Tsuyoshi Chiku

A case report of undifferentiated carcinoma with osteoclast-like giant cells of the pancreas and literature review

Osteoclast-like giant cell tumors rarely arise in the pancreas. Here we report the case of a 78-year-old woman who was diagnosed with a well-defined 3 cm multilocular mass in the pancreatic body by the use of ultrasonography, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. The rim and the septa of the tumor were well enhanced. The distal pancreas was removed with the spleen and the peripancreatic lymph nodes. Macroscopically, the mass was composed predominantly of a multilocular cystic tumor filled with hemorrhagic necrosis, and partly composed of solid components. A histopathological study showed a proliferation of multinucleated osteoclast-like giant cells and spindle cells. Although the predominant tumor cells were strongly positive for vimentin and CD68 and negative for epithelial markers, there were some sparsely scattered cytokeratin-positive neoplastic glands. Seventeen months after surgery, the patient is still alive and has had no recurrence. Below we review 32 cases of osteoclast-like giant cell tumor of the pancreas that have been reported in English literature since 2000.

Postherpetic pseudohernia: delayed onset of paresis of abdominal muscles due to herpes zoster causing an ipsilateral abdominal bulge

Postherpetic pseudohernia causes an abdominal bulge as well as an abdominal wall herniation. This disease is one of the neurological complications of herpes zoster and essentially consists of paresis of ipsilateral abdominal muscles. Postherpetic pseudohernia may be mistaken for abdominal wall herniation because it is not well known. We describe two cases presenting an abdominal bulge. The ipsilateral abdominal bulge appeared after recovery from abdominal zoster. Abdominal CT showed no evidence of a herniation or mass. We diagnosed a postherpetic pseudohernia. One of the patients recovered spontaneously 4 months after the onset, and the other partially recovered after 2 months. This disease can be expected to disappear spontaneously, unlike abdominal herniation requiring surgery. It has been reported that 79.3% of patients eventually recovered spontaneously. For surgeons and general practitioners, it is beneficial to keep this disease in mind when examining a patient presenting an abdominal bulge.