[Benign non-parasitic hepatic cystic tumours]

Farletuzumab, a monoclonal antibody directed against folate receptor alpha, shows no evidence of teratogenicity in cynomolgus monkeys

Farletuzumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody targeting human folate receptor alpha, which is being developed as an anti-cancer drug. A non-human primate reproductive study was conducted to evaluate whether it could cause any embryonic or fetal abnormalities. Farletuzumab was administered intravenously to pregnant cynomolgus monkeys (n = 16/group) at doses of 0 or 67.5 mg/kg once weekly during gestation day (GD) 20 through 97. C-section was performed on GD100 ± 2, and fetuses were evaluated for morphologic (external, visceral and skeletal) effects. No farletuzumab-related changes were observed in maternal animals or fetuses, which are supported by the fact that farletuzumab has no effects on cellular uptake of folate. These data support the potential use of farletuzumab for oncologic indications during pregnancy.

A Giant Simple Liver Cyst That Caused Increases in Serum CA 19-9 and CA 15-3 Levels

Simple cysts (SCs) of the liver are not associated with the biliary malformations in intrahepatic bile duct biliary. Seen in 0.1% to 7% of adult population, biliary malformations are more common in women. The levels of glycoprotein-like tumor markers (carbohydrate antigen (CA) 19-9) in the cysts and serum could be high. Although studies regarding CA 19-9 exist, sufficient data on cancer antigen (CA) 15-3 are not available. This case is about a 76-year-old woman who complained of painless intra-abdominal mass. The patient with a giant simple cyst extending from the gallbladder to the pelvis had preoparative CA 19-9 and CA 15-3 serum levels of 87.3 IU/L and 37 IU/L respectively. It was observed that CA 19-9 levels had decreased to 36 IU/L and CA 15-3 to 28.1 IU/L in blood samples taken in the third month after the surgery. There is a need for comprehensive studies to investigate the relationship between the size of the cyst and biomarkers (including markers such as CA 15-3) in the assesment of liver SC.

Prevalence of simple liver cysts and hemangiomas in cirrhotic and non-cirrhotic patients submitted to magnetic resonance imaging

Objective To determine the prevalence of liver cysts and hemangiomas in the general population and in cirrhotic patients. Materials and Methods Retrospective, observational, and cross-sectional study selecting consecutive magnetic resonance imaging studies performed in the period from February to July 2011. A total of 303 patients (187 women and 116 men) with mean age of 53.3 years were included in the present study. Patients with previously known liver lesions were excluded. The images were consensually analyzed by two observers in the search for simple liver cysts and typical liver hemangiomas, according to universally accepted imaging criteria. Lesions prevalence, diameters and location were determined in both cirrhotic and non-cirrhotic individuals. Results The authors observed prevalence of 8.6% for hemangiomas and 14.5% for simple cysts. No statistically significant difference was observed in relation to prevalence of hemangiomas and cysts among cirrhotic and non-cirrhotic patients (p = 0.954; p = 0.472). Conclusion In the present study, the prevalence of cysts and hemangiomas was higher than the prevalence reported by autopsy series. No influence of cirrhosis was observed on the prevalence and appearance of such incidental lesions.