SUV-based Parameters of FDG-PET/CT Reliably Predict Pathologic Complete Response After Preoperative Hyperthermo-chemoradiotherapy in Rectal Cancer.

Background/aim: To determine the most reliable predictor for pathologic complete response (pCR) in patients who underwent preoperative chemoradiotherapy and regional hyperthermia (HCRT) for rectal cancer.

Patients And Methods: Thirty-six patients were enrolled. The local control status of the patients was assessed using F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and colonoscopy before and after HCRT.

The first thermic treatment predicts following chemoradiation response with concurrent thermal therapy for the treatment of rectal cancer.

The present study aimed to evaluate whether the neoadjuvant chemoradiation response with concurrent thermal therapy for the treatment of rectal cancer can be predicted following the first thermic treatment. Eighty patients with primary rectal adenocarcinoma (≤12 cm from the anal verge) were included in this study. Fifty-four received surgery and pathological response was evaluated.

Chemoradiotherapy and concurrent radiofrequency thermal therapy to treat primary rectal cancer and prediction of treatment responses.

The present study aimed to evaluate a previously reported predictive formula of output-limiting symptoms induced by radiofrequency (RF) to determine the efficacy of this neoadjuvant chemoradiation (NACR) and concurrent RF thermal therapy. The present study included 81 consecutive patients with confirmed diagnoses of rectal adenocarcinoma that was localized in the mid-low rectum (up to 12 cm from the anal verge) who received NACR [intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), 50 Gy/25 fractions, capecitabine 1,700 mg/m2/day for 5 days/week)] with concurrent thermal therapy (Thermotron-RF8, once a week for 5 weeks with 50 min irradiation). Patients with progressive disease (PD) did not receive RF outputs higher than the predicted value.

Radiofrequency thermal treatment with chemoradiotherapy for advanced rectal cancer.

We previously reported that patients with a clinical complete response (CR) following radiofrequency thermal treatment exhibit significantly increased body temperature compared with other groups, whereas patients with a clinical partial response or stable disease depended on the absence or presence of output limiting symptoms. The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation among treatment response, Hidaka radiofrequency (RF) output classification (HROC: termed by us) and changes in body temperature. From December 2011 to January 2014, 51 consecutive rectal cancer cases were included in this study.

Output-limiting symptoms induced by radiofrequency hyperthermia. Are they predictable?

Background: During radiofrequency (RF) hyperthermia treatment, hot-spot phenomena may occur and prevent treatment continuation if the output is not lowered. We previously reported a significant correlation between the initial energy output at which output-limiting symptoms occurred and patient status. Patients with a complete clinical response had significantly increased temperature, while some patients with partial clinical response and stable disease had increased temperature, depending on the occurrence of output-limiting symptoms.

A novel strategy of radiofrequency hyperthermia (neothermia) in combination with preoperative chemoradiotherapy for the treatment of advanced rectal cancer: a pilot study.

The safety of weekly regional hyperthermia performed with 8 MHz radiofrequency (RF) capacitive heating equipment has been established in rectal cancer. We aimed to standardize hyperthermia treatment for scientific evaluation and for assessing local tumor response to RF hyperthermia in rectal cancer. Forty-nine patients diagnosed with rectal adenocarcinoma were included in the study.

Fundic rotation technique: a useful procedure for laparoscopic exogastric resection of gastric submucosal tumors located on the posterior wall near the esophagogastric junction.

Objective: To develope a new procedure for laparoscopic exogastric resection using a so-called "fundic rotation technique (FRT)" for gastric submucosal tumors (SMTs) on the posterior wall near the esophagogastric junction (EGJ).

Methods: Between April 2006 and February 2010, we performed laparoscopic resection for SMTs located near the EGJ (within 3.0 cm from the EGJ) in ten consecutive patients.

Relationship between Helicobacter pylori and histological changes in the gastric remnant after subtotal gastrectomy.

Objective: The aim of this study was to clarify the influence of histological changes in the gastric remnant on Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection after distal gastrectomy (DG) and proximal gastrectomy (PG).

Methods: In total, 101 patients who underwent DG (n = 76) or PG (n = 25) for gastric cancer were included in the study.

An annular pancreas associated with carcinoma of the papilla of Vater: report of a case.

An annular pancreas is an uncommon congenital anomaly that usually presents early in childhood. Malignancy in the setting of an annular pancreas is unusual. We herein report a case of annular pancreas with carcinoma of the papilla of Vater.

Adjuvant therapy with imatinib mesylate after resection of primary high-risk gastrointestinal stromal tumors in Japanese patients.

Background: Imatinib mesylate, a small-molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor, is currently used for adjuvant therapy of patients who have undergone resection of high-risk gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs). There are no data concerning the efficacy and safety of postoperative adjuvant therapy with imatinib for Japanese or East Asian patients with GIST.

Methods: A single-arm, open-label, multicenter trial was conducted in 17 hospitals in Japan.

Prognostic significance of morphological distribution of metastatic foci in lymph nodes with gastric cancer.

