Background: The aim of this study is to highlight the importance of cryptococcosis as one of the most common fungal infections of the central nervous system, stressing the consideration of a cryptococcoma within the list of differential diagnosis of intraventricular masses in immunocompetent hosts.Case Description: We present the case of an immunocompetent 41-year-old female from Philippines with an intraventricular cryptococcoma due toCryptococcus neoformans, mimicking an intraventricular primary brain tumor, who had hydrocephalus. She was approached as having a neoplastic lesion and underwent surgical resection plus third ventriculostomy through endoscopy. Later in her evolution, we realized the infectious nature of the lesion, and antifungal systemic therapy was initiated. In the end, she needed the placement of a ventriculoperitoneal shunt to maintain a good neurologic status. Despite all our efforts, she had a fatal outcome due to various complications.Conclusion: Our case is the first intraventricular cryptococcoma due toC. neoformans, as far as we know, to be reported in English, German, or Spanish literature. Our report stresses the importance to consider this kind of infection in immunocompetent patients, to raise the level of suspicion of this diagnosis, and to know the complications and management options.

Hepatoid carcinoma is a rare, primary neoplasm of the ovary characterized by histologic, immunobistochemical and analytical evidence of hepatic differentiation. Reflecting the rarity of this entity, few cytologic descriptions are available. A 65-year-old woman presented with an abdominopelvic mass, peritoneal implants and elevated levels of CA-125 and a-fetoprotein (AFP). Cytologic examination of the ascitic fluid revealed cellular samples of polygonal cells in trabecular and papillary groups. Neoplastic cells were predominantly monomorphous, but some groups exhibited marked cellular atypia. A few trabecular groups showed peripheral endothelial rimming. Histologically, the neoplasm had evident hepatocellular differentiation, with a solid, trabecular growth of polygonal, eosinophilic cells with well-defined boundaries. The cells were immunoreactive with keratins, AFP and HepPar1. Retrospectively, HepPar1 was tested in cytologic samples, with a positive result. As occurs with other hepatocellular neoplasms, the hepatic differentiation that characterizes this unusual neoplasm may not be easily recognizable in effusion samples. However, there are some features that, in addition to an elevated AFP value, may help to suggest the diagnosis. A predominant trabecular arrangement with occasional endothelial rimming and HepPar1 immunoreactivity, consistent with hepatic differentiation, are unusual in common surface epithelial ovarian tumors.

In the era of personalized medicine, there is an increasing demand for comprehensive and complex diagnosis using minimally invasive techniques. Nowadays, it is mandatory to integrate biomarkers in the diagnostic process, as well as in the treatment and clinical management of many cancer patients. Patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), for instance, are frequently diagnosed in advanced stages, at a point when only cytological material or small biopsies can be obtained. This pathology constitutes an interesting challenge for the testing of biomarkers in cytology. Furthermore, there is a growing development of imaging techniques that guide non-invasive approaches to obtain small biopsies or cytological samples. This has allowed fine needle aspiration cytology and fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAC, FNAB) to become front-line procedures in the management of patients with NSCLC. It is well known that the list of biomarkers to be tested in these patients continues to increase. Nevertheless, there are several of essential biomarkers that should always be analyzed in all patients with NSCLC, not only in non-squamous but also in some squamous carcinomas (SqCC). Some of them, such as PDL1, are tested by immunocytochemistry (ICC), while others, mainly ALK and ROS1, can be tested by ICC and confirmed using other techniques such a Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (FISH). Other biomarkers, namely EGFR and BRAF mutations, are currently evaluated by polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based techniques including Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS). In this review, we will address the particularities and challenges that ICC and FISH pose in different types of cytological samples from an eminently practical point of view.

(1) Background: Endometriosis and chronic endometritis (CE) are pathologies that are positively correlated and have similar paracrine and immunological alterations. This leads us to wonder whether their interrelationship plays a role in the etiopathogenesis or progression of endometriosis. The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether patients with endometriosis and CE have a more advanced stage of the disease, higher rates of pain, a poorer response to treatment, and a greater association with other pathologies compared to women with endometriosis without CE. (2) Methods: This is a cross-sectional pilot design study of 37 women with endometriosis who underwent endometrial aspiration for the diagnosis of CE and were followed up at the Puerta de Hierro Hospital. (3) Results: All patients with CE in this study had adenomyosis (p = 0.004). There was a relatively homogeneous distribution of CE in the different endometriosis phenotypes. The group of patients with endometriosis and CE indicated higher rates of pain during ovulation and less pain during defecation and sexual intercourse. (4) Conclusions: A high prevalence of CE was observed in patients with endometriosis, as well as a trend suggesting a relationship between CE and adenomyosis that should be studied. The following article attempts to reflect a link found between endometriosis and chronic endometritis, which would be important when prescribing personalized medicine, as it forces us to look for a specific disease in a specific patient profile.

Spinal dissemination of thymic tumors is rare but should be considered in the differential diagnosis of thoracic dumbbell-shaped lesions and/or vertebral tumors, irrespective of the time since the initial diagnosis. A 63-year-old man, with a history of invasive type AB thymoma treated 21 years ago, newly presented to the hospital with a dumbbell-shaped T8-T9 lesion compressing the spinal cord. A review of the literature showed only 16 previous cases of thymic tumors with thoracic spine involvement. Here, we report the lengthiest interval between the initial tumor diagnosis and the detection of spinal involvement, that was secondary to a pleural recurrence from his thymoma. The patient did well following successful excision of the intraspinal mass which had encased the T8 nerve root. Spinal dissemination of thymic tumors can occur due to vertebral metastasis or to extension of a pleural recurrence through the intervertebral foramen. Definitive treatment for spinal lesions should be considered to provide adequate cord decompression.