Prognostic significance of IMP-3 expression pattern in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: Esophageal cancer is one of the most malignant gastroenterological cancers. To improve the treatment outcomes of patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), a biomarker capable of predicting the malignant potential of the cancer cells is needed. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between the expression pattern of insulin-like growth factor II m-RNA-binding protein 3 (IMP3), a promising cancer testis antigen for peptide vaccine therapy, in ESCC tumors and the outcomes of patients with ESCC.

Significant clinical response of advanced colon cancer to peptide vaccine therapy: a case report.

Partial response (PR) was obtained in a patient with advanced colon cancer following peptide vaccine therapy. A 61-year-old woman was referred to our hospital for peptide vaccine therapy. She had undergone sigmoidectomy at a nearby hospital and eventually developed multiple metastases to the lung and pelvic lymph nodes with left hydronephrosis.

Thoracoscopic esophagectomy while in a prone position for esophageal cancer: a preceding anterior approach method.

Background: In 2009, the rate of thoracoscopic esophagectomy for esophageal cancer was about 20% in Japan. This low rate may be due to the difficulty in maintaining a good surgical field and the meticulous procedures that are required. The purpose of this study was to establish and evaluate a new procedure for performing a thoracoscopic esophagectomy while the patient is in a prone position using a preceding anterior approach to make the esophagectomy easier to perform.

[Recent advances in endoscopic resection for esophageal cancer].

The indications for endoscopic resection (ER) in esophageal cancer are limited to cases without lymph node metastasis because it is a local therapy. The relationship between cancer depth and lymph node metastasis has been clarified according to the pathologic analysis of lymph nodes removed during esophagectomy for early esophageal cancer. Cancer invasion remaining in the lamina propria mucosa rarely metastasizes to the lymph nodes, and ER is thus indicated.

[Treatment of esophageal cancer in elderly patients].

During the last 30 years, the median survival time and 5-year survival rate of esophageal cancer have improved significantly. In recent years, two major factors have greatly contributed to improve the outcomes of treatment for esophageal cancer in Japan. One is the establishment of endoscopic diagnosis and treatment of superficial esophageal cancer, and another is the establishment of a standard surgical procedure, subtotal esophagectomy with dissection of three field lymph nodes.