Primary cutaneous acral CD8+ T-cell lymphoma of the ear: A case report.

Primary cutaneous acral CD8+ T-cell lymphoma (TCL) is a rare, distinct type of cutaneous TCL. Despite its worrisome histological appearance it has a benign clinical course. It is therefore important to recognize this as a distinct entity from other more aggressive CD8+ lymphomas, for which the management is very different.

Left ventricular remodeling and hypertrophy in patients with aortic stenosis: insights from cardiovascular magnetic resonance.

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) is the gold standard non-invasive method for determining left ventricular (LV) mass and volume but has not been used previously to characterise the LV remodeling response in aortic stenosis. We sought to investigate the degree and patterns of hypertrophy in aortic stenosis using CMR. METHODS: Patients with moderate or severe aortic stenosis, normal coronary arteries and no other significant valve lesions or cardiomyopathy were scanned by CMR with valve severity assessed by planimetry and velocity mapping. The extent and patterns of hypertrophy were investigated using measurements of the LV mass index, indexed LV volumes and the LV mass/volume ratio. Asymmetric forms of remodeling and hypertrophy were defined by a regional wall thickening ≥ 13 mm and >1.5-fold the thickness of the opposing myocardial segment. RESULTS: Ninety-one patients (61 ± 21 years; 57 male) with aortic stenosis (aortic valve area 0.93 ± 0.32 cm2) were recruited. The severity of aortic stenosis was unrelated to the degree (r2=0.012, P=0.43) and pattern (P=0.22) of hypertrophy. By univariate analysis, only male sex demonstrated an association with LV mass index (P=0.02). Six patterns of LV adaption were observed: normal ventricular geometry (n=11), concentric remodeling (n=11), asymmetric remodeling (n=11), concentric hypertrophy (n=34), asymmetric hypertrophy (n=14) and LV decompensation (n=10). Asymmetric patterns displayed considerable overlap in appearances (wall thickness 17 ± 2mm) with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. CONCLUSIONS: We have demonstrated that in patients with moderate and severe aortic stenosis, the pattern of LV adaption and degree of hypertrophy do not closely correlate with the severity of valve narrowing and that asymmetric patterns of wall thickening are common.

A report of a patient presenting with three metachronous 13q14LOH mesenchymal tumours: spindle cell lipoma, cellular angiofibroma and mammary myofibroblastoma.

Spindle cell lipoma, cellular angiofibroma and mammary myofibroblastoma are mesenchymal tumours that have overlapping morphological and immunophenotypic features. Aberrations in chromosome 13q14 have been identified as a recurrent feature. We report a unique case of a 69-year-old woman who metachronously developed all three tumours. She developed a peri-urethral and a recurrent peri-vaginal cellular angiofibroma at age 54 and 57, respectively, a spindle cell lipoma at age 62 and a mammary myofibroblastoma at age 69. Dual-colour interphase fluorescent in situ hybridisation (FISH) revealed losses of RB1 and FOXO1 (13q14LOH [loss of heterozygosity]) within neoplastic cells. There was also loss of retinoblastoma (Rb) protein expression. To our knowledge, this is the first report of these three tumours arising in the same patient. The genetic link between these tumours supports the hypothesis that they may arise from the same progenitor cells. However, further research is required to elucidate the precise pathogenetic link.

Cell block processing is optimal for assessing endoscopic ultrasound fine needle aspiration specimens of pancreatic mucinous cysts.

