Cystic nephroma (CN) is a benign cystic neoplasm composed of mixed epithelial and stromal elements. Less than 200 cases have been reported. We had a patient, a 41-year-old woman, who had a huge typical CN. The patient was admitted for a right renal mass that was found incidentally. On laparaoscopic right nephrectomy, there was an encapsulated 7 cm multilocular cystic mass at the upper pole. Microscopically, the cystic wall was lined by a single layer of low cuboidal or hobnail epithelium without a solid area. The thin septa were composed of bland, ovarian type spindle cells. The main differential diagnoses were mixed epithelial and stromal tumor (MEST), low grade multilocular renal cell carcinoma, and tubulocystic carcinoma. The results of immunohistochemical staining were cytokeratin 7/19(+/+) and CD10(-) in lining epithelium, estrogen receptor/progesterone receptor(+/+) in stromal cells. After surgery, she was free of recurrence for 10 months. We report this rare case and compare it with other cystic renal tumors, especially MEST.
Adult ; Carcinoma, Renal Cell ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Epithelium ; Estrogens ; Female ; Humans ; Keratins ; Kidney ; Nephrectomy ; Receptors, Estrogen ; Recurrence ; Stromal Cells

Cutaneous metastasis from lung cancer is less common than metastasis from other organs. However, lung cancer is the most common origin of cutaneous metastasis in men and the second most common in women. Recognition of cutaneous metastatic cancer is important because it can be the first sign of visceral cancer. Although skin metastasis can appear on any cutaneous surface, the most common site is the chest wall. The prognosis for patients having lung cancer with cutaneous metastasis is very poor because the disease is advanced, with the involvement of other sites such as the brain, liver, bone, and adrenal gland. Herein, we report a case of an 87-year-old male with an undifferentiated metastatic carcinoma of the scrotum originating from lung cancer which was found later than the cutaneous metastatic cancer.
Adrenal Glands ; Aged, 80 and over ; Brain ; Female ; Humans ; Liver ; Lung Neoplasms* ; Lung* ; Male ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Prognosis ; Scrotum ; Skin ; Thoracic Wall

We report a case of a 38-year-old male with extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type, showing unusual clinical and pathological features. The patient was admitted for soft tissue swelling and tenderness in both legs. The patient had been treated intermittently 8 months prior for repeated muco-cutaneous ulcers. A muscle biopsy showed medium-sized atypical lymphoid cells with bizarre nuclei and plump cytoplasm, infiltrating to the skeletal muscle fibers with angiocentricity. The immunoresults were Ki-1+, CD56+, cytoplasmic CD3+, with EBV-in situ hybridization +. The patient rapidly deteriorated and died of sepsis and respiratory failure shortly after initiation of low-dose chemotherapy. A careful review of previous biopsies revealed scarce atypical lymphoid cells around vessels with similar immunoprofiles without the presence of Ki-1 positive cells. This case emphasizes that an extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma may have a dermatomyositis-like diffuse presentation. Ki-1 co-expression can be an unexpected event in a process of the disease course; however, this should be validated with future studies.
Adult ; Biopsy ; Cytoplasm ; Dermatomyositis* ; Drug Therapy ; Humans ; Leg ; Lymphocytes ; Lymphoma* ; Male ; Muscle Fibers, Skeletal ; Respiratory Insufficiency ; Sepsis ; Ulcer

PURPOSE: Osteopontin (OPN) binds to CD44 and nuclear factor-kappaB (NFkappaB) and OPN mediates tumorigenesis, invasion and metastasis, but the interrelationships between OPN, CD44 and NFkappaB are not fully understood, and especially in gastric carcinogenesis. We examined the expressions of OPN, CD44, and NFkappaB in untreated gastric adenocarcinomas. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The materials from 211 cases of gastric adenocarcinoma were immunostained for OPN, CD44 and NFkappaB by using a tissue microarray. The OPN mRNA expression was measured in 10 cases by performing real-time RT-PCR. RESULTS: The expression of OPN, CD44 and NFkappaB was noted in 61.7%, 11.4% and 26.6% of the adenocarcinoma tissues, respectively. No significant correlation was detected among the expressions of these proteins. The OPN protein expression was negatively correlated with angioinvasion (p<0.05) and patient survival (p<0.05), whereas the CD44 and NFkappaB protein expressions were not correlated with any of the clinicopathological factors we examined. The depth of invasion, lymph node status and perineural invasions were prognostic factors based on the Cox analysis. The OPN mRNA expression showed no significant difference between the adenocarcinoma and the paired normal mucosa on real-time RT-PCR. CONCLUSION: OPN may have a currently undetermined role in gastric carcinogenesis, and CD44 and NFkappaB may have minor roles in gastric adenocarcinoma.
Adenocarcinoma ; Cell Transformation, Neoplastic ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; Mucous Membrane ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Osteopontin ; Proteins ; RNA, Messenger ; Stomach

Digital pathology is being gradually adopted in hospitals due to technological advances. We propose that digital pathology can be used in Mohs micrographic surgery (Mohs surgery) to precisely check residual tumor cells in frozen tumor margin tissues. This would aid surgeons and pathologists in accurately recording tumor margins and give patients the benefit of shorter operation time.

