51-year-old-male, complained of low back pain and has been diagnosed as having multiple myeloma (MM), light chain disease of the lambda type. His past medical history is remarkable for a cardiac disease. The expert believes it is cardiomyopathy, which can be amyloidotic (related to the MM) or hypertensive-atherosclerotic, or combined. The patient received anti-MM induction type of treatment (VTD combination), followed by high-dose cyclophosphamide (HDC) and autologous stem cell transplantation. The patient's low platelet count is of concern.
A 55 years old female was diagnosed with infiltrating ductal carcinoma of the right breast 7 years ago. The patient underwent a right quadrantectomy and axillary lymph nodes removal, adjuvant chemotherapy and radiation therapy. 5 years ago, after diagnostic finding of reappearance of infiltrating ductal carcinoma of the right breast, the patient underwent right mastectomy and revisional surgery of axillary armpit, and another adjuvant chemotherapy.
1.5-year-old male suffered from eye swelling. His MRI revealed expansive lesion of left lateral orbital wall origin, with compression on the lateral rectus muscle. Later he was hospitalized due to fever and vomiting in left orbital lesion, suspecting a metastatic neuroblastoma. His eye examination revealed exophthalmus of the eye with exophoria and light dysfunction of the lateral rectus. His biopsies were indicative of stroma-poor neuroblastoma.
1.5-year-old male suffered from eye swelling. His MRI revealed expansive lesion of left lateral orbital wall origin, with compression on the lateral rectus muscle. Later he was hospitalized due to fever and vomiting in left orbital lesion, suspecting a metastatic neuroblastoma. His eye examination revealed exophthalmus of the eye with exophoria and light dysfunction of the lateral rectus. His biopsies were indicative of stroma-poor neuroblastoma.
47-year-old female with a diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis ,who suffers from progressive tetraparesis, more pronounced in the lower extremities. Her treatment included mitoxantrone and Interferon-beta treatment, both were discontinued because of side effects. Her movement difficulties, due to the left lower limb rigidity, are increasing progressively.
74-year-old male has suffered over six months from pancytopenia. The main problem has been the symptomatic anemia, which required blood transfusions. Bone marrow aspiration revealed some myelodysplasia, and immune therapy has been prescribed. The expert suggests possible differential diagnosis of pancytopenia and recommends to establish a definite diagnosis before discussing treatment.
59-year-old-male underwent biopsy, after founding epigastric mass, and was diagnosed with B-cell lymphoma. He was treated as an aggressive lymphoma with R-CHOP. Because of neurtopenia, the planned 6 cycle regimen was not completed and a radiation course was administered. Since then the patient feels well, but continues to have prolonged and persistent neutropenia with mild thrombocytopenia. The expert suggests differential diagnosis of the bone marrow problem, and recommends additional diagnostic workup.
74-year-old female evaluated for pancytopenia of unknown etiology, which required blood transfusions. Bone marrow aspirate and biopsy showed a hypocellular bone marrow with trilineage maturation. The treatment include immunosuppressive agents and erythropoietin.
67-year-old with multiple co morbities: Heart, renal, vascular, hypertensive. His biopsy showed left lower lobe lung mass that was a TTF-1 Non small cell lung cancer- most likely an adenocarcinoma. Multiple small nodules < than 1cm were noted without certain etiology, together with “masses” in the upper abdomen and left arm. Recommended therapy includes single agent Vinorelbine.
Adult male with a history of hepatitis C, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) and hepatocellular carcinoma. Patient treated for NHL with CHOP-R 4 years ago. However, post-treatment, he had continued presumed bone marrow suppression. He was diagnosed 2 years later with HCC and underwent TACE with good effect. Since the TACE, the patient has had persistent and worsening hepatic dysfunction with portal hypertension and ascites. Recently, the patient developed encephalopathy and was treated, as described below, with fast return to consciousness.
67 year old male, previously a heavy smoker, suffering for 2 months from weakness, diminished appetite and weight loss. Tests showed a mass in right arm, possibly attached to muscle, and tenderness in right ribs. Chest CT showed a mass in LLL, lung foci, suspected secondary spread and masses in upper abdomen. CT guided biopsy from right lung mass was consistent with non small cell carcinoma with extensive necrosis. SPECT bone scan showed many focal findings in the vertebrae L,D2,7, most of the ribs bilaterally and in the limbs- suspected for secondary pathology.
