Clinical trial of cisplatin-conjugated gelatin microspheres for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

Purpose: We report our initial experience with the transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) of unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) using cisplatin-conjugated gelatin microspheres (Cis-GMS).

Methods And Material: Nineteen patients with 25 HCC nodules (mean diameter 23.0 mm) were treated by selective TACE using 50- to 100-μm Cis-GMS.

Endoscopic submucosal dissection combined with the placement of biodegradable stents for recurrent esophageal cancer after chemoradiotherapy.

We report a case of a patient with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma who presented with obstruction of the esophagus. On endoscopy, a central ulcerating lesion was found spreading to the anterior wall of the middle esophagus. Four courses of chemoradiation therapy successfully produced a complete response for 3 years.

Flat-panel detector computed tomography imaging: observer performance in detecting pulmonary nodules in comparison with conventional chest radiography and multidetector computed tomography.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare the detectability of lung nodules on images obtained with a flat-panel detector computed tomography (FPD-CT) system and by chest radiographs (CXRs) using receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) analysis.

Materials And Methods: FPD-CT was conducted with the patients in the sitting position. For the CXR study, the patients stood erect.

Cisplatin-conjugated porous gelatin particles: assessment of optimal conditions for binding and release.

This study was designed to evaluate the optimal conditions for binding cisplatin and porous gelatin particles (PGPs) and to establish in vivo drug release pharmacokinetics. PGPs were immersed in cisplatin solutions under different conditions: concentration, immersion time, and temperature. Thereafter, PGPs were washed in distilled water to remove uncombined cisplatin and were then freeze-dried.

Basic investigation of vascular interventional radiology (IR) using large rabbits.

The purpose of this study was to determine the usefulness of large rabbits for basic vascular interventional radiology (IR) experiments. We used 5 Akita large rabbits (Akita) and 5 Japanese white rabbits (JW). We conducted measurements of vessel diameters such as the aorta, and the iliac, renal, superior mesenteric, celiac, and proper hepatic arteries, and of the growth rates of VX2 liver tumors.

Evaluation of computer-aided detection of lesions in mammograms obtained with a digital phase-contrast mammography system.

A computer-aided detection (CAD) system was evaluated for its ability to detect microcalcifications and masses on images obtained with a digital phase-contrast mammography (PCM) system, a system characterised by the sharp images provided by phase contrast and by the high resolution of 25-μm-pixel mammograms. Fifty abnormal and 50 normal mammograms were collected from about 3,500 mammograms and printed on film for reading on a light box. Seven qualified radiologists participated in an observer study based on receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis.

Ability of chest X-ray to detect faint shadows documented as ground-glass attenuation in images of computed tomography: a comparison between flat-panel detector radiography and film-screen radiography.

Purpose: To compare flat-panel detector (FPD) radiography and film-screen (FS) radiography in detectability of faint shadows documented as ground-glass attenuation (GGA) areas in images of computed tomography (CT).

Materials And Methods: Study population was comprised of 50 patients who underwent FS and another 50 patients who underwent FPD. Standard of reference (SOR) was determined on the basis of area of GGA in all cross-sections of CT, in terms of GGA extent and presence or absence of GGA in each trisected lung fields (GGA distribution).

CT diagnosis of acute mesenteric ischemia from various causes.

Objective: Acute mesenteric ischemia can be caused by various conditions such as arterial occlusion, venous occlusion, strangulating obstruction, and hypoperfusion associated with nonocclusive vascular disease, and the CT findings vary widely depending on the cause and underlying pathophysiology. The aim of this article is to review the CT appearances of acute mesenteric ischemia in various conditions.

Conclusion: Recognition of characteristic CT appearances and the variations associated with each cause may help in the accurate interpretation of CT in the diagnosis of mesenteric ischemia.

Prolonged local persistence of cisplatin-loaded gelatin microspheres and their chemoembolic anti-cancer effect in rabbits.

Purpose: To confirm prolonged cisplatin release from drug-loaded gelatin microspheres (GMSs) and their improved chemoembolic anti-cancer effect against VX2 liver tumors in rabbits.

Materials And Methods: Two groups of twelve rabbits each were treated intraarterially either with 2 mg/kg cisplatin-loaded GMSs (=0.04 mg/kg cisplatin) or 0.

An initial clinical study on the efficacy of cisplatin-releasing gelatin microspheres for metastatic liver tumors.

Purpose: To evaluate the antitumor effect and side effects of cisplatin-releasing gelatin microspheres (Cis-GMSs) for metastatic liver tumors.

Methods: Cis-GMSs that degraded over 14 days were employed. The subjects comprised a total of nine cases.

