Oral fluoropyrimidine may augment the efficacy of aromatase inhibitor via the down-regulation of estrogen receptor in estrogen-responsive breast cancer xenografts.

The present preclinical study was designed to evaluate a new combination therapy comprised of the aromatase inhibitor anastrozole (ANA) and the oral fluoropyrimidines, UFT and S-1 against the estrogen receptor (ER)-positive human breast cancer cell line MCF-7/Arom 14, which was stably transfected with the cDNA of human aromatase. MCF-7/Arom 14 cells showed a high aromatase activity and notably were able to grow in the presence of testosterone and estradiol (E(2)) in vitro. ANA and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) inhibited cell growth at concentrations of 0.

Giant mesenchymal hamartoma of the liver in an adult.

We report a case of hepatic mesenchymal hamartoma in an adult; this condition is extremely rare, with only 15 cases having been reported in the English-language literature worldwide. The patient was a 36-year-old woman who was seen at her local hospital for upper abdominal distension. A giant multilocular cystic tumor, which had almost entirely replaced the normal parenchyma of the right lobe of the liver, was diagnosed.

Role of nitric oxide synthesized by nitric oxide synthase 2 in liver regeneration.

Background/aims: Nitric oxide synthase 2 (NOS2) is expressed during liver regeneration after a partial hepatectomy (PHx); NOS2 subsequently synthesizes nitric oxide (NO). However, the role of NOS2-synthesized NO in post-PHx liver regeneration remains unclear. We investigated the role of NOS2-synthesized NO in liver regeneration.

Six consecutive cases of successful adult ABO-incompatible living donor liver transplantation: a proposal for grading the severity of antibody-mediated rejection.

Background: The clinical symptoms, histological findings, and treatments for antibody-mediated rejection (AMR), which is the leading cause of graft loss in adult ABO-incompatible liver transplantation (ABO-I-LT), have rarely been discussed.

Methods: We performed adult living donor ABO-I-LT on six patients. We used anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody combined with plasma exchange preoperatively and intraportal or hepatic-arterial infusion, consisting of prostaglandin E1, corticosteroids, and protease inhibitor postoperatively to prevent AMR.

Management of massive arterial hemorrhage after pancreatobiliary surgery: does embolotherapy contribute to successful outcome?

Massive arterial hemorrhage is, although unusual, a life-threatening complication of major pancreatobiliary surgery. Records of 351 patients who underwent major surgery for malignant pancreatobiliary disease were reviewed in this series. Thirteen patients (3.

Disruption of the middle hepatic vein is not crucial for liver regeneration of the remnant liver after right hemihepatectomy for hepatic tumors.

Background: To clarify the role of the middle hepatic vein (MHV) in liver regeneration of the remnant liver after right hemihepatectomy for hepatic tumors, we reviewed 29 patients to evaluate liver regeneration for up to 12 postoperative months.

Methods: Volume regeneration of the remnant liver was investigated by computed tomography at 3, 6, and 12 postoperative months. The remnant liver was divided into the following three areas: the medial section (segment IV), the lateral section (segments II and III), and segment I.

Applicability of the Milan criteria for determining liver transplantation as a first-line treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background: To determine whether or not the Milan criteria (MC) should be used to determine the applicability of liver transplantation (LT) as a first-line treatment for patients with cirrhosis with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who are able to endure hepatectomy.

Methods: Retrospective analysis of 82 patients with cirrhosis with HCC who were treated by hepatectomy without LT at our institution between 1990 and 2003.

Results: Of these 82 patients, 48 met the MC.

[Standard surgery as part of the multidisciplinary treatment for pancreatic cancer].

Standardization of surgical procedure for pancreatic cancer has been recognized to be necessary and important these days. Recent studies appear to exhibit efficacy of the adjuvant chemoradiation therapy before or after pancreatic surgery. In this study, we examined the standard surgery as part of the multidisciplinary treatment for pancreatic cancer.

A rat model of a repeat 70% major hepatectomy.

Background: This study investigated the effects of a repeat 70% major hepatectomy in a rat model.

Materials And Methods: The left lateral and median lobes of the livers of 80 seven-week-old male Wistar rats were excised during primary hepatectomy, removing a total of 70% of the liver. In 40 of the rats, the regenerated right lateral lobe, comprising 70% of the remnant liver, was excised during secondary hepatectomy 7 days after the initial procedure.

Safety limit of the extent of hepatectomy for rats with moderately fatty liver: experimental study concerning living liver donor safety.