57-year-old male who was found to have back pain and hyperglobulinemia approximately. Marrow biopsy was consistent with IgG myeloma. He was treated with steroids and local radiotherapy with improvement in symptoms and a modest reduction in the M-component. He received melphalan-based autologous stem cell transplantation, which was complicated by reversible respiratory failure. Unfortunately, he relapsed and was treated with bortezomib and steroids for 6 cycles followed by thalidomide. The disease has responded to therapy.
70-year-old male underwent epileptic seizures. A brain CAT scan showed a space occupying lesion with surrounding edema in his left frontal lobe. A subsequent MRI examination enabled the demonstration of four separated lesions in his brain consistent with metastases. A total body CAT scan demonstrated a mass in the right lung. The diagnosis of poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma of the lung was established by bronchoscopy and transbronchial biopsy. The patient was treated by brain irradiation.
A 66 year old man that was diagnosed with prostate cancer underwent radical prostatectomy 2 years ago. Pathology result of the surgical specimen revealed poorly differentiated prostate carcinoma with positive surgical margins. He was treated with antiandrogens and adjuvant radiation therapy. Since the beginning of the last year and under hormonal monotherapy with Casodex his PSA levels doubled. PET CT of the abdomen and the pelvis revealed hepatic lesion.
18 years old male. 4 months ago the patient was hospitalized due to epigastric abdominal pain, lack of appetite and weight loss. He was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease.
Hepatic biopsy, that was performed during this hospitslization, showed evidence of an overlap syndrome picture (cholangitis/hepatitis). He was initially treated with Cortisone and Azathioprine.
66-year-old female was diagnosed, following persistent cough, with non-operable tumor of her lung with satellite nodules, and chemotherapy was initiated (first Cisplatin and Gemcitabine, and then switched to Tarceva). Response evaluation following the fourth cycle of chemotherapy showed either stability or an initiation of tumor response, but bone scintigraphy that was performed 6 months later revealed an area of increased uptake in the left hemithorax which could be suggestive of a secondary bone lesion.
21-year-old female with an acute onset of a unilateral sixth cranial nerve deficit. Brain MRI showed at least a dozen white matter lesions, one of them contrast-enhancing. Sensory evoked potentials showed a bilateral increase in latency. Multiple sclerosis was diagnosed, and the patient was treated by corticosteroids, followed by improvement of symptoms. The first follow-up revealed no focal neurological signs with a history of a transitory unilateral lower limb hyposthenia. On the second visit, a horizonto-rotatory nystagmus and irregular paraesthesia in the right toes are documented.
66-year-old female was diagnosed, following persistent cough, with non-operable tumor of her lung with satellite nodules, and chemotherapy was initiated (first Cisplatin and Gemcitabine, and then switched to Tarceva). Response evaluation following the fourth cycle of chemotherapy showed either stability or an initiation of tumor response, but bone scintigraphy that was performed 6 months later revealed an area of increased uptake in the left hemithorax which could be suggestive of a secondary bone lesion.
21-year-old female with an acute onset of a unilateral sixth cranial nerve deficit. Brain MRI showed at least a dozen white matter lesions, one of them contrast-enhancing. Sensory evoked potentials showed a bilateral increase in latency. Multiple sclerosis was diagnosed, and the patient was treated by corticosteroids, followed by improvement of symptoms. The first follow-up revealed no focal neurological signs with a history of a transitory unilateral lower limb hyposthenia. On the second visit, a horizonto-rotatory nystagmus and irregular paraesthesia in the right toes are documented.
74-year-old male suffers from pancytopenia and symptomatic anemia. Bone marrow aspiration revealed some myelodysplasia, and the patient started immune therapy. He continues to require repeated blood transfusions. The expert recommends to complete the diagnostic workup. If no other disease is diagnosed than it can be assumed that the patient carries the diagnosis of MDS hypoplastic type.
73-year-old male with a diagnosis of Parkinson's disease (PD) since 2001. The cause for this consultation is a problem in the left foot that appeared in 2005 and has worsened since. The diagnosis was "a serious pronated flat foot transverse to the left” causing pain radiating up to the thigh and hip and causing recurrent falls with serious injury.
35-year-old female experienced an episode of lower back pain. Her doctor prescribed injections with Orudis, followed by further treatment with Voltaren. The treatment resulted in a simple remission of pain, that then re-appear at the same intensity as initially. The doctor established a new treatment that consisted of Indoxen and Bentelan. The patient experienced a remission of symptoms until even more intense lumbar pain returned spreading to the left leg. She recieved Voltaren, Muscoril, and Indoxen. Lumbar-sacral NMR showed disc central protrusion.
