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A solitary fibrous tumor (SFT) originating in the pancreas is rare. We report a 55-year-old woman with an asymptomatic pancreatic mass incidentally discovered on abdominal ultrasonography. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) showed a well-demarcated exophytic mass in the pancreatic head with prolonged and delayed enhancement. The mass showed hypointensity on T1-weighted images and heterogeneous hypointensity with spotty hyperintensity foci on T2-weighted images. Fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography (FDG-PET)/CT showed no significant FDG uptake. The resected mass was composed of spindle cells that were positive for CD34; and hemangiopericytomatous vessels were focally detected. The mass was finally diagnosed as an SFT of the pancreas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The incidence of supraclavicular metastasis as the initial failure and the failure patterns in patients with four or more positive axillary lymph nodes (PALNs) after breast-conserving therapy (BCT) without prophylactic supraclavicular irradiation were investigated.Materials and Methods: Between 1991 and 2002, a total of 48 women with four or more PALNs underwent BCT without prophylactic supraclavicular irradiation (33 patients with 4-9 PALNs; 15 patients with > or =10 PALNs).Results: The median follow-up time was 50 months. Among the patients with 4-9 PALNs, 3% had isolated supraclavicular metastasis as the initial failure, and 30% had distant metastasis as the initial failure. Among patients with > or =10 PALNs, 7% had isolated supraclavicular metastasis as the initial failure, and 40% had distant metastasis as the initial failure. The 4-year isolated supraclavicular failure rates were 5% for all patients, 3% for patients with 4-9 PALNs, and 8% for patients with >/=10 PALNs.Conclusion: In patients who had undergone BCT and had had four or more PALNs, the major failure pattern was distant failure with or without locoregional failure; isolated supraclavicular failure as the initial failure comprised a less common failure pattern. Omission of prophylactic supraclavicular irradiation may be acceptable for this subset of patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The incidence and patterns of isolated brain failure was examined in patients with stage III non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with concurrent chemoradiation (CCRT).Materials and Methods: Between 1996 and 2003, a total of 68 patients with stage III NSCLC were treated with radical CCRT. Among them, 63 patients were evaluable. Radiation therapy with a mean total dose of 61.4 Gy and chemotherapy (typically platinum-based) were administered concurrently.Results: Other than locoregional failure, isolated brain failure was the most common failure pattern as the initial failure, occurring 2-37 months (median 6.5 months) after radical CCRT. The isolated brain failure rates as the initial failure at 1, 3, and 4 years were 9%, 13%, and 25%, respectively. Isolated brain failure as the initial failure occurred more frequently in T4 cases (39% at 4 years) compared to T1-3 cases (14% at 4 years) in our series (P = 0.0099).Conclusion: Except for locoregional failure, isolated brain failure was the most common initial failure pattern of stage III NSCLCs treated with radical CCRT. Isolated brain failure as the initial failure occurred even after 3 years. Isolated brain failure as the initial failure occurred more frequently in T4 cases than in T1-3 cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) using mouse probes, we assigned homologues for cathepsin E (Ctse ), protocadherin 10 (Pcdh10, alias OL-protocadherin, Ol-pc ), protocadherin 13 (Pcdh13 , alias protocadherin 2c, Pcdh2c ), neuroglycan C (Cspg5 ) and myosin X (Myo10 ) genes to rat chromosomes (RNO) 13q13, 2q24→q25, 18p12→p11, 8q32.1 and 2q22.1→q22.3, respectively. Similarly, homologues for mouse Ctse , Pcdh13 , Cspg5 and Myo10 genes and homologues for rat Smad2 (Madh2 ) and Smad4 (Madh4 ) genes were assigned to Chinese hamster chromosomes (CGR) 5q28, 2q17, 4q26, 2p29→p27, 2q112→q113 and 2q112→q113, respectively. The chromosome assignments of homologues of Ctse and Cspg5 reinforced well-known homologous relationships among mouse chromosome (MMU) 1, RNO 13 and CGR 5q, and among MMU 9, RNO 8 and CGR 4q, respectively. The chromosome locations of homologues for Madh2 , Madh4 and Pcdh13 genes suggested that inversion events were involved in chromosomal rearrangements in the differentiation of MMU 18 and RNO 18, whereas most of MMU 18 is conserved as a continuous segment in CGR 2q. Furthermore, the mapping result of Myo10 and homologues suggested an orthologous segment of MMU 15, RNO 2 and CGR 2. Copyright © 2000 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A significant increase has been reported in reticuloendothelial neoplasms in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases. We present two rare cases of multiple myeloma in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases. One was in a 58-year-old woman with ulcerative colitis, and the other was in a 59-year old woman with Crohn's disease. In both patients, multiple myeloma occurred during long-term observation of inflammatory bowel disease and during the inactive stage of intestinal inflammation. The multiple myeloma appeared to have resulted from monoclonal gammopathy of undertermined significance in both patients, and was diagnosed by characteristic serum and bone marrow findings. Our findings suggested that multiple myeloma should be particularly considered in women of middle or advanced age with ulcerative colitis or Crohn's colitis and serum monoclonal gammopathy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]