1/25. Idiopathic giant-cell granulomatous hypophysitis mimicking acute meningitis.A 32-year-old woman presented with severe headache, photophobia, fever, nausea, vomiting, and worsening vision. She had also noted several months of amenorrhea. She was febrile to 38.9 degrees C. Laboratory evaluation revealed a markedly elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate. Lumbar puncture revealed a cerebrospinal fluid lymphocytic pleocytosis and an elevated protein level. Endocrine studies revealed evidence of panhypopituitarism without diabetes insipidus. A magnetic resonance imaging study showed a 2-cm pituitary mass with optic chiasmal compression. The patient had a trans-sphenoidal resection of the mass. pathology revealed multinucleated giant cells in necrotic debris, but no evidence of pituitary tumor. Studies looking for evidence of systemic granulomatous disease were negative. The patient was considered to have idiopathic giant-cell granulomatous hypophysitis. After surgery, the patient's vision improved and hormone replacement therapy was initiated. This case illustrates that idiopathic giant-cell granulomatous hypophysitis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of a patient presenting with a pituitary mass, hypopituitarism, and meningitis-like symptoms.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = giant (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/25. Rectal pulse granuloma.pulse granuloma is a rare benign entity, most likely representing a foreign body reaction to vegetable particles. We report a case of a pulse granuloma involving the rectum. The patient presented with a submucosal and intramuscular mass lesion found at routine rectal examination and subsequent colonoscopy. The mass was excised and the microscopic examination revealed acute and chronic inflammatory cells, foreign-body giant cells, vegetable matter, and convoluted hyaline rings and scattered circular structures containing basophilic granules, consistent with pulse granuloma. There are a few reports in the literature of pulse granulomas, with most occurring in the oral cavity or lungs. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported example of pulse granuloma in the rectum. Although rare, familiarity with this entity's distinctive histopathologic features may avoid a delay in diagnosis and prevent the expense of distinguishing it from its histologic lookalikes.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.14285714285714keywords = giant (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/25. Anaplastic large-cell lymphoma which showed severe inflammatory status and myelodysplasia with increased VEGF and IL-6 serum levels after long-term immunosuppressive therapy.We report a patient with anaplastic large-cell lymphoma (ALCL) who has been given immunosuppressive therapy for Evans syndrome for 10 years. He was admitted with spike fever, intra-abdominal lymphadenopathy, and multiple liver masses. Examination of biopsy specimens obtained by para-aortic lymph nodes and liver masses resulted in a diagnosis of ALCL. Immunohistochemically, these cells were reactive to anti-CD30 antibody but were not of B- or T-lineage. bone marrow aspiration demonstrated the invasion of giant neoplastic cells and trilineage myelodysplasia. Because the patient showed severe inflammatory symptoms, we examined serum levels of various cytokines. Pretreatment levels of IL-6 and VEGF in this patient were significantly elevated compared to those of normal controls. He was treated with combination chemotherapy (ABVD regimen), achieving complete remission. Myelodysplasia and serum IL-6 and VEGF also normalized after treatment. We assumed that ALCL resulted from long-term immunosuppressive therapy and that the up-regulation of IL-6 and VEGF played a role in pathogenesis of this type of lymphoma.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.14285714285714keywords = giant (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/25. Nodular perianal herpes simplex with prominent plasma cell infiltration.BACKGROUND: Nodules are exceptional manifestations of herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection in immunocompromised patients. Only two cases of nodular HSV-2 infection of the perianal region have been reported previously. GOAL: The case of a 46-year-old homosexual man with AIDS presenting with painful perianal nodules resembling squamous cell carcinoma is described. STUDY DESIGN: This case report presents details of the histologic findings and treatment regimen. RESULTS: Histologic examination showed the presence of rare multinucleated giant epithelial cells and a dense inflammatory infiltrate composed mostly of plasma cells. polymerase chain reaction analysis was positive for HSV-2 and negative for HSV-1, cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, and human herpesvirus types 6 and 7. After being treated ineffectively with oral acyclovir (4 g/d) for 15 days, the patient was treated with oral valacyclovir (6 g/d), resulting in marked improvement in 10 days and complete resolution after 2 months. CONCLUSIONS: In immunocompromised patients, HSV-2 infection may present with atypical clinical and histopathological features.