7-year-old boy with prodrome of right-sided and right face weakness, gait ataxia, and intermittent headaches. Head computed tomography demonstrated a tumor at the brainstem/posterior fossa, and then MRI confirmed a diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (a typical brainstem glioma). Following initiation of dexamethasone (Decadron, steroid for vasogenic edema), the child has started experimental treatment with the medicine nimotuzumab to be followed with conventional radiotherapy.
A 58 year-old woman who first presented for evaluation of a bleeding pigmented lesion on the back. An excisional biopsy was performed and revealed a nodular melanoma. A wide excision was performed and no residual melanoma was identified. After a sentinel lymph node biopsy found to be positive, a completion of node dissection was performed and on pathological evaluation, total 6 of 17 lymph nodes contained melanoma.
Staging studies included whole body PET/CT scan and a head CT. FDG uptake by PET was noted in the left axilla only, with no evidence of more distant metastatic disease.
The expert shares broad information regarding Cystic neoplasms of the pancreas: categories, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, risks and outcomes, and qualifications for performing surgery on the pancreas.
2-year-old girl was diagnosed with pleuropulmonary blastoma (PPB). She presented with cough and fever which was treated as pneumonia. When her symptoms did not improve, a chest X-ray showed a right lower lobe infiltrate with pleural effusion and a cystic lesion superiorly. She was further treated with antibiotics and improved clinically, but follow-up with chest CT showed a persistent cystic area in the right lower lobe and pneumothorax. She thus underwent pleural drainage and thoracoscopic biopsy, revealing a diagnosis of "cystic pleuropulmonary blastoma".
65-year-old male experienced loss of consciousness, and a CT scan showed a left temporal mass which was confirmed by MRI. The patient underwent Stereotacti biopsy of mass, and Histological examination gave a diagnosis of anaplastic astrocytoma. He started chemoradiation with fotemustine (nitrosourea alkylating agent). Repeated MRI showed progression with mass effect, mild uncal herniation and enlarging ventricles. He has stable expressive aphasia and hemisyndrome, lethargy and decreased motivation. His treatment was switched from phenobarbital to levetiracetam.
52-year-old male was diagnosed in 2004 with a carcinoma of the lower rectum and underwent surgical anterior resection of the rectal tumor which was a well differentiated adenocarcinoma. In 2008 he underwent emergency operation for a perforated pyloric ulcer and then a radical resection of a gastric tumor which infiltrated the entire thickness of the gastric wall. It was a G3 diffuse type adenocarcinoma with signet ring cells, at pT3N2 stage.
78-year-old male was diagnosed with Metastatic well differentiated neuroendocrine carcinoma in liver. There is an undefined finding in the cecum that might be the primary tumor, and hepatic metastases that can be surgically respected. The imaging tests support the assumption that the primary tumor is in the small intestine.
2-year-old female had been diagnosed with Pleuropulmonary Blastoma. The disease extent included the lung and pleura with no signs of metastatic spread. It was decided to start with 3 cycles of chemotherapy and afterwards to carry out a CT scan reassessment and surgical operation. The expert agrees that patients treated with combination of chemotherapy and complete surgical resection do better. Achieving total resection of the tumor results in a significantly better prognosis, whereas extrapulmonary involvement at diagnosis results in worse prognosis.
58-year-old male diagnosed with sigmoid colon diverticulosis. In the past (2000&2008) he underwent trans urethral resections of bladder lesions which were diagnosed to be glandular cystitis cystica. Follow up cystoscopy performed lately revealed two new strawberry like lesions close to the bladder neck. Urine cytology was negative for malignant cells, pelvic ultrasound demonstrated a thickened bladder. The patient was offered another resection surgery.
38-year-old female was diagnosed with stage I uterine leiomyosarcoma with high mitotic count and infiltrative-type growth margins. The expert recommends to give her adjuvant chemotherapy after the surgery - 6 courses of Adriamycin + Ifosfamide chemotherapy and consider radiotherapy afterwards for local control. An alternative treatment is with the combination of Gencitabine + Taxotere. Her prognosis depends on recurrence.
55-year-old female was diagnosed with glioblastoma after suffering increasing headaches, and was treated with radiation with concurrent Temodal. MRI exam that was performed after 2 additional cycles of CCNU showed tumor progression. The expert recommends different further treatment options.
51-year-old male with past medical history that is remarkable for Sino-nasal adenocarcinoma which was resected 13 years ago, and a recurrent local tumor which was re-operated. Since late 2007, the patient has been noticed to have mild macrocytic anemia and leucopenia, and the hematologist thought it might represent a myelodysplastic syndrome.
