Dystonia has been described as a potential toxicity of radiation therapy. Management of this rare movement disorder is targeted in symptom improvement. We report a case of a 46-year-old female patient who developed dystonia during treatment of melanoma metastatic to the brain and discuss potential causes of and therapies for this rare complication.

Pancreatic cancer exhibits profound chemoresistance resulting either from pre-existing (intrinsic) mechanisms, or from anticancer drug treatment itself (acquired chemoresistance). We present the case of a patient with pancreatic adenocarcinoma metastatic to the liver who experienced clinical, radiographic and tumor marker response to three lines of gemcitabine-based chemotherapy. The regimens included: 8 cycles of gemcitabine and oxaliplatin (GEMOX), 8 cycles of gemcitabine, docetaxel and capecitabine (GTX) and more than 3 cycles of gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel, with an exceptional response 2 years from the initiation of chemotherapy for metastatic pancreatic cancer.

A 78-year-old woman presented with an abdominal mass diagnosed by ultrasound and computed tomography. The patient underwent a laparotomy, during which a retroperitoneal tumor adherent to the cecum wall was identified. Microscopically, it showed spindle-cell proliferation in whorls, with low mitotic count (2 per 50 high-power fields) and was strongly positive for S-100 protein and vimentin. The final diagnosis was benign schwannoma of the cecum and no further treatment was required. Large intestine schwannomas are extremely rare tumors and only a few cases of schwannoma of the cecum have been reported to date.

Polymorphous low-grade adenocarcinoma is a rare malignant tumor that mainly occurs in salivary glands, particularly in the hard palate. To date, surgery has been the most commonly used treatment method with the aim of achieving negative margins of resection. Here, we report a case of a 51-year-old woman who presented with a painless growing mass in her oral cavity with Rouviere's lymph node metastasis. Laboratory data showed severe anemia because of bleeding from the tumor. We inserted two catheters into the bilateral external carotid arteries via the superficial temporal arteries, and began continuous intra-arterial infusion with cisplatin and a cisplatin-neutralizing agent. The bleeding stopped after the first infusion, and we continued with weekly arterial cisplatin infusion and proton beam therapy (70.4 GyE in 32 fractions). A decrease in tumor volume has been maintained for 2 years, with no evidence of new metastasis.

Background

Bevacizumab has been increasingly used in combination chemotherapy with paclitaxel for treatment of metastatic or recurrent breast cancer. The aim of this report is to underline possible risks associated with the new combination chemotherapy.

Case Presentation

A 39-year-old woman with recurrent breast cancer was treated with bevacizumab and paclitaxel. Positron emission tomography revealed breast cancer metastasis to the left supraclavicular lymph nodes and right axillary lymph nodes, with no distant metastasis.

Results

After the third cycle of bevacizumab and paclitaxel, the patient developed a bloody bowel discharge. Emergent colonoscopy demonstrated diverticular bleeding on one of the multiple diverticula in the ascending colon. The bleeding point was successfully clipped colonoscopically.

Conclusion

The factors for diverticular bleeding are believed to be non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, constipation, and bevacizumab. We recommend reviewing anamneses for diverticulitis, multiple prior abdominal surgeries, peritoneal carcinomatosis, and regular use of certain drugs.

Malignant neoplasms very rarely metastasize to the mammary gland, the incidence of which is reported as 0.5–2%. Clear cell sarcoma is a rare neoplasm, accounting for approximately 1% of all soft tissue tumors, which commonly occurs in the distal extremities of young adults aged approximately 20 to 40 years. So it is also called malignant melanoma of soft parts because it frequently produces melanin. We report a case of a 26-year-old woman who presented with a neck mass. The mass was surgically removed, and pathological diagnosis was clear cell sarcoma of the neck, harboring the EWS-ATF1 chimeric gene. Computed tomography detected a right breast mass 11 months after operation. She was referred to our department, and the right breast tumor was resected. Histopathological examination revealed a 2.5-cm, well-defined mass composed of nests of small, spindle-shaped tumor cells with abundant, clear cytoplasm containing round nuclei and prominent nucleoli. The tumor cells were immunohistochemically positive for HMB45, S-100, and Melan-A. These findings led to a diagnosis of metastasis of clear cell sarcoma to the mammary gland. This is the first report of clear cell sarcoma of the neck which metastasized to the mammary gland.

