Macrophage density and macrophage colony-stimulating factor expression predict the postoperative prognosis in patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.

Purposes: Macrophages are included in the stromal compartments in various neoplasms, and their behavior against tumors is diverse. The aim of this study was to examine the role of tumor-infiltrating macrophages and their main regulator, macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF), in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC).

Methods: Macrophage density and M-CSF expression in 39 resected ICC specimens were immunohistochemically evaluated in the central and peripheral areas of tumors, which were defined as fields more than and within 500 μm from the invasive front, respectively.

[Efficacy of high-dose toremifene as a second-line hormone therapy in patients with advanced or metastatic breast cancer resistant to aromatase inhibitor].

Background: Aromatase inhibitors(AIs)are frequently employed for advanced or metastatic postmenopausal breast cancer as first-line hormone therapy. However, it is unknown which hormonal agent is the most appropriate after AI has failed.

Patients And Methods: Five hormone-responsive postmenopausal women who used AI as a first-line hormone therapy for advanced or metastatic breast cancer, but AI failed, received high-dose toremifene therapy(HD-TOR: 120mg/day)in our hospital.

[Primary hepatic actinomycosis concomitant with elevation of protein induced by vitamin K absence or antagonist II - report of a case].

We report a case of primary hepatic actinomycosis showing elevation of serum protein induced by vitamin K absence or antagonist II (PIVKA-II). A 68-year-old man visited an affiliated hospital with a complaint of high fever and body weight loss. Hematological examination revealed severe inflammatory reactions and liver dysfunction.

Hepatectomy for metastatic liver tumors complicated with right umbilical portion.

We report the case of a 76-year-old man, presenting with a right umbilical portion (RUP), with two liver metastases of rectal cancer, 2cm and 1 cm tumors in the caudate lobe and anterior segment, respectively. The portal first branch ran to the right posterior segment and the remaining formed a left trunk, thereafter forming RUP. The tumor in the caudate was close to the right posterior segment's Glissonean pedicle.

[A case of hilar bile duct cancer which recurred at abdominal and cervical lymph nodes 8 years after curative resection].

A 40-year-old man underwent right hemihepatectomy with biliary reconstruction for hilar bile duct cancer, and the surgical margin being negative. The tumor, showing atypical intraductal growth, was solid adenocarcinoma with rich mucinous component, although it was negative for MUC1, MUC2 and MUC5AC, suggesting that the tumor was not an intraductal papillary neoplasm of the bile duct (IPN-B). Eight years after operation, abdominal and cervical lymph node metastases were found on computed tomography and (18)F-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography examination.

Postoperative bile leakage managed by interventional intrabiliary ethanol ablation.

We report a case of postoperative bile leakage that was successfully managed by intrabiliary ethanol ablation. A 68-year-old man with peritoneal and liver metastases from a jejunal gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST), which were refractory to molecular-targeted agents, underwent extended left lobectomy and peritoneal tumor resection. Bile leakage from the drainage tube persisted at a constant volume of 100 ml per day.

Pancreatic neuroendocrine cell tumor secreting parathyroid hormone-related protein and gastrin: Report of a case.

This report presents a case of pancreatic neuroendocrine cell carcinoma with multiple liver metastases secreting gastrin and parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) related to lumbar bone fracture and hypercalcemia. A 58-year-old woman visited an affiliated hospital with a chief complaint of lumbago without any evidence of trauma. She was diagnosed with hepatic dysfunction and hypercalcemia as well as multiple lumbar compression fractures without osteolytic lesions.

Bile leak test by indocyanine green fluorescence images after hepatectomy.

Bile leak remains a serious complication after hepatectomy. The conventional leak test by intrabiliary injection of normal saline solution is not sensitive. The authors present a new bile leak test using indocyanine green (ICG) fluorescence.

Long-term survival after a repetitive surgical approach in a patient with acinar cell carcinoma of the pancreas and recurrent liver metastases: report of a case.

Acinar cell carcinoma is a relatively rare malignant neoplasm, which represents 1%-2% of all pancreatic exocrine tumors. Its prognosis is thought to be poor, especially when it metastasizes to the liver. This report concerns a case of a long-term survivor of metastatic acinar cell carcinoma who was successfully treated with repetitive surgery.

Analysis of anatomic variants of mesenteric veins by 3-dimensional portography using multidetector-row computed tomography.

Background: It is important to be aware of mesenteric venous variants to perform peripancreatic surgery. We investigated the usefulness of 3-dimensional (3-D) portography.

Methods: Vessels were reconstructed using computer software in 102 patients undergoing multidetector-row computed tomography (MDCT) scheduled for gastrointestinal or hepatobiliary-pancreatic surgery.

Adenocarcinoma arising from gastric duplication: a case report with literature review.

Gastric duplication is a rare congenital malformation. We report the case of a 50-year-old man with adenocarcinoma derived from gastric duplication. He was referred to our institute because of persistent vomiting due to pyloric stenosis.

Colonic fistula associated with severe acute pancreatitis: report of two cases.

Colonic fistula is a rare and potentially critical sequela of severe acute pancreatitis, which requires surgical treatment. We report two cases that were successfully treated by a colectomy for colonic fistula associated with severe acute pancreatitis. Case 1 is a 71-year-old man infected with pseudocysts owing to severe acute pancreatitis that developed into a colonic fistula as an early complication with a resulting pancreatic abscess.