Differential Diagnosis of Nodular Goiter by Means of Aspiration Biopsy Cytology: Results in recent five years

A series of the aspiration biopsy cytology (ABC) was conducted on 1092 patients with nodular goiter, and the accuracy of diagnosis obtained preoperatively by the ABC method was studied using 277 cases firmly diagnosed by the surgical operations. As to determination whether a nodule is benign or malignant, 5.5% was noted as false positive, 11.8% as false negative, the overall accuracy being 92.1 %. Upon diagnosis by ABC, much of them were mutually misdiagnosed between papillary proliferation and papillary carcinoma of epithelial cells partially observed in adenomatous goiter, showing the most part to be false positive and false negative. Occult carcinoma was predominated in the false negative cases. In general, although a question remains in a little more false negative cases, ABC itself indicates a high diagnosability with no expected complications. Specially as to malignant nodules, it was superior in nontraumatic determination of histological types, being able to determine the mode of operation already at the stage of examinations for outpatients

A case of HER-2-positive recurrent breast cancer showing a clinically complete response to trastuzumab-containing chemotherapy after primary treatment of triple-negative breast cancer

We report a case of HER-2-positive recurrent breast cancer showing a clinically complete response to trastuzumab-containing chemotherapy 6 years after primary treatment of triple-negative breast cancer. The primary tumor was negative for HER-2 as determined by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) (1+, and ratio, 1.1), but examination of the recurrent lymph node metastasis showed positivity for HER-2 by FISH (ratio, 5.2). No lesions were detected in either her left breast or in other organs, and the patient was diagnosed as having HER-2-positive recurrent disease. Combination chemotherapy using weekly paclitaxel and trastuzumab was initiated, and a clinically complete response was achieved. This report suggests the benefit of routine evaluation of HER-2 status in recurrent breast cancer with the introduction of HER-2-targeting agents

Chest Wall Schwannoma Associated with Neurofibromatosis 2 : A case report

We report a rare case of neurofibromatosis type-2 (NF-2) associated with a chest wall schwannoma that was initially suspected of being a breast tumor. The patient was a 28-year-old female who was diagnosed as having NF-2 at 19 years old. At that time, she noticed a mass in the upper lateral region of her left breast but did not have it examined. The mass grew and became painful, and she was therefore referred to our department. Results of the initial examination indicated the possibility of a breast tumor, but a diagnosis of extramammary tumor of the major pectoralis major muscle was made on the basis of the results of ultrasonography and 3-dimensional computed tomography (3D-CT). An endoscope-assisted extirpation of the tumor was performed. Histologically, the tumor was an Antoni type A and B neurilemoma and was diagnosed as a schwannoma

Granular Cell Tumor of the Breast : Report of a case

A case of granular cell tumor of the breast in a 43-year-old woman is described. The patient presented with a painless mass in the upper-outer quadrant of her right breast. Mammography showed a spiculated tumor and ultrasonography demonstrated a hypoechoic mass with an irregular border. Magnetic resonance (MR) mammography revealed a homogeneous enhanced mass in Tl-weighted images using Gd-DTPA and a ringed high-intensity area around the mass in T2-weighted images. Fine-needle aspiration cytology failed to show any malignant cells. A partial resection of the breast was performed and histological examination revealed a granular cell tumor. Granular cell tumors are generally always benign, but they may be misdiagnosed as malignant tumors because of their mammographic and ultrasonographic findings. MR mammography did not reveal a typical breast cancer in either Tl- or T2-weighted images in the present case. This case illustrates the need for care in preoperative examinations in order to avoid overdiagnosis of breast cancer