[A Case of Pancreatic Cancer Associated with Autoimmune Pancreatitis].

A 74-year-old man with IgG4-related cholangitis had been treated with steroids for 1 year. In the outpatient clinic, elevated levels of the tumor marker CA19-9 and serum IgG4 were observed. Abdominal enhanced CT showed a 20mm hypovascular tumor in the pancreatic head.

[A Case of Synchronous Esophageal and Gastric Cancer Successfully Treated Using Multimodal Therapy].

We report a case of advanced esophageal and gastric cancer that was successfully treated via multimodal therapy. A 65- year-old man with hoarseness was referred to our hospital. He was diagnosed with clinical T4aN2M0, Stage IV esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and clinical T3N1M0, Stage II B gastric adenocarcinoma.

Immunogenicity and Lupus-Like Autoantibody Production Can Be Linked to Each Other along With Type I Interferon Production in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis Treated With Infliximab: A Retrospective Study of a Single Center Cohort.

Besides anti-drug antibodies, anti-nuclear antibodies and anti-DNA antibodies are often induced in patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with tumor necrosis factor inhibitors. We examined the association between immunogenicity, autoantibody production, and serum cytokine profiles in patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with infliximab. Japanese patients with rheumatoid arthritis (n = 57) were retrospectively examined.

A Novel Phenotype of a Hereditary Hemochromatosis Type 4 with Ferroportin-1 Mutation, Presenting with Juvenile Cataracts.

Hereditary hemochromatosis (HH) is an inherited disorder usually seen in Northern Europeans, which results in iron overload syndrome. A few cases have also been reported in Japan. We herein report a Japanese man presenting with fever, arthritis, liver dysfunction, and hyperferritinemia who was diagnosed with type 4 HH.

Cell-contact-dependent activation of CD4 T cells by adhesion molecules on synovial fibroblasts.

Objective: To determine how cell-cell contact with synovial fibroblasts (SF) influence on the proliferation and cytokine production of CD4T cells.

Methods: Naïve CD4T cells were cultured with SF from rheumatoid arthritis patients, stimulated by anti-CD3/28 antibody, and CD4T cell proliferation and IFN-γ/IL-17 production were analyzed. To study the role of adhesion molecules, cell contact was blocked by transwell plate or anti-intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1)/vascular cell adhesion molecule-1(VCAM-1) antibody.

Effectiveness of alendronate for bone disorder after gastrectomy for gastric cancer.

Background: Routine therapy of metabolic bone disorder (MBD) after gastrectomy for gastric cancer has not been established yet. We have reported that administering an active vitamin D3 agent to patients who had undergone gastrectomy for gastric cancer improved MBD. Recently, the usefulness of alendronate, an osteoclast inhibitor, has been reported for MBD.

Efficacy and Safety of Grapefruit Juice Intake Accompanying Tacrolimus Treatment in Connective Tissue Disease Patients.

Objective It is well known that grapefruit juice (GFJ) elevates the blood tacrolimus (TAC) concentration. We investigated the efficacy and safety of GFJ intake with TAC in cases of connective tissue diseases in which the TAC blood concentration was insufficiently high for clinical improvement, even when 3 mg/day or more of TAC was administered. Methods Seven patients took 200 mL of GFJ every day.

Successful treatment by rituximab in a patient with TAFRO syndrome with cardiomyopathy.

  TAFRO syndrome is a newly defined disease entity which is characterized by thrombocytopenia, anasarca, myelofibrosis, renal dysfunction, and organomegaly. A histological pattern of multiple lymphadenopathy of atypical Castleman's disease (CD) is also an important characteristic. A 48-year-old man was referred to our hospital with fever, asthenia, bilateral pleural effusion, ascites, generalized edema, dyspnea, hypoalbuminemia, severe thrombocytopenia, anemia, renal failure and proteinuria, whereas bacterial culture and serological and PCR tests for various viruses were all negative.

The Surgical Apgar Score Is an Independent Prognostic Factor in Patients with Pancreatic Cancer Undergoing Pancreatoduodenectomy Followed by Adjuvant Chemotherapy.

Background: We investigated the impact of the surgical Apgar score (SAS) on survival in patients with pancreatic cancer and recurrence after curative surgery followed by adjuvant chemotherapy.

Patients And Methods: This study included 103 patients who underwent curative surgery for pancreatic cancer between 2005 and 2014. Patients with a SAS of 0-4 were classified into the low SAS group, while those with a SAS of 5-10 were classified into the high SAS group.

Two cases of autoimmune and secondary pulmonary alveolar proteinosis during immunosuppressive therapy in dermatomyositis with interstitial lung disease.

Interstitial lung disease (ILD) with dermatomyositis often requires intensive immunosuppressive therapy. Here, we report two cases of pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP) in dermatomyositis with ILD. One case was secondary PAP, and the other was autoimmune PAP positive for the anti-granulocyte macrophage-colony-stimulating factor antibody.

