The clinicopathological characteristics and rational treatment of primary laryngeal mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma are still unclear and need to be further defined due to the paucity of this separate lymphoma. Herein, a supraglottic primary MALT lymphoma was described with detailed clinical course, intervention, and follow-up. To date, research of laryngeal MALT lymphoma has seldom been initiated. Our experience in this case will help to expand our understanding of this unique disease. A 58-year-old female presented with a history of progressive hoarseness for about 10 months. Multiple laryngoscopy examinations revealed severe hypertrophy of left ventricular band. She was admitted to our department with residual MALT lymphoma of supraglottic region after partial resection by laser. After systemic evaluation, she was staged as IEA, International Prognostic Index score 0. Irradiation of intensity modulated radiotherapy technique with a dose of 30.6 Gy/17f to the tumor and 25.5 Gy/17f to the related lymphatic drainage area achieved a complete remission. The disease-free survival has reached to 4 years. The irradiation related acute and late side effects were mild. Radiotherapy is the first option for limited-stage primary laryngeal MALT lymphoma because of excellent treatment outcome.
Anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis, associated with immunoglobulin G (IgG) autoantibodies against the GluN1 subunit of the NMDAR, is one of the most common types of autoimmune encephalitis. In patients with anti-NMDAR encephalitis, movement disorders (MDs) are often frequent, mainly presenting as facial dyskinesias and stereotyped movements. The alternating clinical manifestation of limb tremor with unilateral ptosis is rare. Here, we report an interesting case of a 22-year-old woman with rapid weight loss presenting with staged dyskinesia. Interestingly, she typically showed persistent tremor of the right upper limb, which would stop when her left upper eyelid drooped uncontrollably, a phenomenon that lasted for a few seconds, followed by automatic upper eyelid lift and continued persistent tremor of the upper limb. Moreover, it was fortunate to find anti-NMDAR antibodies in her cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), which indicated the patient had anti-NMDAR encephalitis. And abnormal apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) hyperintense signals on the left midbrain interpeduncular fossa explained this manifestation of focal neurological deficit. After the systematic administration of immunotherapy (intravenous immunoglobulin, IVIG), steroid pulse therapy, and symptomatic treatment, the initial symptoms were significantly relieved except for limb tremor. The MDs were becoming less visible for the next six months under topiramate prescriptions. Noteworthy, there are no specific MD phenotypes in anti-NMDAR encephalitis. We describe the young women with unique MDs and rapid weight loss to help us get a more comprehensive understanding of anti-NMDAR encephalitis.
Purpose Paraneoplastic neurological syndromes associated with autoantibodies are rare diseases that cause abnormal manifestations of the nervous system. Early diagnosis of paraneoplastic neurological syndromes paves the way for prompt and efficient therapy. Case report we reported a 56-year-old man presenting with seizures and rapidly progressive cognitive impairment diagnosed as paraneoplastic limbic encephalitis (PLE) with anti-SRY-like high-mobility group box-1 (SOX-1) and anti-γ-aminobutyric acid B (GABAB) receptor antibodies and finally confirmed by biopsy as small cell lung cancer (SCLC). At the first admission, brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed no abnormal signal in bilateral hippocampal regions and no abnormal enhancement of enhanced scan. The serum anti-GABAB receptor antibody was 1:100 and was diagnosed as autoimmune encephalitis (AE). The computed tomography (CT) scans of the chest showed no obvious tumor signs for the first time. Although positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) revealed hypermetabolism in the para mid-esophageal, the patient and his family declined to undertake a biopsy. The patient improved after receiving immunoglobulin, antiepileptic therapy, and intravenous methylprednisolone (IVMP) pulse treatment. However, after 4 months, the symptoms reappeared. Brain MRI revealed abnormal signals in the hippocampal regions. Reexamination of the cerebral fluid revealed anti-GABAB receptor and anti-SOX-1 antibodies, which contributed to the diagnosis of PLE. SCLC was found in a para mid-esophageal pathological biopsy. Antiepileptic medications and immunoglobulin were used to treat the patient, and the symptoms were under control. Conclusion Our findings increase the awareness that patients with limbic encephalitis with cognitive dysfunction and epileptic seizures should be enhanced to detect latent malignancy. Our case also highlights the importance of anti-SOX1 antibodies in the detection of underlying neoplasm, particularly SCLC. Our findings raise awareness of the cognitive impairment seen by patients with limbic encephalitis.
