Soft Tissue Tumours (soft + tissue_tumour)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Distribution within Medical Sciences


Selected Abstracts


The role of genetic testing in soft tissue sarcoma

HISTOPATHOLOGY, Issue 1 2006
C R Antonescu
Soft tissue tumours represent a heterogeneous group of mesenchymal lesions and their classification continues to evolve as a result of incorporating advances in cytogenetic and molecular techniques. In the last decade traditional diagnostic approaches were supplemented with a significant number of reliable molecular diagnostic tools, detecting tumour type-specific genetic alterations. In addition, the successful application of some of these techniques to formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue made it possible to subject a broader range of clinical material to molecular analysis. Thus, molecular genetics has already become an integral part of the work-up in some tumours, such as paediatric small blue round cell tumours, which demonstrate characteristic translocations. Several lines of evidence suggest that sarcomas can be divided into two major genetic groups: (i) sarcomas with specific genetic alterations and usually simple karyotypes, such as reciprocal chromosomal translocations (e.g. FUS-DDIT3 in myxoid liposarcoma) and specific oncogenic mutations (e.g. KIT mutation in gastrointestinal stromal tumours); and (i) sarcomas with non-specific genetic alterations and complex unbalanced karyotypes. Some of these genetic abnormalities, including chromosomal numerical changes, translocations, gene amplifications or large deletions can be apparent at the cytogenetic level (karyotyping, fluoresence in situ hybridization), while others, such as small deletions, insertions or point mutations, require molecular genetic techniques (polymerase chain reaction and sequence analysis). This review focuses on the applicability of genetic testing in the diagnosis and prognosis of soft tissue sarcomas, and gives a realistic appraisal of the ancillary role of molecular techniques, including its advantages and limitations. [source]


Imaging of painful solitary lesions of the sacrum

JOURNAL OF MEDICAL IMAGING AND RADIATION ONCOLOGY, Issue 6 2007
WCG Peh
Summary In patients with sacral pain, the painful symptoms may be caused by a variety of bony and soft tissue lesions. Benign lesions include giant cell tumour, neurogenic tumour, insufficiency fracture, infection and giant bone island. Malignant lesions include primary bone tumours, Ewing sarcoma, plasmacytoma, lymphoma and chordoma. Soft tissue tumours adjacent to or involving the sacrum may cause painful symptoms. A multimodality approach to imaging is required for full assessment of these lesions. This pictorial essay describes a range of common solitary sacral lesions that may cause pain, with emphasis on imaging features. [source]


Extraskeletal osteosarcoma located to the gallbladder

HPB, Issue 1 2006
GÁBOR OLGYAI
Abstract Extraskeletal osteosarcoma is a rare malignant soft tissue tumour. At open cholecystectomy performed for gallstones, a 61-year-old woman was found to have osseous tissue in the wall of the gallbladder. Histopathological examination of the specimen revealed a focus of extraskeletal osteosarcoma. The patient developed widespread intra-abdominal metastases 5 months after the operation, and died of pulmonary deposits at 9 months. Although osteosarcoma has rarely been reported at other extraskeletal sites, this appears to be the first case of a primary tumour in the gallbladder. [source]


Elastofibroma dorsi , A case report and review of literature

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PRACTICE, Issue 2 2004
A.R. Guha
Summary Elastofibroma dorsi, named for its characteristic location, is a benign soft tissue tumour occurring most often in the infrascapular region of elderly women. It has been infrequently reported in other anatomic locations. Elastofibroma is a rare non-encapsulated benign tumour characterised by the proliferation of elastin fibres in a stroma of collagenous and fatty connective tissue (1). This presents as an obvious swelling deep to the scapula, making the scapula prominent, causing periscapular pain, discomfort and loss of range of motion in the shoulder (1). This article presents a typical case and a brief review of the literature. The clinical aspects and the characteristic magnetic resonance findings are discussed to help emphasise the fact that these tumours are entirely innocuous and need not be subjected to surgical excision. [source]


Bilateral tibialis anterior muscle herniation simulating a soft tissue tumour in a young amateur football player

AUSTRALASIAN JOURNAL OF DERMATOLOGY, Issue 2 2010
Ali Murat Ceyhan
ABSTRACT Muscle herniation is a focal protrusion of muscle tissue through a defect in the deep fascial layer. Anterior tibial muscle is the most commonly affected muscle of the lower extremities because its fascia is the most vulnerable to trauma. Clinically it is characterized by asymptomatic or painful, skin-coloured, soft, subcutaneous nodules of various size depending on the position. The diagnosis is usually made clinically based on its typical manifestations, but ultrasonographic examination is useful for detecting the fascial defect and excluding other conditions caused by soft tissue tumours such as lipomas, angiolipomas, fibromas, scwhannomas or varicosities. Although this entity is not rare, it has been less well documented in the dermatological literature. We report a case of bilateral tibialis anterior muscle herniation mimicking a soft tissue tumour in a young amateur football player. [source]


