Gastrointestinal stromal tumor mimicking arteriovenous malformation of the jejunum.

There have been case reports of small intestinal gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) complicated with arteriovenous malformation (AVM) and angiodysplasia and exhibiting intense tumor staining. Herein we report a GIST of the small intestine that showed tumor staining and early venous return on imaging studies, and so the patient was suspected to have AVM. A 62-year-old male presented with intermittent pain in the left abdominal region.

Angiogenesis-related factors are molecular targets for diagnosis and treatment of patients with esophageal carcinoma.

Angiogenesis plays an essential role in the growth and metastasis of esophageal carcinoma. Vascular endothelial growth factor, thymidine phosphorylase, fibroblast growth factor, midkine, and hepatocyte growth factor have been reported to be vital molecules for tumor angiogenesis. Polymorphisms in gene encoding angiogenic factors or their receptors may alter protein expression and/or activity.

Laparoscopic hepatectomy for liver tumors: proposals for standardization.

Background/purpose: We draw on our experience with laparoscopic hepatectomy (LH) to present recommendations for standardization of LH for the treatment of liver tumors.

Methods: At our center, 90 LHs were performed from April 1993 to January 2008. These were divided equally into early cases and late cases, and short-term postoperative results were compared.

Fourteen-years of disease-free survival in a patient with advanced gallbladder carcinoma after radical resection: a case report.

We describe a case of advanced gallbladder carcinoma (GBC) with extensive local invasion that has had 14-years of disease-free survival after complete resection. A 53-year-old woman was referred to our hospital with right hypochondriac pain and constipation. A preoperative diagnosis of advanced GBC with invasion into the liver bed, the abdominal wall, the duodenum, the common bile duct and the hepatic flexure of the colon were made.

Introducing the coaxial method of catheter port implantation for hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy.

Background: Hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (HAIC) is an effective method of treating patients with liver metastasis. However, in patients who have tortuous hepatic arteries, the procedure is extremely difficult with currently available methods. We have hence devised a method that is applicable in technically difficult circumstances called the coaxial method of cannulation.

[Regression of metastatic hepatic cancer from gastric cancer by polysaccharide K and UFT administration--a case report].

Various treatments for hepatic metastasis of gastric cancer have been attempted, but problems remain with respect to long-term effectiveness and recurrence. Case reports have indicated the tumor regression effect of polysaccharide K(PSK)combined with chemotherapy, and meta-analysis has shown that PSK combined with chemotherapy improves the prognosis compared to chemotherapy alone. However, marked improvement of disease following PSK administration is rarely reported.

Long-term follow-up of a pouching operation after pancreaticoduodenectomy using a double-jejunal pouch.

A 63-year old male was referred with intraductal papillary adenocarcinoma of the pancreas. The patient had been treated previously with a distal gastrectomy for duodenal ulceration. This surgery left the patient with esophagitis, residual gastritis, and decreased appetite.

[A case of gastric cancer with synchronous hepatic metastases which enforced the intra hepatic arterial chemotherapy showed a reduction of both tumors].

This is a case report of the intrahepatic arterial chemotherapy showing an effective reduction of tumors without an operation. The patient was a 68-year-old female. Instead of having an operation to gastric cancer with synchronous hepatic metastases, an intrahepatic arterial embolization of MMC and CPT-11 with DSM was enforced in the right-and-left hepatic arteries, and intrahepatic arterial infusions of 5-FU and CDDP were enforced after that.

[Transarterial chemoembolization with irinotecan (CPT-11) and degradable starch microspheres (DSM) in patients with liver metastases from colorectal cancer].

We report 27 cases of liver metastases treated with transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) with CPT-11, DSM, and mitomycin C (CPT-DSM therapy). In the 27 patients with liver metastases from colorectal cancer, CPT-DSM therapy was performed 47 times. All of these patients were a contra indication of hepatectomy.

Use of an opened umbilical vein patch for the reconstruction of the injured biliary tract.

Background/purpose: When iatrogenic biliary tract injury occurs, there is the risk of complications such as bile leak and biliary stricture, and hepaticojejunostomy is the conventional procedure used for injury repair. However, this procedure can be complicated by retrograde biliary tract infection and the procedure can destroy the normal anatomical structure.

Methods: We report here a method of end-to-end biliary tract reconstruction that uses an opened umbilical vein (OUV) patch and two stents to reduce bile leakage and biliary stricture formation following injury to the common bile duct or right main bile duct.

[Case report of a liver metastasis from rectal cancer achieving complete response (CR) by a combination of intra-hepatic arterial infusion of irinotecan (CPT-11) with degradable starch microspheres (DSM) and weekly high-dose intra-hepatic arterial chemotherapy with 5-FU].

A 67-year-old woman, who was diagnosed with rectal cancer and liver metastasis, underwent a low anterior resection of the rectum in May 2004. Two months later, the level of tumor markers increased and a CT scan revealed a 45 x 35 mm liver metastasis in the S(8) segment. She was referred to our hospital for treatment of the liver tumor.

Laparoscopy-assisted spleen-preserving distal pancreatectomy with conservation of the splenic artery and vein.

Herein, we report the successful performance of a laparoscopy-assisted spleen-preserving distal pancreatectomy with conservation of the splenic artery and vein for a patient with pancreatic cystadenoma, as a minimally invasive procedure with the preservation of function. The laparoscopy-assisted distal pancreatectomy procedure involved detaching the spleen and the distal pancreas from the retroperitoneum by a hand-assisted procedure, removing them from the peritoneal cavity through a small incision, and detaching the distal pancreas by ligating and transecting the short gastric artery and vein and the branches of the splenic artery and vein, while the spleen and main splenic artery and vein were preserved under direct view. The pancreatic parenchyma was transected with a stapling device (TL-30), and continuous suturing was added to the resected margin.