Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours (pNETs) are rare and surgical resection offers the only possibility of cure for localised disease. The role of surgery in the setting of locally advanced and metastatic disease is more controversial. Emerging data suggests that synchronous surgical resection of pancreas and liver may be associated with increased survival. We report two cases of synchronous, one...

Leiomyosarcoma of the pulmonary vein is rare and has poor prognosis. Its clinical features are nonspecific and mimic benign conditions. Early diagnosis is challenging. Most cases have been diagnosed only at autopsy or on postoperative histology specimens. Treatment is essentially palliative complete surgical excision. We outline the principles of management with the case of a 39-year-old man wi...

A 15-year-old boy with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) was referred to us for central venous catheter insertion, and on ultrasound of the neck, he was found to have extensive involvement of the brachial plexus due to the nerve sheath tumour. Multiple hypoechogenic lesions resembling the internal jugular vein and internal carotid artery were visualised and could be differentiated from the vessels...

A 31-year-old woman, whose chief complaint was back pain, was found to have an echocardiographic abnormality suggestive of a left atrial myxoma. Angiography clearly showed a large radiolucent mass protruding from the left atrium into the left ventricle during diastole. X-rays of the sacrum disclosed the presence of a malignant tumour. Biopsy specimens taken from the tumour in the sacral plexus ...

Papillary 'tumours' are small pedunculated lesions of the valve cusps and result from wear-and-tear. They are therefore frequent post-mortem findings in older patients. The vast majority are clinically silent, though occasionally such lesions when on the aortic valve may produce symptoms of myocardial or cerebral ischaemia. None has been known to cause symptoms when in the right side of the hea...

Multiple myeloma is a neoplastic disorder caused by the proliferation of a transformed B lymphoid progenitor cell that gives rise to a clone of immunoglobulin-secreting cells. Other plasma cell tumours include solitary plasmacytoma of bone (SPB) and extramedullary plasmacytomas (EMP). Despite an apparent common origin there exist pathological and clinical differences between these neoplasms and...

A 64-year-old man presented with elevated thyrocalcitonin, and a history of resected thyroid medullary carcinoma. Cervical thymus was detected incidentally in the neck dissection resection specimen for thyroid medullary carcinoma extension. This case was peculiar due to the presence of a thymic microcyst and the coexistence of parathyroid tissue along with the thymic lobules. Persistent hypocal...

Tumour lysis syndrome (TLS) is a rare side effect of chemotherapy for solid tumours. It describes the metabolic derangements following rapid and extensive tumour cell death following a good response to chemotherapy. Symptoms are those of metabolic derangement and renal failure. Treatment involves rehydration and correction of metabolic abnormalities. TLS should be considered in high risk groups...

We describe the case of a 45-year-old male who was admitted with clinical signs of superior vena cava syndrome (SVCS). Physical examination showed collar of Stokes and extensive collateral circulation in the neck and anterosuperior thoracic region, as well as a large testicular mass. Fibrobronchoscopy revealed an endobronchial tumour, histopathologically diagnosed as seminoma, with the same cha...

Primary leptomeningeal lymphoma (PLML) is a rare entity, representing 7% of all cases of primary central nervous system lymphoma and approximately 0.1% of primary central nervous system tumours. Patients can present with symptoms of raised intracranial pressure, or cranial or spinal polyradiculopathies. Even with extensive investigations, diagnosis in up to a third of patients can only be confi...