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.14285714285714keywords = giant (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/25. Xanthogranulomatous choledochitis: a previously undescribed mass lesion of the hepatobiliary and ampullary region.Solid liver and pancreatic masses are commonly neoplastic in nature; however, inflammatory lesions mimicking carcinoma are at times encountered in these sites. We report two cases of previously undescribed inflammatory mass lesions of the liver and pancreas that originated in the biliary tract. Detailed clinical and histologic evaluations were performed in two patients who underwent right partial hepatic lobectomy and Whipple's resection for presumed hepatic and pancreatic neoplasms. In case 1, with a remote history of cholecystectomy and recent extraction of a stone from the common bile duct, a liver mass in segment 6 was discovered incidentally. In case 2, a periampullary pancreatic mass was diagnosed radiographically following papillotomy and stent insertion for stricture and biliary calculous disease. The histologic findings in both cases were similar, localized around a part of the biliary tract, and consisted of inspissated bile, acute and chronic inflammation, abundant lipid-laden macrophages, fibrosis, and giant cell reaction. No neoplasm was identified. On the basis of the close resemblance of these features to those seen in xanthogranulomatous cholecystitis, the lesions seen here were termed xanthogranulomatous choledochitis. In conclusion, xanthogranulomatous choledochitis is a benign inflammatory process involving the biliary tract that can form a mass lesion within the liver or pancreas and thus mimic a neoplasm. Extensive sampling of the lesion is required to rule out an underlying neoplastic process. In our patients a propensity to form lithogenic bile and a prior history of biliary tract operative procedure were present.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.14285714285714keywords = giant (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/25. Primary histiocytic sarcoma of the spleen associated with erythrophagocytic histiocytosis.We report an exceptional case of a histiocytic sarcoma presenting as a primary isolated spleen tumor in a 71-year-old woman. The neoplastic cells in the cords and sinuses of the red pulp formed multiple lobulated tumors, which were detected in vivo by ultrasound scan. The medium cells, large cells and the giant cells expressed CD68, a histiocyte-associated marker, lysozyme and S100 protein. All these cells were negative for B- and T-cell markers, cytokeratins, melanosome markers (HMB45) and CD1a (Langerhans' cells). Many tumor cells displayed strong erythrophagocytosis and sometimes lymphocytophagocytosis. In addition, numerous histiocytes with morphology indistinguishable from reactive macrophages also exhibited a strong erythrophagocytosis, and were found in the tumor as well as in the normal splenic parenchyma. Despite multi-agent chemotherapy, the patient suffered from a relapse in the liver, with a rapid fatal outcome. A literature review showed that such a primary splenic presentation with multiple tumors is rare. In contrast, in systemic malignant histiocytosis, secondary spleen involvement occurs more frequently but with diffuse infiltration. The association with a reactive histiocytosis with erythrophagocytosis corresponds to "histiocytic medullary reticulosis", as previously described by Scott and Robb-Smith.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.14285714285714keywords = giant (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/25. giant cell arteritis mimicking idiopathic orbital inflammatory disease.PURPOSE: To report an unusual presentation of giant cell arteritis, referred from primary care, mimicking orbital apex syndrome. CASE REPORT: A 72 year old woman was referred with a two week history of pyrexia, dull right eye ache, 2mm of right proptosis, mild conjunctival chemosis and restriction of right eye movements. RESULTS: An erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) was 90 and fluorescein angiography showed almost complete choroidal non-perfusion suggestive of giant cell arteritis. Temporal artery biopsy confirmed the diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: giant cell arteritis (GCA) typically presents with anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (AION), choroidal ischemia, central retinal artery occlusion, infrequently manifesting as an ocular motility problem, but has rarely been known to mimick idiopathic orbital inflammatory disease. Prompt recognition and therapy can minimize the chance of ipsilateral ocular involvement and protect the fellow eye.