Prognostic value of KRAS mutations and Ki-67 expression in stage I lung adenocarcinomas.

The purpose of the present study was to establish accurate prognostic markers to predict the post-operative recurrence of stage I lung adenocarcinomas (ADC). One-hundred and ninety cases of stage I ADC were examined for KRAS mutations and Ki-67 expression, and their associations with disease recurrence were analyzed. KRAS-mutated cases showed a significantly higher risk of recurrence than cases without mutations (5-year disease-free survival (DFS) 61.

Strangulation necrosis of the intestine in a patient with giant polycystic kidney disease: a rare cause of acute abdomen.

We recently treated a patient with strangulating intestinal necrosis caused by the enlarged abdominal cysts characteristic of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). A 75-year-old Japanese woman with a 30-year history of ADPKD underwent surgery to treat a diagnosis of acute abdomen. Surgery confirmed that the mesenterium was stretched caudally over the huge cysts that occupied the entire abdominal cavity, and the intestines were necrotic from the jejunum to the transverse colon.

Long-term outcome after hernia repair with the prolene hernia system.

Purpose: We evaluated the long-term outcome and symptoms after inguinal hernia repair using the Prolene Hernia System (PHS).

Methods: We reviewed the medical records of all patients who underwent PHS surgery at our hospital to assess the postoperative complications and recurrence rates. Late symptoms were evaluated by a standardized interview using a questionnaire.

Growth index, assessed with Ki-67 and ssDNA labeling; a significant prognosticator for patients undergoing curative resection for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background And Objectives: The aggressiveness and greater malignant potential of cancers are characterized by several biological phenomena such as accelerated growth invasiveness, and the ability to form distant metastasis. Thus, knowledge of such biological difference may be a more accurate prognosticator for cancer patients. Tumor growth depends on the degree of imbalance between cell production and loss.

[Two cases of advanced gastric cancer, successfully treated with TS-1/CDDP combination chemotherapy--case report].

We reported 2 cases with advanced gastric cancer, successfully treated with TS-1 and CDDP. Case 1 had Type 3 gastric cancer with left supra-clavicular (Virchow) and para-aortic lymph node metastases. Those distant node metastases completely disappeared after two courses of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) consisting of TS-1/ CDDP, and radical surgery for cure was conducted.

Expression of survivin mRNA associates with apoptosis, proliferation and histologically aggressive features in hepatocellular carcinoma.

The clinical impact of survivin on human cancer pathogenesis and prognosis has been investigated. To clarify the clinical effect of survivin on tumor behavior and prognosis of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the expression of survivin mRNA in 40 samples of HCC tissue and matched-adjacent liver tissue, as well as 7 healthy hepatic tissue samples were measured by a real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. The expressed level of survivin mRNA (log copies/microg total RNA) in healthy liver tissue was 1.

Effects of TS-1 on peritoneal dissemination of gastric cancer in nude mice.

Background/aims: We investigated the effects of TS-1 on the survival of nude mice developing peritoneal dissemination of gastric cancer.

Methodology: MKN-45 cells were injected into the peritoneal cavity of nude mice and a model of peritoneal dissemination was developed. TS-1 was administered orally every day from day 1 to day 10 or day 10 to day 19.

Is bursectomy necessary for patients with gastric cancer invading the serosa?

Background/aims: To confirm the impact of bursectomy on survival, we reviewed the clinical records of patients who underwent radical total gastrectomy with bursectomy for gastric cancer invading the serosa, with special reference to the location of tumor invasion.

Methodology: From the records, patients were selected for this retrospective cohort study according to the following criteria: (a) Invasion beyond the serosal surface, (b) No metastases to liver, peritoneum, or distant organs, (c) Negative for peritoneal lavage cytology, and (d) Patients underwent curative D2 total gastrectomy with complete omental bursectomy. A total of 134 patients were eligible.

Can surgical diagnosis of "early" gastric cancer and lymph node metastasis be accurate?

