Symptom palliation with QUAD Shot radiation therapy to penile metastasis derived from descending colon cancer: a case report.

A 54-year-old man was diagnosed with descending colon cancer with metastases in the liver, para-aortic lymph nodes, and penis, and chemotherapy was introduced after construction of a colostomy. The patient reported only mild penile pain at the time of diagnosis; however, the pain gradually worsened and interfered with his daily life. Opioids did not provide sufficient analgesia, and the patient developed dysuria and priapism.

Clinical utility of lymphocyte to C-reactive protein ratio in predicting survival and postoperative complication for esophago-gastric junction cancer.

Background: There are still no useful predictive biomarkers for esophago-gastric junction (EGJ) cancer. We compared 15 candidate inflammation-based markers and investigated the clinical impact of the selected biomarker.

Methods: One hundred three patients with EGJ cancer between 2002 and 2020 were enrolled, and associations between clinicopathological data and inflammatory biomarkers were retrospectively analyzed.

Prognostic significance of CD8 tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes and CD66b tumor-associated neutrophils in the invasive margins of stages I-III colorectal cancer.

Tumor-infiltrating immune cells play an essential role in cancer progression and may help supplement the Tumor, Node, Metastasis (TNM) classification for cancer prognosis. Currently, there are numerous conflicting reports discussing the significance of tumor-associated neutrophils (TANs) in colorectal cancer (CRC). In particular, the role of TANs in the invasive margin is unclear.

Clinical Relevance of Myopenia and Myosteatosis in Colorectal Cancer.

Sarcopenia was initially described as a decrease in muscle mass associated with aging and subsequently also as a consequence of underlying disease, including advanced malignancy. Accumulating evidence shows that sarcopenia has clinically significant effects in patients with malignancy, including an increased risk of adverse events associated with medical treatment, postoperative complications, and a poor survival outcome. Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide, and several lines of evidence suggest that preoperative sarcopenia negatively impacts various outcomes in patients with CRC.

[A Case of Gastric Carcinoma with Lymphoid Stroma That Was Difficult to Diagnose Preoperatively].

A 71-year-old man was referred to our hospital because of a gastric submucosal tumor. Gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST)was diagnosed in the antrum of the stomach and local resection was undergone. At this time, upper gastrointestinal endoscopy found the gastric submucosal tumor with a size of about 5 mm on the posterior wall of the fundus, but it was followed up.

[Preoperative Esophageal Decompression and Enteral Nutrition Using a W-ED Tube in Patients with Esophagogastric Junction Cancer-A Case Report].

The patient was a 67-year-old male diagnosed with adenocarcinoma of the esophagogastric junction. The esophagus was markedly dilated due to severe stenosis, and aspiration pneumonia was observed. Therefore, he was treated with a W- ED tube for simultaneous esophageal decompression and enteral nutrition.

Current status of function-preserving gastrectomy for gastric cancer.

Early gastric cancer (EGC) has excellent postoperative survival outcomes; thus, one of the recent keywords in the treatment of EGC is "function-preserving gastrectomy (FPG)." FPG reduces the extent of lymphadenectomy and gastric resection without compromising the long-term prognosis. Proximal gastrectomy (PG) is an alternative to total gastrectomy (TG) for EGC in the upper-third of the stomach, in which the gastric reservoir, gastric acid secretion, and intrinsic factors are maintained.

[A Case of Gastric Cancer with Extensive Lymph Node Metastasis Causing Stenosis Symptoms in the Primary pCR after Preoperative Chemotherapy].

A 65‒year‒old man was found with a circumferential type 2 tumor in the gastric antrum by upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, and biopsy revealed poorly a differentiated adenocarcinoma and HER2‒negative results. According to imaging examinations and laparoscopy, he was diagnosed with an advanced gastric cancer, classified as cT4a(SE)N3M0 and cStage Ⅲ. He underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy(SOX regimen)because of the bulky N finding.

