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Ada Maria Florena

Publications and source records attributed to Ada Maria Florena.

23 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Splenic marginal zone lymphoma.

Splenic marginal zone lymphoma (SMZL) is a specific low-grade small B-cell lymphoma that is incorporated in the World Health Organization classification. Characteristic features are splenomegaly, moderate lymphocytosis with villous morphology, intrasinusoidal pattern of involvement of various organs, especially bone marrow, and relative indolent course. Tumor progression with increase of blastic forms and aggressive behavior are observed in a minority of patients. Molecular and cytogenetic studies have shown heterogeneous results probably because of the lack of standardized diagnostic criteria. To date, no definitive therapy has been established. Therapeutic options include treatment abstention, splenectomy, splenic irradiation, and chemotherapy.

Animals↗

Bone marrow biopsy in hemophagocytic syndrome.

AIMS: Hemophagocytic syndrome (HPS) is a severe and acute clinical event occurring with fever, hepatosplenomegaly, and pancytopenia due to uncontrolled phagocytosis of blood cells and precursors. Although HPS represents a secondary phenomenon, it can mask the underlying condition, generally a neoplastic or infective disease, thus making the patient management rather difficult. The aims of this study were to point out the main pathological features useful to highlight the primary disease and show the eventual discrepancies among the different cases. METHODS AND RESULTS: Bone-marrow biopsies (BMBs) of 26 patients with HPS were morphologically and immunophenotypically evaluated; the patients were 12 females and 14 males with mean age of 45.8 years (range 18-80 years). Fifteen patients had a hematological neoplasia either at onset (13 cases) or relapse (2 cases); 5 patients had evidence of active infection immediately prior to HPS development, whereas in 6 patients no definite etiology was established. Cases were therefore divided into neoplasia related, infection related, and "idiopathic". In all cases BMB showed marked histiocyte hyperplasia with hemophagocytosis. In cases of bone-marrow lymphoma or leukemia involvement, immunohistochemistry allowed diagnosis of the underlying disease to be made; infection-related cases showed a reactive marrow with mature interstitial T-lymphoid infiltration, whereas in idiopathic cases T-cells were mainly aggregated in small clusters. In no cases were significant percentages of natural-killer (NK) cells detected. INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS: Although no strict morphological or immunophenotypical criteria able to allow an immediate diagnosis of underlying disease were pointed out, in most cases BMB proved to be an essential and reliable diagnostic tool. According to our experience, when HPS occurs, the first diagnosis to investigate is a neoplastic disease which sometimes can be latent or hidden.

Adolescent↗

Multifocal biliary cystadenocarcinoma of the liver: CT and pathologic findings.

Biliary cystadenocarcinoma is a rare tumor that originates from the hepatobiliary epithelium. Although this tumor can affect any portion of the biliary tree, intrahepatic location is more common. It is usually a slow growing tumor and often asymptomatic until it reaches a considerable size. The lesion is most often solitary and large when discovered; multiple lesions or metastases within the liver are very rare. A 63-year-old man was referred to our institute for weight loss, abdominal discomfort, worsening bulky symptoms in the right upper abdominal quadrant, and an increase in serum aminotransferases that had been present for several months. Spiral CT of the abdomen demonstrated two lesions, a larger one and a distant intrahepatic lesion, with a multiloculated cystic aspect, a thin peripheral capsule, multiple solid peripheral portions, and irregular septa enhancing in the portal phase after intravenous administration of iodinated contrast medium. The diagnosis of multifocal cystadenocarcinoma of the liver was confirmed by surgical laparoscopy and biopsy of the lesion. The patient was treated with chemotherapy.

Biliary Tract Neoplasms↗

[Adrenal incidentaloma: a case of subclinical Cushing's syndrome].

The authors describe a case of adrenal incidentaloma that was the cause of subclinical Cushing's syndrome and take the opportunity to weigh up some of the clinical, diagnostic and therapeutic aspects. Besides the particular expression of the symptoms which were difficult to interpret before reaching a diagnosis, the authors describe the diagnostic work-up adopted, aimed at precisely identifying the type of tumour and the surgical procedure implemented laparoscopically, the outstanding validity of which is confirmed compared to traditional adrenalectomy techniques.

Adrenal Gland Neoplasms↗