Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common primary tumor of the liver that is highly invasive and can even invade the portal and hepatic veins in later stages. In this report, we present one such rare case of HCC invading the right atrium. A 69-year-old male patient recently diagnosed with HCC secondary to hepatitis C presented to the hospital after experiencing an episode of near syncope. On examination, he had a distended abdomen consistent with ascites with positive fluid shift, elevated jugular vein distention (JVD), and bilateral pitting lower extremity edema. He had an elevated alkaline phosphatase of 298 U/L (34-104) with a total bilirubin of 2.7mg/dL (0.3-1) and a D-dimer of 1.67ugFEU/mL (<0.5). On admission, CT scan of the chest and abdomen showed extensive invasion of the liver by neoplasm and a large 7 cm mass extending from the intrahepatic inferior vena cava to the right atrium. A transthoracic echocardiogram confirmed this, which also better visualized the cardiac anatomy. Due to the extent of the disease, the patient ultimately opted for palliative care. The prognosis for patients with HCC who have an invasion of the right atrium remains dismal, with a median survival of only five months. Surgical extraction of the thrombus with resection of the tumor, liver transplantation, and systemic chemotherapy are some of the treatment modalities employed in such patients; however, historically, the median survival has remained only a few months. With the advent of new techniques and a better understanding of the disease, this seems to be changing and a curative approach can now be considered.
Summary1. In intact rats progesterone (50 mg/kg) antagonized the effect of stilboestrol (100 p,g/kg) on the vaginal smears and the uterine sensitivity. The uterine sensitivity to acetylcholine, oxytocin and 5-hydroxytryptamine was decreased by 6-8, 64 and 14-8 times, respectively, as compared with uteri removed after stilboestrol injections. 2. Progesterone therapy in hypophysectomized rats also antagonized the effect of stilboestrol on the vaginal mucosa and on the uterine sensitivity to drugs. The sensitivity to acetylcholine, oxytocin and 5-hydroxytryptamine was decreased by 6-2, 50 and 14'5 times, respectively. Similar results were obtained on uteri removed from sham-hypophysectomized rats. 3. On the basis of these results it is suggested that the hypophysis does not play any part in the desensitization of the myometrium to the oxytocic drugs and in the changes found in the vaginal mucosa after progesterone therapy.
A 61-year-old male with no past medical history presented with intense abdominal pain for three days, associated with hematochezia, nausea, and non-bloody vomiting. CT scan of the abdomen showed distended small bowel, diffuse lymphadenopathy, and intussusception of the distal ileum into the cecum with obstruction. Ileocolic resection and histopathological staining confirmed the diagnosis of follicular lymphoma and appropriate treatment was initiated. Intussusception is a condition that involves the invagination of the proximal segment of a bowel tract into its contiguous distal segment as a result of enthusiastic or impaired peristalsis. Only 5% of the total intussusception cases are found in adults. Most cases in adults are caused by pathological lead points which can be benign or malignant. Lymphomas rarely present with intussusception and follicular lymphomas are even less common. To the best of our knowledge, there have only been a few such cases of follicular lymphomas with the initial presentation of intussusception. In this article, we present a rare case of follicular lymphoma presenting as intussusception. Considering lymphomas as a cause of intussusception in adults can decrease diagnostic delays and guide treatment.
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