The Experience and Perplexities of the COVID-19 Situation in Pakistan

The COVID-19 pandemic has provided unprecedented times for people from all walks of life. For the medical student community it is no different. This global health emergency has presented students with circumstances that have required flexibility and constant adaptation with regard to formal medical education. This short commentary draws on personal experience and aims to elucidate the numerous challenges faced by medical students within the context of a low-middle-income country (LMIC) (Pakistan), whilst also highlighting surprising positives that have emerged from an otherwise overwhelming situation

Inflammatory Myofibroblastic Tumor: A Rare Presentation and an Effective Treatment with Crizotinib

Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor (IMT) is a rare entity of neoplastic origin. It usually occurs in children and adolescents and most commonly involves pulmonary and gastrointestinal sites. Here, the authors present two cases; one is the nine months old boy with a subcutaneous IMT in the left temporal region that was treated successfully with surgical resection. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of a subcutaneous IMT in this particular region. The second is an eight years old girl with an IMT of the right hemi-pelvis. The mass had complete surgical excision with clear margins and no residual disease. She was kept on regular follow-up with ultrasound abdomen. However, her disease relapsed with the appearance of lesions in right iliac fossa, right ovary, and liver. Biopsy of the relapsed abdominal mass confirmed ALK-positive IMT. She was treated with ALK inhibitor Crizotinib. She was monitored with regular blood complete picture, hepatic and renal function test, and ultrasound abdomen. Her lesions started regressing within one month, and she achieved complete remission after 6 months of treatment