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A 77-year-old man presented with a 2-month history of a widespread scaly erythematous patches affecting his trunk and limbs. This case report discusses the differential diagnosis in a patient with unusual lumps. It explores the common pitfalls in examining such cases and provides key learning points.

This is a case report of an elderly man who was investigated at our respiratory clinic for slowly enlarging right lower lobe lung nodule on the background of oesophageal cancer diagnosed more than 11 years ago with gastric pull up. CT guided biopsy confirms the diagnosis of intrathoracic ectopic spleen.

Cardiac myxoma and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma are uncommon tumors, yet four composite tumors have been reported since 2009. We are reporting on the fifth case providing detailed immunohistochemical and FISH analyses. The lymphoma was present as superficially located nests of large cells with patchy necrosis in the background of a typical atrial myxoma. It displayed features of DLBCL with non-germinal center phenotype, expressed EBER, LMP1, EBNA2 and shared the following features with the previously reported cases: B-cell lineage, high-grade cytology, high proliferation rate, EBV infection in latency type 3 with one tested case and an excellent outcome. The lymphomas arising within myxoma may follow a pathogenic pathway driven by EBV, whose transformation potential is unleashed in the cytokine-rich milieu of a myxoma, presumably accentuating age-related decline of adaptive immunity known as immune senescence. DLBCL arising within atrial myxoma grouped together with EBV+ DLBCL associated with valve prosthesis and with an atrial thrombus differs in the immunocompetent patients from primary cardiac DLBCL, not otherwise specified, in clinical presentation, pathological features and a course of the disease. Distinction between these groups may have important therapeutic consequences.

Epithelioid angiomyolipomas (perivascular epithelioid cell tumors) of the kidney are defined as potentially malignant mesenchymal lesions that are closely related to classic angiomyolipoma. Although approximately 120 cases are published, mostly as case reports with variably used diagnostic criteria, the pathologic prognostic predictors of outcome are unknown. We analyzed the clinicopathologic parameters in a large series of 41 cases of pure epithelioid angiomyolipomas of the kidney, which we designate as pure (monotypic) epithelioid PEComas to contrast them from classic angiomyolipomas that are regarded by some as PEComas. We use the terminology "pure" to separate these cases from those that may have variable epithelioid components. The mean age of the patients was 40.7 years (range, 14 to 68 y). The male-to-female ratio was 1:1. Seventy-nine percent of patients were symptomatic at presentation with metastatic disease at onset in 12 cases. Follow-up and/or disease progression information were available for 33 of 41 cases (mean, 44.5 mo and median, 24.5 mo; range, 4 to 240); 9 patients had a history of associated tuberous sclerosis. Recurrence and metastasis were seen in 17% and 49% of patients; 33% of patients died of disease. Lymph node involvement was seen in 24% of patients; the liver (63%), lung (25%), and mesentery (18.8%) were the most common metastatic sites. Clinicopathologic parameters associated with disease progression (recurrence, metastasis, or death due to disease) in univariate analysis included associated tuberous sclerosis complex or concurrent angiomyolipoma (any metastasis, P=0.046), necrosis (metastasis at diagnosis, P=0.012), tumor size >7 cm (progression, P=0.021), extrarenal extension and/or renal vein involvement (progression, P=0.023), and carcinoma-like growth pattern (progression, P=0.040) (the 5 adverse prognostic parameters for pure epithelioid PEComas). Tumors with

Three bone marrow trephine biopsies from two multiple myeloma patients were involved by a diffuse infiltrate of microvacuolated plasma cells with a variable number of signet ring cells, CD138, κ-light chains, and ubiquitin positive. The vacuoles remained clear on PAS and in May–Grunwald–Giemsa-stained bone marrow aspirates. Differential diagnosis on conventional stains included malignant epithelial and mesenchymal tumors, non-neoplastic histiocytes, and fixation artifacts. Electron microscopy revealed translucent vacuoles with no apparent membrane and a fuzzy internal surface occasionally merging with smaller membrane-delineated spaces filled with granular material, without communication with cisternae of rough endoplasmic reticulum. Rare multivesicular bodies with dilated intralumenal vesicles were noted. The findings concur with the presumed derivation of the vacuoles from the endolysosomal compartment. Strong ubiquitin expression was encountered in neoplastic plasma cells but not in non-neoplastic plasma cells, presumably due to the endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation, triggered by excessive production of misfolded immunoglobulins in the former.

