Thrombosis of the external jugular vein. Case report of a rare cause for pain in the lateral neck

Dental practitioners are sometimes confronted with patients complaining about pain in the neck area. Especially if an induration in the region of the big vessels is present, one must keep in mind the differential diagnosis of a spontaneous thrombosis of the external jugular vein. This diagnosis needs consequent treatment but also consequent search for an underlying pathology. This case report presents such a situation in an exemplary way. Despite risk factors, the reason for thrombosis stays in the dark. However, all possible causes were cleared and are shown to the reader. Especially malignancies are responsible for thrombosis of the jugular vein in many cases

Incidental diagnosis of the tall-cell variant of the papillary microcarcinoma of the thyroid gland requires completion lymphadenectomy: case report

Papillary thyroid carcinoma is the most common neoplasm of the thyroid gland which is usually associated with a very good prognosis. The aim of this case report is to present the disease course of a rare tumor of the thyroid gland, which is worthwhile due to its extraordinary appearance and specific management. A 46-year-old patient presented with a pronounced right-sided, but bilateral, multinodular goiter, with a volume of approximately 80 mL, as assessed on ultrasonography. Surgical removal was indicated as scintigraphy showed a 4-cm cold nodule that almost completely took up the right thyroid lobe. Because of the micronodular texture of the left thyroid lobe, complete thyroidectomy was performed according to well-established guidelines. Histopathological investigation of the specimen revealed a follicular adenoma without any malignancy in the right thyroid lobe and the tall-cell variant of the papillary thyroid microcarcinoma in the left lobe, with a capsular invasion and diameter of 0.6 cm. Because this rare tumor subtype is known for its aggressive behavior, and there was capsular invasion, low-grade differentiation, and an increased risk for lymphatic metastases, completion lymphadenectomy of the central compartments was performed after an interdisciplinary board decision. On histopathology, there were 30 tumor-free lymph nodes; final TNM classification was as follows: pT3 pN0 [0/30] L0 V0 Pn0 R0). The postoperative course was uneventful, and surgery was followed by radioiodine therapy. Six months after the surgery, clinical follow-up did revealed any sign of recurrence. The tall-cell variant is a rare and aggressive subtype of the papillary thyroid carcinoma, and it is characterized by poor 5-year survival and high recurrence rate. According to our understanding and based on current literature, this disease requires an aggressive surgical treatment and a close follow-up, as recommended by the current guidelines

Czy przypadkowe znalezisko diagnostyczne pod postacią mikroraka brodawkowatego wymaga uzupełniającej limfadenektomii: wysoko-komórkowy wariant tego złośliwego nowotworu (opis przypadku)

Rak brodawkowaty tarczycy jest najczęstszym nowotworem gruczołu tarczowego i zazwyczaj wiąże się z bardzo dobrą prognozą. Celem tego opisu przypadku jest prezentacja występowania oraz przebiegu rzadkiego nowotworu gruczołu tarczowego, wartego opisania z uwagi na jego wyjątkowe cechy oraz związane z tym specyficzne postępowanie. Opisujemy przypadek 46-letniego pacjenta, który zgłosił się z powodu wola obustronnego wieloguzkowego tarczycy, bardziej zaznaczonego prawostronnie, o objętości około 80 ml według oceny ultrasonograficznej. Choremu zalecono usunięcie chirurgiczne wola z powodu uwidocznionego w scyntygrafii czterocentymetrowego „zimnego” guzka, który zajmował niemal cały prawy płat tarczycy. Z powodu mikroguzkowego utkania lewego płatu tarczycy wykonano kompletną tyreoidektomię według wytycznych oraz powszechnie uznanych zaleceń w porównywalnych przypadkach. Badanie histopatologiczne wycinka wykazało obecność gruczolaka pęcherzykowego bez żadnych cech złośliwości w prawym płacie tarczycy oraz wariantu wysokokomórkowego mikroraka brodawkowatego tarczycy o średnicy 0,6 cm z naciekiem torebki w lewym płacie tarczycy. Z uwagi na znane agresywne zachowanie onkobiologiczne tego rzadkiego podtypu, już opisaną inwazję torebkową, niski stopień zróżnicowania histopatologicznego oraz zwiększone ryzyko przerzutowania drogą limfopochodną, wykonano uzupełniającą limfadenektomię węzłów chłonnych przedziału środkowego szyi zgodnie z decyzją zespołu interdyscyplinarnego. Ostatecznie badanie histopatologiczne wykazało 30 węzłów chłonnych bez utkania nowotworowego (ostateczna klasyfikacja TNM: pT3 pN0 [0/30] L0 V0 Pn0 R0). Przebieg pooperacyjny był niepowikłany, wdrożono terapię radiojodem. Jak dotąd, w trakcie pierwszej wizyty 6 miesięcy po operacji, w obserwacji klinicznej nie stwierdzono cech odrostu guza. Wariant wysokokomórkowy jest rzadkim i agresywnym podtypem raka brodawkowatego tarczycy, który charakteryzuje się gorszym 5-letnim przeżyciem oraz wyższym ryzykiem nawrotów. Z naszego punktu widzenia oraz według danych z piśmiennictwa, rozpoznanie to wymaga bardziej agresywnego leczenia chirurgicznego oraz częstych obserwacji i ścisłej kontroli zgodnie z wytycznymi

