Acute spinal cord compression caused by atypical vertebral hemangioma

Vertebral hemangioma is common, benign lesion that occurs mostly in the body of vertebral bones and is mostly asymptomatic although they may occasionally extend into the posterior elements. An isolated location in the neural arch of vertebrae is extremely rare. An acute spinal cord compression by an exceptional hemangioma involving spinous process of the seventh thoracic vertebra and respecting vertebral body in a 40-year-old woman is reported. On magnetic resonance imaging of the spine, the lesion was hypointense on T1-weighted image, hyperintense on T2-weited image, and enhancing avidly, causing compression of spinal cord. Our case is exceptional by the rapidly character of symptom installation and by atypical and elective involvement of spinous process

Tuberculosis of the Spermatic Cord: Case Report

The spermatic cord tuberculoma is uncommon, especially in its lower portion. Most cases were described in Japanese literature. We report a case of tuberculosis of the spermatic cord in a sexually active young man, revealed by a scrotal mass mimicking a tumor of the testicle and discuss the suitable diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, with preservation of the testes and the other sexual organs

Primary solitary fibrous tumor of the retroperitoneum

Solitary fibrous tumor is an uncommon neoplasm affecting adults and typically located in the pleura and can also occur in a large number of other extra thoracic sites. We present the case of a solitary fibrous tumor (SFT) of the retroperitoneum and describe their histopathological and immunohistochemical features. The identification of SFT in the retroperitoneum is of importance because its clinico-pathological behaviour is still unclear. The pathologist plays a fundamental role in establishing both the positive and differential diagnosis

A Rare Case of Malignant Tumor of the Larynx with Good Prognosis: Laryngeal Chondrosarcoma

Laryngeal chondrosarcoma is a rare laryngeal tumor that most frequently originates from the cricoid cartilage. The majority of lesions are low grade and the distinction from benign chondromas must be made. We present a case of a laryngeal chondrosarcoma arising from the cricoid cartilage in a 75-year-old Arab man who presented with hoarseness, dysphonia, and dyspnea. Endoscopic and radiological examinations showed a mass of the wall of his larynx with displaced structures, airway obstruction, and destruction of the cartilage. The patient underwent total laryngectomy. Histological examination supported the diagnosis of low-grade chondrosarcoma. Five months later, the radiological and clinical findings showed no evidence of recurrence or metastases. Laryngeal chondrosarcomas remain a rare disease of unknown etiology, with slow and insidious symptoms. The treatment is surgical, given the importance of preserving the larynx to patients’ quality of life. The prognosis is favorable and metastases rarely occur

A Novel ALK–THBS1 Fusion in a Laryngeal Inflammatory Myofibroblastic Tumour: A Case Report and Literature Review

International audienceInflammatory myofibroblastic tumor (IMT) is an uncommon neoplasm most frequently seen in the abdomino-pelvic region and lungs of children and young adults. Laryngeal tumors are rare. We present a case of a 23-year-old patient with a 5 month history of laryngitis and aphonia unresolved by corticotherapy. Laryngoscopy revealed a small, non-ulcerated, subepithelial, polypoid mass arising from the right vocal cord. The diagnosis of IMT with ALK expression was supported by histopathologic and molecular analysis. The THBS1 fusion partner was identified by RNA-sequencing analysis for the first time in a laryngeal IMT. This fusion partner has only been identified in six uterine IMTs thus far. Conservative excision of the lesion yielded excellent functional results for the patient. The voice was preserved and no recurrences were seen after 6 months of follow-up

Proximal-type epithelioid sarcoma: a new case report and literature review

Proximal-type epithelioid sarcoma is a rare soft tissue neoplasm which arises from the more proximal part of body and occurs more often in young people; the definite diagnosis depends mainly on the pathological examination; early detection and complete excision remain the foundation of treatment. Due to its aggressive behavior, high capacity of recurrence and the great ability to metastasize, a careful clinical long-term monitoring is required. We report a new case of a 20 years old girl, presented with proximal-type epithelioid sarcoma in her right scapular region, confirmed by pathological examination and removed surgically without recurrence or metastasis at eighteen months of follow-up.Pan African Medical Journal 2016; 2

A rare tumour in the cerebellopontine angle: endolymphatic sac tumour

We present a case of a papillary tumour at the cerebellopontine angle in a 54-year-old man. He presented with right-sided ear pain associated with dizziness and hearing loss. The radiological diagnosis was in favor of acoustic neurinoma. Surgical excision was performed and the diagnosis of the endolymphatic sac tumour was made. Endolymphatic tumour is a low grade adenocarcinoma that originates from the endolymphatic sac. The definitive diagnosis requires a combination of clinical features, radiological finding and pathological correlation

BRCA1 Promoter Hypermethylation in Malignant Breast Tumors and in the Histologically Normal Adjacent Tissues to the Tumors: Exploring Its Potential as a Biomarker and Its Clinical Significance in a Translational Approach

The hypermethylation status of the promoter region of the breast cancer 1 (BRCA1), a well-known tumor suppressor gene, has been extensively investigated in the last two decades as a potential biomarker for breast cancer. In this retrospective study, we investigated the prevalence of BRCA1 promoter methylation in 84 human breast tissues, and we correlated this epigenetic silencing with the clinical and histopathological parameters of breast cancer. We used methylation-specific PCR (MSP) to analyze BRCA1 promoter hypermethylation in 48 malignant breast tumors (MBTs), 15 normal adjacent tissues (NATs), and 21 benign breast lesions (BBLs). The results showed that BRCA1 promoter hypermethylation was higher in MBTs (20/48; 41.67%) and NATs (7/15; 46.67%) compared to BBLs (4/21; 19.05%). The high percentage of BRCA1 hypermethylation in the histologically normal adjacent tissues to the tumors (NATs) suggests the involvement of this epigenetic silencing as a potential biomarker of the early genomic instability in NATs surrounding the tumors. The detection of BRCA1 promoter hypermethylation in BBLs reinforces this suggestion, knowing that a non-negligible rate of benign breast lesions was reported to evolve into cancer. Moreover, our results indicated that the BRCA1 promoter hypermethylated group of MBTs exhibited higher rates of aggressive features, as indicated by the SBR III grade (14/19; 73.68%), elevated Ki67 levels (13/16; 81.25%), and Her2 receptor overexpression (5/20; 25%). Finally, we observed a concordance (60%) in BRCA1 promoter hypermethylation status between malignant breast tumors and their paired histologically normal adjacent tissues. This study highlights the role of BRCA1 promoter hypermethylation as a potential useful biomarker of aggressiveness in MBTs and as an early marker of genomic instability in both histological NATs and BBLs