1/8157. Pulmonary lymphangiomyomatosis: three new cases studied with electron microscopy. Three cases of pulmonary lymphangiomyomatosis are described, with emphasis on the ultrastructural changes. The clinicopathologic features corresponded to those previously described. Each patient was a female in the reproductive years; breathlessness and recurrent pneumothoraces were the predominant clinical features. Histologically, the lungs showed a focal interstitial infiltrate of short, spindle-shaped mononuclear cells compatible with primitive smooth muscle, which was associated with irregular emphysema and hemosiderosis. Electron microscopy confirmed the smooth muscle nature of the pulmonary infiltrate and showed the presence of cells intermediate between smooth muscle and fibroblasts. Abnormalities were also noted in the pulmonary connective tissue that are possibly related to the fragility of the lung in this condition. ( info) |
2/8157. brain metastasis from prostatic carcinoma. Between 1959 and 1971 there were 91 patients with clinically diagnosed prostatic carcinoma who were autopsied at Roswell Park Memorial Institute. In four of these 91 (4.4%) intracerebral metastasis were found at autopsy, but only in one of these four was the diagnosis arrived at pre-mortem. This report describes the diagnosis and management of intracerebral metastasis from prostate carcinoma. It appears, on the basis of our initial experience, that the clinical diagnosis of this entity deserves more frequent consideration. ( info) |
3/8157. Properties of the amylase produced in carcinoma of the lung. The properties of the amylase produced by carcinoma of the lung were studied. The abnormal amylase recognized in the serum of a patient with carcinoma of the lung had a mobility with beta-position and showed reduced migration to the cathodic side after neuraminidase digestion. This abnormal amylase had a close affinity for concanavalin a and this affinity was not retarded by the neuraminidase digestion. However, the purified, tumor-extracted, amylase from the same patient had the same electrophoretic migration as normal human salivary amylase and was not affected by neuraminidase treatment. The abnormal affinity for concanavalin a was not observed in this purified tumor-extracted amylase. It is suggested that some transglycosidation steps are needed for the appearance of the abnormal amylase in the patient's serum, and that the terminal sialic acid is independent of the affinity for concanavalin a. The dissociation constants of the tumor amylase for several substrates were smaller than those of normal pancreatic or salivary amylases. Moreover, maltotriose had no affinity for the tumor-extracted amylase and it was not digested to maltose and glucose by the purified tumor extracted amylase. These differences in the kinetic properties and in the mode of digestion were of interest in the study of tumor-produced amylases. ( info) |
4/8157. Clinical value of protein-bound fucose in patients with carcinoma and other diseases. Protein-bound fucose content in sera from normal persons and patients with various malignant and non-malignant diseases was measured and statistically analyzed. Normal serum gave a mean value of 6.84 /- 0.13 mg/100 ml, and rarely exceeded 9 mg/100 ml. Although no significant difference was found between sexes, there was a tendency of fucose content to decrease in older persons. It was noted that more than 90% of cancer-bearing patients have significantly higher level than critical value (9 mg/100 ml), while only 8.7% of patients with benign tumor showed positive result. These results were not limited to special organs but in common to all cases studied. The elevation of serum fucose content in malignant tumor was well correlated with its stages of progression, though the levels were less significant in early and in rather locally restricted breast and thyroid cancer. Serial postoperative follow-up study showed that the levels in serum fucose content was a useful parameter for judging the effectiveness of therapy and the prognosis of the patient. The fucose content in malignant tumor tissue and metastasized lymph node appeared to be significantly elevated than that in normal tissue. The practical usage and limitation of the fucose value in various diseases, together with a possible source of serum fucose were discussed. ( info) |
5/8157. Metastatic endometrial cancer in lung and liver: complete and prolonged response to hormonal therapy with progestins. A double complete and prolonged response of metastatic endometrial carcinoma to medroxyprogesterone is reported. A 61-year-old woman with metastatic endometrial carcinoma in lung and liver achieved a complete clinical response with medroxyprogesterone lasting for 2 years. She discontinued the therapy by herself and developed a pulmonary relapse, which disappeared after retreatment with the same hormonal therapy. At present, she is alive without evidence of disease 6 years after starting progestins for metastatic disease and 14 years after treatment of the primary tumor. Progestin therapy in metastatic endometrial carcinoma is discussed, emphasizing the factors predicting response. ( info) |
6/8157. Mucinous cystadenoma of the lung. A 56-year-old male patient came under our observation when a peripheral round mass in his right lung which he had since 1991 and which was believed to be a bronchogenic cyst, showed a volumetric enlargement of 2 cm. After performing a lobectomy of the middle lobe, the histopathological examination revealed the presence of a mucinous cystadenoma of borderline malignancy. ( info) |
7/8157. Cancer-associated retinopathy in a patient with non-small-cell lung carcinoma. Cancer-associated retinopathy (CAR) is a paraneoplastic syndrome most often associated with small-cell lung carcinoma (SCLC), and it has been reported in patients with other malignancies. antibodies against recoverin, a 23-kDa protein, have been found in patients with CAR suggesting an autoimmune phenomenon. Herein is the first report of a patient with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in whom anti-recoverin antibodies were detected in the serum. Steroid therapy, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy did not help the patient's vision. Progressive loss of vision in patients with lung cancer should, potentially, be tested for CAR. ( info) |
| A case of leptomeningeal metastasis from lung adenocarcinoma is reported. In this case, we evaluated the feasibility of reverse transcriptased polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) methods to detect cancer cells in cerebrospinal fluids (CSF). Messenger rna of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) was clearly demonstrated in CSF by reverse RT-PCR methods. An immunohistochemical study also demonstrated that tumor cells were stained positive with anti-CEA antibody. This case suggests that RT-PCR for CEA was a sensitive and useful method to diagnose leptomeningeal metastasis from lung adenocarcinoma. ( info) |
9/8157. Intracranial hemorrhage due to cerebral metastasis of lung cancer - a case report. Lung cancer often metastasizes to brain. However, hemorrhage of the metastatic lesions is uncommon. We report a case of a 68-year old man with lung cancer who underwent right upper lobectomy of the lung and presented in 15 months with a cerebral hemorrhage from a metastatic lesion of the brain. ( info) |
10/8157. Human herpes-virus 8 seropositive patient with skin and graft Kaposi's sarcoma after lung transplantation. Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) has been reported after solid organ transplantation mostly in recipients of renal, liver, heart, and bone allografts. We describe the first case of a patient with lung transplantation who developed KS of the skin, but also of the lung graft. The tumors were localized to places of previous trauma, implying the involvement of a Koebner phenomenon. Moreover, a polymerase chain reaction assay revealed the presence of dna sequences of herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) on tissue of the cutaneous KS. Serological tests showed HHV-8 seronegativity of the graft donor and HHV-8 seropositivity of the patient before lung transplantation suggesting that the latter was already infected before the surgery and that immunosuppression resulted in the development of KS. This case report raises the question of the prevalence of HHV-8 in candidates for transplantation and organ donors, and of the value of an antiviral prophylaxis to lower the risk of KS. ( info) |