Extramedullary haematopoiesis presented as intrathoracic tumour in a patient with alpha-thalassaemia

The authors report a case of extramedullary haematopoiesis (EMH) presenting as an intrathoracic tumour in a patient with alpha-thalassaemia. CT scan and MRI of the chest were obtained and followed by tumour excision. Compared to beta-thalassaemia, only two cases of EMH in patients with alpha-thalassaemia have been described in the literature. A possible reason for this disparity is discussed.

Differences in initial NSE levels in malignant and benign diseases of the thoracic wall

BACKGROUND

Neuron-specific enolase (NSE) is widely used to follow-up patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Since the NSE level can be influenced by a broad range of diseases and disorders a large study should be done to assess its level in various lung and non-lung tumors and benign diseases.

METHODS

This research included 328 SCLC patients, 717 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), 50 other thoracic cancers such as tumors of the mediastinum and mesothelioma, 35 non-pulmonary cancers like esophagus, breast and stomach cancer, 205 benign diseases, and 37 healthy individuals. The serum level of NSE was measured at initial diagnosis prior to therapy using electrochemiluminescence immunoassay (ECLIA, Roche Diagnostics).

RESULTS

The high levels of NSE in SCLC differed significantly from all other groups. The results imply very good sensitivity of NSE in SCLC and good discriminatory power of NSE between SCLC and NSCLC.

CONCLUSIONS

The NSE level in SCLC differs significantly from all other tested groups (p < 0.01). The highest values are seen in SCLC extensive disease. ROC curves revealed good discriminatory power of the initial NSE levels separating SCLC from other lung lesions. NSE can be used as a diagnostic tool for the early recognition of the neuroendocrine component of lung tumors and follow-up of SCLC patients.

[A case of triple negative chest wall recurrent breast cancer treated with capecitabine and docetaxel combination therapy (XT therapy)]

A 59-year-old woman underwent modified radical mastectomy for left breast cancer 9 years earlier. This time, a chest wall recurrence was found. A chest CT showed a chest wall tumor and lymph node metastases. PET images showed increased uptake in chest wall tumor and lymph nodes. The serum tumor markers have also elevated. Open biopsy of chest wall tumor was performed, and the tumor was diagnosed as invasive ductal carcinoma[ER(-), Pg R (-), HER2 score(0)]. Combination chemotherapy with capecitabine and docetaxel was initiated. After 7 courses of treatment, a marked response has been seen. Capecitabine and docetaxel combination therapy are considered useful for treatment of triple negative recurrent breast cancer.

Clinical value of using serological cytokeratins as therapeutic markers in thoracic malignancies

In recent years, there has been an increasing awareness among physicians of the value of therapeutic interventions in patients suffering from lung cancer and mesothelioma. A search for an optimal approach using surgery, irradiation and chemotherapy in different settings of the tumour disease, including curatively aimed adjuvant chemotherapy after locoregional surgery or radiotherapy, has resulted in gradually improved survival rates. Still, early detection is crucial if there is to be a possibility of curing patients or prolonging life in cases of relapsed disease. Several studies have been initiated in which surrogate markers are evaluated in comparison to chest X-rays and computer tomography. The present review focuses on the predictive and prognostic value of using serological cytokeratins as tumour markers for patients suffering from thoracic malignancies.

[Cutaneous metastases from adenocarcinoma of unknown primary site]

Metastatic cancer of unknown primary site appears in 5-10% of oncologic patients. The primary tumor is usually discovered at autopsy and only in 27% of patients alive. Metastases from cancer of unknown primary site may be located in the skin and subcutaneous tissue and it is the dermatologist the first in evaluating these patients. We present a case of cutanoeus metastases from moderately-differentiated adenocarcinoma of unknown primary site. The immunohistochemical study revealed positive staining for CEA and negative staining for PSA. The primary tumor could not be identified in spite of the imaging and endoscopic studies performed. Based on these studies we excluded a colorectal or prostatic origin and considered a pancreatic adencarcinoma as the possible primary tumor. Even though a minority of these patients will have a curable disease, the appropriate use of pathological diagnosis and selected imaging studies for an optimal management of patients with a tumor of unknown primary site should not be ignored.

