TeXture and color enhancement Imaging-assisted precutting: 3 case reports.

Backgrounds And Aims: In ERCP, precutting is used when biliary cannulation is challenging. Precutting is a high-risk procedure that can lead to adverse events. TeXture and color enhancement Imaging (TXI) enhances texture, brightness, and color to define subtle tissue differences clearly and may be helpful in precutting.

New gel immersion endoscopic ultrasonography technique for accurate periampullary evaluation.

Background: Visualization of the pancreatobiliary junction is one of the challenges faced by endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS). The water-filling technique, which allows for the observation of the ampulla at a suitable distance by injecting water into the lumen of the duodenum, was used for this purpose. However, a new gel immersion technique has recently been introduced for visualizing the gastrointestinal tract.

The Effectiveness of the Combination of Arterial Infusion Chemotherapy and Radiotherapy for Biliary Tract Cancer: A Prospective Pilot Study.

The standard treatment of unresectable biliary tract cancer (BTC) has shown an insufficient response rate (RR). Our retrospective setting revealed that a combination therapy consisting of intra-arterial chemotherapy plus radiation therapy (IAC + RT) provided a high RR and long-term survival benefits in unresectable BTC. This prospective study aimed to test the effectiveness and safety of IAC + RT as the first-line therapy.

High Response Rate and Prolonged Survival of Unresectable Biliary Tract Cancer Treated With a New Combination Therapy Consisting of Intraarterial Chemotherapy Plus Radiotherapy.

Synopsis: A new combination therapy consisting of intraarterial chemotherapy plus radiotherapy was demonstrated to have the potential to improve the response rate and survival time in patients with unresectable biliary tract cancer.

Purpose: We retrospectively investigated the effectiveness and safety of a new combination therapy consisting of intraarterial chemotherapy plus radiation therapy (AI+RT), which may have the potential to improve unresectable biliary tract cancer (BTC).

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 52 BTC cases treated with AI+RT and analyzed the anti-tumor effect, survival time and adverse events.

Genetic analysis of postoperative recurrence of pancreatic cancer potentially owing to needle tract seeding during EUS-FNB.

 Needle tract seeding during endoscopic ultrasound fine-needle biopsy (EUS-FNB) remains a concern. We investigated whether such seeding occurred in a patient with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA).  Surgically resected and EUS-FNB-derived specimens were genotyped to determine if a gastric wall tumor that emerged 3 years after curative resection of an early-stage PDA was clonally related to the original tumor.

An elevated expression of serum exosomal microRNA-191, - 21, -451a of pancreatic neoplasm is considered to be efficient diagnostic marker.

Background: Pancreatic cancer is associated with an extremely poor prognosis, so new biomarkers that can detect the initial stages are urgently needed. The significance of serum microRNA (miR) levels in pancreatic neoplasm such as pancreatic cancer and intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN) diagnosis remains unclear. We herein evaluated the usefulness of miRs enclosed in serum exosomes (ExmiRs) as diagnostic markers.

Second-line therapy for Helicobacter pylori eradication causing antibiotic-associated hemorrhagic colitis.

Objective: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) eradication rarely develops into antibiotic-associated hemorrhagic colitis (AAHC), in which the etiology of colitis remains unclear. We herein report a rare case of AAHC caused by second-line therapy for H.

Pancreatic metastasis of angiosarcoma (Stewart-Treves syndrome) diagnosed using endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration: A case report.

Background: Pancreatic involvement of angiosarcoma is extremely rare.

Methods: We herein report a rare case of angiosarcoma associated with chronic lymphedema (Stewart-Treves syndrome) with pancreatic metastasis that was diagnosed using endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)/fine needle aspiration (FNA).

Results: A 43-year-old woman with a history of radical hysterectomy with bilateral inguinal lymphadenectomy and chemoradiotherapy for cervical cancer 15 years prior noticed the presence of erythematous indurative plaques on her right femoral region, where chronic lymphedema had developed.

Efficacy and adverse events of cold vs hot polypectomy: A meta-analysis.

Aim: To compare previously reported randomized controlled studies (RCTs) of cold and hot polypectomy, we systematically reviewed and clarify the utility of cold polypectomy over hot with respect to efficacy and adverse events.

Methods: A meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the predominance of cold and hot polypectomy for removing colon polyps. Published articles and abstracts from worldwide conferences were searched using the keywords "cold polypectomy".

Primary Poorly Differentiated Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Extrahepatic Bile Duct.

Squamous cell carcinoma of the extrahepatic bile duct is quite rare. A 77-year-old woman with jaundice and general fatigue was referred to our hospital. Multiphase contrast-enhanced computed tomography visualized a 17-mm solid mass in the junction of the cystic and common bile ducts.

A high-throughput sequence analysis of Japanese patients revealed 11 candidate genes associated with type 1 autoimmune pancreatitis susceptibility.

The pathogenesis of autoimmune pancreatitis is unknown. In the present study we used high-throughput sequencing with next generation sequencing to identify the candidate genes associated with AIP. A total of 27 type 1 AIP patients and 30 healthy blood donors were recruited, and DNA samples were isolated from their mononuclear cells.

Increased dosage of infliximab is a potential cause of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia.

Methods: Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia occasionally appears in immunodeficient patients. While several reports have shown that Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia occurred in the early phase of starting infliximab treatment in patients with Crohn's disease (CD), the present case suggests for the first time that an increased dosage of infliximab may also lead to pneumonia.

Results: A 51-year-old male had been taking 5 mg of infliximab for the treatment of CD for 10 years with no adverse events.

Quantification of autofluorescence imaging can accurately and objectively assess the severity of ulcerative colitis.

Background And Aims: No endoscopic examination has been able to evaluate severity of ulcerative colitis (UC) by quantification. This prospective study investigated the efficacy of quantifying autofluorescence imaging (AFI) to assess the severity of UC, which captures the fluorescence emitted from intestinal tissue and then quantifies the intensity using an image-analytical software program.

Materials And Methods: Eleven endoscopists separately evaluated 135 images of conventional endoscopy (CE) and AFI from a same lesion.

The Detection of Pancreatic and Retroperitoneal Plasmacytoma Helped to Diagnose Multiple Myeloma: A Case Report.

Multiple myeloma is characterized by the neoplastic proliferation of a single clone of plasma cells producing a monoclonal protein. However, the involvement of pancreas is a rare event. We herein report a rare case of pancreatic plasmacytoma, which was detected before the diagnosis of multiple myeloma.