No abstract

Primary splenic lesions are rare entities among which littoral cell angioma (LCA) is a recently described, uncommon vascular lesion that is unique to the spleen. It has heretofore been described primarily in pathologic series and has been found mostly to behave as a benign entity. A few reports of malignant variants have been reported. We present a case report of a solitary LCA discovered after splenectomy for an incidentally discovered splenic lesion, along with a literature review.

Cancers of the hepatobiliary tract are highly fatal, prompting the need for early detection to provide treatment and decrease the mortality rate. Screening patients for hepatobiliary cancers can provide early detection, but it is not feasible or efficient to screen all patients. Therefore, it is important to consider the known risk factors for each hepatobiliary cancer which creates a smaller population that is amenable to screening. K E Y W O R D Scholangioarcinoma, gall bladder cancer, HCC, hepatobiliary cancer

Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is the standard of care for axillary staging in clinically node-negative breast cancer patients. Ultrasound (US) has shown promise when used to assess axillary lymph nodes preoperatively, thus aiding surgical decision making. We examined the correlation between preoperative US and SLNB results to further clarify the role of US in clinicopathologic staging of breast cancer when the axilla is clinically negative on physical examination. Our institutional cancer registry was used to identify clinically node-negative patients diagnosed with breast cancer from January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2012. Variables including age, body mass index, date of surgery, date of diagnosis, US results, US-directed biopsy results, SLNB results, and final pathology were recorded. Incomplete charts were excluded. In all, 249 patients were included. Sensitivity/specificity of US in the clinically negative axilla were 7.4 per cent and 91.8 per cent, respectively. The false-positive rate was 80 per cent, whereas the negative predictive value was 78 per cent. The effect of time from diagnosis/US to SLNB, interpreting radiologist, year in which US was performed, and body mass index were not statistically significant. US in the clinically node-negative patient, although useful when it leads to a positive needle biopsy result, is unlikely to replace SLNB owing to its low sensitivity and a high false-positive rate. Further prospective study into the role of US in the evaluation of the clinically negative axilla is warranted.