Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound Findings in Patients with Rare Solitary Necrotic Nodule of the Liver - a Multicenter Report.

PURPOSE: This multicenter retrospective study highlights the contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) findings in a series of histologically proven solitary necrotic nodules (SNN) of the liver, a poorly understood pathologic entity of uncertain origin that mimics malignancy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 22 patients (M/F 13/9; mean age 59.4 years, SD ±â€Š10.7, range 35-81) with histological diagnosis of SNN and CEUS were selected from clinical, imaging, and pathological archives of 7 US interventional centers, each of which provided 1 to 6 cases (mean 2.8). Pathological diagnosis was made on 20 US-guided biopsies and 2 surgical specimens. 2 patients had 2 SNNs with identical CEUS findings so that imaging analysis was carried out on 24 nodules. RESULTS: SNN was an incidental finding in healthy people in 10 cases (45.5 %), and it was discovered during follow-up for either known extrahepatic malignancies (9 cases = 41 %) or chronic liver disease (3 cases = 13.5 %). SNNs had a mean size of 19.3 mm (SD ±â€Š6.5, range 9-40). On B-mode US, SNNs appeared hypoechoic in 14 cases (66.7 %), "target-like" in 7 cases (29.2 %), and homogeneously hyperechoic in 1 case (4.1 %). On CEUS, all lesions appeared devoid of contrast enhancement ("punched out" aspect) in the arterial, portal venous, and late phases after US contrast agent injection. A uniformly thin, hyperenhancing ring in the early arterial phase and isoenhanced with the surrounding parenchyma in the portal venous and late phases was found in 10 nodules (41.6 %). Clinical and imaging follow-up (mean duration 42.2 months, SD ±â€Š34.9, range 2-108) was available in 15 patients with 16 SNNs: no changes in size and echostructure were seen. CONCLUSION: CEUS can contribute to the diagnosis of SNN when a "punched out" appearance in all vascular phases with or without thin rim enhancement in the very early arterial phase is present in healthy subjects in whom a focal liver lesion is incidentally found. In patients with a history of chronic liver disease or malignancy, US-guided biopsy represents the unavoidable first-line diagnostic modality.

Somatic NGS Analysis of DNA Damage Response (DDR) Genes ATM, MRE11A, RAD50, NBN, and ATR in Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer Treated with Neoadjuvant Chemo-Radiotherapy.

BACKGROUND: Neoadjuvant chemo-radiotherapy (nCRT) represents the standard of care for locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC); however, there exists no biomarker that can predict the cancer's response to treatment as less than 20% of patients experience pathological complete response (pCR). Ionizing radiations induce double strand breaks (DSBs) and trigger a DNA damage response (DDR) involving ATM, ATR, and the MRN complex (MRE11, Rad50, and NBS1). In this study, we performed an extensive mutational analysis of the genes involved in the DDR pathway in LARC patients who have undergone nCRT. METHODS: 13 LARC patients with pCR and 11 LARC patients with partial response (pPR) were investigated using a NGS dedicated panel, designed for formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) samples, containing ATR, ATM, and MRE11-RAD50-NBN genes. The identified variants were classified according to guidelines' recommendations. RESULTS: Eight non-benign variants, six of which were observed in 3 (23%) out of 13 pCR patients, were identified. In particular, a pCR patient carried out a pathogenetic frameshift mutation in exon 21 of the RAD50 gene. The two remaining non-benign missense variants were found in 2 (18%) out of 11 patients in the pPR group. CONCLUSIONS: Our data show that the genes involved in the Homologous Recombination (HR) pathway are rarely mutated in LARC; however, given the identification of a missense mutation in RAD 50 in one case of pCR, it could be worth exploring its potential role as a biomarker in larger series.

Real-Life Experience of the Prognostic Significance of the Primary Tumor Location on the Timing of Colorectal Liver Metastases: A Retrospective Analysis.

