Oral doxifluridine plus leucovorin in metastatic colorectal cancer: randomized phase II trial with intravenous 5-fluorouracil plus leucovorin.

This phase II study was designed to evaluate the efficacy and toxicities of oral doxifluridine plus leucovorin as a randomized trial with those of intravenous 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) plus leucovorin in previously untreated metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC). Patients with metastatic CRC were randomized in either group A (oral doxifluridine 1,000 mg/m /d plus leucovorin 30 mg/d on days 1 to 7 and 15 to 21 of each cycle), or group B (intravenous 5-FU 400 mg/m /d plus leucovorin 20 mg/m /d on days 1-5 of each cycle), with the cycles repeated every 4 weeks. Between July 1998 and May 2000, 77 patients were enrolled (38 in group A and 39 in group B).

The role of colonoscopy in the diagnosis of appendicitis in patients with atypical presentations.

Background: Acute appendicitis is one of the most common causes of acute abdomen. Despite recent advances in radiologic imaging, the diagnosis of acute appendicitis may be difficult on occasion. The aims of this study were to describe the colonoscopic features of appendicitis and to determine whether colonoscopy can be used as an adjunct for the diagnosis of appendicitis in patients with atypical presentations.

Evaluation of myenteric ganglion cells and interstitial cells of Cajal in patients with chronic idiopathic constipation.

Background And Aims: The aim of this study was to identify myenteric ganglion cells (MGC) and interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) from the total colectomy specimen in patients with chronic idiopathic constipation.

Patients And Methods: Fourteen patients who had severe, intractable, long-standing (mean: 14 years) constipation underwent subtotal colectomy and ileorectal anastomosis. All resected specimens were investigated with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and immunohistochemical staining with anti-neurofilament monoclonal antibody NF(2)F(11) for MGC, and c-kit antibody for ICC.

A novel telomere elongation in an adriamycin-resistant stomach cancer cell line with decreased telomerase activity.

Actively dividing cells show progressive loss of telomeric DNA during successive rounds of replication due to end-replication problem. Telomere shortening has been proposed as a regulatory mechanism that controls the replicative capacity of primary cells before undergoing cellular senescence. In immortal cells including cancer, cellular senescence can be overcome by reactivation of telomerase or by a telomerase-independent mechanism for lengthening telomeres.

Epstein-barr virus-positive gastric carcinoma demonstrates frequent aberrant methylation of multiple genes and constitutes CpG island methylator phenotype-positive gastric carcinoma.

CpG island methylation is an important mechanism for inactivating the genes involved in tumorigenesis. Gastric carcinoma (GC) is one of the tumors that exhibits a high frequency of aberrant CpG island methylation. There have been many reports suggesting a close link between Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and the development of GC.

Comparison of clinicopathologic characteristics and genetic alterations between microsatellite instability-positive and microsatellite instability-negative sporadic colorectal carcinomas in patients younger than 40 years old.

Purpose: Many studies have demonstrated that sporadic microsatellite instability-positive colorectal cancers share several clinicopathologic features with hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancers, including right-sided location, young age of onset, characteristic histomorphologic features, and a good prognosis. The aim of this study was to define distinct clinicopathologic features of sporadic microsatellite instability-positive colorectal cancers and to compare genotypic characteristics between microsatellite instability-positive and microsatellite instability-negative colorectal cancers in a young group.

Methods: We analyzed 61 cases of young patients (<40 years old) with colorectal cancers for microsatellite instability at five mononucleotide and three dinucleotide repeats, loss of heterozygosity at APC and DCC, and K-ras and p53 mutations.

Reduced E-cadherin expression as a cause of distinctive signet-ring cell variant in colorectal carcinoma.

Colorectal signet-ring cell carcinoma (SRCC) is a rare type of adenocarcinoma and presents with distinctive clinicopathological features. This study was performed to assess the biological characteristics of colorectal SRCC regarding the E-cadherin expression. Seventeen patients with primary colorectal SRCC were identified and their clinicopathological characteristics were analyzed.

Enhancement of colorectal tumor targeting using a novel biparatopic monoclonal antibody against carcinoembryonic antigen in experimental radioimmunoguided surgery.

Biparatopic CEA, carcinoembryonic antigen (MAb) was newly designed and tested as to whether it enhanced the accuracy of tumor detection by reducing non-specific binding in experimental radioimmunoguided surgery. Biparatopic MAb was prepared by using cross-linking of reduced Fab' fragments from PR1A3 and T84.66.