Abstract Ectopic hepatocellular carcinoma (EHCC) is an extremely rare neoplasm, especially in the mediastinum, which shares morphologic characteristics with intrahepatic hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Its clinical features remain unclear, posing significant diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. The prognosis is also unclear due to its rarity and potential variability. This study reports the first case of EHCC in the mediastinum with subsequent brain metastasis. A 50-year-old man presented with shoulder and chest discomfort persisting for 5 months, accompanied by progressive weight loss and fatigue over the preceding 2 years. Imaging showed a mediastinal mass initially suspected to be lymphoma due to its malignant characteristics. However, histopathological examination identified the lesion as HCC, supported by characteristic immunohistochemical markers, despite normal abdominal imaging. Two months later, the tumor progressed despite intensive radiotherapy, and the patient experienced recurrent seizures. Subsequent brain imaging confirmed multiple intracranial metastases. Unfortunately, the patient died 6 months after diagnosis. The ectopic liver is more susceptible to hepatocarcinogenesis than the main liver; this is attributed to its incomplete functional structure. EHCC can be considered as differential diagnosis of mediastinal masses, even when no intrahepatic HCC is found. The rarity of EHCC in the mediastinum poses difficulties in developing treatment protocols. This case emphasizes the diagnostic challenges and aggressive nature of ectopic HCC and the need for comprehensive management strategies. There are currently no definite guidelines regarding the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of EHCC.
ectopic hepatocellular carcinoma ; mediastinum ; metastasis

This article reports a case of primary thyroid diffuse large B-cell lymphoma involving the superior mediastinum with Hashimoto's thyroiditis admitted to the Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, First Hospital of Jilin University. This patient underwent right thyroid lobectomy and was transferred to the Department of Hematology of the Oncology Center for 6 courses of chemotherapy with R-CHOP protocol. The postoperative recovery was good, and the patient was regularly followed up for 12 months after the operation. The patient's condition was stable, and CT showed no abnormally high metabolism in the operation area indicating the inhibition of tumor activity, superficial lymph nodes and peripheral blood cells were normal. The case encountered many difficulties in the diagnosis process, and the diagnosis was not confirmed after puncture in two Grade III Class A hospitals in China. There are few patients with primary thyroid diffuse large B-cell lymphoma complicated with Hashimoto's thyroiditis, and it is particularly rare to invade the mediastinum. There is no report in China and abroad in the literature we reviewed. Therefore, this article reports the case and retrospectively analyzes the etiology, clinical symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of primary thyroid lymphoma.
Humans ; Mediastinum ; Retrospective Studies ; Hashimoto Disease ; Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse ; Thyroid Neoplasms

Humans ; Artificial Intelligence ; Lung Neoplasms/pathology* ; Mediastinum/pathology* ; Lymph Nodes/pathology* ; Neoplasm Staging ; Lymph Node Excision

Child ; Humans ; Mediastinum ; Myoepithelioma/diagnosis*

Hematologic Diseases ; Hematopoiesis, Extramedullary ; Humans ; Mediastinal Neoplasms/surgery* ; Mediastinum ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Esophageal Perforation/etiology* ; Esophagus ; Foreign Bodies/complications* ; Humans ; Magnetic Phenomena ; Mediastinum

OBJECTIVE: To validate the value of dual energy CT (DECT) in the differentiation of mediastinal metastatic lymph nodes from non-metastatic lymph nodes in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). METHODS: In the study, 57 surgically confirmed NSCLC patients who underwent enhanced DECT scan within 2 weeks before operation were enrolled. Two radiologists analyzed the CT images before operation. All mediastinal lymph nodes with short diameter≥5 mm on axial images were included in this study. The morphological parameters [long-axis diameter (L), short-axis diameter (S) and S/L of lymph nodes] and the DECT parameters [iodine concentration (IC), normalized iodine concentration (NIC), slope of spectral hounsfield unit curve (λHU) and effective atomic number (Zeff) in arterial and venous phase] were measured. The differences of morphological parameters and DECT parameters between metastatic and non-metastatic lymph nodes were compared. The parameters with significant difference were analyzed by the Logistic regression model, then a new predictive variable was established. Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) analyses were performed for S, NIC in venous phase and the new predictive variable. RESULTS: In 57 patients, 49 metastatic lymph nodes and 938 non-metastatic lymph nodes were confirmed by surgical pathology. A total of 163 mediastinal lymph nodes (49 metastatic, 114 non-metastatic) with S≥5 mm were detected on axial CT images. The S, L and S/L of metastatic lymph nodes were significantly higher than those of non-metastatic lymph nodes (P < 0.05). The DECT parameters of metastatic lymph nodes were significantly lower than those of non-metastatic lymph nodes (P < 0.05). The best single morphological parameter for differentiation between metastatic and nonmetastatic lymph nodes was S (AUC, 0.752; threshold, 8.5 mm; sensitivity, 67.4%; specificity, 73.7%; accuracy, 71.8%). The best single DECT parameter for differentiation between metastatic and nonmetastatic lymph nodes was NIC in venous phase (AUC, 0.861; threshold, 0.53; sensitivity, 95.9%; specificity, 70.2%; accuracy, 77.9%). Multivariate analysis showed that S and NIC were independent predictors of lymph node metastasis. The AUC of combined S and NIC in the venous phase was 0.895(sensitivity, 79.6%; specificity, 87.7%; accuracy, 85.3%), which were significantly higher than that of S (P < 0.001) and NIC (P=0.037). CONCLUSIONS The ability of quantitative DECT parameters to distinguish mediastinal lymph node metastasis in NSCLC patients is better than that of morphological parameters. Combined S and NIC in venous phase can be used to improve preoperative diagnostic accuracy of metastatic lymph nodes.
Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/diagnostic imaging* ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging* ; Lymph Nodes ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Mediastinum ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