AIMS: The cell block technique for assessing endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) specimens from pancreatic mucinous cystic lesions (MCLs) was systematically evaluated for the first time, including comparisons with three traditional methods of assessing such specimens. METHODS: The prospective arm comprised EUS-FNA specimens from EUS-suspected pancreatic MCLs. The retrospective arm comprised EUS-FNA specimens from pancreatic MCLs surgically resected before the study start. For each specimen, these data points were collected: macroscopic likelihood of mucin, cyst fluid carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) level and presence of mucin in air-dried, direct smears and in cell block preparations. RESULTS: The prospective and retrospective arms of the study comprised 80 and 30 EUS-FNA specimens, respectively. Seven prospective cases led to surgical resections during the study, and therefore, 37 EUS-FNA specimens were confirmed to have originated from MCLs. In the prospective arm, macroscopic mucin was suspected, cyst fluid CEA level exceeded 192 ng/mL, mucin was detected in direct smears and cell block preparations in 78%, 30%, 39% and 73% of cases, respectively. Of the 37 specimens confirmed to originate from MCLs, macroscopic mucin assessment, cyst fluid CEA level, direct smear mucin assessment and cell block mucin assessment had sensitivities for diagnosing MCL of 87%, 45%, 45% and 81%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Cell block preparations are as likely to identify mucin from pancreatic MCLs as macroscopic assessment but are twice as likely to diagnose MCL than direct smears and fluid CEA biochemistry. The cell block technique is easy for sample collection and processing especially because these are identical for solid and cystic pancreatic lesions.

Late gadolinium enhancement as a potential marker of increased perioperative risk in aortic valve replacement.

OBJECTIVES Risk assessment of patients with aortic stenosis (AS) undergoing aortic valve replacement (AVR) is challenging. We set out to determine the impact of myocardial late gadolinium enhancement (LGE), as detected by cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR), on postoperative outcomes following AVR. METHODS A prospective observational study was conducted on patients undergoing CMR using the LGE technique within 1 year of subsequent AVR. Patients were categorized into absent, mid-wall or infarct patterns of LGE by independent observers blinded to all clinical data, and data were collected with regard to 30-day mortality, major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) and postoperative complications. RESULTS A total of 63 patients were studied. Twenty-five patients had no LGE; 20 had mid-wall LGE and 18 had an infarct pattern. The incidence of MACCE, cerebrovascular accident (CVA) and heart block were significantly higher in the mid-wall group compared with the other two groups (MACCE: 25 vs. 0 vs. 5%, P = 0.014; CVA: 20 vs. 0 vs. 0%, P = 0.013; heart block: 30 vs. 4 vs. 12%, P = 0.050). Patients with no LGE had no 30-day MACCE events and no deaths up to 2 years of follow-up. CONCLUSIONS The myocardial LGE holds promise as a means of predicting risk prior to AVR for AS.

Midwall fibrosis is an independent predictor of mortality in patients with aortic stenosis.

OBJECTIVES: The goal of this study was to assess the prognostic significance of midwall and infarct patterns of late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) in aortic stenosis. BACKGROUND: Myocardial fibrosis occurs in aortic stenosis as part of the hypertrophic response. It can be detected by LGE, which is associated with an adverse prognosis in a range of other cardiac conditions. METHODS: Between January 2003 and October 2008, consecutive patients with moderate or severe aortic stenosis undergoing cardiovascular magnetic resonance with administration of gadolinium contrast were enrolled into a registry. Patients were categorized into absent, midwall, or infarct patterns of LGE by blinded independent observers. Patient follow-up was completed using patient questionnaires, source record data, and the National Strategic Tracing Service. RESULTS: A total of 143 patients (age 68 ± 14 years; 97 male) were followed up for 2.0 ± 1.4 years. Seventy-two underwent aortic valve replacement, and 27 died (24 cardiac, 3 sudden cardiac deaths). Compared with those with no LGE (n = 49), univariate analysis revealed that patients with midwall fibrosis (n = 54) had an 8-fold increase in all-cause mortality despite similar aortic stenosis severity and coronary artery disease burden. Patients with an infarct pattern (n = 40) had a 6-fold increase. Midwall fibrosis (hazard ratio: 5.35; 95% confidence interval: 1.16 to 24.56; p = 0.03) and ejection fraction (hazard ratio: 0.96; 95% confidence interval: 0.94 to 0.99; p = 0.01) were independent predictors of all-cause mortality by multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Midwall fibrosis was an independent predictor of mortality in patients with moderate and severe aortic stenosis. It has incremental prognostic value to ejection fraction and may provide a useful method of risk stratification.