Relationship of the menstrual cycle phase to anterior cruciate ligament injuries in teenaged female athletes.

Introduction: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are more common among female athletes compared to male athletes. Several studies have been reported to explain the gender difference in ACL injury rates and several risk factors underlying gender disparity are believed to exist. Hormonal effects are considered to be one of the etiological factors for female non-contact ACL injuries.

Respiratory function after esophagectomy for patients with esophageal cancer.

Background/aims: Postoperative respiratory hypofunction sometime ruins quality of life of patients with esophageal cancer. From 1993, we introduced transhiatal esophagectomy without thoracotomy as a less invasive surgery to prevent postoperative respiratory complications for patients who have relatively early stage of esophageal cancer and have preoperative respiratory complication, or who are older in age. In this study, postoperative long-term evaluation of respiratory functions of patients with esophageal cancer who underwent esophagectomy was performed.

The expression of murine double minute 2 is a favorable prognostic marker in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma without p53 protein accumulation.

Background: Murine double minute 2 (MDM2) is an oncoprotein that inhibits the function of p53 tumor-suppressor protein. Although there have been a few reports on MDM2 gene abnormalities, there has been no investigation into expression of the product of this gene in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Thus, the clinicopathological and prognostic significance of the product of the MDM2 gene is as yet unknown.

Micrometastasis in lymph nodes of mucosal gastric cancer.

BACKGROUND: Endoscopic mucosal resection is frequently used in the treatment of mucosal gastric cancer. Micrometastasis in the lymph nodes of mucosal gastric cancer remains unclear.METHODS: We examined 2526 lymph nodes from 84 patients with mucosal gastric cancer.

Clinicopathological value of immunohistochemical detection of occult involvement in pT3N0 gastric cancer.

BACKGROUND: In cases of pT3 gastric cancer, even when standard histological staining reveals no evidence of metastases in the regional lymph nodes, patients still may die of postoperative recurrence of the tumor. An attempt was made in the present study to explain the unfavorable outcome of such patients by investigating the presence of occult cancer cells in lymph nodes by immunostaining of cytokeratin.METHODS: We examined 2310 lymph nodes that had been removed from 83 patients with stage II gastric cancer (pT3, N0, M0).

Effects of super-extended paraaortic lymphadenectomy (PAL) on biological responses in totally gastrectomized patients with T3 or T4 gastric cancer.

BACKGROUND: In Japan, much attention has recently been paid to super-extended paraaortic lymphadenectomy (PAL) for the treatment of advanced gastric cancer. However, it has been reported that PAL is associated with increased morbidity and mortality, as compared to conventional extended lymphadenectomy (D2 or D3). Therefore, an analysis of the effects of PAL on perioperative changes in the biological responses of patients essential for determining the potential utility of this procedure.

The administration of hypotonic intraperitoneal cisplatin during operation as a treatment for the peritoneal dissemination of gastric cancer.

Background: Gastric cancers with serosal invasion often spread to the peritoneal surface. Beneficial effects of hypotonic intraperitoneal cisplatin against peritoneal dissemination was noted in experimental models. Prophylactic hypotonic intraperitoneal cisplatin during operation should therefore be examined in human gastric cancer.

Evidence of lytic infection of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in EBV-positive gastric carcinoma.

Twenty-one cases of gastric carcinoma were tested for the presence of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) genome by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis. EBV genome was detected in 3 (14%) of the 21 cases. In situ hybridization for EBV-encoded small RNA 1 showed that EBV genomes were present in almost all carcinoma cells of the 3 cases.