[A Surgical Case Report of Gastric Cancer Patient with Severe COPD Successfully Controlled by Preoperative Pulmonary Rehabilitation].

A 72-year-old man with a history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD)was diagnosed with type 3 gastric cancer at the posterior wall of the gastric body. Although there was no distant metastasis in preoperative imaging tests, pulmonary function test revealed severe obstructive ventilatory impairment, suggesting that the patient had high risks of perioperative pulmonary complications. After treatment for COPD and preoperative pulmonary rehabilitation under hospitalization for 2 weeks, laparoscopic distal gastrectomy plus D2 lymphadenectomy plus Roux-en-Y reconstruction was performed.

The therapeutic strategy for advanced gastric cancer with pyloric stenosis and liver metastasis; successfully treated by gastro-jejunal bypass and chemotherapy first, followed by curative R0 resection.

Background: The indication of surgical resection for liver metastasis from gastric cancer (GC) is still limited and controversial because of its more aggressive oncological characteristics than liver metastasis from colorectal cancer. Pyloric stenosis causes an inadequate oral intake and malnutrition in GC patients. We herein report a case of GC with these two factors that was successfully treated by the combination of gastro-jejunal bypass and chemotherapy, followed by curative R0 resection.

Functional and nutritional outcomes after gastric cancer surgery.

Recent improvements in diagnostic techniques and national screening programs have resulted in increasing number of patients diagnosed with early gastric cancer (EGC). The low incidence rate of lymph node metastasis and excellent survival rates after surgical treatment for EGC enabled the reduction in the extent of lymphadenectomy and the range of gastric resection for function-preserving gastrectomy. Thus, the quality of life (QOL) of patients with gastric cancer (GC) in the curative stage can be maintained.

Shorter Survival of Patients with Upper-Third Gastric Cancer Preoperatively Diagnosed as Stage IA Compared with Those with Middle to Lower Lesions.

Background: Although preoperatively diagnosed stage IA (cT1N0) gastric cancer includes pathologically advanced disease, patients with cT1N0 middle- to lower-third gastric cancer (MLTG) experience favorable outcomes even if they undergo gastrectomy with limited lymph node dissection; however, whether this is true for upper-third gastric cancer (UTG) patients is unknown. In this study, we examined the survival of patients with cT1N0 UTG compared with patients with MLTG.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the data for 1707 consecutive patients with cT1N0 gastric cancer who underwent gastrectomy between 2006 and 2013.

Should pylorus-preserving gastrectomy be performed for overweight/obese patients with gastric cancer?

Background: Pylorus-preserving gastrectomy is an alternative to distal gastrectomy for early gastric cancer, and is expected to have postoperative advantages including maintenance of body weight. Overweight/obesity is a risk factor for chronic disorders, including hypertension and diabetes mellitus; in these conditions, body weight control is frequently required as part of treatment. It remains unknown whether pylorus-preserving gastrectomy should be performed in overweight/obese patients because excess body weight may be maintained postoperatively.

[A Case of Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy(TANKO)for Gallbladder Cancer with Torsion].

Unlabelled: Gallbladder torsion is comparatively rare. Gallbladder cancer is found in 1.5% of cases of acute cholecystitis.

[Efficacy of Palliative Radiotherapy for Unresectable Advanced Gastric Cancer with Bleeding].

Bleeding and obstruction negativelyimpact qualityof life for patients with unresectable advanced gastric cancer. There are several choices against bleeding and obstruction such as surgery, endoscopic therapy, radiotherapy and interventional radiology. We report on an 85-year-old woman with StageIV gastric cancer with tumor bleeding.

Impact of anatomical position of the pancreas on postoperative complications and drain amylase concentrations after laparoscopic distal gastrectomy for gastric cancer.

Background: Laparoscopic surgery for gastric cancer requires traction or compression of the pancreas, with the extent depending on the anatomical position of the pancreas. This study investigated the impact of the position of the pancreas on postoperative complications and drain amylase concentrations after laparoscopic distal gastrectomy (LDG).

