Schwannoma of Nasopharynx-A Rare Case with A Complex Presentation.

Nasopharyngeal tumors are rare, and schwannomas originating from this location are extremely uncommon. Schwannomas are tumors arising from the Schwann cells of peripheral nerve sheath which are neuroectodermal in origin. These are benign, slow growing, well-encapsulated tumors and are mostly seen in the head and neck region. We present a rare case of schwannoma with nasopharynx as its epicenter in an elderly female patient who presented with complaints of hematemesis, bilateral nasal obstruction and stertorous breathing. Diagnostic nasal endoscopy revealed a smooth mucosa covered globular mass occupying bilateral choana. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography of Nose and paranasal sinuses revealed a homogenous mass occupying the entire nasopharynx extending into the nasal and oropharyngeal cavities. The patient underwent Trans-nasal Endoscopic excision under general anesthesia. Nasopharyngeal tumors have a wide range of presentation and a high index of clinical suspicion combined with imaging modalities is required for diagnosis and pre operative planning. Some tumors can cause life-threatening airway obstruction due to delayed presentation and should be managed efficiently and meticulously, with endoscopic excision being a viable approach for cases confined within the nasopharynx.

Unveiling a Rarity: A Case Report on Glomangiopericytoma in the nasal cavity.

Sino-nasal glomangiopericytoma is a rare benign tumour comprising only about 0.5% of all sino-nasal tumours. Presenting as a bleeding nasal mass, it is among the myriad of differential diagnoses for the same. Clinical characterisation of mass becomes difficult; hence, histopathology and immunohistocytochemistry play an essential role in clenching the diagnosis. Optimal treatment includes complete tumour excision with endoscopic or open approaches with or without preoperative embolization and a long post-operative follow-up period. Here we report such a case treated with endoscopic approach. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12070-023-03975-z.

Diagnostic challenges in cerebral tuberculoma presenting with seizures in pregnancy.

Tuberculoma is an uncommon presentation of tuberculosis and is found in regions with a high prevalence of tuberculosis. This is rarely diagnosed during pregnancy. The presentation can mimic other etiologies such as eclampsia or cerebral venous sinus thrombosis so the diagnosis can be challenging, particularly when presenting with seizures in pregnancy. Described here is a woman in her first pregnancy who presented with seizures mimicking eclampsia and was suspected to have a brain tumour on neuroimaging. She was diagnosed to have a intracerebral tuberculoma on histopathological examination following surgical decompression after delivery.

Coexistence of malignancy and tuberculosis: is it double disease or double hit related to COVID-19? - Experience from a tertiary care center.

BACKGROUND: Coexistent malignancy and tuberculosis (TB) are rarely encountered. Cancer patients are a highly vulnerable subgroup during this Covid crisis. Delayed treatment for malignancy because of COVID-19 pandemic leads to higher chances to get infections. PURPOSE: The present study aimed to present the clinicopathologic profile of the patients with coexistent carcinoma and TB during the COVID-19 pandemic in a tertiary care center. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a retrospective study conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic between April 2020 to May 2021 in the Department of Pathology of our Institute. 11 patients with coexistent malignancy and caseous necrotizing granulomatous inflammation with Langhans giant cells and or acid-fast bacilli (AFB) positivity were included in the study. Cases of ill-defined granulomas coexistent malignancy were excluded. We studied varied clinical and histopathologic features of these cases. RESULTS: Eleven cases were reported with coexistent malignancy and tuberculosis, of which 8 were reported in 2021 and 3 cases were reported in 2020. Adenocarcinoma comprised 9 cases (81.8%) and the remaining 2 were squamous cell carcinoma (18.1%). Out of 11, 10 (90.9%) were new TB cases. Of these, 10 were extrapulmonary TB and one pulmonary TB case with cancer. Regarding chemotherapy, four patients accepted that chemotherapy was delayed because of the COVID-19 crisis. CONCLUSION: In this covid pandemic, India being the 2nd most populous country and endemic for TB, there is a higher chance of latent and active TB. The coexistence of two different pathologies is rare, even in a region with a high incidence of TB. Delayed chemotherapy in a pandemic situation leads to an increased incidence of infectious diseases such as TB.

Preliminary Cytomorphologic Diagnosis of Hematolymphoid Malignancies in Effusions: A Cyto-histo Correlation with Lessons on Restraint.