Temozolomide (TMZ) is an alkylating agent, used for the treatment of high-grade gliomas. This case report describes the development of a non-Hodgkin lymphoma in a patient treated with extended-dose temozolomide and radiotherapy. In addition to the possible mutagenic effect of temozolomide – as described for all alkylating agents – there might have been an immunosuppressive effect of TMZ. The pathological appearance of the lymphoma as well as the presence of a grade 3 lymphopenia early in treatment supports this hypothesis. As the use of TMZ increases, the awareness that TMZ may induce secondary malignancies should increase as well.

Ovarian cancer is the second most common gynecological cancer in the Western world. Despite a good response to treatment, most patients with ovarian cancer will relapse. The abdominal, pelvic, and retroperitoneal cavities represent the most common sites of ovarian cancer recurrence, with inguinal lymph node involvement rarely reported. Herein we report the case of a 48-year-old Caucasian female who underwent successful surgical and chemotherapy treatment for ovarian epithelial cancer. Two years later, the patient was found to have painless left inguinal adenopathy, which was subsequently found to be metastatic ovarian cancer. CA-125 levels were elevated despite the lack of any foci of metabolically active tissue on imaging. Inguinal lymph node involvement is a rare sign of ovarian cancer. Despite that, it is essential to consider ovarian cancer in the differential diagnosis for inguinal lymphadenopathy in a female patient.

Gastric cancer with peritoneal carcinomatosis is a disease with a poor prognosis. Cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and hyperthermic intraperitoneal perioperative chemotherapy (HIPEC) can improve prognosis, although in most cases this should still be considered as a palliative treatment. Therefore, morbidity has to be avoided at all cost as quality of life is of utmost importance. We describe the case of a 64-year-old female with an adenocarcinoma of the stomach that was initially treated with a Billroth II gastrectomy, adjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy. During follow-up, the diagnosis of peritoneal carcinomatosis was made, and the patient was referred for CRS and HIPEC. Postoperatively, she developed rhabdomyolysis in both gastrocnemius muscles. Renal function remained within normal limits, but ultrasonography of the lower legs suggested the presence of bilateral abscesses. Drainage with pigtail catheters was necessary for more than 1 month, significantly impairing quality of life. The objective of this case report is to heighten awareness for this complication. Rhabdomyolysis is a rare complication of CRS and HIPEC, with a significant impact on quality of life. Prevention is necessary and can be achieved by adequate surgical positioning, using the altered lithotomy position, sufficient padding and by preventing hypovolemia.

We present the case of a 67-year-old patient with a BRCA1 mutation and breast cancer who underwent prophylactic oophorectomy. After 6 years, an abdominal computed tomography revealed a pelvic mass which proved to be a poorly differentiated serous carcinoma originating from the right residual tube which previously had not been removed during prophylactic surgery. This case report suggests that much effort should be made during prophylactic oophorectomy to completely remove the tubes, especially in light of the recent pathologic theories on the tubal origin of ovarian cancer.

We present the case of a 44-year-old nulliparous woman who experienced irregular menstrual cycles for about 10 years and developed both pituitary prolactinoma and endometrioid endometrial carcinoma. In premenopausal women, hyperprolactinemia causes hypogonadism by inhibiting secretion of gonadotropin-releasing hormone and thus suppressing luteinizing hormone levels, which can cause menstrual disorders ranging from amenorrhea, oligomenorrhea and chronic anovulatory cycle to short luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. A chronic anovulatory menstrual cycle is the most common cause of long-term exposure of the endometrium to endogenous estrogen without adequate opposition from progestins, which can lead to endometrioid endometrial carcinoma. In this case, pituitary prolactinoma may have caused the chronic anovulatory cycle and indirectly led to the endometrioid endometrial carcinoma. In patients for whom the cause of irregular menstruation and chronic anovulatory cycle is suspected to be hyperprolactinemia, explorations of both the hypophysis and endometrium are essential.

