Mediastinal teratoma in children: A case series of misdiagnoses in a high-endemic tuberculosis setting.

INTRODUCTION AND IMPORTANCE: Mediastinal teratoma is a rare extragonadal teratoma that frequently manifests with non-specific symptoms and is commonly misdiagnosed, particularly in Indonesia, where tuberculosis (TB) is endemic. CASE PRESENTATION: Herein, we present two cases of children aged 19 months and 17 years old who were referred with chronic nonspecific symptoms of cough, tachypnea, chest pain, and hemoptysis. Both children were initially diagnosed with TB and both completed anti-tuberculosis treatment. After visiting several healthcare facilities, a mediastinal mass was finally diagnosed and they all underwent thoracotomy without any further complication. The histopathology findings revealed mature teratoma. All patients had satisfactory outcomes at follow-up visits. CLINICAL DISCUSSIONS: Patients presented with non-specific symptoms are often clinically diagnosed with TB. However, primary healthcare doctors should consider other differential diagnoses when a child has non-specific respiratory symptoms, especially when chest X-ray findings are nonspecific and TB workup is negative. CONCLUSIONS: The diagnosis of mediastinal masses is still challenging in Indonesia, as the diagnosis requires a vast array of work-up examinations, therefore, early recognition and referral are crucial for management.

Different Clinicopathological Characteristics in Indonesian Colorectal Patients with NRAS Mutations and HER2 Over-Expression.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to assess the association of subject characteristics and NRAS mutations with HER2 expression in CRC. METHODS: This research is a cross-sectional study. The research subjects in this study were colorectal cancer patients in the Digestive Surgery division at Dr. Hasan Sadikin Hospital. There were 58 study subjects. Examination of NRAS mutations was carried out by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) from fresh tumour tissue obtained from surgery or colonoscopy. Meanwhile, HER2 examination used the Immunohistochemistry (IHC) method of paraffin blocks for anatomical pathology examination of the same patients. RESULT: HER2 overexpression was found in 6/58 (10.3%) patients with CRC, and from 8 subjects with NRAS mutations, only 1 subject (1.7%) showed overexpression of HER2. Univariate analysis of HER2 expression showed no significant associations to age, sex, histologic feature, tumor location, and NRAS mutations. A significant association was found between HER2 expression and stage of the CRC with p=0.001. CONCLUSION: There is no association between NRAS mutations and HER2 overexpression in colorectal cancer patients.

A Rare Case of Ruptured Malignant Ovarian Brenner Tumor.

BACKGROUND Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death in women with gynecological cancers. Ovarian Brenner tumor (BT) is an extremely rare type of epithelial ovarian cancer that accounts for about 1-3% of all ovarian cancers. Herein, we report a rare case of ruptured malignant ovarian Brenner tumor. CASE REPORT A 39-year-old P0A0 woman came to the Emergency Department (ED) with abdominal pain and tenderness. Perforated appendicitis was initially suspected and an emergency laparotomy was performed by the General Surgery Department. Then, a 25×20×15 cm grayish cystic mass originating from the right adnexa was found. We consulted intraoperatively with the Gynecology Oncology Department and decided to perform complete surgical staging. Histopathological examination confirmed the diagnosis of malignant Brenner tumor (MBT). The patient was then given adjuvant chemotherapy with a paclitaxel carboplatin regimen. In this case report, we present our case along with a review of the current literature regarding the diagnosis and therapy of malignant Brenner tumor. CONCLUSIONS Ovarian MBT is an extremely rare ovarian cancer. Diagnosing MBT can be challenging as there are no clinical, laboratory, or imaging features typical for it. Surgery is the mainstay treatment in MBT cases. The role of adjuvant chemotherapy in MBT is still being debated.

A Rare Case of Early Transformation of Gestational Trophoblastic Neoplasia Following Molar Pregnancy.

BACKGROUND Gestational trophoblastic disease (GTD) encompasses a group of disorders that arise from abnormal growth of trophoblastic tissue. The spectrum of GTD includes 2 major groups: benign and malignant. The benign form is a hydatidiform mole, either complete or partial; the malignant forms, referred to as gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN), consist of invasive moles, choriocarcinomas, placental site trophoblastic tumors, and epithelioid trophoblastic tumors. Most patients who undergo evacuation of a hydatidiform mole by curettage have a disease-free period before a new tumor develops that can be considered malignant. In rare cases, metastasis occurs rapidly and manifests coincidentally before the hydatidiform mole can be evacuated. CASE REPORT A 19-year-old woman in Bandung City, West Java, Indonesia, was diagnosed with a molar pregnancy with early evidence of a mass in her vagina that was suspicious for stage II GTN. The early emergence of a vaginal mass was a rare case of early transformation of a molar pregnancy into GTN. CONCLUSIONS Careful evaluation is warranted of patients with characteristics typical of an intrauterine molar pregnancy who have an early presentation of a vaginal mass because of the possibility that the diagnosis could be GTN.