Pulmonary mucoepidermoid carcinoma arising in a patient with Kartagener syndrome

BACKGROUND: Kartagener syndrome, an autosomal recessive disorder with a triad of chronic sinusitis, bronchiectasis, and situs inversus, is characterized by recurrent respiratory tract infections and chronic inflammation of the lung. Information on comorbidities other than infections in patients with Kartagener syndrome is currently limited. CASE PRESENTATION: A 39-year-old, non-smoking female was diagnosed with Kartagener syndrome and admitted to Saitama Medical Center, Jichi Medical University, Japan. Computed tomography revealed an endobronchial massive shadow at the ostial site of the right upper lobe bronchus with atelectasis of the right upper lobe. The mass was surgically resected and pathologically diagnosed as mucoepidermoid carcinoma. The lesion had no vascular invasions and no metastases to the lungs or lymph nodes. The surgical margin was negative for carcinoma. Following surgery, the patient has been in good condition. CONCLUSIONS: The present case showed different clinicopathological characteristics from those previously reported in cases of Kartagener syndrome complicated by carcinoma. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of a young, non-smoking female with comorbid Kartagener syndrome and pulmonary mucoepidermoid carcinoma. This case report may provide a new perspective on the complications of Kartagener syndrome

Safety and Efficacy of Carbon-Ion Radiotherapy for Elderly Patients with High-Risk Prostate Cancer

Carbon-ion radiotherapy (CIRT) is a high-dose intensive treatment, whose safety and efficacy have been proven for prostate cancer. This study aims to evaluate the outcomes of CIRT in elderly patients with prostate cancer. Patients aged 75 years or above at the initiation of CIRT were designated as the elderly group, and younger than 75 years as the young group. The overall survival (OS), disease-specific survival (DSS), biochemical control rate (BCR), biochemical relapse-free survival (BRFS), and adverse events were compared between the elderly and young patients with high-risk prostate cancer treated with CIRT. The elderly group comprised 173 of 927 patients treated for high-risk prostate cancer between April 2000 and May 2018. The overall median age was 69 (range: 45–92) years. The median follow-up period was 91.9 (range: 12.6–232.3) months. The 10-year OS, DSS, BCR, and BRFS rates in the young and elderly groups were 86.9%/71.5%, 96.6%/96.8%, 76.8%/88.1%, and 68.6%/64.3%, respectively. The OS (p < 0.001) was longer in the younger group and the BCR was better in the elderly group (p = 0.008). The DSS and BRFS did not differ significantly between the two groups. The rates of adverse events between the two groups did not differ significantly and no patient had an adverse event of Grade 4 or higher during the study period. CIRT may be as effective and safe in elderly patients as the treatment for high-risk prostate cancer