Revista Espanola de Patologia最新文献

The treatment of head and neck and salivary gland tumours is complicated and is constantly evolving. Prognostic and predictive indicators of response to treatment are enormously valuable for designing individualized therapies, which justifies their research and validation. Some biomarkers, such as p16, Epstein–Barr virus, PD-L1, androgen receptors and HER-2, are already used routinely in clinical practice. These biomarkers, along with other markers that are currently under development, and the massively parallel sequencing of genes, ensure future advances in the treatment of these neoplasms.

In this consensus, a group of experts in the diagnosis and treatment of tumours of the head and neck and salivary glands were selected by the Spanish Society of Pathology (Sociedad Española de Anatomía Patológica – SEAP) and the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology (Sociedad Española de Oncología Médica – SEOM) to evaluate the currently available information and propose a series of recommendations to optimize the determination and daily clinical use of biomarkers.

Introduction and objective

A new coronavirus produces a disease designated as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Vaccination against COVID-19 has resulted in decreased mortality. Postmortems of vaccinated patients play an important part in the forensic analysis of adverse effects after vaccination, which is essential for determining its efficacy and security. The main objective of this study was to describe the results of autopsies of patients vaccinated for SARS-CoV-2 carried out in two major centers in Colombia.

Materials and methods

A descriptive cross-sectional study of 121 autopsies was performed following Colombian regulations in two main hospitals in Bogotá, Colombia, between March 1st and April 31st, 2021.

Results

118 of the 121 patients (97.52%) had been vaccinated with CoronaVac (Sinovac); only 3 had received other vaccines. Sudden cardiac death was the leading cause of death, with pulmonary embolism another critical finding. No relation between the cause of death and vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 was found.

Conclusions

A clinical autopsy is a vital for an accurate post-mortem diagnosis. Any relation between the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine and the cause of death should be carefully studied in order to provide the general public with evidence-based information about the safety of the vaccination.

In order to ascertain the present state of undergraduate pathology teaching in Spain, the Spanish Society of Pathology sent a survey to the coordinators of the subject in every Medical School. The survey consisted of a form created using Google Forms tool and covered various aspects of teaching, such as the different syllabi, methodology and resources.

62% of the 55 Medical Schools contacted participated in the study (76% public and 25% private). In about half of cases, Pathology was taught as a single subject, while in the rest it was divided into General and Special Pathology. Only 18% integrated other clinical subjects into Pathology teaching and only 55% coordinated the timing of the course in order to coordinate with the content of other clinical subjects.

We present the results of the survey together with all the accompanying comments and reflections, which highlight the heterogeneity of the Pathology syllabus in Spanish Medical Schools. We consider that if undergraduate Pathology is taught in an attractive, stimulating and clinically relevant manner, more students would be motivated to choose Pathology as their future speciality. Our main recommendations would be to emphasize the clinical application of Pathology and offer opportunities to gain practical, hands-on experience in Pathology departments.

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is one of the oncological entities with the greatest evolution in molecular diagnosis due to the large number of diagnostic biomarkers and new treatments approved by international regulatory agencies. An accurate, early diagnosis using the least amount of tissue is the goal for the establishing and developing precision medicine for these patients. Rapid on-site evaluation (ROSE) provides cytological samples of optimal quantity and quality for a complete diagnosis of NSCLC. The usefulness of cytological samples has been demonstrated, not only for massive parallel sequencing but also for the quantification of the expression of programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) and tumour mutational burden (TMB).

Pre-analytical, analytical, and post-analytical recommendations are made for the management and appropriate use of cytological samples in order to obtain all the information necessary for the diagnosis and treatment of patients with NSCLC according to current quality parameters.

Uterine metastases from extra pelvic tumors are rare; involvement of the uterus is usually by direct neoplastic extension from adjacent organs. We report the case of a 68-year-old woman with a history of total thyroidectomy. She presented with urinary incontinence associated with episodes of metrorrhagia. Ultrasound showed a thickened endometrium. A legrado was performed and the biopsy revealed a proliferation of neoplastic cells with oval nuclei, «salt and pepper» chromatin, evident nucleoli and a moderate amount of eosinophilic cytoplasm. These cells were positive for CKAE1 / AE3, TTF-1, CEA and calcitonin. The histological and immunohistochemical findings corresponded to a metástasis from a medullary thyroid carcinoma. Although metastatic tumors in the uterus are extremely rare, they may give rise to abnormal uterine bleeding and should be considered when the patient's history and the histological findings are not characteristic of a primary lesion.

Colloid carcinoma (CC) is a rare histological type of adenocarcinoma of the pancreatic duct and is characterized by the presence of large lakes of extracellular mucin containing neoplastic cells. Its 5 year prognosis is more favourable than that of ductal, tubular or not otherwise specified (NOS) adenocarcinomas.

We present the case of a 74-year-old woman with a thin walled, multicystic lesion in the tail of the pancreas, radiologically suggestive of a serous cystadenoma as opposed to a mucinous neoplasm. Surgery revealed a 10 x 6 cm lesion invading the splenic hilum and transverse mesocolon. Two nodes on the wall of the gastric fundus were also removed. Histopathology showed the pancreatic tumour to be a colloid carcinoma with a synchronous gastrointestinal stromal tumour of the gastric fundus.

Liposarcomas are the most common group of malignant mesenchymal neoplasms. They usually occur in the extremities and the retroperitoneum and only rarely in the intestine. We report the case of a 75-year-old man presenting with severe anaemia. A CAT scan revealed a 5 cm thickening of the jejunal loop, arousing the suspicion of a neoplasm. A partial resection of the small intestine was performed. Macroscopy showed a 12 × 6 cm ulcerated, polypoid mass. Microscopically, a well circumscribed, ulcerated tumour was seen, which had well-defined margins with the surrounding normal mucosa. It consisted of pleomorphic lipoblasts within a sarcomatous background. Very few cases of intestinal liposarcomas have been published and the majority report well-differentiated or undifferentiated liposarcomas. We present a case of a pleomorphic liposarcoma of the small intestine, which is an unusual location and emphases the importance of a comprehensive differential diagnosis.

Epithelioid haemangioendothelioma is a rare vascular tumor, first described in 1975 by Dail and Liebow as a bronchioloalveolar carcinoma. Although it usually behaves like a low-grade neoplasm, cases have been reported in which the tumor shows a high grade of malignancy, spreading rapidly throughout the body. We present the case of a 41-year-old man with dermatosis in the left thigh with rapid extension to the abdomen; the initial differential diagnoses were metastatic carcinoma versus lymphoma.

When the histopathology was re-examined, a diagnosis of skin epithelioid hemangioendothelioma was confirmed and treatment with radiotherapy was initiated.

This tumour rarely affects the skin; there are only a few previously reported cases.

Intestinal (tailgut) cysts or retrorectal cystic hamartomas are rare benign lesions that are included in the category of developmental cystic lesions. Their origin is still uncertain, although several hypotheses have been proposed to explain their development. They are located mainly in the presacral (retrorectal) space and predominately affect middle-aged women (40-60 years).

Taking into account location and histological characteristics, the main differential diagnoses include epidermoid cysts, duplication cysts and teratomas.

Malignant transformation of these lesions is rare and preferentially into adenocarcinoma and neuroendocrine tumors.

We present a case of an intestinal cyst associated with a well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumor (G1) in a 63-year-old woman.