A 62-year-old woman with breast cancer received neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by breast-conserving surgery and sentinel node biopsy. During adjuvant endocrine therapy with aromatase inhibitor, she developed multiple bone metastases. Thereafter, she received tamoxifen and zoledronate therapy. In May 2011, she developed a tongue deviation and was diagnosed as having meningeal carcinomatosis. The tongue deviation disappeared 3 weeks after taking capecitabine (2,400 mg/day). Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain showed regression of meningeal carcinomatosis. Levels of tumor markers CEA and CA15-3 changed from 96.0 IU/ml and 3.5 ng/ml to 47.0 IU/ml and 1.5 ng/ml, respectively. Progression-free survival with capecitabine monotherapy was 5 months.

Posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorders (PTLD) are a rare, but serious complication following transplantation. Late-onset PTLD are often associated with more monoclonal lesions and consequently have a worse prognosis. There are only isolated case reports of Burkitt's lymphoma presenting as PTLD. We present an extremely rare, aggressive Burkitt's lymphoma years after kidney and pancreas transplantation which was successfully treated with combination chemotherapy along with withdrawal of immunosuppression. The patient remains in complete remission more than 2 years after his diagnosis. We also provide a succinct review of treatment of various PTLD and discuss the role of Epstein-Barr virus infection in the pathogenesis of PTLD.

We report the case of a Japanese male with epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI)-sensitive lung adenocarcinoma, who had an EGFR mutation and presented in the emergency department with acute cardiac tamponade as the recurrence during EGFR-TKI therapy. We could detect a second mutation, T790M in exon 20 in the pericardial effusion. This is the first report to detect the resistant mutation T790M in pericardial effusion. We suggest that the pericardial effusion may therefore be useful as surrogate tissue for detecting EGFR mutation.

This is a case study of a 52-year-old female patient diagnosed in June 2007 with primary metastatic invasive ductal carcinoma of the left breast and synchronous metastases in the bone, lymph nodes, and lung. Biopsy results of the tumor tissue were negative for the estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). In November 2007, she participated in a phase II study of metastatic HER2-negative breast cancer. Treatment consisted of systemic chemotherapy with gemcitabine 1,500 mg/m2, nab-paclitaxel 150 mg/m2, and bevacizumab 10 mg/kg once every other week. The patient experienced pain relief in her sternum after 5 weeks of chemotherapy, and her analgesic therapy was discontinued. After 7 months, the patient achieved a complete radiographic response, which was maintained for nearly 2 additional years. She continued receiving treatment throughout this period, requiring 1 dose reduction due to fatigue. The patient experienced no other adverse events, including neuropathy, and continued working uninterrupted throughout her treatment. The patient was discontinued from the study in May 2010 after disease progression, almost a full 3 years after diagnosis. The patient showed minimal response to subsequent therapies but had disease stabilization and died from her disease in April 2012. Median overall survival for patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer is between 12 and 13.3 months. This patient survived nearly 5 years following diagnosis. This case exemplifies how therapy with nab-paclitaxel, bevacizumab, and gemcitabine may prolong survival, with minimal toxicity, in select patients with triple-negative metastatic breast cancer.

Hemobilia represents gastrointestinal bleeding that develops as a result of communication between blood vessels and the biliary tract, which causes the blood to reach the duodenal papilla. It is characterized by biliary colic as the initial symptom, and the complications of cholangitis, obstructive jaundice and/or anemia. In general, definitive diagnosis is made by esophagogastroduodenoscopy which confirms bleeding from the duodenal papilla. Abdominal US and abdominal enhanced CT are performed to identify the source of the bleeding, as well as ERCP for biliary drainage to control the comorbid cholangitis. If active hemorrhage accompanied by worsening of the anemia is suspected, abdominal angiography is performed to selectively image the hepatic artery. Then, embolization of the culprit vessel is recommended. In our patients with difficult hemostasis, because of the direct compression hemostasis to the tumor site achieved with the fully covered metallic stent and secondary compression hemostasis due to blood clots, the bleeding could be controlled.

