Vagus Nerve Shwannoma Presented With Long-Term Cachexia: Report of a Case and Review of Literature

Intraabdominal schwannomas are rare tumors that may arise from viscera or abdominal wall.The rarity accompanied by occurrence in odds places may make their diagnosis difficult and delayed.We present a case of distal paraesophageal schwannoma with long-term cachexia.A34-year-old man presented with long-lasting vomiting, dysphagia, and progressive cachexia for four years.Multiple paraclinical assessments were normal;subsequently he was referred to psychiatric department and treated for anorexia nervosa for three year without any improvement.Further evaluations showed a mass in diaphragm hiatus in paraesophageal region. Explorative laparotomy revealed a cylindric shaped encapsulated tumor parallel to distal esophagus risen from vagus nerve, which was resected completely. Pathological and immunohistochemical examinations of the tumor revealed a benign plexiform schwannoma.After surgery,the patient was relieved from symptoms and gained weight significantly.It is important to consider physical causes in patients with cachexia who are treated for psychiatric problems and it is necessary to reevaluate these patients specially when there is no response to psychiatric treatments.

Xanthogranulomatous cystitis mimicking bladder tumor: A case report

Xanthogranulomatous inflammation, as a type of chronic granulomatous inflammation, typically occurs in the gall bladder and kidneys. In this paper, we present a 56-year-old man with Xanthogranulomatous cystitis mimicking bladder malignancy. He was referred to our clinic with the chief complaint of a one-year history of urgency and frequency. CT scan showed a solid lesion in the bladder. The patient underwent complete transurethral resection of the bladder tumor. Microscopic histopathology revealed xanthogranulomatous cystitis. The patient received a course of antibiotic therapy. Follow-up Cystourethroscopy showed normal bladder

The clinicopathologic association of c-MET overexpression in Iranian gastric carcinomas; an immunohistochemical study of tissue microarrays

Abstract Background c-MET is an oncogene protein that plays important role in gastric carcinogenesis and has been introduced as a prognostic marker and potential therapeutic target. The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency of c-MET overexpression and its relationship with clinicopathological variables in gastric cancer of Iranian population using tissue microarray. Methods In a cross sectional study, representative paraffin blocks of 130 patients with gastric carcinoma treated by curative gastrectomy during a 2 years period of 2008–2009 in two university hospitals in Tehran-Iran were collected in tissue microarray and c-MET expression was studied by immunohistochemical staining. Results Finally 124 cases were evaluated, constituted of 99 male and 25 female with the average age of 61.5 years. In 71% (88/124) of tumors, c-MET high expression was found. c-MET high expression was more associated with intestinal than diffuse tumor type (P = 0.04), deeper tumor invasion, pT3 and pT4 versus pT1 and pT2 (P = 0.014), neural invasion (P = 0.002) and advanced TNM staging, stage 3 and 4 versus stage 1 and2 (P = 0.044). The c-MET high expression was not associated with age, sex, tumor location, differentiation grade and distant metastasis, but relative associations with lymph node metastasis (P = 0.065) and vascular invasion (P = 0.078) were observed. Conclusions c-MET oncogene protein was frequently overexpressed in Iranian gastric carcinomas and it was related to clinicopathological characteristics such as tumor type, depth of invasion, neural invasion and TNM staging. It can also support the idea that c-MET is a potential marker for target therapy in Iranian gastric cancer. Virtual slides The virtual slide(s) for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/9744598757151429</p

Histiocytic Sarcoma Involving Cervical Vertebra: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Histiocytic sarcoma (HS) is a rare neoplasm composed of cells with immunohistochemical characteristics of mature histiocytes. It can be disseminated or localized and usually involves the skin, spleen, and gastrointestinal tract. Primary involvement of the vertebral column is extremely rare. We report a 29-year-old female who presented with neck pain and had a destructive 35*43*48 mm lesion in C2 with a paravertebral extension. The initial biopsy did not lead to the correct diagnosis. She later developed dysphagia, and the anterior approach was used for tumor decompression. The diagnosis of cervical histiocytic sarcoma was made, and she underwent radiotherapy. The follow-up MRI showed a marked response to radiotherapy. Here, we report the first case of cervical HS, review all cases of vertebral HS, compare patients’ characteristics and clinical courses, and discuss diagnostic nuances and treatment options