Conversion therapy for pancreatic cancer with peritoneal metastases using intravenous and intraperitoneal paclitaxel with S-1.

Combination chemotherapy consisting of systemic and intraperitoneal agents against peritoneal metastases from several types of cancer has shown promising results. We herein report a case in which combination therapy with intravenous and intraperitoneal paclitaxel with S-1 converted an unresectable pancreatic cancer with peritoneal metastases into a resectable one. The patient was a 65-year old woman with recurrent pancreatitis for 5 months.

[A Case of Delayed Vascular Injury as a Complication Related to Implanted Central Venous Port Catheter].

A 74-year-old woman with advanced gastric cancer was admitted to our hospital. A central venous (CV) port catheter was implanted into the right subclavian vein for preoperative chemotherapy and parenteral nutritional management. On the 35th day after implantation, she complained of diarrhea, fever and dyspnea.

Clinical evaluation of the feasibility of minimally invasive surgery in esophageal cancer.

Introduction: Open thoracotomy laparotomy with extended dissection for esophageal cancer is associated with problems such as delayed postoperative recovery and decreased quality of life. In contrast, in minimally invasive surgery, these problems can be improved. In the present study, we investigated the feasibility of minimally invasive surgery in esophageal cancer.

Neoadjuvant imatinib in a gastrointestinal stromal tumor of the rectum: report of a case.

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are rare tumors of the gastrointestinal tract, and of these, GISTs involving the rectum are uncommon. This report describes a case of effective neoadjuvant therapy for a rectal GIST expressing the c-kit gene, where a laparoscopic ultralow anterior resection was successfully performed, thus preserving the anus. A 57-year-old woman visited our hospital due to constipation and was found by a digital examination to have a soft mass on the right wall of the rectum.

Postoperative inguinal hernia after radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer.

Objectives: To determine the incidence of inguinal hernia after radical prostatectomy and compare it with the incidence in patients with prostate cancer treated with radiotherapy. We also analyzed the effect of potential risk factors for inguinal hernia after radical prostatectomy.

Methods: We investigated the medical records of 53, 43, and 74 men who underwent open radical retropubic prostatectomy (RRP), laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (LRP), or radiotherapy with or without laparoscopic pelvic lymph node dissection, respectively, and evaluated the respective incidence of inguinal hernia after these therapies.

Hyaline vascular-type Castleman's disease in the hepatoduodenal ligament: report of a case.

Castleman's disease is an uncommon lymphoproliferative disorder, which occurs most commonly in the mediastinum. Sporadic reports of its occurrence in the hepatoduodenal ligament and other extrathoracic locations have also been documented. Ultimately, Castleman's disease can develop anywhere lymphoid tissue is found, and the preoperative diagnosis is often difficult.

Deficiency of hMLH1 and hMSH2 expression is a poor prognostic factor in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: The human Mut-L-Homologon-1 (MLH1) and Mut-S-Homologon-2 (MSH2) are post replication mismatch repair (MMR) genes.

Methods: We examined the correlation of the clinical features of 122 patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) with the expression of MLH1 and MSH2 by immunohistochemical analysis.

Results: According to our criteria, 34 and 25 cases did not express MLH1 and MSH2, respectively.

Liposome-encapsulated CpG oligodeoxynucleotides as a potent adjuvant for inducing type 1 innate immunity.

Unmethylated cytosine-phosphorothioate-guanine oligodeoxynucleotides (CpG-ODNs) exhibit potent immunostimulating activity by binding with Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) expressed on antigen-presenting cells. Here, we show that CpG-ODN encapsulated in cationic liposomes (CpG-liposomes) improves its incorporation into CD11c(+) dendritic cells (DCs) and induces enhanced serum interleukin (IL)-12 levels compared with unmodified CpG-ODN. CpG-liposome potently activated natural killer (NK) cells (84.