Introduction: The aim of the present study was to determine whether rats with moderately fatty liver could withstand a 90% hepatectomy, which rats with normal livers can survive.

Material And Methods: Nine-week-old male Wistar rats were used. Normal rat chow was fed to the normal liver group, and fat-enriched rat chow was fed to the fatty liver group for 4 weeks to induce a moderately fatty liver.

Transcription factors and drug resistance.

Intrinsic or acquired resistance to anticancer agents is a major obstacle to the success of chemotherapy. Anticancer agents are known to modulate signal transduction pathways and alter expression of genes that play an important role in drug resistance. Emerging evidence suggests that the complexity of genomic response against anticancer agents arise from elaborate gene expression by multiple transcription factors.

Pharmacologic preconditioning effects: prostaglandin E1 induces heat-shock proteins immediately after ischemia/reperfusion of the mouse liver.

Prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) has several potential therapeutic effects, including cytoprotection, vasodilation, and inhibition of platelet aggregation. This study investigates the protective action of PGE1 against hepatic ischemia/reperfusion injury in vivo using a complementary DNA microarray. PGE1 or saline was continuously administered intravenously to mice in which the left lobe of the liver was made ischemic for 30 minutes and then reperfused.

Primary malignant peripheral nerve-sheath tumor of the common bile duct.

Primary malignant peripheral nerve-sheath tumors of the common bile duct are extremely rare. To our knowledge, the published literature contains no previous case report of this disease. Here we report on a 58-year-old Japanese woman with a primary malignant peripheral nerve-sheath tumor of the common bile duct, which was completely resected.

Middle hepatic vein tributary reconstruction could not act as a complete substitute for an entirely preserved middle hepatic vein.

Background/aims: The necessity of the middle hepatic vein for living donor liver transplantation using right lobe graft is still controversial.

Methodology: We reviewed 7 long-term surviving right-lobe recipients in whom middle hepatic vein tributaries were not reconstructed (group A, n=4) or were reconstructed (group B, n=3). Volume regeneration of the right paramedian (segments V+VIII) and right lateral (segments VI+VII) sectors was assessed by computed tomography at 3, 6, 9, and 12 postoperative months.

DNA topoisomerase II poison TAS-103 transactivates GC-box-dependent transcription via acetylation of Sp1.

Drug-induced modifications of transcription factors play important roles in both apoptosis and survival signaling. The data presented here show that the DNA topoisomerase II poison TAS-103 transactivated the SV40 promoter in a GC-box-dependent manner and induced Sp1 acetylation in cells expressing p300. This activity was not observed in cells lacking p300.

Surgical strategy for the management of biliary injury in laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Background/aims: The incidence of biliary injury during laparoscopic cholecystectomy remains high and several complications resulting from injuries have recently been reported. The aim of this study is to elucidate the surgical strategy for the management of biliary injury during laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Methodology: Ten patients with biliary injury during laparoscopic cholecystectomy are retrospectively reviewed.

Prognostic significance of UDP-N-acetyl-alpha-D-galactosamine:polypeptide N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase-3 (GalNAc-T3) expression in patients with gastric carcinoma.

Aberrant glycosylation occurs during development of gastric carcinomas. The initiation of mucin-type O-glycosylation is regulated by GalNAc-T3 (UDP-N-acetylgalactosamine:polypeptide N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase-3). However, the clinical significance of GalNAc-T3 expression in human gastric carcinoma has not yet been demonstrated.

Severe fatty change of the graft liver caused by a portosystemic shunt of mesenteric varices.

Portosystemic shunt is a common complication in patients with portal hypertension. Mesenteric varix is one of the collaterals that can cause post-transplant liver dysfunction. In this case report, a 45-year-old woman underwent living relative donor liver transplantation for alcoholic cirrhosis.

Expression of UDP-N-acetyl-alpha-D-galactosamine-polypeptide galNAc N-acetylgalactosaminyl transferase-3 in relation to differentiation and prognosis in patients with colorectal carcinoma.

Background: Tumor development usually is accompanied by alterations of O-glycosylation. Initial glycosylation of mucin-type, O-linked proteins is catalyzed by one of the UDP-GalNAc-polypeptide N-acetyl-galactosaminyl transferases, such as GalNAc-T3, which is expressed in adenocarcinoma cells. The authors investigated whether such expression influenced tumor differentiation or prognosis in patients with colorectal carcinoma.