Histopathology 6, 631-645 Solitary plasnmcytoma of the intestineThe clinical, histological, immunological and ultrastructural features of two cases of solitary plasmacytoma of the gastrointestinal tract are described and related to the findings of other authors. The immunoperoxidase technique was found useful for the detection of intracellular immunoglobulin. Electron microscopy was performed on both tumours and the results are of considerable interest as few ultrastructural studies of human solitary plasmacytomas have been performed.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) represents a worrying public health problem in North Africa and particularly in Egypt. The situation is unclear in western North Africa where HCC has been rarely submitted to careful scrutiny. We decided to analyze demographic, biochemical, virological, and clinical data of a series of HCC from Algerian patients to establish the landscape of this tumor in the country. In the present work, we described 337 cases of primary liver cancer from Bologhine Hospital in Algiers, the capital of Algeria. The mean age of patients was 63.8 ± 11.4 years with a male:female sex ratio of 1.5. The most prevalent risk factors were hepatitis C, hepatitis B, and metabolic pathologies (type 2 diabetes and obesity). The mean BMI was 25.6 ± 4.7 at tumor diagnosis. A strong duality of risk factors and tumor presentation between male and female patients was apparent. Women tended to be older (mean 65.4 vs. 62.7 years, <i>p</i> = 0.039) and either seropositive for anti-HCV (60.0 vs. 41.6%, <i>p</i> = 0.0018) resulting primarily from tattoos and/or scarification (47.2 vs. 25.7%, <i>p</i> = 1.0 × 10^–4) or more often affected by metabolic disorders (mean BMI 26.1 ± 0.7 vs. 25.1 ± 0.5, <i>p</i> = 0.0248) commonly associated with personal antecedents of cholecystectomy (21.2 vs. 5.8%, <i>p</i> = 4.4 × 10^–5). By contrast, men were younger, poorer survivors (mean 9.3 vs. 13.3 months, <i>p</i> = 0.005), more frequently HBsAg carriers (27.8 vs. 10.5%, <i>p</i> = 4.8 × 10^–5), and more exposed to lifestyle risk factors such as smoking (39.4 vs. 3.0%, <i>p</i> = 3.9 × 10^–16) or alcohol use (19.1 vs. 0.7%, 1.5 × 10^–8). Finally, geographic disparities throughout Algeria were reminiscent of the situation of chronic hepatitis C in the country. A significant excess of cases originated from the region of Batna, Eastern Algeria, already known for its high rate of hepatitis C. Our results suggest that due to culture or sex-dependent biological differences, the tumor process affecting the liver is drastically different between sexes in Algeria.

Twenty‐two cases of immunoproliferative small intestinal disease (IPSID) were studied with an immunoperoxidase technique. Sixteen of these had serologic evidence of alpha heavy chain disease (AHCD) and have a characteristic immunochemical pattern that allows a diagnosis on jejunal biopsy. k‐light chain was found in a case of AHCD in the benign appearing plasma cell proliferation and in the associated malignant lymphoma suggesting that failure of light chains is not constant in AHCD. Four cases of IPSID showed secretion of polyclonal IgA in the plasma cell infiltrate providing evidence that some cases may be associated with secretion of complete IgA molecules. This polyclonal pattern is suggestive of a reactive process. Two cases of IPSID without evidence of AHCD showed an immunohistochemical pattern characteristic of AHCD and may represent nonsecreting forms of the disease. Alternatively they may be secreting nondetectable amounts of AHCD protein or an abnormal protein not recognized by standard antisera. Cancer 52:227‐237, 1983.

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