Diffuse thoracic lymphangiomatosis with disseminated intravascular coagulation in a child

An 8.5-year-old girl who presented with chronic cough and hemoptysis underwent a CT scan of the chest showing diffuse mediastinal and parenchymal infiltration and pleural effusion, and laboratory findings showed disseminated intravascular coagulation. Disseminated lymphangiomatosis was diagnosed after an open-lung biopsy. She was treated by systemic steroids, interferon, tamoxifen, chemotherapy, and radiation but died of respiratory failure and disseminated intravascular coagulation 2 years after the diagnosis. This patient represents a rare presentation of diffuse pulmonary lymphangiomatosis together with disseminated intravascular coagulation, involving both the mediastinum and pulmonary parenchyma, in a child.

[The features of cases of intrathoracic lymphomas]

In this study, 18 patients who had been diagnosed as intrathoracic lymphoma between January 1999 and August 2001 had been evaluated retrospectively to guide the diagnostic approaches. 12 (66.6%) of the patients were male and 6 (33.4%) were female. The mean age was 46.47 +/- 17.31. The leading symptoms were disapnea, cough, weight loss and fever. The most frequently seen laboratory findings were decreased hemoglobin and hematocrit rates (72.2%) and increased Lactate Dehydrogenase levels (44.4%). Radiologically, 18 (100%) patients had mediastinal lymph node enlargement, 8 (44.4%) patients had bilateral and 6 (33.3%) had unilateral hilar enlargement, 3 (16.6%) patients had appearance of mass lesion, 1 (5.5%) had appearance of consolidation, 2 (11.1%) patients had atelectasis, 3 (16.6%) patients had appearance of pleural effusion. Histopathological diagnosis were undertaken with lymph node biopsies in 11(61.1%) patients, with bronchial biopsies in 2 (11.1%) patients, with pleural biopsy in 1 (5.5%) patient, with lymph node and bronchial biopsies in 3 (16.6%) patients, with lymph node and pleural biopsies in 1 (5.5%) patient. 11 (61.1%) patients were diagnosed as Hodgkin Disease (nine as nodular type, two as mixed cellular type). 7 (38.9%) patients were diagnosed as non Hodgkin Lymphoma. After taking diagnosis the patients were sent to medical oncology clinics for follow up and therapy. These findings showed that different locations of intrathoracic lymphomas could be seen with nodal or extranodal presentations so it must be taken into account in differential diagnosis of other pathological conditions.

Screening for autoantibodies in children with opsoclonus-myoclonus-ataxia

Various paraneoplastic autoantibodies have been linked to discrete neurologic syndromes and tumors in adults, but little is known about their incidence in children. We report a cross-sectional study of known paraneoplastic antibodies in 59 children with opsoclonus-myoclonus-ataxia, 86% of whom were moderately or severely symptomatic, and 68% of whom had relapsed at the time of testing. This total number of patients includes 18 children with low-stage neuroblastoma (tested after tumor resection), six of whom had never been treated with immunosuppressants. All were seronegative for anti-Hu, anti-Ri, and anti-Yo, the three paraneoplastic antibodies most associated with opsoclonus-myoclonus or ataxia in adults. These data contrast with reports of anti-Hu-positive sera in children with high-stage tumors and suggest that anti-Hu, anti-Ri, and anti-Yo do not explain relapses in pediatric opsoclonus-myoclonus-ataxia. They underscore the need to search for unique autoantibodies, as well as cellular mechanisms of pediatric paraneoplastic disease.

Circulating IL-6 as a predictor of radiation pneumonitis

PURPOSE

We report results from a clinical research protocol investigating circulating pro-inflammatory cytokines (interleukin-6 [IL-6] and tumor necrosis factor alpha [TNFalpha]) in relation to radiation pulmonary injury.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

In a protocol for cytokine measurement, 25 patients had clinical follow-up longer than 12 months, and 24 had serial cytokine data. Serial plasma specimens before, during, and after thoracic radiotherapy were analyzed for IL-6 and TNFalpha using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Radiation pulmonary injury was defined using National Cancer Institute Common Toxicity Criteria.