Treatment of a relapsed glioma is a clinical challenge nowadays. New active treatments are required to treat these difficult diseases. Here we present a durable complete remission of a relapsed glioblastoma that has achieved a complete radiologic response with the combination of cetuximab and bevacizumab, in a third-line setting, that has offered a progression-free survival of 20 months. We consider here both potential mechanisms for the explanation of this result. First, the potential target of the cancer stem cells (CSCs) with these two antibodies, and second, the potential recruitment of the immune system to directly pursue the CSCs.

Yolk sac tumor (YST) is a rare malignant tumor originating from germ cells. YST normally originates from the gonads, rarely occurring in extragonadal sites. We report a 35-year-old man with YST arising in the omentum, which is the first reported case of a primary YST of the omentum in an adult male. The patient presented to the community hospital with abdominal distension. A CT scan showed thickening of the omentum with ascites. The patient underwent open biopsy of the omental mass. The Pathology Department of the hospital could not make a definitive diagnosis at that time, and the tumor was considered a cancer of unknown primary (CUP) origin with features of primary colorectal cancer based on the immunohistochemistry (IHC) findings of the biopsy specimen (CK7–/CK20+ and CDX-2+). He was then referred to our hospital. We found that serum α-fetoprotein was abnormally elevated to 7,144 ng/ml (normal <10.0), and reevaluation of the biopsy specimen revealed microcystic or reticular patterns of tumor cells with Schiller-Duval bodies typical of YST. The present case suggests that IHC is a very useful diagnostic tool for subtyping CUP but should be interpreted in the context of clinical and morphological findings.

A 19-year-old male presented with right lower quadrant pain. Imaging studies revealed a cystic peritoneal mass. At surgery, a large peritoneal mass was excised. The pathology report revealed a benign cystic mesothelioma, and a right hemicolectomy with cytoreductive surgery was completed.

Bronchopulmonary neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are malignant tumors that represent approximately 20% of all lung cancers. The therapeutic option for advanced or metastatic bronchopulmonary NETs is mainly palliation of symptoms; options need to be individualized and, therefore, rely on the knowledge of multidisciplinary teams. Somatostatin analogs have been widely used in NETs for control of hormonal syndromes and are currently under evaluation for their antiproliferative activity. Here, we present a case of NET of the lung, for which we achieved long-term disease control with a treatment comprising the somatostatin analog lanreotide Autogel® in a patient with limited therapeutic options due to considerable comorbidity, while preserving his quality of life.

A patient with advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) receiving second-line treatment with sunitinib developed edema, increase of the serum creatinine, weight gain, nephrotic syndrome with proteinuria of 12 g/24 h, dyslipidemia, hypoalbuminemia and also presented with hypertension. A kidney biopsy showed an immunocomplex glomerulonephritis. Steroid treatment was started, but the clinical conditions and laboratory values did not improve. So in the hypothesis that the nephrotic syndrome was induced by sunitinib, sunitinib was temporarily discontinued with a subsequent reduction of proteinuria and improvement in blood pressure control. In the last years, the introduction of sunitinib has modified the natural history of advanced GIST. However, due to chronic and prolonged intake of this drug, there is increasingly frequent detection of late and unknown toxicities in clinical practice. In particular, the late renal toxicity from sunitinib may be the primary clinical problem with this drug in the case of prolonged treatment. Monitoring of kidney function and blood pressure should be performed for early detection of side effects such as hypertension and kidney dysfunction in advanced GIST patients receiving long-term treatment with sunitinib. A clinical collaboration between oncologists and nephrologists could be useful with the objective to optimize the management of sunitinib.

