Endometriosis Mimicking a Gynecologic Cancer Presentation

CASE DESCRIPTION: A 44-year-old premenopausal woman with acute abdominal pain, a pelvic mass detected on imaging and microcytic anemia was transferred to Gynecologic Oncology service due to clinical suspicion for pelvic neoplasm. Pelvic exam was notable for a palpable cervical mass, enlarged left adnexa, and nodularity of the parametrium. Computed Tomography demonstrated a 17.6X15.5X13.2cm, complex left adnexal mass with small volume ascites and omental thickening and nodularity, suggesting carcinomatosis. Patient underwent supracervical abdominal hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (BSO), omentectomy and radical excision of broad ligament pelvic mass. Intraoperative findings were consistent with large endometrioma. Pathology confirmed the large endometrioma in the broad ligament and endometriosis in the vagina. The ovaries, uterus, and fallopian tubes were negative for endometriosis. The uterine final pathology also demonstrated leiomyomas and an endometrial polyp. Three months after excision, the patient had no other symptoms of endometriosis. CONCLUSIONS: Endometriosis classically presents with symptoms of dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, or infertility; however, up to 25% of patients remain asymptomatic. Only a few prior case reports have documented acute presentations of endometriosis. In this case, the presentation of fever, atypical laboratory values, pelvic exam findings and suspicious imaging (pelvic mass with omental thickening) led to a differential prioritizing malignancy. Patient underwent surgical resection, with intraoperative pathology consistent with an endometrioma. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: This case of an atypical presentation of endometriosis in a previously asymptomatic patient mimicked a malignant process. Final pathological diagnoses of an endometrioma, endometriosis, leiomyomas, and an endometrial polyp highlight the importance of maintaining a broad differential that includes benign pathology and reliance on histopathological investigation

Multimodal Multiplexed Immunoimaging with Nanostars to Detect Multiple Immunomarkers and Monitor Response to Immunotherapies

The overexpression of immunomarker programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) and engagement of PD-1 to its ligand, PD-L1, are involved in the functional impairment of cluster of differentiation 8+ (CD8+) T cells, contributing to cancer progression. However, heterogeneities in PD-L1 expression and variabilities in biopsy-based assays render current approaches inaccurate in predicting PD-L1 status. Therefore, PD-L1 screening alone is not predictive of patient response to treatment, which motivates us to simultaneously detect multiple immunomarkers engaged in immune modulation. Here, we have developed multimodal probes, immunoactive gold nanostars (IGNs), that accurately detect PD-L1+ tumor cells and CD8+ T cells simultaneously in vivo, surpassing the limitations of current immunoimaging techniques. IGNs integrate the whole-body imaging of positron emission tomography with high sensitivity and multiplexing of Raman spectroscopy, enabling the dynamic tracking of both immunomarkers. IGNs also monitor response to immunotherapies in mice treated with combinatorial PD-L1 and CD137 agonists and distinguish responders from those nonresponsive to treatment. Our results showed a multifunctional nanoscale probe with capabilities that cannot be achieved with either modality alone, allowing multiplexed immunologic tumor profiling critical for predicting early response to immunotherapies.This article is published as Ou, Yu-Chuan, Xiaona Wen, Christopher A. Johnson, Daniel Shae, Oscar D. Ayala, Joseph A. Webb, Eugene C. Lin, et al. "Multimodal Multiplexed Immunoimaging with Nanostars to Detect Multiple Immunomarkers and Monitor Response to Immunotherapies." ACS Nano 14, no. 1 (2020). DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.9b07326.</p