Somatic malignant transformation in mature cystic teratoma is a rare phenomenon of a malignancy of differentiated tissue structures of any stem line. The authors present a case of a 38-year-old ...female with mature cystic teratoma of both ovaries and with mucinous adenocarcinoma arising from endodermal germ line in the right ovary, showing immunohistochemical features of non-intestinal differentiation. At the time of diagnosis the tumour metastasized to the pelvic and retroperitoneal lymph nodes. The patient was treated with three lines of chemotherapy and died after 15 months with signs of massive progression into the retroperitoneal, mediastinal and cervical lymph nodes, retroperitoneum, duodenal wall and peritoneal cavity. Somatic malignant transformation in mature cystic teratoma is associated with poor prognosis. The most important prognostic factor is tumour stage at the time of diagnosis.
60 patients with 60 viridans streptococcal bacteraemic episodes (42 due to penicillin-sensitive and 18 due to penicillin-resistant viridans streptococci) were analysed in a population of 12,185 ...admissions and 1,380 bacteraemic episodes during a 7-year period in a National Cancer Institute. The incidence of viridans streptococci among bacteraemias decreased from 11.5% in 1989 to 2.5% in 1995 after penicillin was introduced for prophylaxis of febrile neutropenia in acute leukaemia in 1993. However, the proportion of penicillin-resistant viridans streptococcal bacteraemias increased from 0 in 1989 and 1990 before any prophylaxis was given, to 12.9-16.7% after quinolones were used for prophylaxis in 1991 and 1992, and to 44.4-81.8% in 1993-1995 after penicillin was added to the quinolones. Mortality rate was higher in the subgroup of penicillin-resistant viridans streptococcal bacteraemias (p < 0.05). Statistically significant risk factors in patients with penicillin-resistant (compared with penicillin-sensitive) viridans streptococcal bacteraemia were: acute leukaemia (p < 0.03), high doses of cytarabine (p < 0.05), mucocutaneous lesions (p < 0.004), breakthrough bacteraemia during prophylaxis with ofloxacine plus penicillin (p < 0.001). Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that only acute leukaemia (OR 2.05, CI 0.85-1.85, p < 0.0452) and penicillin-resistance (OR 0.71, CI 0.103-4.887, p < 0.0209) were significant independent predictors of inferior outcome. Breakthrough bacteraemia during empiric therapy with vancomycine occurred in 5 of 116 patients treated with vancomycine, and during therapy with ampicillin plus gentamicin in 6 patients of 18 treated.
