Mycotic Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Secondary to BCG Therapy for Non-muscle Invasive Urothelial Carcinoma of the Bladder

Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) therapy for treatment of bladder cancer is a rare cause of Mycobacterium bovis infected aortic aneurysm. Typical presentations have included general malaise, fever, and lower back pain. We present a case with lower back pain and constipation as presenting symptoms, leading to diagnosis of mycotic aneurysm presumed secondary to intravesical BCG therapy. Treatment included open surgical repair with femoral vein grafting and anti-tubercular therapy. This case highlights the importance of a high index of suspicion for less common infectious complications of BCG therapy.

Imaging Course of Lung Transplantation: From Patient Selection to Postoperative Complications

Lung transplant is increasingly performed for the treatment of end-stage lung disease. As the number of lung transplants and transplant centers continues to rise, radiologists will more frequently participate in the care of patients undergoing lung transplant, both before and after transplant. Potential donors and recipients undergo chest radiography and CT as part of their pretransplant assessment to evaluate for contraindications to transplant and to aid in surgical planning. After transplant, recipients undergo imaging during the postoperative hospitalization and also in the long-term outpatient setting. Radiologists encounter a wide variety of conditions leading to end-stage lung disease and a myriad of posttransplant complications, some of which are unique to lung transplantation. Familiarity with these pathologic conditions, including their imaging findings and their temporal relationship to the transplant, is crucial to accurate radiologic interpretation. Knowledge of the surgical techniques and expected postoperative appearance prevents confusing normal posttransplant imaging findings with complications. A basic understanding of the indications, contraindications, and surgical considerations of lung transplant aids in imaging interpretation and protocoling and also facilitates communication between radiologists and transplant physicians. Despite medical and surgical advances over the past several decades, lung transplant recipients currently have an average posttransplant life expectancy of only 6.7 years. As members of the transplant team, radiologists can help maximize patient survival and hopefully increase posttransplant life expectancy and quality of life in the coming decades. ^©RSNA, 2021 An invited commentary by Bierhals is available online. Online supplemental material is available for this article.

Bronchiolar Adenoma/Pulmonary Ciliated Muconodular Papillary Tumor

OBJECTIVES

To describe the histologic features that are helpful in the diagnosis of the rare bronchiolar adenomas/ciliated muconodular papillary tumors (BAs/CMPTs) during intraoperative consultation.

METHODS

Multi-institutional retrospective review of frozen sections of 18 BAs/CMPTs.

RESULTS

In 14 of 18 cases, BA/CMPT was the primary reason for sublobar lung resection, and in 4 cases, BA/CMPT was an incidental finding intraoperatively for resections performed for carcinoma in other lobes. There were 11 proximal-type/classic BAs/CMPTs and 7 distal-type/nonclassic BAs/CMPTs. Only 3 (16.7%) of 18 were correctly diagnosed at the time of frozen section, all of which were proximal type/classic. The remainder were diagnosed as adenocarcinoma (n = 7); invasive mucinous adenocarcinoma (n = 1); non-small cell lung carcinoma (n = 1); cystic mucinous neoplasm, favor adenocarcinoma (either mucinous or colloid type) (n = 1); favor adenocarcinoma, cannot exclude CMPT (n = 1); atypical proliferation (n = 2); mucinous epithelial proliferation (n = 1); and mucous gland adenoma (n = 1).

CONCLUSIONS

BA/CMPT can potentially be misdiagnosed as carcinoma during intraoperative consultation. On retrospective review of the frozen sections, the presence of the following may help to avoid misdiagnosis: a mixture of bland ciliated columnar cells, mucinous cells, and, most important, a basal cell layer, as well as a lack of necrosis, significant atypia, and mitoses.

Malignant Struma ovarii in a 30-year old nulliparous patient

Background

Struma ovarii is a rare monodermal germ cell tumor where the ovary is comprised of at least half thyroid tissue. This phenomenon may indicate an embryological origin.

Case presentation

A 30-year old nulliparous woman presented with acute right lower quadrant pain and underwent laparoscopic right salpingo-oophorectomy. The excised ovarian mass showed evidence of struma-derived papillary thyroid carcinoma. Ultrasound of the thyroid showed mild enlargement with two solid nodules. A fine needle aspirate of a thyroid nodule was positive for malignancy and a total thyroidectomy was performed. Microscopic features of the thyroid were consistent with papillary thyroid carcinoma. The two tumours were considered as synchronous independent primaries based on their histological presentation.

Conclusions

We believe that aggressive surgical management followed by radioiodine therapy is best to reduce recurrence risk and optimize survival. The broad scope of interventions needed to treat malignant struma ovarii require a strong interdisciplinary team.

Assessment of HER-2/neu status in breast cancer using fluorescence in situ hybridization & immunohistochemistry: Experience of a tertiary cancer referral centre in India

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES

Determination of HER2 status in breast cancer has become important to identify potential candidates for anti-HER2 therapy. In this study we compared fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) for the determination of HER2 status in breast cancer patients referred to a tertiary care referral centre.

METHODS

A total of 200 cases of invasive breast cancer were evaluated for HER2 status using IHC and FISH and results were compared.

RESULTS

The IHC 3+ (93.9%) and IHC negative (85.9%) cases showed good concordance with the corresponding FISH results; while 66.6 per cent of IHC 2+ cases showed gene amplification by FISH. In addition, hormone receptor expression and HER2 gene status showed a statistically significant inverse association (P<0.05).

INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION

These findings reaffirm IHC as a prudent first-step to screen tissue samples for HER2 status and to determine suitability for technically demanding FISH test and the dual coloured FISH as a gold standard for determination of HER2/neu status in IHC equivocal cases of breast carcinoma.