Engagement of plasma membrane receptors is followed by an assembly of a multimolecular complex of signaling molecules organized by scaffolding or adaptor proteins. PAG is a recently characterized transmembrane adaptor protein associated with lipid rafts, which is involved in the regulation of Src-kinases, monomeric Ras protein, and interactions with the cytoskeleton. The review provides up-to-date information about the protein that attracts increasing attention in current biomedical research.

Transmembrane adaptor protein PAG, also known as Csk-binding protein (Cbp), which binds and activates the cytoplasmic tyrosine kinase Csk, the major negative regulator of Src-family kinases, was found to be expressed in germinal centers of lymphoid follicles as well as in follicular, but not mantle cell lymphomas. Expression of PAG may reflect its role in regulation of proliferation and differentiation of germinal center B-cells. From the routine histopathology point of view, PAG might be a new positive marker of follicular lymphoma and a negative marker of mantle cell lymphoma.

We present the case of a 60-year-old woman who developed peripheral T-cell lymphoma following successful treatment for high-grade B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. We consider the possible aetiology of this unusual occurrence. We hypothesise that this case represents one of the undiagnosed adult-onset immunodeficiency, in which the pathogenesis of the patient's T-cell lymphoma may have been in part iatrogenic, namely related to previous immunotherapy with rituximab. We feel this case highlights the importance of rebiopsy in patients with recurrent lymphadenopathy and a history of haematological malignancy and hence acts as an important aide memoir in the investigation of such cases.

HPV has carcinogenic effects at several anatomical sites in women and men. Whether the presence of HPV in the genitourinary tract of men is associated with a higher prostate cancer risk has been a matter of research for a long-time and the results are still not fully conclusive. Similarly, the question of the reservoir of HPV infection in men is not clearly resolved. HPV DNA presence and types were evaluated by means of polymerase chain reaction in the tissue of 146 patients with benign prostate hyperplasia and prostate cancer. HPV-specific antibodies were analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in the sera of all patients and 172 controls. In addition, 256 biopsies taken from non-tumorous tissues were analyzed. No statistically significant differences were observed in HPV DNA prevalence between patients with benign prostate hyperplasia (2%) and patients with prostatic cancer (2%; P = 1.000). The seropositivity rates did not differ significantly between groups of subjects except for antibodies against HPV 6 VLPs which were found more often in prostate cancer patients (adjusted P = 0.018). Similarly, no difference in the seroprevalence rates for HPV 16 E6 and/or E7 oncoproteins between groups of patients and healthy controls was detected. The overall HPV prevalence in 256 healthy tissue samples was 4%. The results indicate that HPV infection is not associated with prostate oncogenesis in men. However, they imply that multiple tissues of the male genitourinary tract may be important reservoirs for the transmission of some HPV types.

