Of 77 patients with mesotheliomas, 63.6% had pleural involvement, 31.2% had peritoneal involvement, and 5.2% had involvement at other sites. The presenting symptoms varied with the location of the primary. Surgery and irradiation did not appear to influence the course of the diffuse type. Of 41 patients given systemic chemotherapy, three patients had complete response and four had greater than 50% objective response (median survival 42.5 months); 18 patients had stabilization (median 12.8 months), and 16 showed no response (median 4.5 months). The difference in survival between responders and non-responders was statistically significant (P < 0.001). Of 16 patients who received secondary chemotherapy, four had complete response (median survival 17.5 months), six had stabilization (median 10.5 months), and six had no response (median 2.5 months). Chemotherapy appears moderately effective in the treatment of mesotheliomas.
Primary cardiac tumors are quite rare in children, and only a small portion are malignant. Presenting symptoms may be nonspecific, often mimicking those of congestive heart failure, pulmonary embolism, and syncope. Due to location and potential detrimental outcomes, diagnosis and management are of the utmost importance. Secondary and metastatic cardiac tumors are more frequent in comparison to primary tumors of the heart. Primary Hodgkin lymphoma of the heart is exceedingly rare with no standardized approach for treatment. Here we describe a case of an adolescent girl with primary cardiac Hodgkin lymphoma.
Retinoblastoma is the most common ocular tumor of childhood with cure
rates exceeding 95%. Patients with high-risk features typically relapse
within 3 years of diagnosis. We report a patient with low-risk bilateral
retinoblastoma who suffered systemic relapse after eight years. His
disease at first relapse was chemosensitive without PET avidity or bone
marrow disease following therapy. Six months later, he experienced an
isolated CNS relapse and succumbed to refractory disease. “Oncoseq”
exome sequencing confirmed the presence of germline RB mutation among
all tissues as well as somatic changes which may provide insights into
the biology of relapse and tumor.
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