Serum procalcitonin as a tumor marker in lung adenocarcinoma with ovarian metastasis: a case report

Primary lung cancer is the leading cause of mortality worldwide. The major sites of lung cancer metastasis are the bones, liver, brain, lung, and adrenal glands. However, secondary localizations in the genital tract are extremely rare.

CASE PRESENTATION

The authors report the case of a 36-year-old woman who consulted for a right scapular swelling evolving for 4 months associated with a chronic cough. Clinical examination showed a hard fixed right scapular mass with any inflammatory signs. The extension assessment followed by histological analysis concluded in a secondary ovarian location of a lung adenocarcinoma. A very high serum procalcitonin level unrelated to sepsis was detected in the patient along with a substantial hematological paraneoplastic disease. The patient died after 6 months of palliative chemotherapy.

CLINICAL DISCUSSION

Ovarian localization is found in only 0.4% of metastatic ovarian tumors, which is extremely low, the differentiation between primary and secondary ovarian adenocarcinoma is fundamental since the treatment and prognosis are very different. The serum procalcitonin can be elevated in lung adenocarcinoma.

CONCLUSION

This case report highlights the interest to encourage doctors to look for ovarian metastasis during the clinical course of lung cancer, and explain the elevation of serum procalcitonin during lung adenocarcinoma.

Unusual Synchronous Colonic Metastasis of Ovarian Cancer

Colorectal metastasis is rare and can be confused with primary colorectal cancer. We report the case of a 63-year-old patient who presented with synchronous metastasis of the rectosigmoid junction and ovarian cancer. Initially thought to be a Krukenberg tumor, the diagnosis of metastasis from ovarian origin was confirmed through an immunohistochemical study of the colonic biopsy.

Undifferentiated Sarcoma: A Rare Tumor of the Prostate

Prostate cancer is the most common malignant tumor in men. The vast majority of prostate tumors are represented by prostatic adenocarcinomas (up to 95%). Sarcoma is a very rare tumor in adults with a formidable prognosis. Early diagnosis and radical surgery offer patients the best chance of a cure. We report the case of a 44-year-old patient with stage VI unresectable high-grade undifferentiated prostate sarcoma, initially presenting with urinary disorders and a large pelvic mass of prostatic origin, with normal Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels. The patient was managed by palliative chemotherapy.

Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratios as predictors of outcomes in inflammatory breast cancer

Background: Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is uncommon, aggressive and associated with poor survival outcomes. The lack of prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets specific to IBC is an added challenge for clinical practice and research. Inflammatory biomarkers such as neutrophil-to-lymphocyte and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratios (NLR and PLR) demonstrated independent prognostic impact for survival in breast cancer. In our study, these biomarkers were investigated in a cohort of patients with nonmetastatic IBC. Methods: A retrospective cohort of 102 IBC patients with nonmetastatic disease was conducted at the Mohammed VI University Hospital (Oujda, Morocco) between January 2010 and December 2014. NLR and PLR were obtained from blood cell count at baseline before neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) from patients' medical records. The receiver operating characteristic was used to find the optimal cut-off. Correlation between these blood-based biomarkers and response to NACT was analyzed by Chi-squared and Fisher's exact test. Their prognostic value for predicting disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) was performed based on Cox regression models. Results: Totally, 102 patients with IBC were included in the analysis. Pathologic complete response (pCR) after NACT, defined by the absence of an invasive tumor in the breast tissues and nodes after surgery (ypT0 ypN0), was observed in eight patients (7.8%). NACT response was found to be associated with menopausal status (p = 0.039) and nodal status (p < 0.001). Patients with a low NLR had a higher pCR rate as compared with the high-NLR group (p = 0.043). However, the pCR rate was not significantly associated with age (p = 0.122), tumor side (p = 0.403), BMI (p = 0.615), histological grade (p = 0.059), hormone receptors status (p = 0.206), HER2 (p = 0.491) and PLR (p = 0.096). Pre-treatment blood-based NLR of 2.28 was used as the cut-off value to discriminate between high and low NLR according to the receiver operating characteristic curves. Similarly, a value of 178 was used as the cut off for PLR. Patients with low-NLR had a significantly better 5-year DFS (p < 0.001) and OS (p < 0.001) than the high-NLR group. Moreover, low-PLR was significantly associated with higher DFS (p = 0.001) and OS (p = 0.003). The NLR showed a significant prognostic impact for DFS (HR: 2.57; 95% CI: 1.43-4.61; p = 0.01) and for OS (HR: 2.92; 95% CI: 1.70-5.02; p < 0.001). Similarly, a meaningful association between PLR and 5-year DFS (HR: 1.95; 95% CI: 1.10-3.46; p = 0.021) and OS (HR: 1.82; 95% CI: 1.06-3.14; p = 0.03) was noticed. Conclusions: High NLR and PLR were found associated with reduced DFS and OS in nonmetastatic IBC. Further studies are awaited to confirm these findings.

Unusual Metastasis From Breast Cancer: Case Report

Metastatic breast cancer among young women represents a serious public health issue. The most frequent sites of dissemination are bone, liver, lung, lymph nodes and brain. Bladder location is extremely unusual. We present the case of a 33-year-old female who was receiving palliative chemotherapy for bilateral metastatic invasive lobular cancer. Following episodes of macroscopic hematuria, a CT scan was performed, which revealed a suspicious thickening of the bladder wall. After an endoscopic resection with immunohistological analysis, the diagnosis was confirmed. Voiding symptoms in a woman with a history of breast cancer should be evaluated to rule out a secondary urinary tract lesion. As soon as the diagnosis is determined, appropriate therapy should be initiated.