Pure dysgerminoma of the ovary: a study of 31 cases

Malignant germ cell tumors of the ovary are rare tumors characterized by their heterogeneity and occurring mostly in young women. Dysgerminoma is the most common type of these tumors. This was a retrospective study of 31 patients with pure dysgerminoma of the ovary diagnosed in Salah Azaiez institute of Tunis in Tunisia between 1970 and 2012.The median age was 22 years old. Abdominal pain was the most complaint in 45.1% of cases. An abdomino-pelvic mass was found in 83.8% of cases. Surgery was performed in all patients. The median tumoral size was 13.7 cm. Sixty four-point five percent of the patients underwent a conservative surgery. The tumor was classified stage I in 51.6% of the cases, stage II in 9.7% of the cases, stage III in 35.5% of the cases and stage IV in 3.2% of the cases. Fourteen patients received platinum-based adjuvant chemotherapy, and 10 patients had a radiotherapy. We have noticed 2 cases of recurrence and 2 cases of metastasis. Five-year and ten-year overall survival was 89.4%. Five-year disease free survival was 85.2% and ten-year disease free survival was 66.3%. Dysgerminomas of the ovary have a good prognosis. The two significant prognostic factors are the stage and the postoperative residual disease

Clinicopathological and therapeutic features of metaplastic carcinoma of the breast: a study of 15 cases

Background: Metaplastic carcinoma of the breast is a rare entity containing a mixture of malignant epithelial and mesenchymal elements. The World Health Organization only recognized it as a distinct pathological entity since 2000. The aim of this study is to better characterize this rare disease.Methods: We reviewed retrospectively 15 cases of metaplastic carcinoma of the breast treated in our institute between 1994 and 2015. We analyzed clinical, histological, therapeutic and evolutive data.Results: All patients were females ranging from 29 to 75 years old (median, 50). Tumor size ranged from 20 to 150 mm (median, 72 mm). The Treatment consisted of radical mastectomy in 14 cases, often combined with post-operative radiation and/or chemotherapy. There were 8 cases of carcinosarcoma, 4 cases of spindle cell carcinoma and 3 cases of squamous cell carcinoma. Follow-up data were available on 12 patients. The median follow-up was 47 months (range, 10 to 146 months). Definitive nodal metastases were identified in 6 cases. One patient developed a local recurrence. Extranodal metastases occurred in 3 patients. Three patients died at median interval of 20 months (range, 13-30). Eight patients were alive with no evidence of recurrent or metastatic disease (median, 47 months) and one patient was alive with metastatic disease.Conclusions: Based on this series, metaplastic breast carcinoma is characterized by a large tumor size at presentation, a low frequency of nodal metastases and a high proportion of triple negativity. Our series is consistent with the literature

Submandibular lipoblastoma: Case report of a rare tumor in childhood

Lipoblastoma is a rare, benign tumor usually occurring in childhood. It is essentially localized in the extremities and trunk, with few cases reported in the neck. We report the case of a 2-year-old girl with a rapidly enlarging, painless neck mass. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a 3-cm mass in the right submandibular region. Review of literature, diagnostic methods, and genetics of lipomatous tumors are discussed. Complete surgical excision via a lateral cervical approach demonstrated a white soft tissue with an adherent ganglion. Histology and immunohistochemistry confirmed the diagnosis of lipoblastoma. Cervical lipoblastoma is rare, and typically asymptomatic, rarely causing nerve compression or airway obstruction. MRI can help identifying the lipomatous nature of the mass, but the findings can be inconsistent due to variable maturity of fat cells and the mesenchymal content of the tumor. Diagnosis is always based on pathological examination. Further chromosomal analysis is useful in differentiating lipoblastoma from liposarcoma. Complete surgical excision is the recommended treatment