Cytomorphological study of soft tissue neoplasms: role of fluorescent immunocytochemistry in diagnosis

CYTOPATHOLOGY, Issue 5 2005
B. Rekhi
Objectives:, Exact categorization of soft tissue tumours (STTs) on smears requires application of various ancillary techniques. This study was aimed at evaluating the role of fluorescent immunocytochemistry (FICC) in cyto-diagnosis of 30 STT cases. Methods:, Thirty cases of soft tissue tumours were included in the present study. All cases were subjected to routine Giemsa and Papanicolaou stain. Extra smears were made and kept for fluorescent immunostaining. A panel of cytoskeletal antibodies, tagged with FITC (Fluorescein isothyocynate), was employed in all these cases. Fluorescent immunostained smears were examined under Zeiss Confocal Laser scanning microscope, using double immunofluorescence (red-green). Finally, all cases were subjected to biopsy and again immunoperoxidase staining. Results:, Among the 30 cases in the present study, unaided cytological diagnoses ranged from ,spindle cell' tumour in four (13.3%) cases, benign and malignant spindle cell tumour in 17 (56.6%) cases, to malignant mesenchymal tumour in nine (30%) cases. FICC helped in further correct categorization of 25/30 (83.3%) cases viz. leiomyoma (three), benign neurogenic tumour (six), schwannoma (one), dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (three), synovial sarcoma (two), rhabdomyosarcoma (two), malignant fibrous histiocytoma (five) and malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumour (three). Aggressive fibromatosis was found to be a missed diagnosis in two cases. Overall concordance between cyto-diagnosis with FICC, and histopathology results was 83.3% (P < 0.05). Conclusion:, Fluorescent immunocytochemistry is a significant ancillary technique for making a rapid and specific diagnosis of STT, as required for their timely management. Incorporation of a wide panel of antibody markers with clinico-cytological correlation is recommended in forming an exact diagnosis in these cases. [source]


The evolving classification of soft tissue tumours: an update based on the new WHO classification

HISTOPATHOLOGY, Issue 1 2006
C D M Fletcher
Tumour classifications have become an integral part of modern oncology and, for pathologists, they provide guidelines which facilitate diagnostic and prognostic reproducibility. In many organ systems and most especially over the past decade or so, the World Health Organization (WHO) classifications have become pre-eminent, partly enabled by the timely publication of new ,blue books' which now incorporate detailed text and copious illustrations. The new WHO classification of soft tissue tumours was introduced in late 2002 and, because it represents a broad consensus view, it has gained widespread acceptance. This review summarizes the changes, both major and minor, which were introduced and briefly describes the significant number of tumour types which have been first recognized or properly characterized during the past decade. Arguably the four most significant conceptual advances have been: (i) the formal recognition that morphologically benign lesions (such as cutaneous fibrous histiocytoma) may very rarely metastasize; (ii) the general acceptance that most pleomorphic sarcomas can be meaningfully subclassified and that so-called malignant fibrous histiocytoma is not a definable entity, but instead represents a wastebasket of undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcomas, accounting for no more than 5% of adult soft tissue sarcomas; (iii) the acknowledgement that most lesions formerly known as haemangiopericytoma show no evidence of pericytic differentiation and, instead, are fibroblastic in nature and form a morphological continuum with solitary fibrous tumour; and (iv) the increasing appreciation that not only do we not know from which cell type(s) most soft tissue tumours originate (histogenesis) but, for many, we do not recognize their line of differentiation or lineage,hence an increasing number of tumours ar placed in the ,uncertain differentiation' category. [source]


Myofibroblastic differentiation in malignant fibrous histiocytoma (pleomorphic myofibrosarcoma): a clinicopathological study