Keywords Kidney · Malignant mixed epithelial stromal tumor · Cystic nephroma · Sarcoma Sir, We report a case of a mixed epithelial and stromal tumor of the kidney with malignant transformation of its mesenchymal component. A 46-year-old woman was operated on for a computed tomography-proven solidified cyst in the upper pole of the left kidney. No tumorous metastatic dissemination was found during further clinical examination. The kidney contained a cystic tumor 7 cm in diameter bulging into the perirenal fat. The gray–brown wall of the cyst was 0.2- to 0.3-cm thick, the inner surface was smooth, covered by light and dark brown, hemorrhagic material. A flat, red–brown prominence measuring 4×3×1.5 cm, multilocular on a cut surface, protruded into the intracystic space. The margins of the tumor were sharply demarcated from the renal parenchyma but were indistinct on the side of perirenal fat. The hemorrhagic contents of the cyst, submitted separately in a total volume of about 200 ml, were characteristic of blood clots, seemingly free of tumorous material. The renal parenchyma outside the tumor area, renal pelvis and ureter were unremarkable. The tumor showed a histological structure of a benign multilocular cyst containing cysts and septa, which comprised occasional small tubular structures. Septa were formed by fibrous stroma with uneven cellularity focally displaying ovarian stroma-like features (Fig. 1) and immunohistochemically showing positivity of vimentin, smooth muscle actin, muscle actin and desmin. Ultrastructurally, the bland-looking cells surrounded by external lamina and connected by primitive attachment sites were set in the background of collagenous matrix. They contained numerous organelles, including copious cisternae of the rough and smooth endoplasmic reticulum, intermediate filaments and Golgi complex. Numerous patches of microfilaments were focally present in the cytoplasm of the benign stromal cells. The tubules and cysts were lined with a single layer of epithelial cells, mostly showing a hobnail appearance, oxyphilic, periodic acid–Schiff base (PAS)-negative cytoplasm and large, irregular nuclei. PAS-positive material was present in some lumina. Immunohistochemically, the cells were cytokeratin and epithelial membrane antigen (EMA) positive. No heterologous tissue, renal blastema cells or poorly differentiated epithelial structures were found.

We are reporting a case of a capillary haemangioma-like proliferation arising within a parathyroid gland adenoma, associated with primary hyperparathyroidism. The vessel proliferation bearing a close resemblance to a capillary haemangioma consisted of tightly packed capillaries, endothelial buds and occasional small caliber muscle-containing vessels. The observation expands the spectrum of tumour-associated vascular proliferations by adding an exuberant haemangioma-like pattern to its extreme end. These are a heterogeneous group of lesions reportedly induced by aberrant production of angiogenic factors. We investigated expression of VEGF, pKDR, FGF2, HIF1alpha and HIF2alpha and only VEGF gave a strong positive reaction in the adenoma cells entrapped in the vascular meshwork. Although this does not constitute a proof that aberrant VEGF production was a causative agent, unexpected supportive evidence for its pathogenic role emerged from a failure to detect chromogranin A. Chromogranin A is a precursor of several regulatory proteins, including vasostatin I, a multilevel suppressor of VEGF. The production of vasostatin I may have been reduced in a chromogranin A-negative adenoma which could lead to a loss of its opposing effect on VEGF-regulated processes. The only two other published cases of haemangioma of the parathyroid gland were reported in patients diagnosed with primary parathyroid hyperplasia with hyperparathyroidism, a pathophysiologic condition similar to our case. Therefore we raise the question whether these tumours could also represent a reactive phenomenon.

PAG/Cbp is a transmembrane adaptor protein involved in proximal immune signaling. It is expressed in reactive germinal centers (GC) of secondary lymphatic follicles and related malignant lymphomas. We studied PAG/Cbp expression in GC-like and non-GC-like diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) subtypes. Seventy-three cases of DLBCL identified among 155 malignant lymphomas were classified as GC-like DLBCL (CD10+ or CD10−, bcl-6+, and MUM1−) and non-GC-like DLBCL (CD10−, MUM1+ or CD10−, bcl-6+, MUM1+). PAG/Cbp was detected by monoclonal antibody MEM-255 following routine immunohistochemical procedures. Thirty-five of 40 GC-like DLBCLs (88%) and 20 of 33 non-GC-like DLBCL cases (61%) expressed PAG/Cbp. Four of 12 bcl-6-negative non-GC-like DLBCL cases (33%) were PAG/Cbp positive, and only 4 of 20 bcl-6-positive non-GC-like DLBCL cases (25%) were PAG/CBP negative. All 37 FL and all 5 Burkitt's lymphomas (BL) expressed PAG/Cbp, whereas all 6 mantle cell lymphomas (MCL) and 4 of 5 chronic lymphocytic leukemias (CLL/SLL) were PAG/Cbp negative. PAG/Cbp is a reliable GC marker. Its expression correlates with GC-like DLBC phenotype in a significant majority of cases. It is typically absent in MCL and SLL/CLL.