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.28571428571429keywords = giant (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/25. Highly anaplastic extraventricular ependymoma arising in an adult, mimicking metastatic adenocarcinoma with heavy stromal inflammation and emperiporesis.We report a case of extraventricular ependymoma arising in a 50-year-old woman that took an aggressive clinical course with recurrence three times. The initial tumor was a well-circumscribed nodule in the right temporal white matter measuring 2 cm in diameter. It showed variegated histological findings mimicking metastatic adenocarcinoma: an epithelioid arrangement of highly pleomorphic cells with pseudopapillary structures and perivascular pseudorosettes, and bizarre multinucleated giant cells with occasional emperiporesis surrounded by abundant mononuclear inflammatory cells, as well as a focal small area of conventional ependymoma. Emperiporesis and abundant mononuclear cell infiltration were not previously described in an ependymoma. The recurrent tumors predominantly showed an epithelioid pattern with frequent formation of astroblastoma-like pseudopapillary structures. Neoplastic cells were markedly atypical and had characteristic intracytoplasmic eosinophilic inclusion bodies. Much of the cells in both the initial and recurrent tumors showed a positive immunostaining for glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) with accentuation to the cytoplasmic processes of the pseudorosettes and pseudopapillary structures. Epithelial membrane antigen (EMA) highlighted the epithelial differentiation of the tumor cells, while cytokeratin was completely negative. Although this tumor might be classified to at least WHO grade III from the histology and aggressive behavior, the exact grading is still controversial because of the rarity of such cases.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.14285714285714keywords = giant (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/25. Xanthomatous pituitary lesions: a report of two cases and review of the literature.We describe two young men with cystic pituitary enlargement on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) causing hypopituitarism. The first patient presented acutely unwell with headache and vomiting associated with anterior and posterior pituitary dysfunction. The second patient presented with hypopituitarism after a long history of hypogonadism. In both cases yellow/brown fluid was found at surgery and histological examination revealed inflammatory infiltrate with foamy histiocytes, lymphocytes and multinucleated giant cells containing cholesterol clefts. Full recovery of pituitary function occurred after surgery in the first but not the second patient. The first case is the first documented case of xanthomatous hypophysitis with recovery of pituitary function following surgery. The cases differed in duration of disease, as indicated by the long history of symptoms, the histological finding of marked fibrosis and the lack of recovery of pituitary function in the second. Xanthomatous pituitary lesions categorized in the literature as xanthomatous hypophysitis, xanthogranulomatous hypophysitis and xanthogranuloma of the sellar region have overlapping histological features. Our two cases revealed histological features that do not fit completely into any of the categories but share features of all three. These findings suggest that the various xanthomatous lesions of the sellar region may be a spectrum of a common inflammatory process rather than distinct pathological entities.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.14285714285714keywords = giant (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/25. Particle disease: cytopathologic findings of an unusual case.Particle disease is a rare lesion that results from an inflammatory response due to wear debris-induced osteolysis following arthroplasty. Particles resulting from the wear debris cause macrophage activation and phagocytosis. Particle disease often leads to joint loosening and implant failure. Radiologically, it often results in a well-defined osteolytic lesion-mimicking tumor. A 68-year-old man who presented with chronic hip pain following total hip replacement was studied by fine-needle aspiration. An ultrasound-guided aspiration revealed hypercellular smears consisting predominantly of proliferating mesenchymal cells, foamy macrophages, inflammatory cells, and background acellular debris. Numerous multinucleated giant cells were observed as well. Differential diagnosis includes primary or metastatic clear-cell tumors.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.14285714285714keywords = giant (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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