HISTOPATHOLOGY, Issue 6 2001
E Montgomery
Myofibroblastic differentiation in malignant fibrous histiocytoma (pleomorphic myofibrosarcoma): a clinicopathological study Aims:,We compared the clinical and pathological features of pleomorphic malignant fibrous histiocytoma (MFH)-like soft tissue sarcomas with and without myofibroblastic differentiation on electron microscopy. Methods and Results:,Fifty-three soft tissue tumours designated as MFH by light and electron microscopy were reassessed. Eighteen were specifically diagnosed and excluded, and follow-up (FU) information obtained for 24 of the other 35 cases. Myofibroblastic ultrastructure was seen in 7/24 (29%). Seventeen of 24 (71%) lacked myofibroblasts on electron microscopy, which showed fibroblastic or undifferentiated cells. Histologically, all tumours but one had storiform-pleomorphic areas; one myofibroblastic neoplasm was fascicular and myxoid. No other morphological differences were seen. In seven myofibroblastic cases, smooth muscle in four cases and muscle-specific actin in two cases, desmin in three cases and S100 in one case were present. In 15 other tumours, smooth muscle in five cases and muscle-specific actin in one case, and desmin in one case were present; none of these cases expressed S100. CD34 was found in the myxoid areas of one myofibrosarcoma and 3/15 other tumours. Positivity for bcl-2 was seen only in non-myofibroblastic sarcomas (4/14). On follow-up (median 41 months), 2/7 (29%) myofibroblastic tumours recurred, 5/7 (71%) metastasized, and 3/7 (43%) patients died of disease. Among the non-myofibroblastic sarcomas, with a median follow-up of 47 months, 6/17 cases (35%) recurred, 10/17 (59%) metastasized, and 7/17 patients (41%) died of disease. Conclusions:,Pleomorphic sarcomas with and without myofibroblastic differentiation on electron microscopy are clinically and histologically similar. The former display myoid immunohistochemical markers more frequently. [source]


Review of non-positron emission tomography functional imaging of primary musculoskeletal tumours: Beyond the humble bone scan

JOURNAL OF MEDICAL IMAGING AND RADIATION ONCOLOGY, Issue 6 2005
YY Ho
Summary Bone and soft tissue tumours are rare neoplasms. There are five major roles of imaging in the management of primary musculoskeletal tumours, that is, to differentiate between benignity and malignancy, to evaluate for local tumour extension, to screen for metastases, to judge the effect of chemotherapy, and to monitor for recurrence. To accomplish this, multiple modalities are required because no single examination is able to complete all these tasks. These modalities include plain radiography, CT, MRI, conventional nuclear medicine as well as positron emission tomography (PET) imaging. Elsewhere, PET imaging has been discussed at length, because it is likely to be superior in the assessment of bone and soft tissue tumours over conventional nuclear medicine procedures. However, conventional nuclear medicine may be of value when PET is unavailable. In this review, an overview of anatomical imaging will be given and the role of non-PET functional imaging will be discussed in detail. A variety of illustrative cases will be presented. [source]


Bilateral tibialis anterior muscle herniation simulating a soft tissue tumour in a young amateur football player

AUSTRALASIAN JOURNAL OF DERMATOLOGY, Issue 2 2010
Ali Murat Ceyhan
ABSTRACT Muscle herniation is a focal protrusion of muscle tissue through a defect in the deep fascial layer. Anterior tibial muscle is the most commonly affected muscle of the lower extremities because its fascia is the most vulnerable to trauma. Clinically it is characterized by asymptomatic or painful, skin-coloured, soft, subcutaneous nodules of various size depending on the position. The diagnosis is usually made clinically based on its typical manifestations, but ultrasonographic examination is useful for detecting the fascial defect and excluding other conditions caused by soft tissue tumours such as lipomas, angiolipomas, fibromas, scwhannomas or varicosities. Although this entity is not rare, it has been less well documented in the dermatological literature. We report a case of bilateral tibialis anterior muscle herniation mimicking a soft tissue tumour in a young amateur football player. [source]


In this issue , August 2009

AUSTRALIAN VETERINARY JOURNAL, Issue 8 2009
A Jackson Editor in Chief
Post-weaning mortality of Merino sheep , Transcutaneous ultrasound over the right flank for pregnancy diagnosis in cows , Right flank transcutaneous vs transrectal ultrasound for pregnancy diagnosis in cows , Ultrasound of soft tissue tumours in dogs , Idiopathic hypereosinophilic syndrome in a Rottweiler , Toxicity from accidental oral dosing of a topical endectocide , Scrub-itch mite in an endangered wallaby , Cerebellar cortical degeneration in a koala [source]


