• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• v.38 no.1
• /
• pp.65-67
• /
• 2005

Intracranial chloroma may occur in leukemia, although they are rare. A 23-year-old female complained diplopia. Brain magnetic resonance MR imaging showed tumors in the both cavernous sinus, both tentorial and anterior falx. Gamma-Knife radiosurgery was performed with maximal dose; 20Gy, marginal dose; 10Gy. Peripheral blood smear revealed leukemia, and bone marrow aspiration biopsy showed acute lymphocytic leukemia. Two weeks later, MR image for the stereotactic biopsy noticed markedly decreased tumor size. Biopsy result was lymphocytic leukemia. She received conventional radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and bone marrow transplantation. Brain involvement by acute lymphocytic leukemia is very rare. Even though chloroma are sensitive to radiation therapy, prognosis is poor because of the gravity of the underlying disease and association with impending blast transformation. The authors reports a intracranial chloroma by acute lymphocytic leukemia.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
• /
• v.19 no.6
• /
• pp.275-279
• /
• 2018

A brain abscess is caused by an infection in the central nervous system and leads to significant neurological sequelae. Despite advances in neurocritical care, high morbidity and mortality rates are still associated with brain abscess, especially in certain high-risk patients. Thus, a brain abscess is a medical emergency requiring prompt diagnosis and treatment with antibacterial therapy. However, the recurrence of brain abscess is rare. A 59-year-old man presented at our neurology clinic with a headache and was found to have chronic otitis media. Serial brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of the patient demonstrated a brain abscess in the right frontal lobe. Following stereotactic aspiration of the brain abscess and proper antimicrobial treatment, the patient recovered completely. Five months after discharge, the patient revisited our clinic with a headache and seizure symptoms, and recurrence of the brain abscess was confirmed by brain MRI. Recurrent brain abscess has been documented in patients with predisposing conditions such as retained foreign bodies, chronic sinusitis, arteriovenous fistula, and right-to-left shunt.

• Annals of Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery
• /
• v.27 no.2
• /
• pp.141-150
• /
• 2023

Pancreatic carcinosarcoma is a very rare malignancy with a poor prognosis. Because of these characteristics, a treatment strategy for it has not been established yet. The aim of this study was to establish a therapeutic strategy for pancreatic carcinosarcoma. We reviewed data of a 65-year-old female patient who was diagnosed with pancreatic carcinosarcoma through endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration biopsy before surgery. For literature review, we searched PubMed using terms of "Pancreatic" or "Pancreas" and "carcinosarcoma" or "carcinosarcomatous". The patient received 11 cycles of neoadjuvant treatment with leucovorin, fluorouracil, irinotecan, oxaliplatin and pembrolizumab because the tumor was borderline resectable. She underwent stereotactic ablative body radiotherapy (SABR) with 35 Gy in 5 fractions, followed by robotic pylorus-preserving pancreaticoduodenectomy. After surgery, the patient received adjuvant chemotherapy in the same regimen as before surgery. She is alive without any recurrence. Among 48 patients within 33 available papers, the median survival time was 15 months. The survival rate of patients who received adjuvant chemotherapy tended to be higher than that of those who did not receive adjuvant chemotherapy, although the difference was not statistically significant (median survival, 47 vs. 15 months; p = 0.485). Three patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy had a survival period of 13-23.5 months. Surgery with lymphadenectomy, adjuvant therapy, and neoadjuvant therapy are thought to help improve survival outcomes. Modern treatment approaches for conventional pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma could be applied to pancreatic carcinosarcoma.