RESULTS

Of the 24 patients, 6 had Grade 1 pneumonitis, and 13 had Grade 2 pneumonitis. There was no Grade 3/4 pneumonitis. Median time of radiation pneumonitis was between 8 and 12 weeks post-therapy. IL-6 levels before, during, and after thoracic radiation therapy were significantly higher in those who developed pneumonitis. In contrast, we did not detect a significant correlation between plasma TNFalpha and radiation pneumonitis.

CONCLUSIONS

High pretreatment plasma levels of IL-6 predisposed patients to the risk of radiation pneumonitis. Pretreatment IL-6 level may serve as a predictor for radiation pneumonitis. Serial plasma IL-6 was consistently higher for the pneumonitis group. The role of IL-6 in the cytokine cascades that promote radiation pulmonary injury deserves further investigation.

Use of intracavitary cisplatin for the treatment of childhood solid tumors in the chest or abdominal cavity

PURPOSE

Intracavitary (IC) delivery of cisplatin (CDDP) has been used in the treatment of a variety of adult malignancies based on the favorable pharmacokinetics obtained locally. Since IC CDDP has not been reported in children, we studied its use in a group of pediatric patients with regard to safety, toxicity, pharmacokinetics, and responses.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Eleven patients with an age range of 8 months to 21 years with diagnoses of rhabdomyosarcoma (n = 5), pleuropulmonary blastoma (n = 2), osteosarcoma (n = 2), Ewing's sarcoma (n = 1), and malignant rhabdoid tumor of the kidney (n = 1) were studied. Eight patients received intrapleural (IPL) CDDP and three received intraperitoneal (IP) CDDP, either at diagnosis (n = 3) or relapse (n = 8), for malignant pleural effusion (n = 3), malignant ascites (n = 2), pleural-based tumor (n = 4), pulmonary metastases (n = 1), or abdominal tumor spillage (n = 1).

RESULTS

IC CDDP was well tolerated by pediatric patients. Two patients experienced a transient increase in serum creatinine levels (> two times baseline) and two patients experienced severe neutropenia (absolute neutrophil count < 500/microL). Pharmacokinectic measurements showed a 40-fold advantage for the pleural cavity versus serum after IPL CDDP and serum levels comparable to those achieved with systemic administration of CDDP. Four of five patients who received IC CDDP for malignant ascites or pleural effusion had at least a temporary response. Only three of 11 patients studied had local recurrences following IC CDDP. There are currently four survivors in the study group, including two long-term survivors at greater than 8 years since IPL CDDP treatment.

CONCLUSION

The safety, toxicity, and pharmacokinetics of IC CDDP in pediatric patients are similar to that reported in adult patients. The low incidence of local recurrence following IC CDDP in this group of largely relapsed patients suggests that further study of IC CDDP for pediatric patients is warranted.

Chest malignancies & serum immunoglobulin E

Serum IgE levels were measured by the radioimmunoassay technique in the sera of 53 patients with neoplastic chest diseases. Forty seven patients had malignant chest tumours and another 6 had benign tumours or mediastinal cysts. They included 33 smokers and 20 non-smokers. For comparison, 30 normal non-smoking controls matched for age and sex were included. The serum IgE levels in patients with chest malignancies showed an increase as compared to controls. The IgE levels increased significantly in adenocarcinoma (P < 0.01) and squamous cell carcinoma (P < 0.001), while they were not raised in poorly differentiated carcinoma. There was no significant difference between the serum IgE levels of 32 smokers and 15 non-smokers with malignant chest tumours.

