Metastatic Pheochromocytoma/Paraganglioma Overproducing Multiple Catecholamines.

Pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma (PPGL) are rare chromaffin-cell tumors producing adrenaline and/or noradrenaline, or solely dopamine. A 52-year-old man presenting with hypertension (141/79 mm Hg) and weight loss (10 kg in 6 months) was admitted to our hospital. Computed tomography revealed a massive right adrenal mass (150 mm) with partial necrosis, accompanied by multiple liver nodules.

Platinum resistance and sensitivity in recurrent/metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Objective: For patients with recurrent/metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (R/MHNSCC), platinum-free interval (PFI)-based differences in the effectiveness of rechallenge with platinum-based chemotherapy (PBCT) remain unknown. We aimed to evaluate the difference in platinum sensitivity based on PFI in R/MHNSCC.

Methods: We retrospectively examined 80 patients with R/MHNSCC who underwent PBCT between 2001 and 2020.

Pathological Level VI Lymph Node Metastasis in Clinical N3b Pyriform Sinus Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Objective: The frequency of metastasis to level VI lymph nodes in advanced pyriform sinus squamous cell carcinoma (PSSCC) is unknown. We intended to analyze the clinical features and pathological presence or absence of level VI lymph node metastasis in patients with PSSCC.

Methods: The data of 270 patients with previously untreated hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma from 2006 to 2016 were obtained.

Cardiac metastasis in a living patient with oral cancer.

Cardiac metastasis from head and neck cancers are very rare. Metastases to heart are mostly diagnosed at autopsy, and seldom found while patients are alive. Patients with cardiac metastasis do not present with specific symptoms in the early stages, and diagnosis is often delayed until the disease has advanced significantly.

Multiple Breath-hold Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy Under Fluoroscopic Image Guidance with an Implanted Fiducial Marker: An Advanced Technique.

An advanced technique for multiple breath-hold volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) has been proposed under fluoroscopic image guidance with a fiducial marker implanted close to a tumor. The marker coordinates on a digitally reconstructed radiography image at a gantry start angle, under a planned breath-hold condition, were transferred to the fluoroscopic image window. Then, a reference lateral line passing through the planned breath-hold marker position was drawn on the fluoroscopic image.

[Descending necrotizing mediastinitis extended to empyema].

A 61-year-old man came to our hospital complained of neck swelling after extracting a tooth. Cervical drainage was performed in the diagnosis of cervical abscess. Two days later, left pleural effusion appeared and its bacteriologic culture showed Streptococcus constellatus.

Role of 3D-TOF magnetic resonance angiography for intracranial meningioma.

Three-dimensional (3D) time of flight (TOF) magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) was performed in 13 patients with intracranial meningioma. 3D-TOF unenhanced MRA depicted arterial displacement by tumour, and poorly demonstrated the sinuses, veins and tumour mass. The direct visualization of the venous abnormalities on 3D-TOF MRA was improved by the administration of contrast material.

Mutant epidermal growth factor receptor undergoes less protein degradation due to diminished binding to c-Cbl.

Gefitinib (Iressa) sensitivity in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is associated with activating mutations in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). It was reported that autophosphorylation of the mutant EGFR is prolonged compared with wild-type EGFR. To explore the mechanism of sustained autophosphorylation, the mutant and wild-type EGFR degradation activities were examined in NSCLC cell lines.

Phase I study of the combination of nedaplatin and weekly paclitaxel in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

Purpose: This trial was conducted to determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD), principal toxicity, and recommended dose for phase II study of the combination of nedaplatin and weekly paclitaxel in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods: Patients with previously untreated NSCLC, either stage IIIB with pleural effusion or stage IV, were eligible if they had a performance status of 0-2, were 75 years or younger, and had adequate organ function. The respective doses of nedaplatin (day 1) and weekly paclitaxel (days 1, 8, and 15) studied were 80/60, 80/70, 80/80, 80/90, and 100/90 (mg m(-2)), repeated every 4 weeks.

[Two cases of successfully treated invasive pulmonary aspergillosis following influenza virus infection].