Background: Effusions as part of hematologic neoplasms are rare and as a primary presentation, rarer. In standalone laboratories of developing countries, resorting to techniques such as flow cytometry or immunohisto/cytochemistry may not be possible. A near definitive diagnosis on cytomorphology would, therefore, be an ideal beginning. To that end, we compiled our cases of primary hematolymphoid effusions, devising reproducible reporting categories and looked at their concordance with the final histopathology. Subjects and Methods: Fifty-four cases of primary hematolymphoid effusions over 10 years with cytology-histopathology correlation were chosen. Post morphology assessment, the cases were organized into six categories: suspicious of hematolymphoid malignancy, non-Hodgkin lymphoma-high-grade (NHL-HG), low-grade NHL (NHL-LG), Burkitt lymphoma, acute leukemias, and plasma cell dyscrasias. Discordance with histology was assigned as major and minor based mainly on therapeutic implications. Results: Concordance was seen in a good number (81.5%) of cases. The NHL-HG and NHL-LG categories contributed to 33.3% each of major discordance. Tuberculosis and epithelial malignancies comprised the bulk of the major discordance. Overdiagnosis of a high-grade lymphoma for a histologically proven low-grade follicular lymphoma was the only case with minor discordance. Conclusion: The cytologic categories used are not foolproof for hematologic neoplasms but have a fairly good concordance. A scanty abnormal population should always be viewed with suspicion and definitive labels should be avoided. While morphologic examination is fraught with danger, a good assessment directs the judicious selection of ancillary methods, and hence cannot be supplanted.

Neuroectodermal tumours of the sino-nasal tract: a clinicopathological study of 18 cases with a newly proposed revised classification and a brief review of literature.

AIM: Sino-nasal tract tumours constitute 3% of the head and neck malignancies. Among these tumours, neuroectodermal tumours are rare with histo-morphological and immunohistochemical overlap making them a challenge for the pathologist. We included Ewing's/PNET, olfactory neuroblastoma (OFN), mucosal malignant melanomas (MMM), Melanotic neuroectodermal tumour of infancy (MNTI), small-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (SNEC), and the newest entity Adamantinoma like Ewing's sarcoma (ALES) as part of the neuroectodermally derived tumours of the sino-nasal tract. The last three entities were added to the existing ones, which also has been emphasized in this paper. METHODS AND RESULTS: A comprehensive analysis was done on all neuroectodermally derived tumours from 2016 to 2020. A total of 18 cases were collected, which included OFN (10 cases), SNEC (2 cases), MMM (2 cases), Ewing's/PNET (2 cases), MNTI (1 case), and ALES (1 case). The most common presentation in NE tumours was nasal obstruction (80-100%). Except for OFN, all other tumours were confined to the nasal and paranasal sinuses. 4/10 cases of OFN showed orbital extension. Cervical lymph-node metastasis was seen in 50% of cases of SNEC and MMM groups. An array of relevant immune-histochemical markers were performed. The marker expression was very subtle among the groups. On follow-up, recurrence was seen in the OFN and MMM groups in 30 and 50%, respectively. Metastasis was seen in SNEC group (100%) and OFN group (10%). CONCLUSION: As sino-nasal neuroectodermal tumours pose a diagnostic challenge and have different therapies and are prognostically different, the pathologist must be aware of the subtle morphological, immunohistochemical clues which have been dealt with in-depth in this study.

An Unusual Tumor in an Uncommon Site-Orbital Rosai-Dorfman Disease: A Case Report.

Rosai-Dorfman disease (RDD) is also known as Sinus Histiocytosis with Massive Lymphadenopathy. It is a rare, benign, self-limiting disease of phagocytic histiocytes presenting with massive painless cervical lymphadenopathy. RDD can present as a nodal disease and also extra-nodal involvement with episodes of exacerbation and remissions and relapses after treatment. Its etiology remains poorly understood and is highly variable in its clinical presentation and response to treatment. Its treatment is poorly defined but the prognosis is usually fair. Here we are reporting a rare, unusual clinical presentation of infraorbital soft tissue mass diagnosed as RDD with cyto-histopathological correlation. Only a few such cases have been reported in the literature.

A Rare Case of Primary Small Cell Carcinoma of Esophagus.

Primary small cell carcinoma of the esophagus is a rare, highly aggressive disease with a poor prognosis. A definitive diagnosis is made by histopathological study. As the disease is usually metastatic, palliative chemoradiotherapy is the usual treatment. We present a case of a 57-year-old female presenting with dysphagia. The patient underwent imaging studies showing the growth at the gastro-esophageal junction, with extensive abdominal lymph node metastasis and liver and lung metastasis. Biopsy was suggestive of small cell carcinoma of the esophagus. The patient underwent a feeding jejunostomy and was planned for chemoradiotherapy. Primary small cell carcinoma of the esophagus is an infrequent entity. As the disease is usually diagnosed at a later stage, the prognosis is inferior and abysmal.

Diagnostic accuracy of Alvarado, RIPASA and Tzanakis scoring system in acute appendicitis: A prospective observational study.

Our prospective observational study, enrolling 167 patients undergoing emergency appendicectomy, served to evaluate the Alvarado, Tzanakis and RIPASA diagnostic scores. The latter was found to be a better scoring system because of its higher diagnostic accuracy. At centres with limited expertise in ultrasonography, RIPASA outperforms the Tzanakis score. Although easy to use, the Alvarado score was useful only to 'rule in' cases with AA with significant accuracy but at the cost of low sensitivity. It cannot be effectively used in triaging.

