Robert W. Huntington

Yolk sac tumors of the testis

The discovery of 2 yolk sac carcinomas of the mouse has established a basis in comparative pathology for the occurrence of this type of tumor in other species with yolk sacs. Grafts and tissue cultures of extra‐embryonic yolk sac of the mouse have developed a clear understanding of the types of tissues one might expect in yolk sac carcinomas. The morphological appearance, age of incidence, and natural history of yolk sac carcinomas of the testis of boys have been compared to those of embryonal carcinomas. The prognosis for boys under 2 years of age with this tumor is astonishingly favorable, but that for boys over 2 years of age is desperately bad. An elderly man with the disease developed metastases soon after treatment. It is clear that yolk sac carcinoma is an entity deserving incorporation in the classification of testicular tumors as suggested by Teilum.

Yolk sac tumors of extragonadal origin

Five instances of tumors arising in extragonadal sites which we believe are properly classified as yolk sac tumors are presented. One of these tumors constituted the malignant component of a mediastinal teratoma; one represented the development of malignancy in a sacrococcygeal cyst; a third started in the broad ligament; and two others have to be classified simply as pelvic extragonadal. All five patients died of their tumors. The histogenesis of these tumors is discussed and compared with that of testicular and ovarian yolk sac tumors.

Yolk sac tumors of the ovary

Eighteen instances of ovarian tumor with microscopic pattern similar to that of the testicular tumors which we termed yolk sac or vitelline are presented. In the ovary, though not in the testis, this pattern has often been called “Schiller mesonephroma.” Reasons are given for our preference for the term yolk sac tumor to that of mesonephroma for these neoplasms. The ovarian tumors, though occurring in young individuals, unlike the testicular tumors are not concentrated in early infancy. Moreover, the ovarian tumors do not exhibit the striking age‐prognosis relationship which characterized the testicular tumors. Two of the 18 subjects with ovarian tumors appear to have survived their neoplasms; one of these was 7 and the other 15 at the time of surgery. The remaining 16 subjects have died of their neoplasms.

Production of acute rheumatic-like heart lesions in mice.

Summary Acute rheumatic-like heart lesions have been produced in mice by parenteral injection of egg white on repeated occasions. Minimal lesions may also occur in untreated mice, possibly as a result of spontaneous sensitization and shocking by natural contact with protein. There was no apparent relation between the severity of clinical anaphylaxis and the severity of the pathologic changes in the heart.

SUDDEN DEATH IN RHEUMATIC FEVER

Excerpt INTRODUCTION Abrupt cessation of heart beat, as distinguished from gradual failure, involves mechanisms of which we know little.1, 2Sudden death occurring in this manner often finds no adeq...

Atypical Ewing Tumor in the Sister of a Patient with Ewing's Tumor

In a previous report2 of two sisters with bone tumors, we suggested that one tumor (C.R.M.s) was a typical Ewing tumor and that the other (M.J.E.s) a most unusual Ewing tumor. We present here the concluding clinical course and the autopsy findings in the case of M.J.E. The metastatic lesion in the right side of the chest had responded to irradiation. At autopsy, there was a good deal of tumor in the left side of the chest and none elsewhere. Nothing was found to suggest lymphoma, neuroblastoma, or small-cell carcinoma. We are unable to suggest a reasonable alternative to the hypothesis that this was an atypical Ewing tumor.

STUDIES IN RHEUMATIC FEVER II. ABSORPTION OF SALICYLATES

Excerpt INTRODUCTION Although salicylates induce striking symptomatic relief in rheumatic fever, especially in the presence of polyarthritis, the question of a more radical therapeutic action is a ...

Chronic malabsorption (steatorrhea, n-ontropical sprue) in an adolescent, with death from malignant lymphoma, histiocytic type (reticulum cell sarcoma)

The association of intestinal malabsorption with lymphoma is both more frequent and more mysterious than is generally realized. Cases of malabsorption with eventual emergence of lymphoma often are initially responsive to dietary treatment, and it may be exceedingly difficult to decide whether the malabsorption or the lymphoma comes first. These problems are illustrated by the case of an 18‐year‐old Mexican girl whose malabsorption initially responded well to dietary management. When lymphoma was first suspected, evaluation of the first biopsy material was very difficult. Although most consultants agreed that there was malignancy amid reactive hyperplasia, there was a variety of opinions as to the character of the malignancy. Later on, the pattern became clearly that of histiocytic lymphoma (reticulum cell sarcoma).