Two-stage hybrid Ivor-Lewis esophagectomy as surgical strategy to reduce postoperative morbidity for high-risk patients

Background!#!Ivor-Lewis esophagectomy (ILE) is the standard surgical care for esophageal cancer patients but postoperative morbidity impairs quality of life and reduces long-term oncological outcome. Two-stage ILE separating the abdominal and thoracic phase into two distinct surgical procedures has proven to enhance microcirculation of the gastric conduit and therefore most likely reduces complications. However, two-stage ILE has not been evaluated systematically in selected groups of patients scheduled for this procedure. This investigation aims to demonstrate the feasibility of two-stage ILE in high-risk patients.!##!Patients and methods!#!In this retrospective analysis of data obtained from a prospective database, a consecutive series of 275 hybrid ILE (hILE) were included. Patients were divided into two groups based on one- or two-stage hILE. Postoperative complications were assessed according to ECCG (Esophageal Complication Consensus Group) criteria and compared using the Clavien-Dindo score. Indication for two-stage esophagectomy was classified as pre- or intraoperative decision.!##!Results!#!34 out of 275 patients (12.7%) underwent two-stage hILE. Patients of the two-stage group were significantly older. In 21 of 34 patients (61.8%) the decision for a two-stage procedure was made prior to esophagectomy, in 13 (38.2%) patients intraoperatively after completion of the laparoscopic gastric mobilization. The most frequent preoperative reason to select the two-stage procedure was a stenosis of the coeliac trunc and superior mesenteric artery (n = 10). The predominant cause for an intraoperative change of strategy was a laparoscopically diagnosed hepatic fibrosis/cirrhosis (n = 5).Overall morbidity and major' complications (CD > IIIa) were comparable for both groups (11.7% in both groups). The overall anastomotic leak rate was 12.4% and was non-significant lower for the two-stage procedure.!##!Conclusion!#!Two-stage hILE is a feasible concept to individualize the surgical treatment of patients with well-defined clinical risk factors for postoperative morbidity. It can also be applied after completion of the abdominal phase of IL esophagectomy without compromising the patient safety

Two-stage hybrid Ivor-Lewis esophagectomy as surgical strategy to reduce postoperative morbidity for high-risk patients

Background Ivor-Lewis esophagectomy (ILE) is the standard surgical care for esophageal cancer patients but postoperative morbidity impairs quality of life and reduces long-term oncological outcome. Two-stage ILE separating the abdominal and thoracic phase into two distinct surgical procedures has proven to enhance microcirculation of the gastric conduit and therefore most likely reduces complications. However, two-stage ILE has not been evaluated systematically in selected groups of patients scheduled for this procedure. This investigation aims to demonstrate the feasibility of two-stage ILE in high-risk patients. Patients and methods In this retrospective analysis of data obtained from a prospective database, a consecutive series of 275 hybrid ILE (hILE) were included. Patients were divided into two groups based on one- or two-stage hILE. Postoperative complications were assessed according to ECCG (Esophageal Complication Consensus Group) criteria and compared using the Clavien-Dindo score. Indication for two-stage esophagectomy was classified as pre- or intraoperative decision. Results 34 out of 275 patients (12.7%) underwent two-stage hILE. Patients of the two-stage group were significantly older. In 21 of 34 patients (61.8%) the decision for a two-stage procedure was made prior to esophagectomy, in 13 (38.2%) patients intraoperatively after completion of the laparoscopic gastric mobilization. The most frequent preoperative reason to select the two-stage procedure was a stenosis of the coeliac trunc and superior mesenteric artery (n = 10). The predominant cause for an intraoperative change of strategy was a laparoscopically diagnosed hepatic fibrosis/cirrhosis (n = 5).Overall morbidity and major' complications (CD > IIIa) were comparable for both groups (11.7% in both groups). The overall anastomotic leak rate was 12.4% and was non-significant lower for the two-stage procedure. Conclusion Two-stage hILE is a feasible concept to individualize the surgical treatment of patients with well-defined clinical risk factors for postoperative morbidity. It can also be applied after completion of the abdominal phase of IL esophagectomy without compromising the patient safety