Background/aims: The morphological distribution of tumor cells in metastatic lymph nodes has been investigated in positive sentinel lymph nodes in several solid cancers. The aim of this study was to clarify the effect of the distribution of metastatic foci in lymph nodes on the prognosis in gastric cancer.

Methods: The distribution of metastatic foci in the 100 node-positive patients who had undergone curative gastrectomy were classified into two groups: (1) massive type, in which the tumor occupied the entire lymph node, and (2) non-massive type, in which the tumor did not occupy the entire lymph node.

Stage II/III cancer of the rectosigmoid junction: an independent tumor type?

The 5-year relapse-free survival rate (5Y-RFS) and 5-year overall survival rate (5Y-OS) were investigated in 766 patients with stage II/III colorectal cancer (CRC). The Stage II group included 283 patients with colon cancer (CC), 40 patients with rectosigmoid junction cancer (RSC), and 74 patients with rectal cancer (RC), while the Stage III group comprised 226 patients with CC, 52 patients with RSC, and 91 patients with RC. Stage III patients with RC were further divided into 68 patients with Ra cancer (Ra, rectum/above the peritoneal reflection) and 23 patients with Rb cancer (Rb, rectum/below the peritoneal reflection).

Nonfunctioning pancreatic endocrine tumor with extension into the main pancreatic duct: report of a case.

Pancreatic endocrine tumors (PETs) rarely involve the main pancreatic duct. We report a case of malignant nonfunctioning pancreatic endocrine tumor (NFPET) with prevalent intraductal growth. A 47-year-old woman was referred to us after ultrasonography at a routine health check showed diffuse swelling of the pancreas.

Subclassification of extranodal involvement in gastric cancer patients.

Background/aims: Extranodal involvement (Ex) has been shown as a negative prognostic factor in several cancers. We classified Ex using 3 methods for gastric cancer and evaluated its influence on patient outcome.

Methodology: The status of Ex in the 103 node-positive patients with curative resection was classified according to: 1) the number of lymph nodes with Ex, 2) the lymph node grouping system, as specified by the Japanese Classification of Gastric Carcinoma, into Ex confined to compartment 1 lymph nodes and Ex detected in compartment 2 and 3 lymph nodes, and 3) the histological type of tumor cells detected in extranodal metastatic sites.

Illness perceptions and quality of life in Japanese and Dutch patients with non-small-cell lung cancer.

This study examined quality of life (QOL) and illness perceptions in Dutch and Japanese patients with non-small-cell lung cancer, thereby extending the body of knowledge on cultural differences and psychosocial aspects of this illness. 24 Dutch and 22 Japanese patients with non-small-cell lung cancer filled out questionnaires on three occasions: immediately before chemotherapy, 1 week later, and 8 weeks after the initial chemotherapy. The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30) assessed QOL, and the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (B-IPQ) illness perceptions.

Reduced CD73 expression and its association with altered purine nucleotide metabolism in colorectal cancer cells robustly causing liver metastases.

Liver metastases of colorectal cancers significantly affect the prognoses of patients. To further understand the biological aspects of the metastatic phenotypes, we established the highly liver-metastatic human colorectal cancer cell subline SW48LM2. The subline was established through the serial intrasplenic transfer of cells derived from poor but visible hepatic tumor foci formed by parental SW48 cells and transferred to NOD/SCID/IL-2Rγc(null) mice.

Endoscopic balloon dilation for obstructive colorectal cancer: a basic study on morphologic and pathologic features associated with perforation.

Background: The use of endoscopic dilation and a self-expandable stent for colorectal cancer (CRC) presenting with a stricture or obstruction, either prior to surgery or as a palliative measure (an alternative to colostomy), causes perforation with relative high incidence (1%-17%).

Objective: To experimentally investigate risk factors associated with perforation in excised CRC specimens.

Design: Experimental study.

Impact of difference in the definition of extranodal spread on the outcome of node-positive patients with gastric cancer.

Purpose: Previous studies have reported that extranodal spread is a prognostic factor in patients with several solid cancers. However, the definition of extranodal spread varies with the reporting investigator and has not been standardized yet. Therefore, we selected several widely used definitions from previous reports and comparatively assessed the clinicopathologic significance of these definitions.

Molecular determinants of folate levels after leucovorin administration in colorectal cancer.

Purpose: Oral leucovorin (LV) is used with uracil/tegafur (UFT) in the treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC). In order to find the factors related to the efficacy of LV in enhancing the antitumour effect of UFT, we investigated the relationships between the reduced folate levels in the CRC tissue after LV administration and the gene-expression levels of folate-metabolizing enzymes and folate transporters.

Methods: The subjects were 60 CRC patients, scheduled to undergo surgery.

Laparoscopy-assisted combined resection for synchronous gastric and colorectal cancer: report of three cases.

In gastric cancer patients, the most common form of synchronous cancer is colorectal cancer. To reduce the invasiveness of the resection, a laparoscopy-assisted combined resection was performed in three patients with synchronous gastric and colorectal cancer. Although all gastric lesions were in the early stages, two colorectal lesions were advanced cases.