Mechanism of gastrointestinal abnormal motor activity induced by cisplatin in conscious dogs.

Aim: To investigate whether 5-hydroxytryptamine (serotonin; 5-HT) is involved in mediating abnormal motor activity in dogs after cisplatin administration.

Methods: After the dogs had been given a 2-wk recovery period, all of them were administered cisplatin, and the motor activity was recorded using strain gauge force transducers. Blood and intestinal fluid samples were collected to measure 5-HT for 24 h.

A multicenter long-term study of imatinib treatment for Japanese patients with unresectable or recurrent gastrointestinal stromal tumors.

Background And Objectives: This multicenter study, which was conducted in northern Kanto, Japan, aimed to assess the efficacy of imatinib mesylate against advanced or recurrent gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST).

Methods: The clinicopathological data of 234 GIST patients who were treated at one of the 11 participating hospitals from 2001-2011 were retrospectively reviewed. Imatinib was administered as a first-line therapy in cases involving unresectable disease or postoperative recurrence (41 cases).

The usefulness and safety of the introducer technique using a bumper-button-type device as compared with the pull method for percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy.

Purpose: To describe our initial experiences with the standardized introducer technique for percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy and to compare clinical outcomes and complications with the pull technique.

Methods: The introducer technique was used on 91 patients. The clinical outcomes of procedures were retrospectively collected and compared with those of 22 patients who had procedures using the pull technique.

Gastric schwannomas show an obviously increased fluorodeoxyglucose uptake in positron emission tomography: report of two cases.

Schwannomas are tumors originating from any nerve that has a Schwann cell sheath. Gastrointestinal (GI) schwannomas represent only 3% of all GI mesenchymal tumors. The stomach is the most common site of GI schwannomas, and schwannomas account for 0.

[Preventive effect of aprepitant, an oral NK₁ receptor antagonist, on acute and delayed chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting for colorectal cancer].

A standard therapeutic regimen of a 5-HT₃ receptor antagonist antiemetic agent+dexamethasone was administered as antiemetic therapy for 29 patients who received chemotherapy for colorectal cancer in the Department of Surgery at Gunma Saiseikai Maebashi Hospital, from January to March 2010. For 13 patients with delayed nausea, the therapy was changed to an aprepitant regimen (aprepitant+5-HT₃ receptor antagonist antiemetic agent+dexamethasone)to evaluate the preventive effect of aprepitant on acute and delayed nausea and vomiting. This aprepitant regimen produced a significant improvement in the primary endpoint, based on a complete response (CR) of no vomiting and no rescue treatment throughout the administration period, and in the secondary endpoint of CR in the delayed phase, with no delayed nausea.

Clinical significance of melanoma antigen-encoding gene-1 (MAGE-1) expression and its correlation with poor prognosis in differentiated advanced gastric cancer.

Background: Melanoma antigen-encoding gene-1 (MAGE-1), a cancer/testis antigen, has been reported to be expressed in various types of cancer. We investigated the clinicopathological features and prognostic significance of MAGE-1 expression in advanced gastric cancer (AGC).

Methods: Immunohistochemical staining for MAGE-1 was performed on surgical specimens obtained from 135 patients with AGC.

Sudden bilateral sensorineural hearing loss as the presenting symptom of meningeal carcinomatosis of gastric cancer: report of a case.

Meningeal carcinomatosis is the diffuse infiltration of the meninges by metastatic carcinoma. A 62-year-old man presented with a sudden onset of profound hearing loss affecting both ears. Brain magnetic resonance imaging showed increased signal intensity on T1-weighted images of both vestibulocochlear nerves.

The benefits of laparoscopically assisted distal gastrectomy for obese patients.

Background: In Japan, the number of obese patients with gastric cancer is increasing. This study aimed to evaluate the advantages of laparoscopically assisted distal gastrectomy (LADG) for obese patients relative to those of conventional distal gastrectomy (DG).

Methods: Between January 2004 and June 2009, a total of 197 consecutive patients with gastric carcinoma underwent curative distal gastrectomy with Billroth 1 reconstruction in the Gunma University Hospital.

Laparoscopy-assisted proximal gastrectomy with gastric tube reconstruction for early gastric cancer.

Background: In this report, laparoscopy-assisted proximal gastrectomy (LAPG) and gastric tube reconstruction using a mini-loop retractor (MLR) is described for the treatment of early gastric cancer.

Methods: Early upper gastric carcinoma with no metastasis had been diagnosed in the subjects of this study. Five surgical ports were inserted into the abdomen.

Factors correlated with early and late recurrence after curative gastrectomy for gastric cancer.

Background/aims: The objective of the present study was to establish an effective follow-up method to analyze the features of patients who relapsed after curative gastrectomy.

Methodology: At the Department of General Surgical Science, Gunma University, 44 of 321 patients who underwent curative gastrectomy for gastric cancer from 2002 to 2006 were found to relapse. The patients were divided into an early-recurrence group (n = 23; relapse within one year of gastrectomy) and a late-recurrence group (n = 21; relapse one year or more after gastrectomy).

Intragastric monosodium L-glutamate stimulates motility of upper gut via vagus nerve in conscious dogs.

