Parotid mass in a 62-year-old man

Parotid Tuberculosis as the Presenting Manifestation of Disseminated Disease in an Otherwise Asymptomatic HIV Patient

Parotid tuberculosis is not widely described in the literature. Even though a rare presentation of a commonly occurring disease, it is still missed as a differential diagnosis and often mistaken for neoplasms, eventually leading to unnecessary surgical resections. Here, we present a case of a young lady with a slowly growing unilateral parotid mass along with matted, non-tender cervical, axillary, and inguinal lymphadenopathy, who was incidentally found to have HIV with a cluster of differentiation 4 (CD4) lymphocyte count of 38 per microliter. Fine needle aspiration revealed acid-fast bacilli and CT thorax showed features of pulmonary tuberculosis, thus suggesting a disseminated tuberculosis infection. She was started on anti-tubercular and anti-retroviral therapy, after which there was a symptomatic improvement.

Hemangiopericytoma of Gingiva in a 4-Year-Old Child: A Rare Case Report

A hemangiopericytoma is a type of soft tissue sarcoma that originates in the pericytes in the walls of capillaries which was characterized in 1942. It is commonly seen in the age group of 5th-6th decades of adults and only 5-10% of cases occur in children with extreme rare occurrence in head and neck region (16%). A rare case of hemangiopericytoma in a 4-year-old female patient is presented here and its clinical, histopathological and immunohistochemically features are discussed. Though surgical resection remains the mainstay, excisional biopsy was primarily performed to reach the final diagnosis. Even in the follow-up phase of 1 year, no recurrence or no metastatic changes were observed.

Primary sarcomas of the salivary glands: case series and literature review

BACKGROUND

Mesenchymal malignancies of salivary origin are rare and are histologically diverse. We reviewed our experience with these tumors, as well as the published literature, with an emphasis on treatment modalities and prognosis.

METHODS

We identified 17 patients treated for malignant mesenchymal cell tumors at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center between 1990 and 2007. We compared our results to the literature from January 1990 to July 2010.

RESULTS

Tumors were located primarily in the parotid gland and were primarily T1 tumors (<5 cm). All patients were treated with surgical resection, and 13 patients were given adjuvant therapy. Seven patients (41%) had recurrence, and 4 developed distant metastases. The overall 5-year and 10-year survival rates were 42% and 20%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Our case series and literature review show that sarcomas of the salivary glands have a high rate of recurrence and are associated with a poor prognosis.

A Novel Approach to Hemangiopericytoma of the Sinonasal Cavity

Hemangiopericytomas of the sinonasal cavity are relatively rare tumors. Most of them are essentially benign though malignant potential and metastasis to distant sites has also been reported. Treatment options usually involve external approaches. We hereby discuss the combined endoscopic and transoral approach to these tumors.

Haemangiopericytoma of the maxillary gingiva: report of a case

AIM

Haemangiopericytoma (HPC) represents approximately 3% of all tumours in the head and neck. This tumour is a soft tissue tumour derived from mesenchymal cells with pericytic differentiation. We present the clinicopathological findings of a case.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A 69-year-old man was referred to our Department for a mass located on the right pre-molar maxillary gingiva; this mass caused problems during chewing, but was otherwise asymptomatic.

RESULTS

Clinical examination revealed a nodular, pink lesion, 3.5 cm in diameter, which was lined with normal mucosa. The lesion was mobile in relation to the deep and superficial tissues. Microscopic analysis of the neoplasm showed a vascular rich pattern, constituted by vessels covered with flat endothelium and surrounded by abundant spindly cells. On the basis of these histological and immunohistochemical findings, the final diagnosis was HPC.

CONCLUSIONS

HPC is an uncommon vascular tumour for which the biological behaviour is difficult to predict. In our patient, no recurrences or distant metastases were present at a 4 years follow-up.