Methods: Gastric cancer patients who underwent LDG were assessed retrospectively.

[A Case of Gemcitabine and Nab-Paclitaxel Therapy for Multiple Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer].

Pancreatic cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer-related death in Japan. Nab-paclitaxel(nab-PTX)and gemcitabine( GEM)combination chemotherapysignificantlyimproved overall survival in a phase III trial(MPACT). This combination chemotherapyhas become one of the first-line treatments for patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer since December 2014.

Prophylactic effect of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in gastric cancer patients with postoperative complications.

Background: The occurrence of postoperative complications may have a significant negative impact on the prognosis of patients with gastrointestinal cancers. The inflammatory response releases systemic cytokines, which may induce residual cancer cell growth. Recently, neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) was found to improve the prognosis of advanced gastric cancer (GC).

"Pancreas-Compressionless Gastrectomy": A Novel Laparoscopic Approach for Suprapancreatic Lymph Node Dissection.

Background: In radical operations for gastric cancer, a balance between the quality of lymph node dissection and safety of surgery must be ensured. During suprapancreatic lymphadenectomy in laparoscopic gastrectomy (LG), an adequate operative field should be safely and effectively established to reduce pancreas-related complications. We present a novel approach that avoids direct compression of the pancreas in LG and describe the surgical outcomes of this method.

Excellent Long-Term Prognosis and Favorable Postoperative Nutritional Status After Laparoscopic Pylorus-Preserving Gastrectomy.

Background: Laparoscopic pylorus-preserving gastrectomy (LPPG) has been introduced as a minimally invasive function-preserving operation for early gastric cancer (GC). This study aimed to investigate the surgical and prognostic outcomes after LPPG at the authors' institution.

Methods: This study analyzed 465 patients who underwent LPPG for cT1 N0 GC located in the middle part of the stomach between 2006 and 2012.

Circulating MicroRNAs: A Next-Generation Clinical Biomarker for Digestive System Cancers.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short noncoding RNAs that post-transcriptionally regulate gene expression and play important roles in various physiological and developmental processes such as oncogenic or tumor suppressive regulators. Specific miRNA expression signatures have been identified in a number of human cancers. Cell-free miRNAs have recently been stably detected in plasma and serum (circulating miRNAs), and their presence in blood has attracted the attention of researchers due to their potential as non-invasive biomarkers.

Yes-associated protein (YAP) modulates oncogenic features and radiation sensitivity in endometrial cancer.

Background: Yes-associated protein (YAP) is a transcriptional co-activator and regulates cell proliferation and apoptosis. We investigated the clinical and biological significance of YAP in endometrial cancer (EMCA).

Methods: YAP expression in 150 primary tumor tissues from patients with EMCA was evaluated by immunohistochemistry and its association with clinicopathological data was assessed.

Circulating miR-18a: a sensitive cancer screening biomarker in human cancer.

MicroRNAs have been reported to be stably detectable in plasma/serum and to exhibit resistance to endogenous ribonuclease activity because of binding to proteins such as Argonaute-2 and high-density lipoprotein, or being packed by secretory particles such as exosomes. These secretory particles include specific microRNAs and can function as intercellular transmitters. These findings could open-up a new and promising field in the use of circulating microRNAs for cancer treatment.

Liquid biopsy of gastric cancer patients: circulating tumor cells and cell-free nucleic acids.

To improve the clinical outcomes of cancer patients, early detection and accurate monitoring of diseases are necessary. Numerous genetic and epigenetic alterations contribute to oncogenesis and cancer progression, and analyses of these changes have been increasingly utilized for diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic purposes in malignant diseases including gastric cancer (GC). Surgical and/or biopsy specimens are generally used to understand the tumor-associated alterations; however, those approaches cannot always be performed because of their invasive characteristics and may fail to reflect current tumor dynamics and drug sensitivities, which may change during the therapeutic process.