Primary testicular lymphoma: a single centre experience

Aim: Primary testicular lymphoma (PTL) is an uncommon and aggressive form of extranodal non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL). We aimed to analyse the clinicopathological characteristics and outcomes of our PTL cases. Materials and Methods: A review was made of the medical records of 339 NHL patients who were treated in the Medical Oncology Department between January 2005 and December 2013. Results: 8 PTL patients were identified from the 339 NHL patients. The average age of the patients was 67.7 ± 7.9 years (range 53–79 years). The mean follow-up time was 24.8 months (range 7–98 months). Inguinal orchiectomy was performed as a diagnostic and initial therapy and all the patients underwent 4–6 cycles of chemoimmunotherapy consisting of cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisone plus rituximab. 4 of 8 patients received intrathecal prophylactic chemotherapy and 6 of 8 patients continued contralateral testis irradiation. Relapse occured in only 1 patient in central nervous system after 6 months who had not received intrathecal prophylaxis. No contralateral testis relapse was observed. Conclusions: Primary testicular NHL is an uncommon entity and we evaluated 8 patients; with one relapse in central nervous system and no relapse in the contralateral testis. Key Words: primary testicular lymphoma, contralateral scrotal irradiation, intratechal chemotherapy

Single dose regorafenib-induced hypertensive crisis

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are uncommon tumors of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Regorafenib is a new multikinase inhibitor and is approved for the treatment of GISTs in patients who develop resistance to imatinib and sunitinib. The most common drug-related adverse events with regorafenib are hypertension, hand-foot skin reactions, and diarrhea. Grade IV hypertensive side effect has never been reported after a single dose. In this report, we present a case of Grade IV hypertensive side effect (hypertensive crisis and seizure) after a single dose of regorafenib. A 54-year-old male normotensive GIST patient was admitted to the emergency department with seizure and encephalopathy after the first dosage of regorafenib. His blood pressure was 240/140 mmHg upon admission. After intensive treatment with nitrate and nitroprusside, his blood pressure returned to normal levels in five days. Regorafenib was discontinued, and he did not experience hypertension again. This paper reports the first case of Grade IV hypertension after the first dosage of regorafenib. We can suggest that hypertension is an idiosyncratic side effect unrelated to the dosage. Key Words: hypertension, regorafenib, gastrointestinal stromal tumor

High body-mass index is not associated with worse clinicopathological characteristics in predominantly obese breast cancer patients

Background: Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer among women. A high body-mass index (BMI) is related to increased incidence of BC with poorer prognosis. Aim: The aim of the study was to evaluate the association in patients with BC between BMI at the time of diagnosis and biological characteristics, according to the menopausal status. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study comprised a total of 318 women with BC. Clinicopathological differences between normal, overweight and obese patients according to menopausal status were evaluated. Results: Premenopausal women had a significantly lower BMI than postmenopausal patients (28.7 vs. 31.5, respectively; p = 0.00001). No statistically significant association was determined between BMI and clinicopathological characteristics in either the premenopausal or the postmenopausal group (all p values are > 0.05). Conclusions: There are many conflicting results in literature on this relationship. The results of this study showed that a high BMI is not associated with worse clinicopathological cha­racteristics in a predominantly obese population. In current medical oncology practice, BC should be evaluated on an individual patient basis and the impact of obesity on BC prognosis seems to be difficult to estimate especially in an obese population. Key Words: breast cancer, body-mass index, prognosis

Demonstration of the histopathological and immunohistochemical effects of a novel hemostatic agent, ankaferd blood stopper, on vascular tissue in a rat aortic bleeding model

Background: Ankaferd Blood Stopper®(ABS) is a folkloric medicinal plant extract used as a hemostatic agent in traditional Turkish medicine. This experimental study investigated the histopathological and immunohistochemical effects of ABS on vascular tissue in a rat model of aortic bleeding.Methods: Four groups of 11 Wistar albino rats were used. The abdominal aortas of the rats were wounded; an ABS-soaked tampon was applied to rats in Groups 1 and 3, and a plain gauze tampon was applied to rats in Groups 2 and 4 until the bleeding stopped. The bleeding time was recorded. Immediately following sacrificing, the arteriotomy sites from Groups 1 and 2 were removed. The abdominal incisions in Groups 3 and 4 were closed following hemostasis. On Day 7 of the study, Group 3 and 4 rats were sacrificed and the abdominal aorta arteriotomy sites were removed for histopathological and immunohistochemical evaluation.Results: The mean bleeding time in 15 animals in Groups 2 and 4 was 4.9 ± 0.6 s, and in 22 animals in Groups 1 and 3 was 3.1 ± 0.6 s. Distal aortic occlusion was not observed on either Day 1 or 7 in any group. Significantly more widespread and dense endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) staining was observed in Group 1 animals than Group 2. On Days 1 and 7 after application of ABS, histopathological changes, consisting of necrosis, inflammation, and endothelial cell loss, in the rat abdominal aortas did not differ between Groups 1 and 2. The basophilic discoloration in the ABS group on the operation day was a result of a foreign body reaction and hemosiderin-loaded histiocyte accumulation, which occurred on Day 7.Conclusions: In this study, hemostasis was successfully achieved with ABS in rat abdominal aortas. No histopathological change was found in the rat abdominal aortas between the ABS and control groups on Days 1 and 7. Further studies on the long-term effects of foreign body reactions and hemosiderin-loaded histiocyte accumulation are required. © 2010 Kandemir et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd

PRIMARY TESTICULAR LYMPHOMA: A SINGLE CENTRE EXPERIENCE

Aim: Primary testicular lymphoma (PTL) is an uncommon and aggressive form of extranodal non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL). We aimed to analyse the clinicopathological characteristics and outcomes of our PTL cases. Materials and Methods: A review was made of the medical records of 339 NHL patients who were treated in the Medical Oncology Department between January 2005 and December 2013. Results: 8 PTL patients were identified from the 339 NHL patients. The average age of the patients was 67.7 ± 7.9 years (range 53–79 years). The mean follow-up time was 24.8 months (range 7–98 months). Inguinal orchiectomy was performed as a diagnostic and initial therapy and all the patients underwent 4–6 cycles of chemoimmunotherapy consisting of cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisone plus rituximab. 4 of 8 patients received intrathecal prophylactic chemotherapy and 6 of 8 patients continued contralateral testis irradiation. Relapse occured in only 1 patient in central nervous system after 6 months who had not received intrathecal prophylaxis. No contralateral testis relapse was observed. Conclusions: Primary testicular NHL is an uncommon entity and we evaluated 8 patients; with one relapse in central nervous system and no relapse in the contralateral testis. Key Words: primary testicular lymphoma, contralateral scrotal irradiation, intratechal chemotherapy