[A case of small intestinal GIST maintained as a long stable disease by imatinib mesylate 400 mg/day, alternate-day administration for 2 weeks followed by a 2 week interval].

Unlabelled: Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) are the most common mesenchymal tumors of the gastrointestinal tract. The recent molecular-targeted therapies (imatinib and sunitinib) have improved the treatment of GIST remarkably. However, it would be ideal if the amount of these drugs could be adjusted according to each patient because they have various side effects and are very expensive.

[A case of severe hand-foot syndrome caused by capecitabine].

A 55-year-old woman underwent total mastectomy and axillary lymphnode dissection in 2001. Widespread lymphnode metastasis was found histologically (26/33). Neither PgR nor ER was positive.

Severity scoring systems for prognosis and efficacy of polymyxin B-immobilized fiber treatment for colonic perforation.

Purpose: There is no established system for predicting prognosis and evaluating the efficacy of antiseptic treatments such as polymyxin B-immobilized fiber (PMX) according to the severity of peritonitis in patients with colonic perforation. We investigated the predictive value of various severity scoring systems for survival and for the efficacy of antiseptic treatments, to identify high-risk patients.

Methods: We reviewed 26 consecutive patients who underwent emergency operations between 1996 and 2003 for colorectal perforation not caused by trauma or iatrogenic disease.

[Method of levofolinate.5-FU administration by hepatic arterial infusion therapy for hepatic metastasis from colorectal cancer].

Hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy with levofolinate (l-leucovorin) and fluorouracil regimen was performed using an implanted port system on unresectable hepatic metastasis patients with colorectal cancer. A comparative study was performed on two groups in which the levofolinate was administered arterially or intravenously. Levofolinate 200-250 mg/m(2) was infused for two hours intra-arterially or intravenously, and 5-FU 400-600 mg/m(2) was administered as a bolus in midinfusion.

Prognostic factors and scoring system for survival in colonic perforation.

Background/aims: No ideal and generally accepted prognostic factors and scoring systems exist to determine the prognosis of peritonitis associated with colonic perforation. This study was designed to investigate prognostic factors and evaluate the various scoring systems to allow identification of high-risk patients.

Methodology: Between 1996 and 2003, excluding iatrogenic and trauma cases, 26 consecutive patients underwent emergency operations for colorectal perforation and were selected for this retrospective study.

[Bi-weekly chemotherapy with medium-dose docetaxel for advanced and recurrent breast cancers (The 15th study of Keiji Breast Cancer Study Group)].

The efficacy and safety of bi-weekly administration of medium-dose docetaxel (TXT) were evaluated in patients with advanced and recurrent breast cancers. The additional effect of 5'-DFUR for non-responders was also evaluated. Forty patients with advanced and recurrent breast cancers were treated and 38 cases of 40 were evaluated (34 with recurrent cases and 4 with advanced cases).