Regression of pancreatic fibrosis after steroid therapy in patients with autoimmune chronic pancreatitis.

Autoimmune chronic pancreatitis (AICP) is a clinically attractive entity because of its dramatic response to steroid therapy. Reported cases of AICP until now have focused on mainly clinical, radiologic, and laboratory features with steroid therapy. There are, however, few reports that demonstrate histologic recovery, especially regression of pancreatic fibrosis in patients with AICP.

Aquaporin expression in human lymphocytes and dendritic cells.

Aquaporins (AQPs) are molecular water channels, and 10 related AQPs have been identified in mammals. So far, the study of mammalian AQP expression has been limited mainly to mice and rat lung, kidney, brain, and gastrointestinal tract. Although AQP3 and AQP7 have been shown to be involved in volume-regulating mechanisms in dendritic cells, the exact patterns of AQP expression in the human immune system are not well understood.

Clinicopathologic review of 58 patients with biliary papillomatosis.

Background: Biliary papillomatosis (BP) is a rare disease that is characterized by multiple numerous papillary adenomas in the biliary tree. The clinical features and outcome, however, are not well known. The authors retrospectively analyzed their clinicopathologic features and long-term follow-up results.

Involvement of aquaporins in colorectal carcinogenesis.

Aquaporins (AQPs) are important in controlling water permeability. As AQP1 is known as a serum-responsive gene, we hypothesized that AQP expression may be involved in the development of human cancer. By reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction analysis, expression of AQPs 1, 3, and 5 was found in seven colon and colorectal cancer cell lines.

[A case of gastric carcinoid tumor with multiple liver metastasis].

Carcinoid tumors originate from the enterochromaffin cells in the gastrointestinal mucosa. Gastric carcinoids are rare and usually well-differentiated tumors with variable prognosis. Three types of gastric carcinoids have been recognized.

A case of NK/T-cell lymphoma complicated by a squamous cell carcinoma of hard palate during combination chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

NK/T-cell lymphoma, which often shows an angiocentric growth pattern, is a distinct clinicopathologic entity highly associated with Epstein-Barr virus. The disease is characterized by a destruction of the upper respiratory tract, particularly the nasal cavity, palate and paranasal sinuses. Interestingly, NK/T-cell lymphoma is closely linked to a variety of complications, such as hemophagocytic syndrome, second primary cancer, sepsis and bleeding.