Expression of pigment epithelium-derived factor decreases liver metastasis and correlates with favorable prognosis for patients with ductal pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

Pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) is expressed in several normal organs and identified as an inhibitor of neovascularization. In the present study, we screened the expression of PEDF immunohistochemically and investigated its correlation with clinicopathological features in patients who underwent surgery for ductal pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Of the 80 patients, 22 cases (27.

Generation and targeting of human tumor-specific Tc1 and Th1 cells transduced with a lentivirus containing a chimeric immunoglobulin T-cell receptor.

CD4+ Th cells, in particular IFN-gamma-producing Th1 cells, play a critical role in the activation and maintenance of Tc1 cells that are essential for tumor eradication. Here, we report the generation of artificial tumor-specific Th1 and Tc1 cells from nonspecifically activated T cells using a lentiviral transduction system. Anti-CD3-activated T cells from healthy human donors were transduced with a lentivirus containing a chimeric immunoglobulin T-cell receptor gene composed of single-chain variable fragments derived from an anticarcinoembryonic antigen (CEA)-specific monoclonal antibody fused to an intracellular signaling domain derived from the cytoplasmic portions of membrane-bound CD28 and CD3zeta.

CD8+ tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes together with CD4+ tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes and dendritic cells improve the prognosis of patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

Objective: Recent studies have demonstrated the importance of tumor immunity for a cancer patient's prognosis. In some types of cancer, it has been shown through immunohistochemical analysis that the existence of CD8+ tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) is a crucial factor in determining prognosis. In an experimental model, CD4+ lymphocytes together with CD8+ lymphocytes contributed significantly to tumor immunity.

Further evidence of hepatic transdifferentiation in hepatoid adenocarcinomas of the stomach: quantitative analysis of mRNA for albumin and hepatocyte nuclear factor-4alpha.

Aims: To assess the production of a liver-specific protein, albumin, and of a master transcriptional factor, hepatocyte nuclear factor (HNF)-4alpha, in hepatoid adenocarcinoma tissue.

Methods: Standard and quantitative RT-PCR, using five cases of hepatoid and three cases of non-hepatoid gastric adenocarcinoma.

Results: Hepatoid adenocarcinomas expressed similarly large amounts of albumin mRNA as those expressed in hepatocellular carcinoma and normal liver tissues.

Hand-assisted endoscopic esophagectomy for esophageal cancer.

Radical esophagectomy is a highly invasive operation for esophageal cancer, and improved techniques are being sought to reduce the invasiveness of this procedure. We devised a method in which an assistant inserts their left hand into the thoracic cavity, and the operator inserts their left hand into the abdominal cavity through a small incision in the upper quadrant during an endoscopic procedure. Between 1996 and 1999, we performed endoscopic esophagectomy on 18 patients.

CD4+ and CD8+ T cells cooperate to improve prognosis of patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

The purpose of this study is to clarify the roles of immune cell types, both individually and synergistically, in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). One hundred and twenty-two patients (105 males and 17 females; mean age, 62.3 years) with primary ESCC underwent surgical tumor resection at the Department of Surgical Oncology, School of Medicine, Hokkaido University and two affiliated hospitals between 1989 and 1999.

Wedge resection of the portal bifurcation concomitant with left hepatectomy plus biliary reconstruction for hepatobiliary cancer.

Background/purpose: We report our experience performing wedge resection of the portal bifurcation and transverse suture closure in patients undergoing left hepatectomy and caudate lobectomy plus biliary reconstruction for hepatobiliary cancer.

Methods: The procedure was performed in three patients with hilar or intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. After confirming that tumor invasion of the portal bifurcation was not circumferential, the portal trunk and the right posterior and right anterior portal branches were isolated and clamped.

A case of lung cancer with hypercalcemia which was incidentally complicated with primary hyperparathyroidism due to parathyroid adenoma.

In lung cancer patients, hypercalcemia is a fairly common metabolic problem associated with malignancy. However, the occurrence of hypercalcemia in lung cancer patients means an ominous prognostic sign. As hypercalcemia often causes early death, quick diagnosis and treatment for hypercalcemia are required.