Ultrasonographic characteristics of soft tissue tumours in dogs

AUSTRALIAN VETERINARY JOURNAL, Issue 8 2009
ZHK Loh
Objective To identify and describe the ultrasonographic features of soft tissue tumours in dogs. Procedure Superficial soft tissue tumours of various histological types, including mast cell tumours (MCTs) and soft tissue sarcomas (STSs), were evaluated. Ultrasound was used to visualise internal characteristics of the tumour, including vascularity. Tumours were categorised according to size, shape, margin definition, tissue plane mobility, echogenicity, echotexture, acoustic shadowing or enhancement and vessel distribution. Objective measurements of intratumoural blood flow included velocities and maximal perfused cross-sectional area (fractional area). Logistic regression models incorporating a variety of data were used in an attempt to predict the histopathological type of tumours. Results,, The logistic regression model defined by the parameters echotexture, margin definition and presence of subcapsular vessels was highly predictive of MCTs (> 73%; P = 0.024). Several other trends, including a larger size for STSs and less vascularity for both MCTs and STSs, were observed, but did not reach statistical significance. Conclusion,, This preliminary study has shown the potential diagnostic value of ultrasound in differentiating soft tissue tumours. However, at present, ultrasound cannot replace biopsy and histopathological evaluation for tumour diagnosis. [source]


Rapid determination method of caffeine and application to monitoring of caffeine-assisted chemotherapy

BIOPHARMACEUTICS AND DRUG DISPOSITION, Issue 2 2004
Masami Kawahara
Abstract Caffeine-assisted chemotherapy for bone and soft tissue tumours is very effective. However, high serum caffeine concentrations cause severe side effects, so monitoring of the serum level during therapy is important. For this purpose, a rapid determination method was established by high-performance liquid chromatography after solid-phase extraction. This method can measure caffeine and its three major metabolites in serum samples within 8 min. The mean serum caffeine concentrations of patients were 34.6±7.8, 54.5±11.9 and 73.0±12.8 ,g/ml at 24, 48 and 72 h, respectively, after the start of a 1500 mg/m2/day continuous infusion for 72 h. The distribution volume of caffeine was 0.65±0.23 l/kg, and the total body clearance was 0.025±0.011 l/h/kg, which was one-third of the reported low dose clearance. The appropriate infusion rate was calculated to avoid severe side effects in the final phase of the infusion by using a one-compartment constant infusion model based on the serum levels measured at 24 and 48 h. Caffeine clearance did not correlate with the metabolite/caffeine ratio in serum at any time. It is concluded that individual monitoring with this method for the purpose of dose adjustment is useful for avoiding the side effects of caffeine-assisted chemotherapy. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


The concomitant occurrence of multiple epidermal cysts, osteomas and thyroid gland nodules is not diagnostic for Gardner syndrome in the absence of intestinal polyposis: a clinical and genetic report

BRITISH JOURNAL OF DERMATOLOGY, Issue 4 2003
S.-M. Herrmann
Summary Gardner syndrome, a phenotypic variant of familial adenomatous polyposis, is characterized by the classical clinical triad of skin and soft tissue tumours, osteomas and intestinal polyposis, but disease patterns with pairs of these findings have also been reported. Different mutations in the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) gene have been shown to be associated with Gardner syndrome disease phenotypes. A 36-year-old patient presented with multiple epidermal cysts on the face, left ear lobe and neck, and the possible diagnosis of Gardner syndrome was based on the additional findings of two classical osteomas in the left radius and ulna and a cold non-malignant nodule of the thyroid gland. Intestinal polyposis was lacking at the time of examination. Major deletions but not microdeletions were excluded by a cytogenetic analysis with 650 chromosomal bands per haploid set. Systematic sequencing of the entire coding region of the APC gene (> 8500 bp) of the patient and five healthy controls was also performed. As a results, new APC gene polymorphisms were identified in exons 13 [A545A (A/G)] and 15 [G1678G (A/G), S1756S (G/T), P1960P (A/G)]. We also detected D1822V (A/T) which has recently been reported to be potentially related to colorectal carcinoma, and genotyped 194 randomly chosen healthy individuals from the Glasgow area for this as well as for the above variants in exons 13 and 15. Interestingly, of the 194 controls, 112 carried the DD (57·7%), 71 the DV (36·6%), and the remaining 11 (5·7%), including our patient, the VV genotype. It is therefore unlikely that APC D1822V serves as an important marker for colorectal carcinoma. In conclusion, we failed to identify obvious germline candidate mutations in >,8500 bp of the coding region of the APC gene in a patient with multiple epidermal cysts, osteomas and a thyroid gland nodule; major chromosomal deletions were excluded. Therefore, we assume that only the presence of intestinal polyposis is a marker for Gardner syndrome. [source]


Imaging of soft tissue tumours

BRITISH JOURNAL OF SURGERY (NOW INCLUDES EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SURGERY), Issue 3 2000
T. M. D. Hughes
No abstract is available for this article. [source]