Clinical Use of Cisplatin Liposomes for Patients With Refractory Advanced Cancer.

This study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of cisplatin (CDDP) liposomes. A patient with multiple recurrent liver metastases from metastatic nasal carcinoma was administered CDDP liposomes with consent. Magnetic resonance imaging showed that the patient remained stable disease; however, no apparent side effects were observed, and blood draw data showed no worsening of renal function.

p53 dry gene powder enhances anti-cancer effects of chemotherapy against malignant pleural mesothelioma.

Dry gene powder is a novel non-viral gene-delivery system, which is inhalable with high gene expression. Previously, we showed that the transfection of p16 or TP53 by dry gene powder resulted in growth inhibitions of lung cancer and malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) in vitro and in vivo. Here, we report that dry gene powder containing p53- expression-plasmid DNA enhanced the therapeutic effects of cisplatin (CDDP) against MPM even in the presence of endogenous p53.

Nicotinamide Mononucleotide Is Safely Metabolized and Significantly Reduces Blood Triglyceride Levels in Healthy Individuals.

An increase in nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) levels alleviates age-related disease progression and promotes healthy life expectancy. Several studies have demonstrated that NAD levels can be efficiently replenished via nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) intake; additionally, the safety of its oral ingestion has been confirmed in recent clinical trials. However, the efficacy and safety of intravenous NMN administration in humans remain unclear.

Idiopathic perforation of acalculous gallbladder after insertion of a transpapillary pancreatic stent.

Endoscopic retrograde pancreatocholangiography (ERCP) is associated with many types of adverse events (AEs) but idiopathic perforation of the gallbladder (IPGB) is very rare. Pancreatobiliary reflux is one of the factors involved with occurrence of IPGB 1. Here we present a case of acalculous gallbladder perforation as an AE following the insertion of an indwelling endoscopic nasal pancreatic drainage (ENPD) tube (a pancreatic stent) to obtain pancreatic fluid.

[A case of gastric carcinosarcoma treated with surgical resection and irinotecan and mitomycin C combination therapy].

A 59-year-old man was admitted following episodes of melena. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy revealed a type 2 carcinoid-like tumor in the cardium of the stomach. Histopathological analysis of a biopsy specimen revealed adenocarcinoma.

[Hiccup treated by administration of intranasal vinegar].

A three-year old girl, who had severe cerebral palsy, severe mental retardation, and symptomatic epilepsy, was suffering from intractable hiccup that lasted for more than an hour since she was 2 years and 10 months old when she undertook tracheotomy and laryngotracheal separation. Sometimes this intractable hiccup was followed by respiratory arrest. Although the hiccup was resistant to conventional medications, the nose drops of small amount of vinegar showed a favorable effect on the hiccup.

[A case of pulmonary intravascular lymphoma treated with CHOP chemotherapy plus rituximab].

We report a case of pulmonary intravascular lymphoma of large B cell type in a 72-year-old woman. She had a one-month history of fever and dry cough before admission. Chest X-ray revealed ground glass shadow in both lung fields, and the high-resolution CT disclosed centrilobular distribution of ground glass opacities.

[Successful treatment of acute myelomonocytic leukemia developed from essential thrombocythemia with cytarabine plus etoposide].

A 77-year-old man was diagnosed as having essential thrombocythemia (ET) in 1994. He had been treated with hydroxyurea (HU) for six years, and 9 years after the diagnosis of ET, he then developed acute myelomonocytic leukemia (AMMoL) following myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). Since he suffered from ischemic heart disease, we chose the ara-C+VP-16 therapy.

[Primary diffuse large B-cell lymphoma of the esophagus].

A 64-year-old man with primary esophageal lymphoma suffered from dysphagia. An upper gastrointestinal examination revealed a partly ulcerated submucosal tumor in the upper portion of the esophagus. Histopathological and immunohistological examination of endoscopic biopsy specimens showed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma of the immunoblastic type.

Myeloid/natural killer cell precursor acute leukemia accompanied by homozygous protein C deficiency.

A patient with myeloid/natural killer (NK) cell precursor acute leukemia who was also homozygous for protein C deficiency was treated and showed a complete remission while he simultaneously received low molecular weight heparin. He presented with fever spikes, lymphadenopathy, and a bulky tumor of the anterior mediastinum. A bone marrow aspirate showed the infiltration of immature lymphoblastoid cells.

A long-survival case of systemic AL amyloidosis with nephrotic syndrome.

A 49-year-old Japanese female was initially diagnosed as having monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance in June 1993 (IgG lambda: 3,120 mg/dl). Four years later, she developed AL amyloidosis complicated by nephrotic syndrome and renal failure. Before receiving 5 courses of MP therapy (melphalan plus prednisolone), her serum IgG level had decreased in accordance with the appearance of nephrotic syndrome, which led to the leakage of serum immunoglobulin into the urine.

[Invasive aspergillosis and pulmonary alveolar proteinosis in acute myeloid leukemia].

A 53-year-old woman with refractory acute myeloid leukemia had a cough and chest pain. Chest X-ray and computed tomography demonstrated a cavity for which antibiotics, antituberculosis and antifungal agents were not effective. A diagnosis of pulmonary aspergillosis and pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP) was made on the basis of the detection of aspergillus using transbronchial lung biopsy and PAS-positive materials in the sputum.

t(7;11)(p15;p15) Chronic myeloid leukaemia developed into blastic transformation showing a novel NUP98/HOXA11 fusion.

We encountered a patient with Philadelphia-negative chronic myeloid leukaemia, with t(7;11)(p15;p15), in whom acute leukaemia phase (acute myeloid leukaemia-M2 morphology) developed within a short period. We detected a novel gene fusion between NUP98 and HOXA11 both in the chronic phase and in the acute leukaemia phase in this case. Although it is well known that a fusion of NUP98-HOXA9 in myeloid malignancies is created by the t(7;11)(p15;p15), this case suggests the possibility that HOXA11 might be another partner gene for NUP98 in t(7;11)(p15;p15) leukaemia.

Megakaryocytic Maturation is Regulated by Maintaining a Balance Against Cytokine Induced-cell Proliferation: Steel Factor Retards Thrombopoietin-induced Megakaryocytic Differentiation While Synergistically Stimulating Mitogenesis; Hematopoiesis.

Using a factor-dependent cell line MO7ER, which contains a stably transduced human erythropoietin (EPO) receptor gene in human megakaryoblastic cell line MO7e and which resulted in concomitant expression of EPO receptor, c-Mpl and c-Kit, we investigated the biological effects of these cytokines in terms of cell growth and differentiation. Thrombopoietin (TPO), EPO and Steel factor (SLF) all stimulated MO7ER cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner. Combined stimulation of cells with SLF plus either TPO or EPO resulted in striking synergistic enhancement of MO7ER cell growth as compared with each cytokine alone, whereas combination of TPO plus EPO showed only an additive effect on cell proliferation.