Adrenocortical oncocytoma is a rare adrenal neoplasm with only 25 cases having been reported in the English medical literature, of which only seven were functional tumors. Since these adrenal tumors are usually nonfunctional, they are mostly incidentally detected, and most of them are benign. Herein, we report on a rare case of a functional adrenocortical oncocytoma of an uncertain malignant potential and this tumor was located in the left adrenal gland in a 59-year-old woman who presented with hypertension. The tumor size was large with foci of necrosis in the cut surface and it exclusively had oncocytic histologic features.
Adenoma ; Adenoma, Oxyphilic ; Adrenal Gland Neoplasms ; Adrenal Glands ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Middle Aged ; Necrosis

Primary thymic mucinous adenocarcinoma is an extremely rare aggressive subtype of thymic carcinoma. With a review of literatures, only nine cases have been reported up to present. A 36-year-old woman was admitted for further evaluation and treatment of a mediastinal mass. The patient had no medical history of cancer. The clinicoradiological examination disclosed no tumor elsewhere. After the surgical excision of mediastinal mass, it was grossly a round semi-solid mass with mucin-filled cystic areas. Microscopically solid areas showed cords, small nests and dilated glands infiltrating the fibrotic parenchyma, while the cystic areas were lined by mucinous epithelium with tumor cells floating in extracellular-mucin pools. Some cystic walls underwent malignant transformation of the benign thymic epithelium. Immunohistochemically, the tumor cells were positive for cytokeratin (CK) 7, CK20, CD5, and CDX-2, and negative for thyroid transcription factor-1. In conclusion, the mucinous thymic adenocarcinoma should be recognized as a separate histopathological entity and considered in the differential diagnosis of mediastinal carcinomas.
Adenocarcinoma ; Adenocarcinoma, Mucinous ; Adult ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Epithelium ; Female ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Keratins ; Mediastinal Cyst ; Mucins ; Thymoma ; Thymus Gland ; Thyroid Gland

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently defined systemic Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-positive T-cell lymphoproliferative disorders (LPD) of childhood as a life-threatening illness. However, this rare disease has not been extensively studied. Here we report a case of systemic EBV-positive T-cell LPD in a previously healthy middle-aged man with a chief complaint of chronic diarrhea. The initial colon biopsy showed focal infiltration of EBV-positive small lymphocytes without any atypia. However, the disease rapidly progressed and the patient required a total colectomy due to severe gastrointestinal bleeding. Three and half months after admission, the patient died from a complication of disseminated intravascular coagulation. The resected colon showed diffuse infiltration of EBV-positive atypical lymphocytes with ischemic change. Most atypical lymphocytes were CD3+ or CD5+. The monoclonality of EBV was demonstrated by sequence variation analysis of the latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1) gene in the colectomy specimen as well as in the initial biopsy.
Chronic Disease ; Colonoscopy ; Diarrhea/*diagnosis ; Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation/diagnosis ; Epstein-Barr Virus Infections/complications/virology ; Feces/virology ; Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage ; Herpesvirus 4, Human/genetics/*isolation & purification ; Humans ; Lymphoproliferative Disorders/*diagnosis/immunology/virology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; RNA, Viral/analysis ; T-Lymphocytes/*immunology/pathology

Pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) begins with a painful, erythematous skin lesion followed by pustule formation and rapid ulceration in which an erythematous border surrounds a sterile, necrotic center. In most patients, symptoms of ulcerative colitis precede PG, and exacerbations of the bowel disease frequently correlate with worsening of the skin lesions. As PG is not commonly encountered by clinicians, the diagnosis of such lesions is not always straightforward. This case emphasizes the importance of detailed history taking and the consideration of PG as a differential diagnosis of such lesions in patients with a background of related systemic disease. The prognosis of PG is generally good. But, early aggressive therapy can minimize severe complications, and maintenance treatment may prevent some devastating consequences. We report two cases of PG that developed on the entire body and on an anterior chest wall abscess with ulcerative colitis, which improved with corticosteroid and cyclosporine.
Abscess ; Colitis, Ulcerative ; Cyclosporine ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Humans ; Prognosis ; Pyoderma ; Pyoderma Gangrenosum ; Skin ; Thoracic Wall ; Ulcer

The cytological diagnosis of lymph node lesions is extremely challenging because of the diverse diseases that cause lymph node enlargement, including both benign and malignant or metastatic lymphoid lesions. Furthermore, the cytological findings of different lesions often resemble one another. A stepwise diagnostic approach is essential for a comprehensive diagnosis that combines: clinical findings, including age, sex, site, multiplicity, and ultrasonography findings; low-power reactive, metastatic, and lymphoma patterns; high-power population patterns, including two populations of continuous range, small monotonous pattern and large monotonous pattern; and disease-specific diagnostic clues including granulomas and lymphoglandular granules. It is also important to remember the histological features of each diagnostic category that are common in lymph node cytology and to compare them with cytological findings. It is also essential to identify a few categories of diagnostic pitfalls that often resemble lymphomas and easily lead to misdiagnosis, particularly in malignant small round cell tumors, poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinomas, and nasopharyngeal undifferentiated carcinoma. Herein, we review a stepwise approach for fine needle aspiration cytology of lymphoid diseases and suggest a diagnostic algorithm that uses this approach and the Sydney classification system.

BACKGROUND: Simian virus 40 (SV40), a polyomavirus, was discovered as a contaminant of a human polio vaccine in the 1960s. It is known that malignant mesothelioma (MM) is associated with SV40, and that the virus works as a cofactor to the carcinogenetic effects of asbestos. However, the reports about the correlation between SV40 and MM have not been consistent. The purpose of this study is to identify SV40 in MM tissue in Korea through detection of SV40 protein and DNA. METHODS: We analyzed 62 cases of available paraffin-blocks enrolled through the Korean Malignant Mesothelioma Surveillance System and performed immunohistochemistry for SV40 protein and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for SV40 DNA. RESULTS: Of 62 total cases, 40 had disease involving the pleura (64.5%), and 29 (46.8%) were found to be of the epithelioid subtype. Immunostaining demonstrated that all examined tissues were negative for SV40 protein. Sufficient DNA was extracted for real-time PCR analysis from 36 cases. Quantitative PCR of these samples showed no increase in SV40 transcript compared to the negative controls. CONCLUSIONS: SV40 is not associated with the development of MM in Korea.
Asbestos ; DNA ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Korea ; Mesothelioma ; Pleura ; Poliomyelitis ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Polyomavirus ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Simian virus 40 ; Viruses