A Unique Finding of Hepatogastric Fistula in Cervical Cancer Liver Metastasis.

In India, cervical cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related mortality among females. Around one-third are expected to develop recurrence or metastasis during follow-up. Liver metastasis is rarely requiring palliative treatment. Patient compliance to strict follow-up is vital to detect early metastasis to be able to improve survival. A 58-year-old lady (International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics [FIGO] stage IIIB) was treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy. During follow-up, she had complained of abdominal pain for which cross-sectional imaging revealed a left lobe liver lesion fistulizing into the stomach. Liver metastasis fistulizing into the stomach is a rarity, and a biopsy is required to confirm metastasis or maybe a second primary. Although palliation in the form of chemotherapy is the standard, minor or major hepatectomy can be considered in patients with good performance status at high-volume centers. A tailored multidisciplinary team approach is required for better survival.

Malignant phyllodes tumor with liposarcomatous differentiation: Diagnosed on cytology.

Phyllodes tumor (PT) accounts for less than 1% of all primary tumors of the breast and 2% to 3% of all fibroepithelial lesions. We report a case of heterologous liposarcomatous elements in a malignant PT of the breast on Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) and later confirmed by histopathological examination. A 58-years-old woman presented with a huge breast mass for which FNAC was done. Cytology showed features of malignant PT with a good representation of heterologous liposarcomatous areas. The cytological findings were in concordance with the histologic features. Malignant PT and its various heterologous elements of stroma can be diagnosed on FNA cytology when performed optimally. They can be vital for the preoperative assessment of patients suspected with malignancy to formulate the surgical plan accordingly.

Descriptive study of the histopathological subtypes and programmed death-ligand 1 in metaplastic breast carcinoma.

Metaplastic Breast Carcinoma (MBC) is a rare heterogeneous group of tumors, the incidence of which is less than 1% of breast tumors. These are a unique set of tumors with varying subtypes, poor prognosis, and an increased chance of distant metastasis. We aimed to study the clinical, histomorphological, and immunohistochemical (IHC) features of Metaplastic Breast Carcinoma (MBC). This was a descriptive study of cases diagnosed as MBC at a tertiary care center in Southern India from January 2015 to December 2019. A total of 20 cases were diagnosed whose clinical, histomorphological, and IHC features were studied. PD-L1and CD8 IHC were performed and analyzed in 12 cases. The median age of presentation was 50 years. Seventy percent (14/20) patients were postmenopausal women. On excision, 75% (15/20) showed mixed typed MBC, the remainder showing epithelial type MBC. Metastasis to axillary lymph node was seen only in 20% (4/20) of the cases. Thirty percent (6/20) of the cases belonged to stage 3 disease and 5% (1/20) of the cases belonged to stage 4 disease with liver metastasis. Estrogen receptor (ER), Progesterone receptor (PR) were negative in all the cases, Her2neu was positive in three cases. Ki67 labeling index was greater than 14% in all the cases. PD-L1was positive in 41.5% of the cases and intratumoral CD8 positive lymphocytes were increased in 83.3% of the cases. MBCs are tumors occurring in elderly postmenopausal women, presenting with large tumor size, have lesser chances of lymph node metastasis, and a higher chance of recurrence and hematogenous spread. They are negative for ER, PR, Her-2 neu, with a high Ki67 index and a strong PDL-1 expression.

Malignant Epithelioid Soft Tissue Tumours- A Pathologist's Perspective With Review of Literature.

Background Soft tissue tumours with epithelioid morphology have many differential diagnoses, which include epithelioid sarcoma, malignant extrarenal rhabdoid tumour, epithelioid malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumour, epithelioid leiomyosarcoma, epithelioid angiosarcoma and sclerosing epithelioid fibrosarcoma. There are other rare entities also. They often express characteristic patterns of immunohistochemical markers that can be used to identify these tumours. Materials and methods This retrospective study comprises 22 cases of malignant soft tissue tumours with epithelioid differentiation diagnosed over a period of four years. Findings regarding clinical presentation, cytological findings, histopathological findings and immunohistochemical profile of the tumours were noted and analyzed. Results A total of 22 cases were included in the study including five cases of epithelioid sarcoma (conventional and proximal), three cases of epithelioid angiosarcoma and epithelioid myxofibrosarcoma, two cases of epithelioid malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumour, epithelioid gastrointestinal stromal tumour and clear cell sarcoma each, one case of epithelioid leiomyosarcoma, sclerosing epithelioid fibrosarcoma, malignant extrarenal rhabdoid tumour, monophasic synovial sarcoma and malignant and malignant perivascular epithelioid cell tumour each. Conclusion Pathologists should be aware of the various differential diagnoses of soft tissue tumours with epithelioid morphology. Over and above the clinical findings and morphological features, ancillary methods like immunohistochemistry help to arrive at a definitive diagnosis in most cases.