[We report a case of a 50-year-old male patient, in whom the coexistence of multiple myeloma and diffuse large B cell lymphoma was confirmed. In December 2007, the patient was admitted to the department of internal medicine with fatigue resulting from mild anemia. A tumor of the left testis was discovered, and after semicastration diffuse large B cell lymphoma was diagnosed by histopathological analysis (clinical stage: II/EB). Examination of the bone marrow revealed a plasmocytic infiltrate of 60%, while 36.1 g/l IgG-kappa paraprotein was found in the peripheric blood, fulfilling the diagnostic criteria of multiple myeloma (Durie-Salmon stage: I). The patient received six cycles of rituximab- CHOP-21 chemotherapy for diffuse large B cell lymphoma. Following a transient improvement, the multiple myeloma showed progression, therefore we switched to VTD protocol (bortezomib, thalidomid, dexamethason). The patient underwent high dose chemotherapy and autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Both hematologic diseases showed complete remission. Both tumour samples were tested for immunoglobulin heavy-chain rearrangement by polymerase chain reaction and DNA sequence analysis, according to which the possibility for clonal relationship between multiple myeloma and diffuse large B cell lymphoma could not be confirmed.]

[The majority of patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma can be cured using the standard rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisolone (R-CHOP) based therapy. However, approximately 30-40% of the patients are refractory to the therapy or they relapse. The currently available salvage therapies represent a realistic curative approach only for approximately one quarter of the patients. Therefore, there is unmet clinical need for more effi cient fi rst line and salvage therapies in DLBCL. The rapid advances in the fi eld of molecular genetic techniques lead to a better understanding of the biological heterogeneity as well as the discovery of the key factors involved in the pathogenesis of the disease. Nowadays, the distinction between the cases with germinal center B-cell and activated B-cell origin characterized with different prognosis has therapeutic implications. Presently, the therapy of the so-called double-hit lymphomas also represents an unmet clinical need. The next generation sequencing based studies lead to the discovery of novel molecular targets, including components of different cellular signaling pathways, immune checkpoints and components of the microenvironment. Targeted therapies against many of these molecular targets are being tested in different clinical trials. Due the heterogeneity of the disease, it is of critical importance to identify those patient groups who will benefi t from a particular targeted therapy. Hopefully, this risk-adopted therapeutic approach will become soon available for patients with DLBCL. Currently, the R-CHOP therapy still represents the gold standard in treatment of patients with DLBCL.]

Although vertigo is one of the most common complaints, intracranial malignant tumors rarely cause sudden asymmetry between the tone of the vestibular peripheries masquerading as a peripheral-like disorder. Here we report a case of simultaneous temporal bone infiltrating macro-metastasis and disseminated multi-organ micro-metastases presenting as acute unilateral vestibular syndrome, due to the reawakening of a primary gastric signet ring cell carcinoma. Purpose – Our objective was to identify those pathophysiological steps that may explain the complex process of tumor reawakening, dissemination. The possible causes of vestibular asymmetry were also traced. A 56-year-old male patient’s interdisciplinary medical data had been retrospectively analyzed. Original clinical and pathological results have been collected and thoroughly reevaluated, then new histological staining and immunohistochemistry methods have been added to the diagnostic pool. During the autopsy the cerebrum and cerebellum was edematous. The apex of the left petrous bone was infiltrated and destructed by a tumor mass of 2x2 cm in size. Histological reexamination of the original gastric resection specimen slides revealed focal submucosal tumorous infiltration with a vascular invasion. By immunohistochemistry mainly single infiltrating tumor cells were observed with Cytokeratin 7 and Vimentin positivity and partial loss of E-cadherin staining. The subsequent histological examination of necropsy tissue specimens confirmed the disseminated, multi-organ microscopic tumorous invasion. Discussion – It has been recently reported that the expression of Vimentin and the loss of E-cadherin is significantly associated with advanced stage, lymph node metastasis, vascular and neural invasion and undifferentiated type with p<0.05 significance. As our patient was middle aged and had no immune-deficiency, the promoting factor of the reawakening of the primary GC malignant disease after a 9-year-long period of dormancy remained undiscovered. The organ-specific tropism explained by the “seed and soil” theory was unexpected, due to rare occurrence of gastric cancer to metastasize in the meninges given that only a minority of these cells would be capable of crossing the blood brain barrier. Patients with past malignancies and new onset of neurological symptoms should alert the physician to central nervous system involvement, and the appropriate, targeted diagnostic and therapeutic work-up should be established immediately. Targeted staining with specific antibodies is recommended. Recent studies on cell lines indicate that metformin strongly inhibits epithelial-mesenchymal transition of gastric cancer cells. Therefore, further studies need to be performed on cases positive for epithelial-mesenchymal transition.