Solid-pseudopapillary tumor of the pancreatic tail

We report a case of the rare solid-pseudopapillary tumor of the pancreas. In contrast to other pancreatic tumors,the solid-pseudopapillary tumor has a favorable prognosis.The 60-year-old female patient we report on here was treated by left pancreatic resection combined with splenectomy for a non-metastasizing tumor of the pancreas. A solid-pseudopapillary tumor was found on histology. The patient had no signs of metastases at present.Since a microscopically invasive tumor growth is assumed,oncologically curative resection should be preferred vs the less radical enucleation. The rare solid-pseudopapillary tumor of the pancreas has a good prognosis after successful oncological resection.

Sister Mary Joseph's nodule as the first sign of pregnancy-associated gastric cancer:A case report

Sister Mary Joseph's nodule is an inconspicuous and uncommon clinical sign of advanced malignant disease, especially gastric cancer. Pregnancy-associated gastric cancer is an extremely rare condition and can be difficult to diagnose, due to the absence or misinterpretation of symptoms as pregnancy-related. Diagnostic aids, such as a basic chemistry panel and imaging techniques, may not show any abnormalities. We present a case of a 37-year-old pregnant patient whose umbilical nodule was the first presenting physical sign of gastric cancer, which had metastasized throughout the abdominal and pelvic regions.

Cytochrome P450 2E1 high activity polymorphism in alcohol abuse and end-organ disease

AIM: To investigate a possible role for a recently identified polymorphism in the gene of cytochrome P450 2E1, the presence of which is associated with high activity of the enzyme. METHODS: Two hundred and thirty-nine alcohol consumers, ICD 10.1/.2 (ALC), and 208 normal controls were studied. PCR amplification of the CYP2E1 gene region was performed to assess polymorphic variation. Fisher's exact test was used to assess the data.RESULTS: Twelve normal controls (5.8%) possessed the insertion. Five ALC (2.1%) had the insertion; of these 2 of 144 with,alcohol induced chronic pancreatitis, none of 28 with alcoholic liver disease and 3 of 67 without endorgan disease had the polymorphism. A significantly Lower frequency of subjects possessed the insertion than normal controls [P = 0.049 (genotype analysis P = 0.03)]. To further assess, if there was a relationship to alcohol problems per se or end-organ disease, we compared patients with alcohol induced end-organ disease vs alcoholic controls without end-organ disease vs normal controls which again showed a significant difference [P = 0.045 (genotype analysis,P = 0.011)], further sub-group analysis did not identify which group(s) accounted for these differences.CONCLUSION: We have shown the frequencies of this high-activity polymorphism in alcohol related patient groups for the first time. The frequency is significantly less in alcoholics than normal controls, as with high activity polymorphisms of alcohol dehydrogenase. The biological significance, and whether the relevance is solely for alcoholism or is there a relationship to end-organ disease,would benefit from the assessment in the populations with a greater frequency of this polymorphism.