Transcriptomics, sensorial analysis and volatilome fingerprinting of fresh produce: a multi-trait approach to identify predictors of food quality

Fruit quality is determined by numerous traits including sweetness, colour, aroma, acidity and firmness. Quality has become an important characteristic for the consumer. Therefore, the fruit industry needs to ensure and optimize product quality throughout the supply chain. Volatilome fingerprinting combined with gene expression profiling can provide evidence for fruit quality differences and changes which can be related to genotype selection, geographical origins, post-harvest storage and supply chain processing (such as washing, drying, and trimming). In this context, next generation sequencing and metabolomics technologies can be very useful by allowing comprehensive, simultaneous characterization of metabolite and gene expression data from diverse genotypes of the same species as well as assessing effects of post- harvest storage conditions. Here, comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC×GC) combined with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOF-MS) was used to analyse the volatilome of peach (Prunus persica (L. Batsch) fruits. An RNA-sequence transcriptomic approach was employed to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) amongst post-harvest treatments focusing on those associated with volatile organic compound (VOC) metabolism in order to better understand mechanisms underlying their modulation post-harvest. Peach fruits are characterized by a rapid deterioration at room temperature meaning that cold storage is widely used to delay post-harvest ripening of the fruit and extend its commercial life. It is, therefore of considerable scientific and economic interest to improve our knowledge of the mechanisms by which fruit respond to cold stress. Our study, focussed on one peach (cv Sagittaria) and one nectarine (cv Big Top) cultivar: fruits were analysed immediately after harvest and after 1, 5, 7 and 14 days of cold storage at 1°C. A total of 159 VOCs were identified for Sagittaria, while 89 VOCs were detected for Big Top. Canonical Analysis of Principal coordinates (or CAP) on VOC profiles showed a discrimination between cultivars and post-harvest storage periods. A combination of sensory evaluation and VOC profiles showed the same trend reported by CAP analysis. Furthermore, correlation between the expression profile of flavour-related genes and VOCs was shown. For example genotype specific activation of some VOC biosynthetic pathways, such as that related to sesquiterpenoid and triterpenoids biosynthesis, was observed in Sagittaria. Differences were also detected in sensory characteristics. Overall the combination of sensory evaluation, VOC profiles and gene expression could help breeders to understand which traits/aroma are more relevant to consumer perception. Furthermore, understanding of metabolic and genetic changes occurring in fruit VOC patterns post-harvest could contribute to providing a suite of simple diagnostic checks to monitor fruit quality throughout the supply chain

Oncological outcomes of standard versus prolonged time to surgery after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy for oesophageal cancer in the multicentre, randomised, controlled NeoRes II trial

Background: The optimal time to surgery (TTS) after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) for oesophageal cancer is unknown and has traditionally been 4-6 weeks in clinical practice. Observational studies have suggested better outcomes, especially in terms of histological response, after prolonged delay of up to 3 months after nCRT. The NeoRes II trial is the first randomised trial to compare standard to prolonged TTS after nCRT for oesophageal cancer. Patients and methods: Patients with resectable, locally advanced oesophageal cancer were randomly assigned to standard delay of surgery of 4-6 weeks or prolonged delay of 10-12 weeks after nCRT. The primary endpoint was complete histological response of the primary tumour in patients with adenocarcinoma (AC). Secondary endpoints included histological tumour response, resection margins, overall and progression-free survival in all patients and stratified by histologic type. Results: Between February 2015 and March 2019, 249 patients from 10 participating centres in Sweden, Norway and Germany were randomised: 125 to standard and 124 to prolonged TTS. There was no significant difference in complete histological response between AC patients allocated to standard (21%) compared to prolonged (26%) TTS (P = 0.429). Tumour regression, resection margins and number of resected lymph nodes, total and metastatic, did not differ between the allocated interventions. The first quartile overall survival in patients allocated to standard TTS was 26.5 months compared to 14.2 months after prolonged TTS (P = 0.003) and the overall risk of death during follow-up was 35% higher after prolonged delay (hazard ratio 1.35, 95% confidence interval 0.94-1.95, P = 0.107). Conclusion: Prolonged TTS did not improve histological complete response or other pathological endpoints, while there was a strong trend towards worse survival, suggesting caution in routinely delaying surgery for >6 weeks after nCRT