Any mass on the chest wall may not always be the primary local pathology. A case of lymphoma with an aggressive course may involve the sternum through local invasion and can mimic a chest wall tumour. A 15-year-old boy with mediastinal lymphoma presented with a sternal mass. Partial sternectomy with replacement by methyl methacrylate prosthesis was performed.

We report on a patient with primary pulmonary adenoid cystic carcinoma presenting with Pancoast syndrome. Pancoast syndrome has not previously been described with this tumour. Other unusual features of this case include the peripheral origin and mediastinal involvement, with lack of proximal endobronchial spread.

We report an unusual case of acute upper airway obstruction. Inhalation of a foreign body caused choking in a 5-yr-old child, but subsequent investigations revealed a large anterior mediastinal tumour, externally compressing the trachea and the main bronchi. Such a presentation may be deceptive and is important, as general anaesthesia may result in complete airway obstruction with fatal consequ...

BACKGROUND Ultrasound guided transthoracic needle aspiration biopsy has recently been used to obtain specimens for histological diagnosis of pulmonary and mediastinal tumours. Conventional real time, grey scale puncture guiding devices cannot differentiate vascular structures, and clear visualisation of the needle shaft or tip within a desired target is not always possible. This study describes...

A 59-year-old man, a smoker, presented with features of airflow obstruction due to squamous cell carcinoma of central airways mimicking chronic obstructive airways disease. He also had pronounced dysphagia. Computed tomographic and magnetic resonance imaging scans showed mediastinal tumour invasion but no direct oesophageal involvement. Oesophageal manometry studies revealed that dysphagia was ...

An invasive paraganglioma of the posterior mediastinum caused spinal cord compression in a 31 year old women. Electron microscopic examination of the paraganglioma invading the epidural space revealed numerous dense-cored granules in the cytoplasm of the tumour cells. We are reporting this case to present the ultrastructure of mediastinal paraganglioma, and to call attention to an unusual cause...

A 21-year-old man presented with a recent onset history of tingling and numbness of his left upper limb. He also had a 3 year history of anhydrosis affecting the left half of his face and left upper limb. Clinical and Doppler assessment did not reveal any vascular cause for his symptoms. However, a chest roentgenogram revealed a smooth mediastinal-based shadow in the left upper zone. Further im...

AIM OF THE STUDY Determining the role of PET/CT imaging in the evaluation of treatment efficacy in primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma (PMBCL). MATERIAL AND METHODS Retrospective analysis of seven PMBCL patients, treated at the University Hospital in Krakow, with interim PET/CT after the third course of chemo-immunotherapy.The analysis was based on the calculation of exact tumour volume and m...

In a study of coal-miners suffering from lung cancer two features of special interest are recorded. The difficulties in diagnosis are illustrated by case reports. The two-year survival rate after surgical removal of the tumour is significantly better in coal-miners than in non-miners. After operation 87% of coal-miners were alive two years later, compared with only 36% of other patients operate...