While invasive pulmonary aspergillosis usually occurs in immunocompromised hosts, it has been described after influenza virus infection in healthy individuals. The first case was a 76-year-old previously healthy woman admitted because of chest pain, cough, sputum, fever, and a chest radiograph abnormality. A transbronchial biopsy specimen showed fungal hyphae.

Phase II study of the combination of gemcitabine and nedaplatin for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.

We examined the efficacy and safety of the combination of gemcitabine and nedaplatin in patients with untreated advanced non-small-cell lung cancer. Thirty-four patients (24 men and 10 women) with a mean age of 69 years (range, 39-75 years) were treated every 3 weeks with gemcitabine (1,000 mg/m(2) on days 1 and 8) and nedaplatin (100 mg/m(2) on day 1). Four patients had stage IIIB disease and 30 patients had stage IV disease.

Enhancement of sensitivity to tumor necrosis factor alpha in non-small cell lung cancer cells with acquired resistance to gefitinib.

Tumor cells that have acquired resistance to gefitinib through continuous drug administration may complicate future treatment. To investigate the mechanisms of acquired resistance, we established PC-9/ZD2001, a non-small-cell lung cancer cell line resistant to gefitinib, by continuous exposure of the parental cell line PC-9 to gefitinib. After 6 months of culture in gefitinib-free conditions, PC-9/ZD2001 cells reacquired sensitivity to gefitinib and were established as a revertant cell line, PC-9/ZD2001R.

The combination of cisplatin and vinorelbine with concurrent thoracic radiation therapy for locally advanced stage IIIA or IIIB non-small-cell lung cancer.

Aims: The aims of this study were to assess the efficacy and toxicity of concurrent chemoradiotherapy with divided schedule of cisplatin and vinorelbine in patients with locally advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods: Patients with previously untreated, unresectable, and stage IIIA or IIIB NSCLC were eligible if they had a performance status of 0 or 1, were 75 years or younger, and had adequate organ function. Twenty-six patients (24 men and 2 women; median age, 66 years; age range, 42-75 years) were enrolled.

[Infection control in a teaching hospital without a tuberculosis ward].

Approximately 30 cases of tuberculosis are diagnosed in our hospital each year. Because three of our nurses contracted tuberculosis in 1998, we implemented the following control measures for tuberculosis : (1) immediate examination, diagnosis, and treatment in suspected cases; (2) screening of all health-care workers with a two-step tuberculin skin test (TST); (3) examination of all persons exposed to tuberculosis-infected persons; and (4) greater awareness of tuberculosis. We offered prophylactic medications to all exposed persons with a TST reaction greater than 20 mm.

Ileosigmoid knot: case report and CT findings.

Ileosigmoid knot (ISK) is an unusual clinical entity of small bowel obstruction in which the ileum wraps around the base of the sigmoid colon and forms a pseudo-knot. We present the case of a 75-year-old male in whom ISK was the definitive computed tomographic finding. ISK should be considered in differential diagnosis of patients who present with ileus.

Altered expression of topoisomerase IIalpha contributes to cross-resistant to etoposide K562/MX2 cell line by aberrant methylation.

KRN 8602 (MX2) is a novel morpholino anthracycline derivative having the chemical structure 3'-deamino-3'-morpholino-13-deoxo-10-hydroxycarminomycin hydrochloride. To investigate the mechanisms of resistance to MX2, we established an MX2-resistant phenotype (K562/MX2) of the human myelogeneous leukaemia cell line (K562/P), by continuously exposing a suspension culture to increasing concentrations of MX2. K562/MX2 cells were more resistant to MX2 than the parent cells, and also showed cross-resistance to etoposide and doxorubicin.

Patients preferences in chemotherapy for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.

Objective: To determine how Japanese patients with lung cancer weigh potential survival, chemotherapy response rate, and symptom relief against the potential toxicity of different treatments in cancer chemotherapy.

Methods And Patients: We used a questionnaire describing a hypothetical situation about stage IV non-small-cell lung cancer. Seventy-three patients with lung cancer who had received chemotherapy and 120 patients with other respiratory disease as the control group were asked to rate the minimal benefit that would make two hypothetical treatments acceptable.

