Atrial Functional Tricuspid Regurgitation Associated With Atrial Standstill.

We report a case of atrial functional tricuspid regurgitation with an atrial standstill in a 71-year-old woman with a history of chronic atrial fibrillation (AF). The ECG showed a flat baseline with no AF waves and regular, narrow QRS complexes, whereas the previous ECG demonstrated AF. Echocardiography revealed dilation of the right atrium and the tricuspid annulus with severe regurgitation, but mitral regurgitation was mild.

Pancreatic fistula as a pivotal prognostic factor among postoperative complications in gastric cancer.

Recent studies have identified that postoperative infectious complications (PICs) have contributed to poor prognosis in gastric cancer (GC). In this study, we investigated which complication among PICs most strongly contributes to a poor prognosis. This study included 1,653 consecutive patients who underwent curative gastrectomy for GC between 1997 and 2018.

A shorter distal resection margin is a surrogate marker of nodal metastasis and poor prognosis in distal gastrectomy for advanced gastric cancer.

Background: Although a 3-5 cm surgical margin distance is recommended for advanced gastric cancer (GC) in Japanese guidelines, little is known about the clinical effects of the surgical margin, especially the distal resection margin (DM). This study aims to clarify the clinical significance of DM in GC.

Methods: A total of 415 GC patients who underwent curative distal gastrectomy between 2008 and 2018 were analyzed retrospectively.

[Identification of ion channel/transporter expression profiles in digestive cancer stem cells for novel targeting therapy].

Recent evidence suggests that the targeting of membrane transporters specifically activated in cancer stem cells (CSCs) is an important strategy for cancer therapy. The objectives of the present study were to investigate the ion channel expression profiles in digestive CSCs. Cells strongly expressing CSC markers, such as ALDH1A1 and CD44, were separated from the human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, gastric cancer, and pancreatic cancer cell lines using fluorescence-activated cell sorting, and CSCs were identified based on tumorsphere formation.

Cancer Stem Cells of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Are Suppressed by the Voltage-gated Calcium Channel Inhibitor Amlodipine.

Background/aim: The membrane transporters activated in cancer stem cells (CSCs) are the target of novel cancer therapies for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The present investigation demonstrated the expression profiles of ion channels in CSCs of HCC.

Materials And Methods: Cells that highly expressed aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 family member A1 (ALDH1A1) were separated from HepG2 cells, a human HCC cell line, by fluorescence-activated cell sorting, and CSCs were identified based on the formation of tumorspheres.

Cancer Stem Cells of Esophageal Adenocarcinoma are Suppressed by Inhibitors of TRPV2 and SLC12A2.

Background: The potential of membrane transporters activated in cancer stem cells (CSCs) as new therapeutic targets for cancer is attracting increasing interest. Therefore, the present study examined the expression profiles of ion transport-related molecules in the CSCs of esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC).

Methods: Cells that highly expressed aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 family member A1 (ALDH1A1) were separated from OE33 cells, a human Barrett's EAC cell line, by fluorescence-activated cell sorting.

[A Case of Laparoscopic Gastrectomy for Gastric Cancer Occurring after Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting Using the Right Gastroepiploic Artery].

We present a case of 72-year-old man who was diagnosed with gastric cancer that occurred after coronary artery bypass grafting(CABG)with the right gastroepiploic artery(RGEA). Gastrointestinal endoscopy revealed a 0-Ⅱc lesion at the posterior wall of gastric angle, and diagnosis was cStage Ⅰ(T2N0M0). Cardiac computed-tomography showed an occlusion of the RGEA graft, suggesting that the RGEA graft could be ligated and dissected.

Anoctamin 5 regulates the cell cycle and affects prognosis in gastric cancer.

Background: Anoctamin 5 (ANO5)/transmembrane protein 16E belongs to the ANO/ transmembrane protein 16 anion channel family. ANOs comprise a family of plasma membrane proteins that mediate ion transport and phospholipid scrambling and regulate other membrane proteins in numerous cell types. Previous studies have elucidated the roles and mechanisms of ANO5 activation in various cancer types.

NADPH Oxidase 2 Has a Crucial Role in Cell Cycle Progression of Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Background: NADPH oxidases (NOXs) are transmembrane proteins that generate reactive oxygen species. Recent studies have reported that NOXs are involved in tumor progression in various cancers. However, the expression and role of NOX2 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) remain unclear.

Right Coronary Artery with an Intramural and Interarterial Course as a Unique Cause of Myocardial Ischemia: The Unroofing Method Might Still Be the Best Solution.

A 39-year-old man was admitted because of cardiac arrest. Emergent coronary angiography revealed a preserved coronary blood flow; however, multiple-row detector computed tomography (MDCT) revealed that the proximal right coronary artery (RCA) was running inside the aortic wall, creating proximal stenosis without atherosclerotic changes. Surgical intervention with unroofing was performed; however, postoperative stenosis of the proximal RCA required additional coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).

Advanced Gastric Cancer With Intramural Abscess: A Case Report of a Rare Clinicopathological Condition.