Gastroesophageal variceal hemorrhage is a lethal complication of portal hypertension. Liver cirrhosis is often the principal cause of the portal hypertensive state. Malignant tumors coexist with portal hypertension in some cases. Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is likely to become metastatic. Liver is a frequent site of cancer metastasis, but diffuse hepatic sinusoidal metastasis is uncommon as a metastatic form of NSCLC. This report describes a patient with gastroesophageal variceal hemorrhage owing to a metastatic liver tumor of NSCLC. The patient, a male smoker with stage IV NSCLC, was free of any hepatitis viral infection and had no alcohol addiction. Liver dysfunction and liver disease had never been pointed out in his medical history. His tumor harbored an L858R epidermal growth factor receptor mutation. Gefitinib was initiated but had to be ceased because of interstitial lung disease. Sequential steroid therapy was effective and bevacizumab-containing chemotherapy was commenced. Both chemotherapy regimens produced favorable effects against the metastatic liver tumor, eliciting atrophic change regardless of the chemotherapy-free interval. One day the patient was admitted to our hospital because of black stool and hypotension. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy revealed a beaded appearance of the gastroesophageal varix with bloody gastric contents. The portal hypertension might have been caused by changes in portal vein hemodynamics induced by the conformational changes underlying the favorable response of the liver tumor to molecular targeted chemotherapy and notable regression.

We report a case of isolated iris metastasis from esophageal adenocarcinoma that was successfully managed with local application of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) and adjunctive intravitreal therapy. A 53-year-old man with locally advanced esophageal adenocarcinoma achieved a complete clinical and radiographic response after surgery and chemotherapy. Four months later, he developed headache and decreased vision and was diagnosed with metastasis to the iris by slit-lamp examination. The decrease in vision was secondary to cystoid macular edema. The metastatic tumor and the patient's symptoms resolved after treatment with SBRT and intravitreal injections of bevacizumab and triamcinolone. We conclude that SBRT combined with intravitreal chemotherapy is an effective and well-tolerated palliative treatment for metastasis of esophageal adenocarcinoma to the iris.

A 60-year-old woman presented with abdominal pain and weight loss and was found to have serum calcium of 15.0 mg/dl. Serum parathyroid hormone-related peptide (PTHrP) returned elevated. Imaging suggested bilateral mature cystic teratomas. Her hypercalcemia was treated initially with intravenous saline, as well as intramuscular and subcutaneous calcitonin. She underwent total abdominal hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, and final pathology revealed malignant Brenner tumor in association with a mature cystic teratoma. Her postoperative PTHrP returned less than assay, and her total and ionized calcium fell below normal, requiring supplemental calcium and vitamin D. At follow-up one month after discharge, her calcium had normalized. We present the first reported case of hypercalcemia occurring in association with a malignant Brenner tumor. Malignancy-associated hypercalcemia occurs via four principal mechanisms: (1) tumor production of PTHrP; (2) osteolytic bone involvement by primary tumor or metastasis; (3) ectopic activation of vitamin D to 1,25-(OH)2 vitamin D, and (4) ectopic production of parathyroid hormone. PTHrP-mediated hypercalcemia is the most common mechanism and was responsible in this case. In patients with paraneoplastic hypercalcemia who undergo surgical treatment, close monitoring and management of serum calcium is necessary both pre- and postoperatively.

After breast-conserving treatment, the occurrence of ipsilateral breast tumor relapse raises the concern regarding whether it may represent two distinct types of lesion that it is important to define, a true recurrence (TR) or a new primary tumor (NPT). TR and NPT have different natural histories, prognosis, and in turn different implications for therapeutic management. We report the case of a 35-year-old woman who developed a breast invasive ductal carcinoma, which after receiving breast-conserving treatment with adjuvant chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hormone therapy, developed four years after an inflammatory carcinoma in the same breast, with different expression of immunohistochemical markers than the first breast cancer. The patient was treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy that allowed the realization of a radical mastectomy with a complete pathological response. We describe the diagnostic and therapeutic approach of ipsilateral breast tumor relapses, along with a review of existing literature.