BACKGROUND: Endobronchial ultrasound guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) is well known as an important technique for diagnosis and staging of lung cancer. But a standard protocol to deal with patients who have a negative pathology result still needs to be defined. Herein, we describe the subsequent procedures of these patients in a single center. METHODS: A total of 1,412 patients with clinical suspected lung cancer and mediastinal metastasis who underwent EBUS-TBNA were collected between September 2010 and December 2016. Among them, 51 patients with nonspecific pathology result were included and retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: The 51 patients were stratified into five groups by clinical characterize and follow-up procedures: (1) Diagnosed by other bronchoscopy procedures group (9 cases). Abnormalities of tracheobronchial tree were found during visual examination in the majority of patients (8 cases). Biopsy, endobronchial brushing, bronchoalveolar lavage, and transbronchial lung biopsy (TBLB) were used to get a specific diagnosis. (2) EBUS-TBNA re-biopsy group (11 cases). Patients in this group had normal mucosal appearance and airway lumen. Re-biopsy were performed on patients in this group. (3) Surgery group (6 cases). Patients underwent surgery after negative result of EBUS-TBNA. Five of them were confirmed with non-nodal metastasis after surgery. (4) Underwent other pathology diagnosis group (15 cases). patients in this group had other metastasis sites besides midiastinal lymph node. Computed tomography (CT)-guided fine-needle aspiration and lymph node biopsy were performed. (5) Follow-up group (10 cases). None invasive procedure was used in this group. The median follow up time was 38 months. One patient was diagnosed lymphoma during the follow up. CONCLUSIONS Diagnostic procedures should be chosen based on the clinical character in EBUS-TBNA negative patients with suspected lung cancer. Long time follow-up is very important in patients whose diagnosis is apparently unknown.
Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided Fine Needle Aspiration ; Female ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; pathology ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Male ; Mediastinum ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies

Castleman disease is a relatively rare disease, characterized by well-circumscribed benign lymph-node hyperplasia. The disease may develop anywhere in the lymphatic system, but is most commonly reported as unicentric Castleman disease in the mediastinum along the tracheobronchial tree. It is usually asymptomatic and detected on plain chest radiography as an incidental finding. We report an incidentally detected case of Castleman disease in the paravertebral space that was preoperatively diagnosed as a neurogenic tumor and treated by complete surgical resection.
Giant Lymph Node Hyperplasia ; Hyperplasia ; Incidental Findings ; Lymphatic System ; Mediastinal Neoplasms ; Mediastinum ; Radiography ; Rare Diseases ; Thorax ; Trees

OBJECTIVE: Primary mediastinal yolk sac tumor, which is also known as endodermal sinus tumor, is a rare but lethal neoplasm and its prognosis is very dismal. The current treatment for this tumor is controversial, and chemotherapy combined with resection of residual lesions is adopted sometimes. We summarized the experience of seven primary mediastinal yolk sac tumors treated with platinum-based chemotherapy and extended resection in Peking University First Hospital. METHODS: Clinicopathological data of the patients with primary mediastinal yolk sac tumor who received operation in Peking University First Hospital between August 2014 and August 2018 were collected and analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: We experienced seven primary mediastinal yolk sac tumors during this period. Computed tomography scan revealed an anterior mediastinal tumor in all the patients and all of them had markedly raised alphafetoprotein (AFP) and normal β-human chorion gonadotropin (β-HCG). Five patients underwent needle core biopsy before treatment, which showed a mediastinal yolk sac tumor. All of these patients received preoperative platinum-based chemotherapy and they all presented partial response according to computed tomography. Two other patients did not receive preoperative biopsy, so they directly underwent extended resection. All of the seven patients underwent operation successfully and two of them experienced postoperative complications, including one with pneumonia and the other with atelectasis. R0 resection was achieved in six patients and R1 resection was achieved in the other patient. According to postoperative pathology, there were one microcyst subtype, one adenoid subtye, one giant capsule subtype and two hybrid subtypes. Surprisingly, there were no yolk sac tumor tissue in the other two patients after preoperative chemotherapy. All the patients received postoperative chemotherapy, excluded one patient who was unable to tolerate chemotherapy after operation. Three patients experienced postoperative pulmonary metastases within one year and two of them died soon. The other patient received chemotherapy and immunotherapy after recurrence and he was alive at the time of writing. Four other patients were alive without recurrence and metastasis. CONCLUSION Primary mediastinal yolk sac tumor is rare and its prognosis is poor. A multimodality approach including adjuvant chemotherapy and resection of residual lesions is the optimal treatment and it may lead to long-term survival.
Endodermal Sinus Tumor ; Humans ; Male ; Mediastinal Neoplasms ; Mediastinum ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; Retrospective Studies