Combination therapy of intraarterial 5-fluorouracil and systemic interferon-alpha for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma with portal venous invasion.

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with portal venous invasion (PVI) has a very poor prognosis, with a median survival of 3 months and virtually no survival at 1 year. The combination of intraarterial 5-fluorouracil (FU) and systemic interferon-alpha (IFNalpha) was recently reported to be effective against HCC with PVI, but these were small pilot studies.

Methods: One hundred and sixteen patients with HCC with PVI received IFNalpha (5,000,000 U intramuscularly on Days 1, 3, and 5 of each week of treatment) and 5-FU (500 mg into hepatic artery on Days 1-5 of the first and second week of each 4-week cycle).

Association between insulin resistance and carotid arteriosclerosis in subjects with normal fasting glucose and normal glucose tolerance.

Objective: We examined the possible association between insulin resistance and carotid arteriosclerosis in subjects who had both normal fasting glucose and normal glucose tolerance after intake of a glucose load.

Methods And Results: Our subjects were individuals who underwent general health screening at our institute, which included carotid ultrasound and oral glucose tolerance testing. Of the 1238 subjects enrolled in our study, 738 (60%) were classified as normal, defined as a normal fasting glucose level and normal glucose tolerance, and 334 (27%) and 166 (13%) were classified as borderline and diabetic, respectively, according to the criteria of the Japan Diabetes Society.

Association between hepatitis C virus core protein and carotid atherosclerosis.

A link between certain infectious microorganisms and an increased risk of atherosclerotic disease has been suggested. By analyzing the data of subjects who had undergone general health-screening tests, a possible association between carotid atherosclerosis and seropositivity of antibody against hepatitis C virus (HCV) has been previously reported. In the present study, a possible link between carotid atherosclerosis and HCV core protein positivity was assessed, because it is postulated to be a better marker of viremia and thus persistent infection.