Background Numerous research studies have looked into how the primary tumor location (PTL) affects patients' prognosis for colorectal cancer (CRC). Our research aimed to investigate the prognostic effects of PTL in patients with synchronous (SM) and metachronous (MM) colorectal cancer liver metastases (CRCLM). Material and methods From 2016 to 2021, we looked back at the records of patients at our institute who were affected by CRCLM. Results 109 patients were included, of whom 21.1% received CRCLM resection (R0=73.9%), with 57.7% having left-sided colon cancer (LCC) and 42.2% having right-sided colon cancer (RCC). SM predominated (69.7%). The median duration of follow-up was 21,3 months (95%CI=15,4-25,2). ≥5 hepatic metastases prevailed in the SM group (N=61; 83.5%). 21% of all patients underwent CRCLM resection (R0=78.2%). We observed a double rate of patients unresponsive to standard systemic antineoplastic treatments in the SM group (35.8% vs. 17.9% of the MM group) (p=0.27). We found a significantly longer median overall survival (OS) in patients with MM-LCC compared with the other groups (27.7 months; HR=0.3797; 95%CI=0.19-0.74; p=0.0205). The median OS, regardless of PTL, was higher in the MM group (16,5 months vs. 16,1 months; HR=0,29; 95%CI=0,13-0,67; p=0.0038) as well as progression-free survival (PFS) (11 months vs. 10,2 months; HR=0,61; 95%CI=0,33-1,12; p=0.11). Finally, in patients undergoing liver surgery, a noteworthy median OS was shown to be significantly in favor of patients with metachronous liver metastases from the primary left tumor (37.0 months; HR=0.47; 95%CI=0.11-1.96; p=0.0041). Conclusions Our real-life study demonstrated that patients with LCC, particularly MM-LCC, have the highest survival and that the timing of CRCLM should be a prognostic factor.

Correlation of Tumor Location to Clinical Outcomes in Colorectal Cancer: A Single-institution Retrospective Analysis.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Recent data highlighted that location of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) may have a prognostic impact and also a predictive value of the outcomes of first-line therapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The records of mCRC patients who underwent first-line therapy from 2011 to April 2018 at our Institute were retrospectively reviewed. Progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS) and objective response rate (ORR) according to the primary tumor location were investigated. RESULTS: Overall, 130 patients were eligible. Two-year OS was 82.9% in left-sided colon cancers (LCC) and 67.5% in right-sided (RCC) (p=0.32). One-year mPFS was statistically longer in LCC (46.8% vs. 24.2%, p=0.0005). mPFS was longer in LCC treated with anti-VEGF vs. anti-EGFR (p=0.06). ORR was 51.1% in LCC, 25% in RCC (p=0.008). Overall, 11 complete responses all in LCC were observed (p=0.03). CONCLUSION: Tumor location has a prognostic impact and might influence the outcomes of mCRC patients.

Granulomatous interstitial nephritis in a patient with Crohn's disease.

A case of granulomatous interstitial nephritis (GIN) associated with Crohn's disease (CD) was reported. GIN is a rare pathological finding in renal biopsy specimens. In a patient affected by CD, granulomas may be found in various tissues and organs such as lymph nodes, mesentery, liver, and lungs and occasionally in bones, joints, and skeletal muscle. Few cases of granuloma have been reported in the kidney, and it is not always possible to relate the presence of granuloma to CD, to other interstitial granulomatosis diseases, or to a drug-induced reaction. The issue has a remarkable clinical effect; indeed, the answer requires a completely different therapeutic approach. The diagnosis analysis on the basis of clinical-pathological evidences and on reports from literature is discussed.

A diagnosis of Fabry gastrointestinal disease by chance: a case report.

Fabry disease is an X-linked lysosomal storage disease caused by a deficiency of alpha-galactosidase A. This determines an accumulation of globotriaosylceramide within lysosomes. The clinical picture is highly variable and depends on cellular storage deposition. Renal, cardiac and nervous system are the most frequent organs involved. Gastrointestinal involvement is also present, associated with other clinical signs of Fabry disease and sometimes can be a prominent clinical manifestation. We describe a Fabry disease case in which gastrointestinal involvement was the first and the only clinical sign of Fabry disease and a diagnosis of Fabry disease was made by chance during a family screening. Enzyme replacement therapy was started and after 3 months, there was a complete disappearance of signs.

Renal oncocytoma associated with necrotizing glomerulonephritis.

A case of renal oncocytoma associated with focal segmental necrotizing glomerulonephritis is described. The patient showed haematuria, mild proteinuria and arterial hypertension; the diagnosis was made after right nephrectomy performed because of the presence of a renal mass. A severe re-activation of the glomerulonephritis was observed 15 months after the nephrectomy and a steroid and immunosuppressive therapy was started. Our case is the first reported in which the removal of renal oncocytoma is not followed by the disappearance of renal symptoms, as currently reported in literature, suggesting that the two diseases are not always related.