Pulmonary metastasis: very late relapse of testicular embryonal carcinoma

Testicular carcinoma recurrences represent a rare finding (1-6% in non-seminomatous germ cell tumours). However, cases of recurrence have been described many years later. We report a case of late recurrence of embryonic testicular carcinoma, after 26 years, with pulmonary metastases. Following evidence of increase of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), the patient underwent a total body computed tomography scan that exhibited two pulmonary nodules, one in upper left lobe and other in left hilar region with multiple mediastinal and retrocrural lymph node enlargements All consolidations showed increased sugar uptake value at PET CT. Biopsies of lung consolidations confirmed diagnosis of recurrence of testicular carcinoma

Diagnostic yield of rapid on-site evaluation transbronchial needle aspiration versus conventional transbronchial needle aspiration: a single center experience

Trans-bronchial needle aspiration allows lymph node sampling in several thoracic conditions; the ability of Rapid On-Site Evaluation (ROSE) to predict the final diagnosis in this setting has not been well characterized. We performed a retrospective study to establish the utility of ROSE in the diagnosis of thoracic diseases with mediastinal lymph node involvement. We retrospectively reviewed 297 patients with hilar-mediastinal lymph node enlargement detected at CT scan from January 2013 to April 2016. 201 patients underwent conventional TBNA; in 96 patients, TBNA procedure was performed by on-site presence of a team of pathologists and research morphologists. Lung neoplasms, sarcoidosis, infections and lymphoma were the most common diseases diagnosed with TBNA samples. TBNA simultaneously performed in combination with ROSE produced an increase in percentage of appropriate samples compared to single cTBNA (adequate samples cTBNA vs ROSE-TBNA: 73% vs 81%; p<0.05). Our observations indicate an increase in adequacy of fine needle aspirations and increased diagnostic yield in the ROSE group. In conclusions, ROSE may serve to reduce procedure time and enhance sample triaging therefore limiting the need for further invasive diagnostic testing

Elderly with COPD: comoborbitidies and systemic consequences

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) represents a comple respiratory disorder characterized by persistent respiratory symptoms due to chronic airflow limitation caused by exposure to noxious particles/gases with an increased inflammatory response of the airways. COPD is common in older people, with an estimated prevalence of 10% in the US population aged > 75 years and is often accompanied by other concomitant chronic conditions that negatively impact prognosis and health status. The aim of this paper is to highlight the relationship between COPD and other comorbidities in elderly population. We focus our attention on the relationship existing between COPD and cardiovascular diseases, lung cancer, obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome, malnutrition/sarcopenia and osteoporosis with particular attention to adipokines, considering that adipose tissue plays a relevant role in the cross-talk between organs

Primitive lung cancer in women: literary review and clinical statistical remarks

The authors after bibliographic review with regard to epidemiology, aetiology and diagnostics, examine all cases of women with primitive lung cancer observed from 1955 to 74. Incidence of illness, aetiological factors, clinical findings of the beginning of the illness are analyzed following a morphological and histological classification