Mesothelioma in an HIV/AIDS patient without history of asbestos exposure: possible role for immunosuppression in mesothelioma: a case report

We describe a 41-year-old African-American male who initially presented in respiratory distress. He had a positive history of asthma, cigarette smoking, and only recent possible asbestos exposure six months prior to onset of symptoms. Mesothelioma was suspected after chest radiography and PET-CT, and confirmed by immunohistochemical tissue analysis. We postulate that immunosuppression enhances susceptibility to mesothelioma, since weakened immune systems are present in both HIV/AIDS patients like this 41-year-old man, and elderly patients who compose the population that classically presents with mesothelioma. Furthermore, immunosuppression may be a prerequisite to the development of mesothelioma

Plasma Cell Leukemia Presenting as a Chest Wall Mass: A Case Report

Plasma cell leukemia (PCL) is an uncommon neoplasm of plasma cells, with an aggressive clinical course and poor outcome, even with current standard of care. It can occur either de novo (primary PCL) or as a progression of multiple myeloma (MM). This disease has unique diagnostic criteria but certain genetic markers and clinical features may overlap with MM. Due to the low prevalence of PCL, guidelines on its management are extrapolated from the management of MM and based on small retrospective studies and cases reports/series. We present an interesting case of PCL in a middle-aged African-American male, who was diagnosed incidentally after chest wall imaging for an unrelated complaint. The diagnostic approach, management and outcomes of PCL are discussed

Core-Binding Factor Influences the Disease Specificity of Moloney Murine Leukemia Virus

The core site in the Moloney murine leukemia virus (Moloney MLV) enhancer was previously shown to be an important determinant of the T-cell disease specificity of the virus. Mutation of the core site resulted in a significant shift in disease specificity of the Moloney virus from T-cell leukemia to erythroleukemia. We and others have since determined that a protein that binds the core site, one of the core-binding factors (CBF) is highly expressed in thymus and is essential for hematopoiesis. Here we test the hypothesis that CBF plays a critical role in mediating pathogenesis of Moloney MLV in vivo. We measured the affinity of CBF for most core sites found in MLV enhancers, introduced sites with different affinities for CBF into the Moloney MLV genome, and determined the effects of these sites on viral pathogenesis. We found a correlation between CBF affinity and the latent period of disease onset, in that Moloney MLVs with high-affinity CBF binding sites induced leukemia following a shorter latent period than viruses with lower-affinity sites. The T-cell disease specificity of Moloney MLV also appeared to correlate with the affinity of CBF for its binding site. The data support a role for CBF in determining the pathogenic properties of Moloney MLV