Postchemotherapy-related changes in mediastinal mixed germ cell tumor masquerading as a vascular neoplasm

Florid vascular proliferation in teratoma is rare morphological presentation. We present a case of mediastinal germ cell tumor masquerading as a vascular neoplasm in a 14-year-old male who presented with right hemithoracic mass. The initial histopathology of resected mass was suggestive of vascular neoplasm. Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) of right axillary mass with immunohistochemistry on cell block was consistent with metastatic mixed germ cell tumor. Repeat extensive sectioning of the resected mediastinal mass showed focal viable tumor with mainly teratomatous component. Further enquiry into the history revealed patient having received prior chemotherapy; this he received in another hospital before being admitted to our hospital for surgical resection of the mass. The florid vascular proliferation may represent postchemotherapy change or a rare component of germ cell tumor possibly resistant to preoperative chemotherapy

Histological transformation of adenocarcinoma to small cell carcinoma lung as a rare mechanism of resistance to epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitors: Report of a case with review of literature

A subset of non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCC) harbor active mutations of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). In these, EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs) are recommended as the first-line treatment. Though drug resistance is inevitable, histological transformation to small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) is a rare mechanism for acquired resistance. Here we report one such rare case of histological transformation of pulmonary adenocarcinoma to small cell lung carcinoma in 46 year old male treated with Gefitinib

Pure neuritic leprosy: Resolving diagnostic issues in acid fast bacilli (AFB)-negative nerve biopsies: A single centre experience from South India

Background and Purpose: Demonstration of lepra bacilli is essential for definite or unequivocal diagnosis of pure neuritic leprosy (PNL) on nerve biopsy. However, nerves always do not show bacilli owing to the changes of previous therapy or due to low bacillary load in tuberculoid forms. In absence of granuloma or lepra bacilli, other morphologic changes in endoneurium and perineurium can be of help in making a probable diagnosis of PNL and treating the patient with multidrug therapy. Materials and Methods: Forty-six biopsies of PNL were retrospectively reviewed and histologic findings were compared with 25 biopsies of non leprosy neuropathies (NLN) including vasculitic neuropathy and chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP). The distribution of endoneurial infiltrate and fibrosis, perineurial thickening, and myelin abnormalities were compared between PNL and NLN biopsies and analyzed by Chi-square test. Results: Out of 46 PNL casses, 24 (52.17 %) biopsies were negative for acid fast bacilli (AFB). In these cases, the features which favor a diagnosis of AFB-negative PNL were endoneurial infiltrate (51.1%), endoneurial fibrosis (54.2%), perineurial thickening (70.8%), and reduced number of myelinated nerve fibers (75%). Interpretation and Conclusion: Nerve biopsy is an efficient tool to diagnose PNL and differentiate it from other causes of NLN. In absence of AFB, the diagnosis of PNL is challenging. In this article, we have satisfactorily evaluated the various hisopthological features and found that endoneurial inflammation, dense fibrosis, and reduction in the number of myelinated nerve fibers are strong supportive indicators of PNL regardless of AFB positivity

Vasculitic neuropathy: A retrospective analysis of nerve biopsies and clinical features from a single tertiary care center

Objective: Vasculitic neuropathy can be either restricted to the peripheral nerves or associated with systemic involvement of other organs. The objective of this study was to analyze the nerve biopsies reported as “vasculitic neuropathy” with clinical features. Materials and Methods: All cases diagnosed with vasculitic neuropathy were retrospectively analyzed and categorized as systemic vasculitis and nonsystemic vasculitic neuropathy based on the clinical features. The histological features were further evaluated and classified according to the Peripheral Nerve Society Guidelines. Results: Of the 126 cases, there were 65 nonsystemic vasculitis, 45 secondary systemic vasculitis, and 16 primary systemic vasculitis. Definite vasculitis was more common in the systemic vasculitis group. The epineurial vessels were predominantly involved with chronic axonal changes. Conclusion: The sensitivity of definite vasculitis on nerve biopsy was 54.76%. The sensitivity increases when the diagnostic criteria of definite and probable vasculitis were applied taking into account perivascular inflammation accompanied by vascular changes and axonopathy

Juvenile idiopathic inflammatory myopathies: A clinicopathological study with emphasis on muscle histology

Background: Juvenile idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (JIIM) are rare and heterogeneous. Subtype identification is important for treatment. Materials and Methods: Patients below 18 years diagnosed as idiopathic inflammatory myopathy (IIM) according to the Bohan and Peter criteria between January 2010 and May 2015 were evaluated with muscle biopsy in the four domains: muscle fiber, inflammation, connective tissue, and vascular, with basic panel of histochemical stains as per recommendations of the European Neuromuscular center (ENMC) workshop 2015. Immunohistochemistry with CD 31 was done to assess capillary density. Results: JIIM constituted 15.25% of IIM with juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM) being the most common subgroup (24/27) followed by juvenile overlap myositis (JOM) (3/27) in association with systemic lupus erythematosus (2) and systemic sclerosis (1). Muscle biopsy in JDM was characterized by perifascicular atrophy, necrosis, degeneration, and regeneration in all and the other features included perivascular inflammation (21), lymphoid aggregates (2), mitochondrial abnormalities (9), sarcoplasmic vacuoles (6), capillary dropout (5), capillary dilatation (6), and perimysial fibrosis (14). JOM was characterized by auto-antibodies and perivascular inflammation. Conclusion: JIIMs were rare and JDM was the most common subtype. Muscle biopsy evaluation as per ENMC criteria characterized the subgroups