Isolated Sternal Tuberculosis Presenting as a Chest Wall Abscess: A Case Report

In India, pulmonary tuberculosis accounts for 85% of cases and extrapulmonary tuberculosis accounts for 15% of cases with bone and joint involvement is seen in 1 to 3% of cases. Primary tuberculous osteomyelitis of the sternum is a rare form of extrapulmonary tuberculosis. A 51-year-old male presented with 10 years history of swelling over the anterior chest wall and pain for past 6 months. Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) revealed a markedly granular necrotic background. Ziehl-Neelsen staining was positive for acid-fast bacilli and a diagnosis of the tubercular abscess was made. Chest X-ray was normal. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography was done, which gave an evidence of the erosion of the anterior surface of the sternum. Tuberculosis of the sternum is a rare form of flat bone tuberculosis. The possibility of sternal tuberculosis should be kept in mind in any patient with a mass, non-healing ulcer, or abscess in the sternal region

The significance of expression of Her2neu in squamous cell carcinoma of uterine cervix

Background: Cervical cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer related deaths among females. It arises from precursor lesions i.e. squamous intraepithelial lesions which are closely associated with infection by HPV. The ERBB2 protooncogene encodes for a cellular transmembrane protein (erb-b2) which has tyrosine kinase activity and has been implicated in the regulation of cellular growth and proliferation in various cancers. Application of monoclonal antibodies against Her2neu has shown higher response and improved survival. The aim of the study was to evaluate the expression of Her2neu in squamous cell carcinoma of cervix in relation to tumor characteristics and to compare the expression with normal control subjects.Methods: It was a cross-sectional analytical study. Paraffin embedded tissue blocks from 30 cases of squamous cell carcinoma were obtained from the archives. Twenty age matched cases of normal cervix removed for lesions other than that related to cervix (like leiomyoma) were taken as control. Tumour characteristics were noted from the records. Her2neu immunostaining was done. Her2neu expression was scored as positive or negative according to the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the College of American Pathologists (ASCO/CAP) scoring system for Her2neu. The Chi-square test was used to compare and find association between the variables. Student t-test was used to compare the variable between cases and controls.Results: Her2neu was positive in 20% and negative in 80% cases of the study group. Her2neu positivity is not associated with size, histological grade and FIGO stage of the tumor. We found that all Her2neu positive cases showed no lymph node metastasis. This association between Her2neu positivity and lymph node status was statistically significant.Conclusions: Her2neu immunoexpression is variable across various categories of squamous cell carcinoma. Her2neu positivity might be negatively associated with lymph node metastasis. However, a more comprehensive study encompassing various factors related to Her2neu overexpression is required to validate these results

Capillary haemangioma of fallopian tube: a rare but dangerous incidental finding

Haemangiomas are tumors of vascular origin. They are frequently observed in soft tissue and skin. Vascular tumors of female pelvic organs are extremely rare. Although, majority of these lesions are detected incidentally, they can mimic various benign and malignant lesions clinically and radiologically. Fallopian tube capillary haemangioma is very rare benign neoplasm. Only one case of capillary haemangioma of fallopian tube has been reported. A 44-year-old female with menorrhagia, underwent hysterectomy with bilateral salpingoopherectomy. Both the fallopian tubes were grossly unremarkable. Microscopic examination revealed a well circumscribed vascular neoplasm, consistent with capillary haemangioma, CD34 immunostaining highlighted the vascular endothelium.  Although benign in nature, haemangioma of the fallopian tube can present with complications. Rupture of the haemangioma can be lethal when present with hemoperitoneum

Intussusception caused by heterotopic gastric mucosa in small intestine: a case report

Abstract Background Intestinal intussusception is the most frequent cause of small bowel obstruction in children between the ages of 2 months and 5 years and often remains idiopathic in etiology, even after surgery. On microscopic examination, in intussusception normal mucosa is noted but in a few cases heterotopic tissue can be seen. Heterotopic gastric mucosa in the small intestine is extremely rare except for its occurrence in remnants of Meckel’s diverticulum. In view of the rarity of this condition, we report a case of ectopic gastric mucosa in the small intestine that was not associated with remnants of vitelline duct. Case presentation A 6-year-old boy of Indo-Aryan ethnicity from India presented with episodes of acute abdominal pain and distension with vomiting and non-passage of stools. On ultrasonography intussusception was suspected. A laparotomy was done and the ileal segment (tip of intussusception) was sent for histopathological examination. On histopathology, sections from the tip of intussusception showed extensive gastric metaplasia of the mucosa. Conclusions A definitive diagnosis of heterotopic gastric mucosa is established by histopathological examination and it is important to differentiate heterotopia, which is a developmental anomaly, from metaplasia, which is an acquired condition. Heterotopic gastric mucosa is usually clinically silent and surgical intervention can be considered in patients with complications such as gastrointestinal hemorrhage and intestinal obstruction

Xantogranulomatous Salpingo Oophritis, Lessons Learnt: Report of Two Cases With Unusual Presentation

Xanthogranulomatous inflammation is a rare form of chronic inflammatory response consisting of macrophages, lymphocytes, plasma cells and neutrophils too. Due to its locally destructive nature and mass forming capacity as a result of adhesions, this type of inflammation may mimic  malignancy or tuberculosis both clinically and radiologically. We present a report of two such cases, one mimicking tuberculosis and the other mimicking malignancy clinically. Awareness of this condition and a higher index of suspicion among clinicians, radiologists and pathologists can help in early diagnosis and more appropriate treatment of this potentially destructive disorder