Unusual coexistence of extramedullary plasmacytoma and nasopharyngeal carcinoma in nasopharynx

Combined Schwannoma and Kappa-Restricted Plasma Cell Neoplasm: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

The patient is a 78-year-old woman with a popliteal soft tissue mass that was tender to palpation with shooting pain on physical examination. A schwannoma was seen on biopsy with subsequent excision demonstrating a concomitant kappa-restricted plasma cell neoplasm. Follow-up did not show evidence of a systemic plasma cell neoplasm. MRI studies showed no evidence of focal lesions, although PET-CT revealed presence of multiple lytic lesions. The patient is currently being monitored every six months. This case is the first kappa-restricted plasma cell neoplasm reported in association with a schwannoma and the first reported in the extremities.

Synchronous clear cell renal cell carcinoma and clonal plasmacytoid cell infiltration: A case report and literature review

Recent studies of tumor microenvironments have revealed that clonal B cells reacting to tumor-derived antigens play an important role in anti-tumor immunity. We report a case of a 72-year-old Japanese man with a complaint of fever for 1 month. Computed tomography revealed a 48 mm mass in his right kidney. The patient underwent a right nephrectomy and histology revealed clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) of Fuhrman Grade 4 with rhabdoid morphology. Focally, marked plasmacytoid cell infiltration was detected in the carcinoma. These plasmacytoid cells were immunohistochemically positive for immunoglobulin (Ig) G, and kappa light chain restriction was confirmed using mRNA in situ hybridization. Programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) immunostaining and RNA in situ hybridization of transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) revealed that both PD-L1 and TGF-β were highly expressed in the area with clonal plasmacytoid cell infiltration. The patient developed bone metastasis 3 months after surgery, and plasmacytoma was not detected during the observation period. We identified a potential link between an immunosuppressive microenvironment and clonal B cell proliferation. The latter posed a differential diagnosis problem between reactive and neoplastic clonal B cell proliferation vis-à-vis a plasmacytoma complicating carcinoma.

Pretreatment age and serum lactate dehydrogenase as predictors of synchronous second primary cancer in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma

OBJECTIVES

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a common cancer and is treated primarily by chemotherapy and radiotherapy. However, NPC with synchronous second primary cancer (SSPC) is very rare and its risk factors, treatment and prognosis remain unclear. In this study, we aimed to analyze patients with NPC and SSPC, and attempt to find potential predictors for these patients.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We retrospectively collected 681 patients with NPC from 2006 to 2018. Patients in this study were divided into two groups: those patients with SSPC and those without SSPC. We then analyzed the demographic data and survival of these two groups. Independent predictors of SSPC were determined by multivariate regression analysis. A comprehensive review of the literature was also performed.

RESULTS

We identified 17 NPC patients with SSPC in our case series and 13 cases in the literatures, and the most common SSPC is lung (16.1%). In univariate analysis, NPC patients with SSPC had older age (P < 0.001) and higher serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) (P = 0.008), compared with those without SSPC. In multivariate analysis, old age (P = 0.001) and high serum LDH (P = 0.023) remained independent predictors of SSPC, and a predictive equation model was established. NPC patients with SSPC had a significantly lower 5-year disease-specific survival rate compared with patients without SSPC (34.0% vs. 77.6%, P < 0.001) CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that pretreatment age and serum LDH were independent predictors for SSPC in NPC patients. These independent factors can be used for early detection, and better facilitate the design of more appropriate treatment by medical professionals.

Epstein-Barr virus-positive plasmacytoma in immunocompetent patients: a diagnostic dilemma

By literature review, plasmacytomas arising in immunocompetent patients are rarely associated with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection. EBV-positive plasmacytoma can cause a diagnostic dilemma as it may morphologically and phenotypically overlap with a clinically aggressive plasmablastic lymphoma (PBL). We reported the clinicopathologic and immunophenotypic findings of four patients with EBV-positive plasmacytomas (three cases of extramedullary plasmacytomas, one case of solitary plasmacytoma of bone) with immunocompetent status. These tumors were characterized by a diffuse proliferation of mature appearing plasma cells, which were diffusely positive for EBV encoded RNA (EBER) by in situ hybridization. All the four patients were alive with no evidence of disease at last follow-up.

Collision carcinoma of squamous cell carcinoma and small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the larynx: A case report and review of the literature

BACKGROUND

Collision carcinoma is rare in clinical practice, especially in the head and neck region. In this paper, we report a case of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and neuroendocrine carcinoma (NEC) colliding in the larynx and review 12 cases of collision carcinoma in the head and neck to further understand collision carcinoma, including its definition, diagnosis, and treatment.

CASE SUMMARY

A 61-year-old man presented with a 1-year history of hoarseness. Contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging of the larynx revealed that the right vocal cord had a nodule-like thickening with obvious enhancement. Laryngoscopy revealed a neoplasm on the right vocal cord, and a malignant tumor was initially considered. A frozen section of right vocal cord was performed under general anesthesia. The pathological result showed a malignant tumor in the right vocal cord. The tumor was excised with a CO₂ laser (V_c type). Routine postoperative pathology showed moderately differentiated SCC with small cell NEC in the right vocal cord. No metastatic lymph nodes or distant metastases were found on postoperative positron emission tomography/computed tomography. Because of the coexistence of SCC and NEC, the patient received adjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The patient was followed for 8 mo, and no recurrence or distant metastasis was found.

CONCLUSION

The treatment of collision carcinoma in the head and neck region is uncertain due to the small number of cases.

Concomitant Extramedullary Plasmacytoma in the Oropharynx and Hypopharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

We report a rare case of hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma occurring synchronously with extramedullary plasmacytoma (EPM) of the oropharynx in which radiotherapy was used as the curative treatment. A 73-year-old man presented with a sore throat that had persisted for 6 months. Examination revealed a superficial, smooth tumorous lesion at the base of his tongue with a red hue in the oropharynx. In addition, a protruding tumor was observed on the mucosal surface in the right piriform recess of the hypopharynx, and computed tomography revealed thickening of the pharyngeal wall at the right tongue base and in the right piriform recess of the hypopharynx. Because no definitive diagnosis could be reached for the lesion at the base of the tongue, the entire tongue-base tumor was resected by transoral surgery under endoscopy. Proliferation of plasma cells in the tumor was detected, and a bone marrow puncture test ruled out multiple myeloma leading to a definitive diagnosis of Stage I (cT1N0M0) squamous cell carcinoma in the right piriform recess of the hypopharynx and primary extramedullary plasmacytoma in the oropharynx. Radiotherapy was selected for curative treatment with a complete response for both cancers. No recurrences have been observed as of 12 months postoperatively.