TSH-dependent production of T4 and T3 by metastases of a thyroid carcinoma

A patient with T4 and T3 production by metastases of a follicular thyroid carcinoma leading to TSH suppression is described. During a period of three years, plasma T4, T3 and TSH levels were measured in the substitution-free periods before the successive iodine-131 retention measurements and iodine-131 therapies, when the patient was at least two weeks without thyroid hormones. From the presented data it can be derived that the production of thyroid hormones by metastases was enhanced by endogenous TSH.

Significance of abnormal serum binding of insulin-like growth factor II in the development of hypoglycemia in patients with non-islet-cell tumors

We reported that serum and tumor from a hypoglycemic patient with a fibrosarcoma contained insulin-like growth factor II (IGF-II), mostly in a large molecular form designated "big IGF-II." We now describe two additional patients with non-islet-cell tumor with hypoglycemia (NICTH) whose sera contained big IGF-II. Removal of the tumor eliminated most of the big IGF-II from the sera of two patients. Because specific IGF-binding proteins modify the bioactivity of IGFs, the sizes of the endogenous IGF-binding protein complexes were determined after neutral gel filtration through Saphadex G-200. Normally about 75% of IGFs are carried as a ternary complex of 150 kDa consisting of IGF, a growth hormone (GH)-dependent IGF-binding protein, and an acid-labile complexing component. The three patients with NICTH completely lacked the 150-kDa complex. IGF-II was present as a 60-kDa complex with variable contributions of smaller complexes. In the immediate postoperative period, a 110-kDa complex appeared rather than the expected 150-kDa complex. Abnormal IGF-II binding may be important in NICTH because the 150-kDa complexes cross the capillary membrane poorly. The smaller complexes present in our patients' sera would be expected to enter interstitial fluid readily, and a 4- to 5-fold increase in the fraction of IGFs reaching the target cells would result.

A longitudinal study of the hyaluronan level in the serum of patients with malignant mesothelioma under treatment. Hyaluronan as an indicator of progressive disease

The serum hyaluronan levels of 37 patients with malignant mesothelioma were followed during the course of treatment (high doses of methotrexate were given to 32 of these patients). The patients could be divided into the following two groups: (1) those with progressive disease (n = 17) or (2) those showing improvement during therapy (complete remission [n = 2], partial remission, or no change [n = 18]). On admission to the hospital, the patients with progressive disease showed significantly higher initial serum hyaluronan levels (median value, 250 micrograms/l) than those in the second group (median value, 97 micrograms/l) (P less than 0.005, Wilcoxon). Serum hyaluronan as a predictor of progressive disease has a sensitivity of 65% and a specificity of 85%. There was a significant increase in serum hyaluronan levels during treatment in patients with progression (P less than 0.01). In three patients with initially high levels there was a clear decrease in parallel with the reduction in tumor burden. In the remaining patients of the responder group, the values were constantly low. There was no significant correlation between the hyaluronan level and any other laboratory test performed on blood samples. Pleural fluid was removed for medical reasons from 13 patients. Neither the presence of pleural fluid nor its hyaluronan level were correlated to the progression of the disease. However, there was an interesting negative correlation between serum and pleural hyaluronan levels, indicating that an elevated serum hyaluronan level does not reflect high production in the pleural cavity.

Serum levels of C-reactive protein in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis and malignant tumors of the chest

Serum C-reactive protein (CRP) concentration was studied in patients with newly diagnosed post-primary pulmonary tuberculosis and in those with malignant intrathoracic tumors. In tuberculosis, there was a wide scatter in CRP values and the mean did not differ from that of the tumor patients. Tuberculous patients with cavitation in chest X-ray had significantly higher levels of CRP than those without as well as healthy controls. Normal CRP did not exclude tuberculosis and all the values were below 100 mg/l.