Background: Intramedullary spinal cord metastases (ISCM) in malignancies is a devastating issue with limited research. This study aims to identify the clinical features, management, prognostic factors, and outcomes of this special entity. Methods: A retrospective review of 61 patients of ISCM diagnosed and treated in our institute from June 2010 to March 2018 was conducted (lost to follow-up: 3). Data were retrieved according to the items including age, gender, primary tumor, interval to the ISCM occurrence, ISCM segments, and other synchronous metastases. The interventions, response, prognostic factors, and outcomes of ISCM were systematically analyzed. Results: Lung cancer (67.21%) was the commonest ISCM source, followed by breast cancer (14.75%). In total, 9.84% of patients presented with ISCM initially. The mean span from the primaries to ISCM was 18.77 months (range=0-10 years). The thoracic segment was most commonly involved (77.05%), followed by cervical (39.34%), lumbar level (34.43%), and conus medullaris (6.56%). The management of ISCM was challenging, since 55.74% of individuals had a poor physical condition (PS=3-4) and 72.41% had widespread dissemination synchronously (≥2 organs). Radiotherapy (RT) attained an objective response rate (ORR) of 61.90% or 62.50% and a local control rate (LCR) of 90.48% or 87.50% for symptoms used alone or with other strategies, respectively. ISCM bears a dismal prognosis, with a median overall survival (OS) of 4 months. Patients with only one segment involved had an apparently better prognosis than those with 2-4 involved segments (median OS=7.0 vs 3.0 months) (P<0.01). The OS of patients treated was remarkably superior to those without any intervention (median OS=5.0 vs 2.0 months) (P<0.01). Conclusion: ISCM is a distinct entity needing more attention for high cancer incidence, prolonged survival, and lack of research. RT is the mainstay with satisfactory effect. Multiple spinal cord segments involvement and no treatment are poor prognostic factors of OS.
Primary bone lymphoma (PBL) is a rare but distinct clinicopathological disease. Because it is not common, the optimal treatment strategy has not been established. Here, we present a patient with PBL of the left radius and review the related literature. We focus on the standard treatment for PBL. Many aspects such as rehabilitation, local control and overall survival need to be considered. Studies on this disease should be carried out to clarify the optimal treatment in the future.
The treatment of intractable vasogenic brain edema (VBE) caused by tumor and irradiation is challenging. Traditional intervention strategy includes dehydration and glucocorticoids accompanied by obvious side effects and minor effects after long-term use. Novel treatment needs to be found urgently. Recently, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)/VEGFR pathway has been revealed to be essential in VBE. Therefore, tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) targeting VEGFR which blocks (VEGF)/VEGFR signal might be effective. However, such reports have seldom been described. Herein, we documented a heavily-treated breast cancer patient experienced progressive aphasia, limb activity disorder and intermittent convulsion 10 months after radiotherapy of brain metastasis (BM). Cranial MRI demonstrated large peritumoral brain edema (PTBE). High dose of steriods and dehydration had no improvement. Apatinib with a dose of 250mg daily was initiated and all her discomforts disappeared after 10 days of use. The brain MRI of taking apatinib 5 weeks demonstrated remarkable shrinkage of edema. Our case indicates that apatinib, a potent small-molecular TKI targeted VEGFR2 is promising for intractable VBE for satisfactory efficacy and safety. This case is of great value in its rarity and because it provides new insight into PTBE management in clinical practice.
Heart sound is one of the most important physiological signals of human body. A new access control system using dual- authentication technology is developed based on heart sound biometric and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). ID information of the user is acquired by RFID as the user enters the range of the access control system. Then the electronic stethoscope collects the heart sound of the user. Mel Frequency Cepstrum Coefficient (MFCC) feature is extracted to compute the model parameter in Gaussian Mixture Models (GMM). The decision of verification is made to judge whether an input heart sound signal belongs to a stated identity. The system has high security since it realizes dual identification verification of one person.
Postoperative radiotherapy is critical for reducing local relapse for advanced rectal carcinoma but has many side effects. Our study compared the dose distribution of target volumes, protection of normal organs at risk (OAR), and monitor unit (MU) for 3 radiotherapy techniques (3-dimensional conformal radiation therapy [3D-CRT], intensity-modulated radiation therapy [IMRT], and RapidArc (Varian Medical Systems, Inc., Palo Alto, CA, USA)). The results advocate for the clinical application of RapidArc technique in the future. Thirty postoperative patients with rectal cancer were enrolled. The 3 radiotherapy plans mentioned above were designed for each patient. The target volume coverage indicators included average dose, conformity index (CI), and homogeneity index (HI) of planning tumor volume (PTV). OAR included the bladder, small intestine, colon, and bilateral proximal femurs. The 30 patients were divided into 3 groups (10 cases in each group) for postoperative radiotherapy with the 3D-CRT, IMRT, or RapidArc technique, respectively. Both the IMRT and RapidArc plans have a significantly higher average PTV dose and better CI and HI (P < 0.01) than 3D-CRT. IMRT and RapidArc result in significantly lower doses of irradiation for all the OAR examined. Both the IMRT and RapidArc plans have a significantly lower V40 of the bladder, small intestine, and colon than 3D-CRT (P < 0.01). The IMRT and RapidArc plans can also reduce the maximum dose (Dmax) for the left proximal femur, V30, and V40 of bilateral proximal femurs compared with 3D-CRT (P < 0.01). Compared with IMRT, RapidArc can further reduce the Dmax of the small intestine, the Dmax and V30 of the bilateral proximal femurs, and the V40 of the right proximal femur (P < 0.01). RapidArc reduces MU remarkably compared with IMRT (P < 0.01). Regarding acute side effects, IMRT and RapidArc can greatly reduce the incidence of grade 3 radiation-induced cystitis and grade 2 enteritis. Both IMRT and RapidArc are better than 3D-CRT regarding PTV coverage and OAR protection. Furthermore, RapidArc is superior to IMRT regarding protection of the small intestine and bilateral proximal femurs and requires a reduced treatment time. RapidArc could be widely applied for postoperative radiotherapy for patients with ΙΙ–ΙΙΙ stage rectal cancer.