Treatment of a malignant esophageal perforation with a prototype conical Wallstent.

A 60-year-old man with a malignant esophageal perforation could not be treated by conventional covered metallic stents because the upper esophagus was dilated. The perforation was eventually closed by deployment of a prototype, conical covered Wallstent.

The role of metallic stents in malignant duodenal obstruction.

Malignant duodenal obstruction is a common complication of carcinoma of the head of the pancreas. We report successful palliative treatment of malignant duodenal strictures by the peroral placement of metallic endoprostheses in two patients in whom palliative surgery was not possible.

The use of antibiotic prophylaxis in radiology departments for patients at high-risk of infective endocarditis.

Patients with a prosthetic heart valve, or a history of endocarditis are at particular risk of developing infective endocarditis during a bacteraemia which may follow many gastrointestinal and genito-urinary radiological procedures. The current British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy guidelines (1992) do recommend antibiotic prophylaxis for these high-risk patients prior to instrumentation of the gastrointestinal or genito-urinary tracts. Routine antibiotic prophylaxis for patients with damaged native valves or heart murmurs is recommended prior to dental procedures only.

The prognostic value of serum and immunohistochemical tumour markers in advanced gastric cancer.

Using a prospectively acquired database of 290 patients with advanced gastric adenocarcinoma, the prognostic significance of serum levels of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) (237 patients), alphafeto protein (AFP) (164 patients), beta-human chorionic gonadotrophin (beta HCG) (165 patients), CA19-9 (64 patients) and CA125 (104 patients) and tissue staining for C-erb B-2 (160 patients) and beta HCG (160 patients) was investigated. Serum was taken prior to 5-fluorouracil (5FU)-based chemotherapy and immunohistochemistry was performed on diagnostic specimens. In the univariate analysis, tumour markers of poor prognosis were CEA > or = 5 micrograms/l (P = 0.

The prognostic value of CEA, beta HCG, AFP, CA125, CA19-9 and C-erb B-2, beta HCG immunohistochemistry in advanced colorectal cancer.

Background: Evaluation of the prognostic significance of a group of tumour markers and their ability to predict response to chemotherapy may allow better targeting of palliative treatment in advanced colorectal cancer.

Patients And Methods: Using a prospectively acquired database of 377 patients (pts) with advanced colorectal adenocarcinoma, the prognostic significance of serum CEA (342 pts), beta HCG (203 pts), AFP (208 pts), CA125 (150 pts), CA-19-9 (76 pts) as well as C-erb B-2 (197 pts). Serum markers were taken prior to 5-FU based chemotherapy and immunohistochemistry was performed on diagnostic samples

Results: Tumour markers of poor prognostic significance in the univariate analysis were CEA > or = 5 micrograms/l (p = 0.