Chemotherapy of extragonadal germ cell tumors

Forty-nine patients with histologically proven germ cell tumors arising in extragonadal sites were retrospectively reviewed. Included in the review were an additional seven patients with undifferentiated tumors with a pathologic appearance compatible with that of a germ cell tumor and elevated levels of serum biomarkers (beta subunit of human chorionic gonadotropin [beta-HCG] +/- alpha-fetoprotein [AFP]. Nineteen patients had a pure seminoma arising in an extragonadal site, whereas 30 patients had nonseminomatous germ cell tumors. Seven patients had primary undifferentiated tumors with elevated levels of serum biomarkers. Sixteen (84%) of the 19 patients with pure extragonadal seminomas with normal levels of serum AFP are alive and free of disease. Eighteen of these 19 patients received platinum-containing regimens and four had received prior chemotherapy that failed. Of the patients with nonseminomatous germ cell tumors, 12 (40%) of the 30 are alive and free of disease with vinblastine/bleomycin +/- cisplatin (13 patients) or CISCAII (cisplatin, cyclophosphamide, and doxorubicin) (nine patients) alternating CISCAII/VBIV (eight patients) chemotherapy. None of the seven patients with undifferentiated germ cell tumors are alive and free of disease. Three of the five patients with pure anterior mediastinal endodermal sinus tumors treated with chemotherapy remain alive and free of disease. Of the seven patients with choriocarcinomas arising in extragonadal sites, three are alive and free of disease. A classification for patients with extragonadal germ cell tumors incorporating site of origin, histology, and likelihood of being truly extragonadal is proposed. The implications of this classification are discussed.

[Chemical and hematological changes in pheochromocytoma]

We report the laboratory findings from studies carried out on 37 pheochromocytoma patients; (20 males and 17 females whose age ranged from 11 to 55 years). Among the parameters measured, fasting hyperglycemia was one of the alterations most frequently encountered (59%), the difference with the normal values was highly significant (p less than 0.001). The levels found for the other parameters measured were also elevated in some cases and the difference between them and the normal values was statistically significant, the assays included were serum cholesterol and creatinine, haemoglobin, hematocrit and white blood cell and platelet counts. The response to the oral glucose load was normal in 9 patients, 6 showed a diabetic curve and 2 had a glucose intolerance response. Data from our observations and from the literature shows that these alterations may be a source of erroneous diagnosis, mainly in cases where symptoms are atypical or infrequent such as fever of unknown etiology, shock and others. Therefore recognizing these abnormalities as a sign of pheochromocytoma is very important both from the diagnostic and therapeutic points of view.

Carcinoembryonic antigen. A useful monitor of therapy of small cell lung cancer

In 85 patients with small cell cancer of the lung, the degree of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) elevation correlated with the extent of disease. Normal CEA levels (less than 2.5 ng/mL) occurred in 55% of patients with limited disease compared with 12% of patients with extensive disease. All patients with CEA levels greater than 50 ng/mL had liver involvement. Serial CEA levels were useful in monitoring response to chemotherapy and in predicting relapse. All patients with CEA values greater than 5.0 ng/mL before start of treatment had a fall in CEA level with response to treatment and a rise in CEA level when resistance to chemotherapy developed. In patients with CEA levels of less than 5.0 ng/mL at the start of treatment, rising values reflected the onset of recurrent disease in 10 or 21 patients who had relapses. The CEA levels used in conjunction with standard roentgenograms and organ scanning studies can aid in the initial staging of small cell cancer of the lung, and in monitoring treatment.

Case reports and studies of paraneoplastic hypotension: abnormal low pressure baroreceptor responses

Intrathoracic stretch receptors regulate adjustments of the vasculature to gravitational changes and influence urinary water and solute excretion. Few reports of pathologic states involving interruption of these regulatory mechanisms have appeared. Two patients with orthostatic hypotenstion related to advanced intrathoracic carcinoma were studied, utilizing tilt-table examinations and immersion of the entire body in water to test the function of their intrathoracic baroreceptor reflex arcs. Both patients showed abnormalities of antidiuretic hormone level and sodium excretion as compared with normal controls. This suggests that total immersion is a safe and convenient test of the low-pressure baroreceptor system in patients with suspected dysfunction. Three patients are also reported whose charts were reviewed posthumously. Although they were not tested in the laboratory, their clinical data suggest that they too had been suffering from an interference with the transmission of impulses from the intrathoracic receptors.