Cisplatin-conjugated Gelpart: initial study in vitro.

Aim: In Japan, Gelpart (Nippon Kayaku, Tokyo, Japan) is commercially available as an embolic agent made of gelatin for hepatocellular carcinoma. The object of this study was to develop cisplatin-conjugated Gelpart, confirm its bonding capability and confirm cisplatin-release from it in vitro.

Methods: Gelpart (80 mg) were immersed in 50 mL of the cisplatin solution (0.

Is the use of fullerene in photodynamic therapy effective for atherosclerosis?

The purpose of this study was to evaluate Fullerene as a therapeutic photosensitizer in the treatment of atherosclerosis. An atherosclerotic experimental rabbit model was prepared by causing intimal injury to bilateral external iliac arteries using balloon expansion. In four atherosclerotic rabbits and one normal rabbit, polyethylene glycol-modified Fullerene (Fullerene-PEG) was infused into the left external iliac artery and illuminated by light emitting diode (LED), while the right external iliac artery was only illuminated by LED.

Gelatin microspheres: initial clinical experience for the transcatheter arterial embolization.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the embolization effects of gelatin microspheres (GMSs) when used as an embolic material for transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) for several organs.

Materials And Methods: We prepared GMSs that dissolves in 5 days in extravasuclar tissue. GMSs were used in five cases in total, four cases with multiple liver tumors and one case with a pelvic bone tumor.

Novel biodegradable stents for benign esophageal strictures following endoscopic submucosal dissection.

The application of metallic stents for benign stenosis is limited due to long-term complications. We report here the results of the implantation of a novel biodegradable poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) esophageal stent in two patients with benign esophageal stenosis after endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD). Case 1 was a 64-year-old man who received ESD for an early squamous esophageal cancer in the middle esophagus.

Embolization materials made of gelatin: comparison between Gelpart and gelatin microspheres.

Purpose: The object of this study was to assess the level of embolization in the embolized artery and the degradation period of these two embolic agents in the renal arteries using rabbit models.

Materials And Methods: The renal artery was embolized using 5 mg of gelatin microspheres (GMSs; diameter, 35-100 mum; group 1) or 1 mg of Gelpart (diameter, 1 mm; group 2). For each group, angiographies were performed on two kidneys immediately after the embolic procedure and on days 3, 7, and 14 after embolization.

Usefulness of biodegradable stents constructed of poly-l-lactic acid monofilaments in patients with benign esophageal stenosis.

Aim: To report 13 patients with benign esophageal stenosis treated with the biodegradable stent.

Methods: We developed a Ultraflex-type stent by knitting poly-l-lactic acid monofilaments.

Results: Two cases were esophageal stenosis caused by drinking of caustic liquid, 4 cases were due to surgical resection of esophageal cancers, and 7 cases were patients with esophageal cancer who received the preventive placement of biodegradable stents for post-endoscopic mucosal dissection (ESD) stenosis.

Laser-guided computed tomography puncture system: simulation experiments using artificial phantom lesions and preliminary clinical experience.

Purpose: To conduct computed tomography (CT)-guided puncture exactly and safely, we newly developed a laser guiding puncture system that can be used in a commercially available CT scanner.

Materials And Methods: The laser-guided CT puncture system is built on the CT table with an aluminum frame. Preliminary simulation tests were conducted using two models representing the body and nodular lesions, and puncture procedures were carried out for 15 patients using this system.

Newly developed biodegradable stents for benign gastrointestinal tract stenoses: a preliminary clinical trial.

We developed an Ultraflex-type stent by knitting polylactic acid monofilaments. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the stent's clinical usefulness for treating benign stenoses in the gastrointestinal tract. The radial force of the biodegradable stent was compared with those of commercially available metallic stents.

Pluronic F127: application in arterial embolization.

Purpose: Pluronic is a substance that is widely used in medical and pharmaceutical fields. In particular, 20% Pluronic F127 solution is a unique substance that is liquid at less than 15 degrees C and gelatinous at 25 to 60 degrees C. In this study, the authors took advantage of the gelation property of Pluronic F127 at human body temperature to simulate embolization and dissolution of the embolism in the renal artery and the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) using a rabbit model.

CT diagnosis of small bowel obstruction: scanning technique, interpretation and role in the diagnosis.

Intestinal obstruction is a relatively common condition with diagnosis based on the clinical signs, patient history, and radiographical findings. Once suspected, its presence should be determined and if present, the site and cause of obstruction, and presence of strangulation should be assessed for the appropriate patient management. With the recent technological developments, the role of computed tomography (CT) in the diagnosis of bowel obstruction has expanded.