Background: Gastric wall abscess (GWA) itself is a rare clinicopathological condition, and there has been no report of primary gastric cancer complicated by GWA. Herein, we present a case of advanced gastric cancer with intramural abscess, which was successfully treated with curative gastrectomy.

Case Report: A 77-year-old woman was admitted to the hospital for dull epigastric pain with inflammatory findings and diagnosed with advanced gastric cancer (cT4aN1M0 Stage III) with intramural abscess.

[A Case of Gastric Carcinoma with Lymphoid Stroma That Was Difficult to Diagnose Preoperatively].

A 71-year-old man was referred to our hospital because of a gastric submucosal tumor. Gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST)was diagnosed in the antrum of the stomach and local resection was undergone. At this time, upper gastrointestinal endoscopy found the gastric submucosal tumor with a size of about 5 mm on the posterior wall of the fundus, but it was followed up.

[Preoperative Esophageal Decompression and Enteral Nutrition Using a W-ED Tube in Patients with Esophagogastric Junction Cancer-A Case Report].

The patient was a 67-year-old male diagnosed with adenocarcinoma of the esophagogastric junction. The esophagus was markedly dilated due to severe stenosis, and aspiration pneumonia was observed. Therefore, he was treated with a W- ED tube for simultaneous esophageal decompression and enteral nutrition.

TRPV2 Promotes Cell Migration and Invasion in Gastric Cancer via the Transforming Growth Factor-β Signaling Pathway.

Background: Transient receptor potential vanilloid 2 (TRPV2) is a highly Ca-permeable ion channel that is involved in a number of cellular processes. It is expressed in various human cancers; however, the role of TRPV2 in gastric cancer (GC) remains poorly understood.

Methods: TRPV2 gene expression was knocked down in GC cell lines by small-interfering RNA (siRNA), and the biological roles of TRPV2 in the proliferation, migration, and invasion of GC cells were then investigated.

Significance of Preoperative Prognostic Nutritional Index in the Perioperative Management of Gastric Cancer.

Background: Malnutrition leads to accelerated tumor progression through the suppression of tumor immunity. The present study examined the significance of the preoperative prognostic nutritional index (PNI) for predicting postoperative survival outcomes in gastric cancer (GC).

Methods: A total of 447 patients who underwent curative gastrectomy for GC were included in the present study.

Roles of voltage‑gated potassium channels in the maintenance of pancreatic cancer stem cells.

The targeting of membrane proteins that are activated in cancer stem cells (CSCs) represents one of the key recent strategies in cancer therapy. The present study analyzed ion channel expression profiles and functions in pancreatic CSCs (PCSCs). Cells strongly expressing aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 family member A1 (ALDH1A1) were isolated from the human pancreatic PK59 cell line using fluorescence‑activated cell sorting, and PCSCs were identified based on tumorsphere formation.

Preoperative 3D-CT evaluation of the bronchial arteries in transmediastinal radical esophagectomy for esophageal cancer.

Background: In transmediastinal esophagectomy (TME) with equivalent lymphadenectomy to transthoracic procedure, an understanding of surgical anatomy in the deep mediastinum near the aortic arch or tracheal bifurcation is essential for the safe procedure. The present study aimed to evaluate the bronchial arteries (BAs) with preoperative 3D-CT in TME.

Methods: Seventy-nine patients with thoracic esophageal cancer undergoing TME were examined by preoperative 3D-CT to evaluate BA variations in the number, branching pattern, and mediastinal course.

The expression of the alpha1 subunit of Na/K-ATPase is related to tumor development and clinical outcomes in gastric cancer.

Background: The Na/K-ATPase alpha1 subunit (ATP1A1) is a critical component of Na/K-ATPase (NKA), a membrane pump that maintains a low intracellular Na/K ratio and retains cellular volume and osmolarity. ATP1A1 was recently implicated in tumor behavior. Therefore, the present study investigated the role of ATP1A1 in patients with gastric cancer (GC).

Significance of a preoperative systemic immune-inflammation index as a predictor of postoperative survival outcomes in gastric cancer.

Background: Since inflammation and the immune system contribute to the development and progression of malignancies, parameters that reflect a host's immune-inflammatory status may be useful prognostic indicators of gastric cancer (GC). The present study examined the clinical significance of a preoperative systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) for predicting postoperative survival outcomes in GC.

Methods: A total of 447 patients who underwent curative gastrectomy for GC were included in the present study.

Current status of function-preserving gastrectomy for gastric cancer.

Early gastric cancer (EGC) has excellent postoperative survival outcomes; thus, one of the recent keywords in the treatment of EGC is "function-preserving gastrectomy (FPG)." FPG reduces the extent of lymphadenectomy and gastric resection without compromising the long-term prognosis. Proximal gastrectomy (PG) is an alternative to total gastrectomy (TG) for EGC in the upper-third of the stomach, in which the gastric reservoir, gastric acid secretion, and intrinsic factors are maintained.