Search Results (5)

We aimed to overview the most recent data on sternal metastases from a multidisciplinary approach (diagnosis strategies, outcome, and histological reports). This narrative review based on a PubMed search (between January 2020 and 22 July 2023) using key words such as “sternal”, “manubrium”, and “metastasis” within the title and/or abstract only included original papers that specifically addressed secondary sternal spreading of cancer in adults, for a total of 48 original articles (14 studies and 34 single case reports). A prior unpublished case in point is also introduced (percutaneous incisional biopsy was used to address a 10 cm sternal tumour upon first admission on an apparently healthy male). The studies (n = 14) may be classified into one of three groups: studies addressing the incidence of bone metastases (including sternum) amid different primary cancers, such as prostate cancer (N = 122 with bone metastases, 83% of them with chest wall metastases), head and neck cancers (N = 3620, 0.8% with bone metastases, and 10.34% of this subgroup with sternum involvement); and glioblastoma (N = 92 with bone metastases, 37% of them with non-vertebral metastases, including the sternum); assessment cohorts, including breast cancer (N = 410; accuracy and sensitivity of PET/CT vs. bone scintigraphy is superior with concern to sternum spreading) and bone metastases of unknown origin (N = 83, including a subgroup with sternum metastases; some features of PET/CT help the differentiation with multiple myeloma); and cohorts with various therapeutic approaches, such as palliative arterial embolization (N = 10), thymic neuroendocrine neoplasia (1/5 detected with sternum metastases), survival rates for sternum metastases vs. non-sternum chest wall involvement (N = 87), oligo-metastatic (sternal) breast cancer (3 studies, N = 16 for all of them), oligo-metastatic head and neck cancer (N = 81), conformal radiotherapy (N = 24,215, including an analysis on sternum spreading), and EBRT followed by MR-HIFU (N = 6). Core data coming from the isolated case reports (N = 34) showed a female to male ratio of 1.6; the females’ ages were between 34 and 80 (mean of 57.28) and the males’ ages varied between 33 and 79 (average of 58.78) years. The originating tumour profile revealed that the most frequent types were mammary (N = 8, all females) and thyroid (N = 9, both women and men), followed by bladder (N = 3), lung (N = 2), and kidney (N = 2). There was also one case for each of the following: adenoid cystic carcinoma of the jaw, malignant melanoma, caecum MiNEN, a brain and an extracranial meningioma, tongue carcinoma, cholangiocarcinoma, osteosarcoma, and hepatocellular carcinoma. To our knowledge, this is the most complex and the largest analysis of prior published data within the time frame of our methods. These data open up new perspectives of this intricate, dynamic, and challenging domain of sternum metastases. Awareness is a mandatory factor since the patients may have a complex multidisciplinary medical and/or surgical background or they are admitted for the first time with this condition; thus, the convolute puzzle will start from this newly detected sternal lump. Abbreviations: N = number of patients; n = number of studies; PET/CT = positron emission tomography/computed tomography; EVRT = external beam radiotherapy; MR-HIFU = magnetic resonance-guided high-intensity focused ultrasound; MiNEN = mixed neuroendocrine-non-neuroendocrine tumour. Full article

Rhabdomyosarcoma frequently affects the craniofacial region with a rapid growing pattern that usually results in swelling of the interested area. The present paper describes a peculiar occurrence of rhabdomyosarcoma in a 12-year-old boy and the importance of a careful evaluation of clinical history to choose the correct diagnostic strategy. The patient was evaluated in the orthodontics section of the Dental School of the University of Bologna by an orofacial pain specialist, with a compliance of excruciating pain around the right ear that occurred 4 months earlier after a sports trauma. The patient had been previously evaluated by a pediatrician and an ENT specialist who requested a computerized tomography that did not show pathological conditions in the head/neck district. The drug therapy for pain control was not effective. The clinical examination showed a severe limitation of mouth opening, periauricular paresthesia and mandibular hyperalgesia on the right side. The patient reported intermittent, very intense stabs of pain occurring every 5 min, with a continuous dull pain in the temporal area. A nuclear magnetic resonance was requested and showed the presence of a solid expansive lesion in the right pterygoid area that eroded the cranial base and the medial portion of the mandibular condyle. An incisional biopsy led to the diagnosis of embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma. This case report emphasizes the importance of not underestimating the presence of pain in young subjects, suggesting a proper approach to apparently simple clinical cases. Full article

Background: Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) represents a serious complication following total hip (THA) and knee arthroplasty (TKA). When preoperative synovial fluid cultures remain inconclusive, open incisional joint biopsy (OIB) can support causative microorganism identification. Objective: This study investigates the potential benefit of OIB in THA and TKA patients with suspected PJI and ambigious diagnostic results following synovial fluid aspiration. Methods: We retrospectively assessed all patients treated from 2016 to 2020 with suspected PJI. Comparing the microbiology of OIB and the following revision surgery, we calculated sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and the number needed to treat (NNT). Results: We examined the diagnostic validity of OIB in 38 patients (20 female) with a median age of 66.5 years. In THA patients (n = 10), sensitivity was 75%, specificity was 66.67%, PPV was 60%, NPV was 80%, and NNT was 2.5. In TKA patients (n = 28), sensitivity was 62.5%, specificity was 95.24%, PPV was 83.33%, NPV was 86.96%, and NNT was 1.42. Conclusions: Our results indicate that OIB represents an adequate diagnostic tool when previously assessed microbiological results remain inconclusive. Particularly in TKA patients, OIB showed an exceptionally high specificity, PPV, and NPV, whereas the predictive validity of the diagnosis of PJI in THA patients remained low. Full article

Neuroblastoma (NB) is the most common extracranial solid tumor in childhood, accounting for approximately 15% of all cancer-related deaths in the pediatric population. The overall survival of children with high-risk disease is around 40–50% despite the aggressive treatment protocols. In accordance with the most recent guidelines, a complete classification of the primary tumor, including its histopathological and molecular analysis, is necessary. In this regard, the biopsy of the primary tumor is an important diagnostic procedure adopted not only to confirm the diagnosis but also for staging and risk stratification of the disease. In this study, the authors describe their unicentric experience with four different approaches adopted for sampling NB tumors: (i) the open incisional biopsy; (ii) the minimally invasive thoracoscopic/laparoscopic incisional biopsy; (iii) the ultrasound-guided core needle biopsy; (iv) the laparoscopic-assisted core needle biopsy. The benefits of each technique are analyzed along with their contraindications. Full article

Fibrous dysplasia is a benign fibroosseous disorder that can affect the maxillary bones, causing aesthetic deformity and functional impairment. This article reports the case of a 13-year-old male patient at the time of diagnosis. The patient showed increased facial volume with relevant asymmetry, having reported the onset of the condition 12 months before. Upon examination, the patient presented an 8-mm mouth opening and an acute inflammatory process associated with tooth 37 pericoronal hood. Upon imaging exam, exuberant bone growth in the left mandibular ramus area of ground glass aspect was observed. After incisional biopsy, fibrous dysplasia was diagnosed and sequentially treated with osteoplasty and coronoid process removal. The patient evolved to a 43-mm mouth opening and favorable aesthetics without recurrence in a 3-year follow-up period. In this case, coronoidectomy and bone plasty proved to be effective, returning aesthetics and function. The patient is supposed to be followed up in the long term. Full article