Background: Morphological examination of bone marrow trephine biopsy represents a standard method for non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas (NHL) staging. Immunohistochemistry staining of bone marrow trephine specimens has been widely used in haematological malignancies due to its high applicability and sensitivity at diagnosis. However, the routine use of immunohistochemistry in the clinical settings when there is no obvious morphological (light microscopic) evidence of lymphoma in the bone marrow trephine, is not yet well established universally. We assessed the value of immunohistochemistry (by using a standard basic panel of anti-CD20 and anti-CD3 staining) in detecting involvement by NHL in routinely processed bone marrow trephine specimens with no obvious morphological involvement with lymphoma. Methods: This study involved 56 randomly selected paraffin wax embedded, formalin fixed bone marrow trephine specimens between February 2011 and September 2013 from three teaching hospitals in Northeast, UK. 49 patients (87%) had B-cell NHL: diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) 43% (n=24), follicular lymphoma (FL) 18% (n=10), marginal zone lymphoma (MZL) 9% (n=5), mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) 7% (n=4), lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma (LPL) 6% (n=3) and Burkitt’s lymphoma (BL) 6% (n=3). 7 cases (12%) had T/NK lymphomas. There was no obvious morphological evidence of bone marrow infiltration as all samples were reviewed by two examiners. All specimens were stained with the anti-CD20 and anti-CD3 antibodies. Results: Concordant results were found in 50 samples (89%), as both investigations were reported negative. 6 of the 56 cases (11%) with no morphological evidence of involvement by NHL on routine stains, were positive on immunohistochemistry. Considering histology, discrepant results were noted more frequently in T/NK lymphomas (42%; 3 of 7 cases) comparing to B-cell NHLs (6%; 2 cases of DLBCL and 1 case of FL). In all six cases the lymphoid infiltrates had diffuse pattern. Conclusions: Our results indicate that immunohistochemistry can detect a subgroup of NHL patients with bone marrow involvement beyond discriminatory level of conventional stains (Haematoxylin & Eosin and Giemsa), thereby contributing to accuracy of staging and treatment planning. Rational application of immunohistochemistry is a cost-effective & valuable method in routine investigation of staging bone marrow trephine biopsies. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Aim To verify an impact of a lymph node revealing solution (LRS) on the number of lymph nodes (LN) revealed in colorectal resection specimens. Material and method Fifty-nine cases of rectosigmoid carcinomas divided into two subgroups—stage pT2&3 (20 cases) and ypT2&3 (with pre-operative radiotherapy—39 cases)—were formalin fixed for 42–72 h, serially sectioned and re-fixed in LRS containing ethanol, diethyl ether, glacial acetic acid, and formalin for 24 h. The number of LNs was matched to a control group consisting of 34 cases of colorectal carcinoma, 14 pT2&3 and 20 ypT2&3 rectosigmoid carcinomas examined routinely. Results were statistically tested by Student‘s t -test. Results In the study group the total number of revealed LNs was 869, range 1–48, average 14.7 per specimen, median 15. In the control group the number of LNs was 200, range 0–13, average 5.9 per specimen, median 6. The difference between the study and the control group was statistically significant ( P =0.05). Conclusion Using LRS leads to a significant increase in the number of revealed LNs in colorectal resection specimens and makes it possible to find more than 12 LNs in a majority of stage pT2 and pT3 adenocarcinomas.

Diagnosis established by means of fluorescence spectroscopy is currently used in the field of urology and bronchology. Its major advantage is that it allows the diagnosis of epithelial dysplasia or malignant proliferation even if routine diagnostic endoscopy fails to reveal any macroscopic changes. The authors present results of their observations that deal with fluorescence diagnosis of colorectal carcinoma. They examined the wet microscopic mounts of healthy colon mucosa and compared them to that prepared from colon mucosa affected by adenocarcinoma. The diagnosis of adenocarcinoma was verified by using clinical and histology means. Fluorescence spectra of tissue samples, excited by means of 488 and 514.5 nm lines of Ar ion laser and/or by He-Ne laser line 632.8 nm, have been studied. This study demonstrated differences in both the spectral shape and in the signal intensity (at unchanged spectral shape) of photoluminescence spectra emitted from tissue affected by adenocarcinoma as compared to that of healthy colon mucosa. The results encourage us to continue the study aimed at development of the diagnostic system usable in the clinical practice.