Primary ovarian transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) is extremely rare type of tumor and resembles transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder. Primary ovarian TCC has been classified as a different subtype from malignant Brenner tumor for it's histologic and clinical characteristics. It usually presents at an advanced stage .Though more aggressive than malignant Brenner tumor, it shows more favorable prognosis because of better response to the chemotherapy than other epithelial ovarian carcinomas. We experienced a case of primary ovarian transitional cell carcinoma in a premenopausal woman who underwent staging operation and chemotherapeutic treatment, and herein report the case with a brief review of related literatures.
Brenner Tumor ; Carcinoma, Transitional Cell ; Female ; Humans ; Ovary ; Prognosis ; Urinary Bladder

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to longitudinally examine the correlation between the change of atopic dermatitis (AD) severity and the change of quality of life (QOL). METHODS: We assessed AD severity and QOL of patients and their families, by a prospective followed up for at least 12 months. AD severity was assessed, using the scoring of atopic dermatitis (SCORAD) index. A questionnaire based on dermatitis family impact (DFI), infants' dermatologic quality of life (IDQoL) and children's dermatology life quality index (CDLQI) were used to determine QOL. RESULTS: Seventy-nine AD patients were assessed for total and objective SCORAD and DFI. Among them, 45 patients that were less than 36 months old completed IDQoL and 13 patients that were equal to or more than 36 months old completed CDLQI. Objective SCORAD (oSCORAD) were correlated with DFI (r=0.235), IDQoL (r=0.602) and CDLQI (r=0.589) (P<0.05). At the 2nd interview, median oSCORAD (from 17.4 to 7.8), DFI (from 23.0 to 18.0) and IDQoL (from 9.0 to 6.0) were significantly decreased (P<0.01). The changes of oSCORAD were linearly related with the change of IDQoL (P<0.01), but neither with DFI (P=0.356) nor with CDLQI (P=0.267). Of the 64 patients with decreased oSCORAD, food allergy was accompanied more frequently in those with an increased DFI than those with a decreased DFI (60.7% vs. 27.8%, P<0.01). CONCLUSION: In this longitudinal study, the improvement of AD severity is correlated with the improvement of the patient's QOL, under the age of 3. To improve the family's QOL, we need to find out accompanying factors, such as food allergy, and to support the family accordingly.
Asthma ; Dermatitis ; Dermatitis, Atopic ; Dermatology ; Food Hypersensitivity ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin E ; Longitudinal Studies ; Prospective Studies ; Quality of Life ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial

PURPOSE: Ezrin is a membrane cytoskeletal linker protein and it is known to be associated with metastasis of primary osteosarcoma. The aim of this study is to determine the relationship between an ezrin expression and several key clinical parameters and to elucidate its potential prognostic value for patients with osteosarcoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Seventy patients with histologically confirmed osteosarcoma and who had no distant metastasis were enrolled between 1995 and 2005 at Yonsei Cancer Center, Severance Hospital, Korea. The clinical parameters were retrospectively reviewed and immunohistochemical staining (IHC) for ezrin was performed using the surgically resected specimens. RESULTS: Of the 70 tumor specimens, 39 (55.7%) revealed an ezrin expression. More of an osteoblastic histology and an elevated initial ALP level were observed in the ezrin positive patients than in the ezrin negative patients (p=0.008 and 0.001, respectively). The proportion of patients who favorably responded to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (> or =90% necrosis) was significantly higher in the group of ezrin positive patients than that in the group of ezrin negative patient (72.2% vs 45.2%, respectively, p=0.024). The ezrin positive patients showed more frequent recurrence than did the ezrin negative patients (64.1% vs 35.5%, respectively, p=0.017). The patients with an ezrin expression also demonstrated poorer survival than did those patients without ezrin expression (5-year EFS: 31.7% vs 61.3%, respectively, p=0.023, 5-year OS: 53.4% vs 71.0%, respectively, p=0.022). When comparing EFS according to both an ezrin expression and chemoresponsiveness, there were trends that the ezrin negative/chemoresponsive group showed the best 5-year EFS (71.4%), followed by the ezrin negative/chemoresistant group (52.9%), the ezrin positive/chemoresponsive group (38.1%) and the ezrin positive/chemoresistant group (13.6%). These trends were statistically significant (p=0.036). CONCLUSION: The expression of ezrin by IHC staining was found in 55.7% of the patients with metastasis-free osteosarcoma. Immunoreactivity to ezrin is a negative prognostic factor for survival for the patients suffering with osteosarcoma. Identifying an ezrin expression might offer a valuable piece of information when treating patients with primary osteosarcoma.
Cytoskeletal Proteins ; Humans ; Korea ; Membranes ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Osteoblasts ; Osteosarcoma ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Stress, Psychological

A marker chromosome (mar) is a structurally abnormal chromosome in which no part can be identified. The significance of a marker varies, depending on the material contained within the marker. Very few reports have been published of marker chromosomes associated with male infertility. Here, we report the case of an infertile man with a rare variant of a marker chromosome of a mos 47,XY,+mar[25]/46,XY[25] karyotype.
Azoospermia ; Chromosome Aberrations ; Humans ; Infertility, Male* ; Karyotype ; Male ; Male*

An inflammatory pseudotumor of the liver is a rare benign tumor, which is frequently misdiagnosed as malignant. A 63 year-old man presented with a 4-month history of weight loss and a 2-month history of intermittent fever and chills. A computed tomographic (CT) scan and magnetic resonance imaging of the abdomen demonstrated a large tumor in segment 8 of the liver. An ultrasound-guided core biopsy confirmed an inflammatory pseudotumor of the liver. His fever persisted for 3 months, despite the administration of Naproxen and antibiotics. A right trisegmentectomy was carried out, after which the fever subsided. The patient has remaineds well for the last 7 months.
Abdomen ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Biopsy ; Chills ; Fever ; Granuloma, Plasma Cell* ; Humans ; Liver* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Middle Aged ; Naproxen ; Weight Loss