A diagnostic dilemma following risk-reducing surgery for BRCA1 mutation - a case report of primary papillary serous carcinoma presenting as sigmoid cancer

Tumors that mimic asbestos-related mesothelioma: time to consider a genetics-based tumor registry?

The diagnosis of mesothelioma is not always straightforward, despite known immunohistochemical markers and other diagnostic techniques. One reason for the difficulty is that extrapleural tumors resembling mesothelioma may have several possible etiologies, especially in cases with no meaningful history of amphibole asbestos exposure. When the diagnosis of mesothelioma is based on histologic features alone, primary mesotheliomas may resemble various primary or metastatic cancers that have directly invaded the serosal membranes. Some of these metastatic malignancies, particularly carcinomas and sarcomas of the pleura, pericardium and peritoneum, may undergo desmoplastic reaction in the pleura, thereby mimicking mesothelioma, rather than the primary tumor. Encasement of the lung by direct spread or metastasis, termed pseudomesotheliomatous spread, occurs with several other primary cancer types, including certain late-stage tumors from genetic cancer syndromes exhibiting chromosomal instability. Although immunohistochemical staining patterns differentiate most carcinomas, lymphomas, and mestastatic sarcomas from mesotheliomas, specific genetic markers in tumor or somatic tissues have been recently identified that may also distinguish these tumor types from asbestos-related mesothelioma. A registry for genetic screening of mesothelioma cases would help lead to improvements in diagnostic criteria, prognostic accuracy and treatment efficacy, as well as improved estimates of primary mesothelioma incidence and of background rates of cancers unrelated to asbestos that might be otherwise mistaken for mesothelioma. This information would also help better define the dose-response relationships for mesothelioma and asbestos exposure, as well as other risk factors for mesothelioma and other mesenchymal or advanced metastatic tumors that may be indistinguishable by histology and staining characteristics.

A surveillance conundrum: a case of 4 distinct primary malignancies in a BRCA-1 mutation carrier

Women with HBOC syndrome present a unique challenge to the oncology community, as will many genetic cancer syndromes yet to be discovered as genetic testing increases in availability. Issues of management and, most importantly, implication are yet to be elucidated. After a diagnosis of epithelial ovarian carcinoma lifelong follow-up is recommended. Given the high recurrence rate and dismal long term prognosis of advanced epithelial ovarian carcinoma this recommendation is more often than not moot. There are no clear guidelines or recommendations for surveillance designed for women with disease free survival greater than five years. This case presents a unique scenario of a woman with predictable disease that remains unpreventable.

Coexistence of tuberculous peritonitis and primary papillary serous carcinoma of the peritoneum: A case report and review of the literature

A major diagnostic challenge to the evaluation of an incomplete intestinal obstruction is to distinguish between infectious and malignant etiologies. We present a case of an elderly woman complaining of abdominal pain accompanied with nausea and vomiting, and failure to pass gas or stools. Anti-tuberculosis drugs were used to relieve her abdominal pain, and a needle biopsy of the peritoneal cavity showed evidence of primary papillary serous carcinoma of the peritoneum (PSCP). This is a rare description of tuberculosis in the setting of PSCP. This report illustrates the potential complex nature of malignancies, and emphasizes the need to consider coexistence of malignancy and infection in patients, especially in those with risk factors for malignancy who fail with antibiotic therapy.