Plasmacytoid urothelial carcinoma - A clinicopathological case series of an aggressive variant of urothelial cancer

Background

Many new morphological variants of urothelial carcinoma of urinary bladder have been described in the literature, plasmacytoid/signet ring cell/diffuse variant being one of the rare amongst these. Till date, no case series has been reported from India, describing this variant.

Materials and Methods

We retrospectively analyzed the clinicopathological data of 14 patients diagnosed at our center with plasmacytoid urothelial carcinoma.

Results

Seven cases (50%) were pure forms while the remaining 50% of cases had a concurrent conventional urothelial carcinoma component. Immunohistochemistry was performed to rule out other mimickers of this variant. Treatment-related data were available for seven patients, while follow-up was available for nine cases.

Conclusion

Overall, plasmacytoid variant of urothelial carcinoma is considered to be an aggressive tumor with poor prognosis.

Glioblastoma Occurring as Second Primary in a Treated Case of Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma

Glioblastoma as second primary malignancy (SPM) has been reported after prostate cancer, meningiomas, Hodgkin's lymphoma. We report an extremely rare case of glioblastoma as SPM, occurring after remission of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Fifty-year-old male presented with loss of consciousness followed by right-sided weakness. He was treated with chemotherapy for DLBCL of the cervical lymph nodes, 5 years back. Present scans revealed well-defined intra-axial lesion in the left parietal lobe, suggestive of central nervous system (CNS) involvement by lymphoma. Left parieto-occipital craniotomy was performed and microscopic examination revealed the tumor to be Glioblastoma, WHO Grade IV. The tumor cells were positive for glial fibrillary acid protein and negative for leucocyte common antigen. He was treated by radiotherapy and temozolomide. Pathologic examination is a must for CNS lesions. Had it not been for the biopsy, the patient would have been treated as a recurrence of CNS lymphoma by chemotherapy and would have probably succumbed.

Solitary Plasmacytoma with Amyloid - An Unusual Dural-Based Lesion

Solitary plasmacytoma of the dura without systemic involvement are extremely rare lesions, with <15 cases reported in the literature. Among these, ours is the second case to show the presence of amyloid. Fifty-year-old male had presented with headache, sudden onset right-sided weakness, and vomiting. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed an extra-axial mass in the left fronto-parietal region measuring 10 cm × 8.7 cm × 3.9 cm, suggestive of meningioma. The left fronto-parietal craniotomy was performed and multiple tissue bits aggregating to 10 cm × 8.5 cm × 2 cm along with thinned out membrane-like bit of calvarium was sent for pathologic examination. H and E stained sections showed sheets of plasmacytoid cells along with amyloid, which showed apple-green birefringence on Congo red staining. On immunohistochemistry, tumor cells were positive for CD38, CD138, showed kappa light chain restriction and were negative for CD45, CD34. Hence, it was diagnosed as a plasma cell neoplasm. Further work-up with whole-body positron-emission tomography scan revealed no systemic involvement. Dural-based lesions can mimic meningioma radiographically as well as intraoperatively. Histopathological examination unveils the diagnosis, to guide appropriate therapeutic regimens.

Fibroadenoma in Axillary Ectopic Breast Tissue Mimicking Lymphadenopathy

Swellings in the axilla especially in women are always viewed with suspicion owing to a large number of these being associated with breast carcinoma presenting as nodal metastasis. In a country like India, tuberculous lymphadenopathy is also amongst the first differentials. We present a case of a woman with right sided axillary swelling mimicking lymphadenopathy which on Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology (FNAC) turned out to be fibroadenoma of the ectopic breast tissue. This condition is a rare occurrence in Ectopic Breast Tissue (EBT) as opposed to that in the normal breast, the most common pathology affecting ectopic breast being carcinomas.