Gynecomastia-Like Hyperplasia of Axillary Ectopic Breast Tissue in a Young Female

Gynecomastia-like hyperplasia of orthotopic female breast tissue is a rare entity. We present the singularly unique case of a 22-year-old female who presented with a small axillary mass subsequently discovered to be a discrete deposit of ectopic breast tissue with gynecomastia-like hyperplasia. This case highlights the etiology, variable presentation, and evaluation of ectopic breast tissue

Screening for occult cancer after unprovoked venous thromboembolism: Assessing the current literature and future directions.

While significant evidence has established an increased rate of thrombosis in patients with cancer, the risk of occult malignancy in the setting of an unprovoked thrombosis is less clear. Despite continued interest in developing an effective screening system for occult malignancy following unprovoked venous thromboembolism (VTE), discrepancies in the literature and guideline recommendations leave providers uncertain whether to screen or perform further diagnostics for this patient population. Evidence suggests that screening for malignancy can detect cancer sooner in patients with unprovoked VTE, but there is a lack of high-quality evidence demonstrating improvements in survival who receive early detection. In the following manuscript, we summarize VTE in relation to cancer epidemiology and pathophysiology. Our literature review summarizes the spectrum of testing strategies for occult malignancy following unprovoked VTE, including biomarker detection methods and various imaging approaches. We evaluate the benefit of additional diagnostic strategies, review current guidelines on the issue, and provide guidance to the reader on the best practice for investigating undiagnosed malignancy in patients with unprovoked VTE

Chronic liver disease, thrombocytopenia and procedural bleeding risk; are novel thrombopoietin mimetics the solution?

Chronic liver disease (CLD) alters normal hemostatic and thrombotic systems via multiple mechanisms including reduced platelet function and number, leading to challenging peri-operative planning. Hepatic thrombopoietin (TPO) synthesis is reduced in CLD, leading to several recent randomized, placebo-controlled trials examining the utility of TPO-mimetics to increase platelet counts prior to surgery. While these trials do suggest that TPO-mimetics are efficacious at increasing platelet counts in patients with CLD and have led to several recent drug approvals in this space by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, it remains unclear whether these results translate to the relevant clinical endpoint of reduced perioperative bleeding rate and severity. In this article, we review several recently-published, phase 3 trials on the TPO-mimetics eltrombopag, avatrombopag and lusutrombopag, and discuss the clinical significance of their results

Assessing the risk of thromboembolism in cancer patients receiving immunotherapy.

Malignancy has long been implicated with hypercoagulability, leading to an increased rate of both venous and arterial thromboembolic events (VTE and ATE). Immunotherapy has established itself as a cornerstone of modern cancer therapy by promoting antitumor immune responses, though there have been some suggestions that immune-related adverse events could include increased rates of VTE and ATE. In this review, we examine the available evidence regarding the use of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and thrombosis. First, we describe the potential mechanisms by which ICIs might lead to thrombophilia given the overlap between the immune system, coagulation cascade, and platelet adhesion and activation. In addition, while there are some preclinical data evaluating immunotherapy-associated ATEs in animal models, there is a paucity of evidence exploring potential mechanism of VTEs in ICIs. Second, we review the incidence of ATE and VTE in patients receiving ICIs in the published literature. Finally, we discuss current limitations in understanding, areas of conflicting evidence, and approaches to further investigation

The efficacy and safety of thrombopoietin receptor agonists in patients with chronic liver disease undergoing elective procedures: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Thrombopoietin receptor agonists (TPO-RAs) can mitigate preprocedural thrombocytopenia in patients with chronic liver disease (CLD) however their effects on procedural outcomes is unclear. In this meta-analysis, we aimed to better define the efficacy, thrombotic risk and bleeding mitigation associated with the use of preoperative TPO-RAs in patients with CLD. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized placebo-controlled clinical trials to assess the use of preprocedural TPO-RAs in patients with CLD, searching MEDLINE, EMBASE and the Cochrane library database. Six publications comprising eight randomized trials (1229 patients; 717 received TPO-RAs, 512 received placebo) and three unique TPO-RAs were retrieved. The majority of the included procedures were endoscopic. TPO-RAs were significantly more likely to result in a preoperative platelet count greater than 50 x 109/L (72.1% vs 15.6%, RR 4.8, 95% CI 3.6–6.4 p < .00001. NNT 1.8) and reduced the incidence of platelet transfusions (22.5% vs 67.8%, RR 0.33, 95% CI 0.3–0.4 p < .00001. NNT 2.2). Total periprocedural bleeding was decreased in patients who received TPO-RAs (11.6% vs 15.6%, RR 0.64, 95% CI 0.5–0.9 p = .01. NNT 24.7) and there was no increase in the rate of thrombosis (2.2% vs 1.8% RR 1.25, 95% CI 0.6–2.9 p = .60. NNH 211.1). In patients with CLD the use of preprocedural TPO-RAs resulted in significant increased platelet counts, and decreased the incidence of platelet transfusions as compared to placebo. TPO use likewise decreased the incidence of total periprocedural bleeding without increasing the rate of thrombosis

The Predictive Value of Inflammation-Related Peripheral Blood Measurements in Cancer Staging and Prognosis

In this review, we discuss the interaction between cancer and markers of inflammation (such as levels of inflammatory cells and proteins) in the circulation, and the potential benefits of routinely monitoring these markers in peripheral blood measurement assays. Next, we discuss the prognostic value and limitations of using inflammatory markers such as neutrophil-to-lymphocyte and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratios and C-reactive protein measurements. Furthermore, the review discusses the benefits of combining multiple types of measurements and longitudinal tracking to improve staging and prognosis prediction of patients with cancer, and the ability of novel in silico frameworks to leverage this high-dimensional data