Background: The objective of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of the intraoperative assessment of early gastric cancer (EGC) and lymph node status.

Methods: A total of 280 patients underwent gastrectomy for primary gastric cancer at the Department of Surgery, Yokohama City Kowan Hospital, from 1994 to 2002. Of these 280 patients, 140 were diagnosed as having EGC during surgery (sT1), while the rest were diagnosed with advanced disease (sT2-T4).

[A case of small cell carcinoma of the stomach].

We report a case of small cell carcinoma of the stomach in a 60-year-old man. The patient was found to have a gastric tumor by routine upper gastrointestinal endoscopy for chronic gastrititis, and was admitted to the hospital. The patient underwent a curative distal gastrectomy with D2 lymph node dissection following a diagnosis of early gastric cancer at the posterior wall of the antrum, in June 2001.

Clinical usefulness of intraoperative sentinel-node biopsy in gastric cancer.

Background/aims: Minimally invasive surgery has been used to improve the quality of life after operation in patients with gastric cancer. Sentinel-lymphnode biopsy can help to limit the extent of lymph node dissection, but the diagnostic and therapeutic usefulness of this technique has not been accurately evaluated in gastric cancer. This study was designed to clarify the role of intraoperative sentinel-node biopsy in patients with gastric cancer.

Correlation between lymph node micrometastasis and histologic classification of small lung adenocarcinomas, in considering the indication of limited surgery.

The validity of limited surgery for lung carcinomas have not been clearly established. Several reports suggest that not only tumor size but also the histological findings may be of importance in this role. By conducting immunohistochemical examinations of lymph node micrometastases from small lung adenocarcinomas, we considered the suitability of limited surgery for especially localized bronchioloalveolar carcinoma (LBAC) without active fibroblastic proliferation (Noguchi's histologic classification types A and B).

Osteoclast-like giant cell tumor of the pancreas.

A rare case of osteoclast-like giant cell tumor of the pancreas is reported. A 45-year-old woman presented with upper abdominal pain and weight loss. Examination revealed a tumor in the tail of pancreas, and distal pancreatectomy with splenectomy was performed.

[Recurrence of right breast cancer at the thoracic wall successfully treated with intra-arterial infusion of doxorubicin hydrochloride--a case report].

We report a recurrent case of breast cancer successfully treated with intra-arterial infusion of doxorubicin hydrochloride (ADM) combined with systemic CAF therapy. The patient, a 37-year-old woman, was diagnosed with a recurrence at the thoracic wall 55 months after curative resection for right breast cancer. She was treated with intra-arterial infusion chemotherapy of ADM, 30 mg, combined with systemic CAF therapy of cyclophosphamide, 100 mg from days 1 to 14, ADM, 30 mg on days 1 and 8, and 5-fluorouracil, 500 mg on days 1 and 8, as one course.

Prediction of postoperative pulmonary function using perfusion magnetic resonance imaging of the lung.

Purpose: To assess semiquantitatively the regional distribution of lung perfusion using magnetic resonance (MR) perfusion imaging.

Materials And Methods: Subjects were 20 consecutive patients with bronchogenic carcinoma, who underwent MR imaging (MRI) and radionuclide (RN) perfusion scans for preoperative evaluation. Three-dimensional (3D) images of whole lungs were obtained before and 7 seconds after bolus injection of contrast material (5 ml of Gd-DTPA).

Aberrant nuclear localization and gene mutation of beta-catenin in low-grade adenocarcinoma of fetal lung type: up-regulation of the Wnt signaling pathway may be a common denominator for the development of tumors that form morules.

The salient histopathologic features of low-grade adenocarcinoma of the fetal lung type (L-FLAC)/well-differentiated fetal adenocarcinoma (WDFA) include complex glandular structures and morules with biotin-rich optically clear nuclei. Interestingly, these characteristic features are shared by the cribriform-morular variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma, whose morphology is identical to that of familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP)-associated thyroid carcinoma. Furthermore, the single reported case of lung cancer associated with FAP was L-FLAC/WDFA.