Monosodium l-glutamate (MSG) is a substance known to produce the umami taste. Recent studies indicate that MSG also stimulates a variety of activities in the gastrointestinal tract through its receptor in the gut, but no study has reported the activity in conscious large experimental animals. The aim of our study was to investigate whether direct intragastric MSG stimulates gut motility and to identify the mechanism in conscious dogs.

Comparison of postoperative motility in hand-sewn end-to-end anastomosis and functional end-to-end anastomosis: an experimental study in conscious dogs.

Background And Aims: The objective of this study is to compare the postoperative motility between hand-sewn end-to-end anastomosis and functional end-to-end anastomosis.

Methods: Fifteen conscious dogs were divided into three groups: normal intact dog group, end-to-end anastomosis group (EE), and functional end-to-end anastomosis group (FEE). In the EE and FEE groups, the dogs underwent a transection of the jejunum 30 cm distal to the Treitz ligament and anastomosis in each method.

Gastrointestinal stromal tumor of the lesser omentum in a young adult patient with a history of hepatoblastoma: report of a case.

A gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) of the lesser omentum is extremely rare. This report presents a case of GIST of the lesser omentum in a 22-year-old man with a history of hepatoblastoma. Computed tomography showed an abdominal mass about 30 mm in diameter adjacent to the lesser wall of the stomach.

Glutamine decreases the duration of postoperative ileus after abdominal surgery: an experimental study of conscious dogs.

Postoperative ileus (POI) is a transient bowel dysmotility that occurs following many types of operations and is one of the most common complications of gastrointestinal surgery. We hypothesized that enteral supplementation of glutamine after abdominal surgery would restore fuel to the small intestine, suppress oxidative stress, and lead to improvement in POI. Twelve dogs underwent distal gastrectomy and were each randomly assigned to one of two groups based on postoperative treatment: the water injection (control) group and the glutamine injection group.

Effect of distal subtotal gastrectomy with preservation of the celiac branch of the vagus nerve to gastrointestinal function: an experimental study in conscious dogs.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of distal subtotal gastrectomy with preservation of the celiac branch of the vagus nerve on gastrointestinal function.

Summary Background Data: The operative procedure of distal subtotal gastrectomy with preservation of the celiac branch of the vagus nerve is now in the spotlight in Japan with the goal of finding a function-preserving surgical technique. However, there has been no analysis of the effect of this type of surgery on gastrointestinal function.

Peritoneal recurrence of gastric cancer with mucin phenotype 12 years after curative resection: report of a case.

We report a case of peritoneal recurrence of gastric cancer in a 58-year-old man, 12 years after curative surgery. Urinary wall thickness was seen on follow-up computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging scans. We performed total nephroureterectomy and cystectomy for urinary tract cancers, but histological examination of the resected specimen revealed poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma with severe fibrosis, resembling the gastric cancer resected 12 years earlier.

Matrilsin expression is a useful marker of submucosal invasion and lymph node metastasis in early stage signet ring cell carcinoma of the stomach.

Background: Matrilysin (MMP-7) is considered to play an important role in tumor progression and metastasis. The aim of this study was to examine the MMP-7 expression of early-stage undifferentiated gastric carcinoma, and to investigate differences between gastric signet ring cell (SIG) and other undifferentiated carcinomas (non-SIG).

Methods: Immunohistochemical staining of MMP-7 was performed using specimens from 150 patients with early-stage gastric undifferentiated carcinomas (76 SIG, 74 non-SIG).

Prognostic significance of combined expression of MUC1 and adhesion molecules in advanced gastric cancer.

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the combination of MUC1 and the status of adhesion molecules in advanced gastric cancers as a possible predictor of patient survival. Two hundred and two paraffin-embedded specimens of gastric carcinoma were examined by immunohistochemical staining using monoclonal antibodies against MUC1 mucin, E-cadherin and beta-catenin. The expression of MUC1 was considered positive if at least 10% of the neoplastic cells were stained.

18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography: useful technique for predicting malignant potential of gastrointestinal stromal tumors.

The malignant potential of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) is difficult to diagnose before surgery because the diagnoses are based on tumor diameter and mitotic index. The progression of small GISTs is always observed because they do not seem to have malignant potential. 18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET) is a useful technique for assessing tumor activity.

Incidence and distribution of hybrid goblet cells in complete type intestinal metaplasia of the stomach.

Previous reports suggest that hybrid goblet cells (HGCs) sharing both gastric and intestinal mucin phenotypes are rarely observed in complete intestinal metaplasia (cIM) of the stomach. However, we have made a different observation. Thus, we compared the incidence and distribution of HGCs within the tubules of gastric cIM and the duodenum in order to define the significance of HGCs.

Mucin phenotypic expression in early signet ring cell carcinoma of the stomach: its relationship with the clinicopathologic factors.

Gastric early-stage signet ring cell carcinoma (SIG) has been reported to have a lower rate of lymph node metastasis and a higher rate of favorable prognosis than other histological types. However, the development and progression mechanisms of early-stage SIG (early SIG) are controversial. This study examined the correlation between the mucin phenotype of early SIG and its clinicopathologic factors, particularly for the sake of less invasive surgery.