Epithelioid cell tumors presenting in the gastrointestinal tract are uncommon, but when they arise, arriving at a correct diagnosis is important. We report a case of anal malignant melanoma in an 82-year-old man who microscopically showed an epithelioid malignant tumor simulating a gastrointestinal stromal tumor. C-kit stain and Melan-A were diffusely and strongly positive, while HMB-45 was focally positive. This case illustrates the potential pitfall of relying on a single antibody or inadequate panel of immunohistochemical stains to confirm the diagnosis. We recommend to apply an adequate immunohistochemical panel which includes S-100 protein, HMB-45 and Melan-A in order to make an accurate diagnosis, and discuss the differential diagnosis and surgical treatment modalities.
Treatment of a relapsed glioma is a clinical challenge nowadays. New active treatments are required to treat these difficult diseases. Here we present a durable complete remission of a relapsed glioblastoma that has achieved a complete radiologic response with the combination of cetuximab and bevacizumab, in a third-line setting, that has offered a progression-free survival of 20 months. We consider here both potential mechanisms for the explanation of this result. First, the potential target of the cancer stem cells (CSCs) with these two antibodies, and second, the potential recruitment of the immune system to directly pursue the CSCs.
The treatment of metastatic breast cancer is challenging. We recently assisted in the development of targeted therapies (in combination with chemotherapy or as monotherapy) that have improved results for selected groups of patients. Lapatinib is a dual tyrosine kinase inhibitor that has shown efficacy in breast cancer. Consequently, its use has been approved, in combination with capecitabine, for the treatment of disease positive for the human epidermal growth factor receptor. Here, we present a case of complete clinical response to a combination of lapatinib and gemcitabine that was maintained for 1 year.
Thyroid cancer is the endocrine tumor that bears the highest incidence with 33 550 new cases per year. It bears an excellent prognosis with a mortality of 1530 patients per year (Jemal et al.; 2007). We have been treating patients with thyroid carcinoma during many years without many innovations. Recently, we have assisted to the development of new agents for the treatment of this disease with unexpected good results. Here we present a review with the old and new methods for the treatment of this disease.
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