the patient remains disease-free, undergoing rehabilitation.

Chemosensitization of carmustine with maitake beta-glucan on androgen-independent prostatic cancer cells: involvement of glyoxalase I.

OBJECTIVE: To improve the poor efficacy (< 10%) of chemotherapy for patients with hormone-refractory prostate cancer, we investigated a possible cytotoxic effect of carmustine/beta-glucan combination on prostatic cancer PC-3 cells, focusing on a glutathione-dependent detoxifying enzyme, glyoxalase I (Gly-I). METHODS: Carmustine (BCNU) is an anticancer agent and a putative inhibitor of Gly-I, while beta-glucan is a unique, nontoxic polysaccharide extracted from maitake mushrooms. The cytotoxic effects of BCNU or other anticancer agents with beta-glucan on PC-3 cells were assessed by cell-viability testing and Gly-I activity was measured using the spectrophotometric method. RESULTS: BCNU, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), and methotrexate (MTX) were capable of inducing approximately a 50% reduction in cell viability at 72 hours, while etoposide, cisplatin, and mitomycin C were all ineffective. Only the combination of BCNU (50 micro ;mol) and beta-glucan (60 micro g/mL) exhibited an enhanced cytotoxicity with an approximate 90% cell viability reduction, but little improvement was seen with any combinations of 5-FU, MTX, or beta-glucon. Gly-I assays revealed that such a profound (approximately 90%) cell death was accompanied by an approximate 80% reduction in Gly-I activity by 6 hours. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates a sensitized cytotoxic effect of BCNU with beta-glucan in PC-3 cells, which was associated with a drastic (approximately 80%) inactivation of Gly-I. Therefore, the BCNU/beta-glucan combination may help to improve current treatment efficacy by targeting Gly-I, which appears to be critically involved in prostate cancer viability.

Recurrence of renal cell carcinoma with extensive vena caval thrombus three years after radical nephrectomy.

A 70-year-old man, who had undergone a radical nephrectomy for localized renal cell carcinoma (RCC) three years ago, was recently evaluated for shortness of breath. During his work-up, a transesophageal echocardiogram and magnetic resonance imaging indicated an extensive vena caval thrombus originating from the renal vein stump. Successful vena caval thrombectomy with cardiopulmonary bypass confirmed that the thrombus was comprised of RCC. This is a rare type of RCC recurrence with an unusual timing (3 years after a nephrectomy), alerting the importance of strict follow-up on all patients even after complete surgical excision of all suspected tumors.