Dynamic MR imaging for diagnosis of lesions adjacent to pituitary gland.

In this study, we evaluated the usefulness of dynamic studies for the preoperative diagnosis of tumor lesions adjacent to the pituitary gland. We examined 13 tumors. We obtained pre- and post-contrast thin slice T1-weighted images of the sellar regions.

Outcome following surgery for primary lung cancer with interlobar pleural invasion.

Purpose: To determine whether interlobar pleural invasion into the adjacent lobe (interlobar P3) should be assessed as T3 according to the tumor-node metastasis classification.

Methods: Surgically treated patients with primary lung cancer (n = 322) were analyzed.

Results: Tumors with interlobar P3 had a significantly lower incidence of mass screening detection, a higher occurrence rate of squamous cell carcinoma, and a larger tumor diameter than tumors without interlobar P3.

[Clinical pathway based on evidence-based medicine (EBM) for chemotherapy for lung cancer].

Recently, combination treatment with cisplatin has been recommended as chemotherapy for lung cancer. However, no clinical pathway for safe and efficient use of anticancer agents has been established. We devised a clinical pathway satisfying evidence-based medicine (EBM) criteria by analyzing case records and the relevant literature.

Tumor dimension and prognosis in surgically treated lung cancer: for intentional limited resection.

Tumors with a maximum dimension of 3 cm are categorized as T1, whereas those greater than 3 cm are T2 by TNM classification. Some physicians suggest that early-stage peripheral lung cancer should have a maximum tumor diameter of 2 cm and that limited surgery (segmentectomy without lymph node dissection) is acceptable for the patients. In this study, the relationship between the tumor dimension and prognosis was analyzed in 207 patients with surgically treated primary non-small-cell lung cancer (SCLC).

Phase II study of irinotecan and carboplatin in patients with the refractory or relapsed small cell lung cancer.

We examined the safety and efficacy of the combination of irinotecan plus carboplatin in patients with refractory or relapsed small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Patients with previously treated SCLC were eligible. Patients were treated every 3 weeks with carboplatin (with a target area under the concentration versus time curve of 5 mg min/ml using the Calvert formula on day 1) plus irinotecan (50 mg/m(2) on days 1 and 8).

Phase I study of the combination of gemcitabine and nedaplatin for treatment of previously untreated advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

This trial was conducted to determine the maximum-tolerated dose (MTD), principal toxicity, and recommend dose for phase II study of the combination of gemcitabine and nedaplatin in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Patients with previously untreated NSCLC were eligible if they had a performance status of 0-2, were 75 years or younger, and had adequate organ function. The doses of gemcitabine (days 1, 8) and nedaplatin (day 1) studied were 800/60, 800/70, 800/80, 1000/80, and 1000/100 (mg/m(2)), repeated every 3 weeks.

[A case of short-bowel syndrome treated with parenteral nutrition at home--its effectiveness on improving nutritional status and quality of life].

Although the effectiveness of home parenteral nutrition (HPN) for short-bowel syndrome has already been demonstrated, there are some patients who suffer from severe malnutrition because they cannot be treated with this therapy. We here report the case of a patient with short-bowel syndrome due to massive bowel resection after superior mesenteric artery thrombosis. As she had not received adequate nutritional support, she became severely undernourished and her activities of daily life were very limited during two years after the operation.

[Examination on efficacy and safety of concurrent use of ondansetron hydrochloride and steroid in lung cancer patients on cisplatin].

The anti-emetic effect and safety in patients receiving ondansetron hydrochloride (OND group) and concurrent use of ondansetron and dexamethasone (DEX group) in cases of acute and delayed onset emesis induced by a single high dose of cisplatin, given as a chemotherapy to lung cancer patients, were comparatively studied. The study subjects were 78 lung cancer patients. The OND group received 4 mg of ondansetron via slow intravenous injection on Day 1, 30 minutes prior to cisplatin, and for Days 2 to 5, the subjects orally received 4 mg ondansetron tablet each day.