2-year-old girl was diagnosed with pleuropulmonary blastoma (PPB). She presented with cough and fever which was treated as pneumonia. When her symptoms did not improve, a chest X-ray showed a right lower lobe infiltrate with pleural effusion and a cystic lesion superiorly. She was further treated with antibiotics and improved clinically, but follow-up with chest CT showed a persistent cystic area in the right lower lobe and pneumothorax. She thus underwent pleural drainage and thoracoscopic biopsy, revealing a diagnosis of "cystic pleuropulmonary blastoma".
52-year-old male was diagnosed in 2004 with a carcinoma of the lower rectum and underwent surgical anterior resection of the rectal tumor which was a well differentiated adenocarcinoma. In 2008 he underwent emergency operation for a perforated pyloric ulcer and then a radical resection of a gastric tumor which infiltrated the entire thickness of the gastric wall. It was a G3 diffuse type adenocarcinoma with signet ring cells, at pT3N2 stage.
51-year-old male with past medical history that is remarkable for Sino-nasal adenocarcinoma which was resected 13 years ago, and a recurrent local tumor which was re-operated. Since late 2007, the patient has been noticed to have mild macrocytic anemia and leucopenia, and the hematologist thought it might represent a myelodysplastic syndrome.
35 years old male. 3 years ago an episode of lumbar pain. After an X-ray test and lumbar spine MNR a disc herniation was diagnosed. Later on, disorders showed up sporadically, and 15 days ago, as a result of backache recurrence, the patient decided to carry out diagnostic deepening performing a new lumbosacral magnetic resonance and an electromyographic examination.
66-year-old female was diagnosed, following persistent cough, with lung tumour with concomitant pulmonary nodules and a measurable enlargement of lymph nodes. FBS was positive for well differentiated neuroendocrine carcinoma and a needle biopsy revealed adenocarcinoma with associated neuroendocrine differentiation.
67-year-old with multiple co morbities: Heart, renal, vascular, hypertensive. His biopsy showed left lower lobe lung mass that was a TTF-1 Non small cell lung cancer- most likely an adenocarcinoma. Multiple small nodules < than 1cm were noted without certain etiology, together with “masses” in the upper abdomen and left arm. Recommended therapy includes single agent Vinorelbine.
2-year-old female had been diagnosed with Pleuropulmonary Blastoma. The disease extent included the lung and pleura with no signs of metastatic spread. It was decided to start with 3 cycles of chemotherapy and afterwards to carry out a CT scan reassessment and surgical operation. The expert agrees that patients treated with combination of chemotherapy and complete surgical resection do better. Achieving total resection of the tumor results in a significantly better prognosis, whereas extrapulmonary involvement at diagnosis results in worse prognosis.
74-year-old male with gradual pan-cytopenia with predominant thrombocytopenia underwent a bone marrow biopsy that confirmed the diagnosis of Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). He is currently in good general health except for slowly progressive weakness and being constantly tired. In the expert's opinion, there is no indication for therapy at this time, since the counts are satisfactory for every-day living. Nevertheless, the treating options are erythopoietin injections, lenalidomide, Vidaza or Dacogen therapy, or stem cell transplantation.
A 74 year-old male, that was diagnosed as suffering from myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) with kariotype del(11)q(11) by a bone marrow biopsy, following a gradual pancytopenia. The patient complains about slowly progressive weakness and being constantly tired.He was offered chemotherapy, but he declined this treatment because of fear that it would worsen his already severe weakness.
A 58 years old male. 4 years ago the patient was hospitalized due to acute thrombosis of the right femoral-iliac axis. The patient was treated succesfully with locoregional intra-arterial fibrinolytic therapy. A follow-up arteriography, revealed sub-occlusion of the common iliac, occlusion of the right superficial femoral artery in Hunter’s canal. PTA + stent of the iliac was carried out with excellent final angiographic result.
21-month-old female who was born at almost 29 weeks weighing only 650g and with birth height of 31 cm. Her major problems have been poor feeding, failure to gain weight and linear growth retardation. The poor feeding has been handled by an NG tube and subsequently, food administration through a direct gastric tube via a gastrostomy. She gradually gained weight to the extent of being overweight for her height. Laboratory evaluation revealed low absolute numbers of neutrophils low lymphocyte count. Endocrynology and Genetics workup were normal.
41-year-old male that in the past decade had suffered 2-3 times a year from bilateral knee pain which resolved spontaneously. Last year he had episodes of thumb pain that had lasted for several weeks and had affected grasp movements. The patient had responded to NSAID treatment for 2 weeks. MRI of the right knee showed Mild endoarticular effusion in the sub-quadriceps recess, chondropathy of the femoropatellar joint and lesion of the medial meniscus.