[Safety and Feasibility of the Bioabsorbable Staple Line Reinforcement in Distal Pancreatic Resections].

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and feasibility of the bioabsorbable staple line reinforcement in distal pancreatic resection.

Patients & Methods: Thirteen patients underwent distal pancreatic resection using the bioabsorbable staple line reinforcement between May 2014 and December 2014. Surgical complications were evaluated by Clavien-Dindo classification.

[A Case of Resected Advanced Gastric Cancer Exhibiting Pathological Complete Response after Neoadjuvant Che-motherapy(DTX/CDDP/S-1:DCS)].

A 71-year-old man was diagnosed with gastric cancer (LM, Less, type 2, T4aN2M0, cStageⅢb). A diagnostic laparoscopic surgery revealed serosal invasion without peritoneal dissemination. Two courses of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) for locally advanced gastric cancer using DCS (DTX: 20 mg/m2 on day 1, CDDP: 50 mg/m2 on day 1, S-1: 120 mg/day, twice a day on days 1-14) was performed, which resulted in a clinical partial response.

[Long-Term Survival of a Case of Quadruple Cancers with Cholangiocellular Carcinoma].

The patient was an 82-year-old man, who contracted chronic hepatitis C in 1977. In 1997, he was diagnosed with intraductal papillary-mucinous neoplasm (IPMN), and was treated with surgery. In August 2005, cholangiocellular carcinoma (CCC) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) were detected, and he underwent a subsegmentectomy of the liver.

[A Case of Undifferentiated Carcinoma of the Gallbladder].

In this paper, we present a case of undifferentiated carcinoma of the gallbladder, which is a rare disease with poor prognosis. A 77-year-old woman presented with right hypochondralgia. An abdominal CT scan showed a tumor more than 80 mm in diameter invading the liver parenchyma and transverse colon, and showed liver and lymph node metastases.

[The Safety and Feasibility of Conversion Surgery for Initially Unresectable Pancreatic Cancer].

Background: By remarkable progress of chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer, we sometimes achieve resection of initially unresectable pancreatic cancer after chemotherapy. Otherwise, the safety and feasibility of radical pancreatic resection after chemotherapy is not still clear. In this report, we evaluated the safety and feasibility of conversion surgery for initially unresectable pancreatic cancer in our center.

Risk Factors for the Loss of Lean Body Mass After Gastrectomy for Gastric Cancer.

Background: Lean body mass loss after surgery, which decreases the compliance of adjuvant chemotherapy, is frequently observed in gastric cancer patients who undergo gastrectomy for gastric cancer. However, the risk factors for loss of lean body mass remain unclear.

Methods: The current study retrospectively examined the patients who underwent curative gastrectomy for gastric cancer between June 2010 and March 2014 at Kanagawa Cancer Center.

Easy method for fixation of the anvil using a one-handed sliding-knot technique after laparoscopic total gastrectomy.

Introduction: When esophagojejunostomy is performed using a circular stapler after laparoscopic total gastrectomy, fixing the anvil to the end of the esophagus is challenging. We describe an easy method for fixation of the anvil using a one-handed sliding-knot technique after the anvil has been inserted into the esophagus.

Materials And Surgical Technique: After removing the stomach, the main operator makes a whip stitch at the end of the esophagus using a long piece of monofilament string.

Personal Authentication Analysis Using Finger-Vein Patterns in Patients with Connective Tissue Diseases--Possible Association with Vascular Disease and Seasonal Change.

Objective: To examine how connective tissue diseases affect finger-vein pattern authentication.

Methods: The finger-vein patterns of 68 patients with connective tissue diseases and 24 healthy volunteers were acquired. Captured as CCD (charge-coupled device) images by transmitting near-infrared light through fingers, they were followed up in once in each season for one year.

[A Case of Mucinous Cystadenocarcinoma of the Retroperitoneum Supposed to Be Derived from Ectopic Ovarian Tissue].

Most tumors arising in the retroperitoneum are non-epithelial, and epithelial tumors are very rare. We report a case of mucinous cystadenocarcinoma of the retroperitoneum supposed to be derived from ectopic ovarian tissue. A 56-year-old woman was admitted to the hospital because of abdominal distention, and an abdominal CT scan revealed a cystic tumor of the right lower retroperitoneum.

[The Postoperative C-Reactive Protein Level Is an Early Predictor of Infectious Complications after Gastric Cancer Resection].

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate whether postoperative serum C-reactive protein (CRP) levels can be used to predict the risk of postoperative infections in patients undergoing gastric cancer resection.

Methods: Data from 77 patients who had undergone open gastrectomy for gastric cancer between 2008 and 2014 were retrospectively collected. Clinical details including postoperative white blood cell(WBC)count, CRP levels, and platelet (Plt) counts were obtained.

Does herbal medicine reduce the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma?

Many herbal medicines are effective anti-inflammatory agents and may therefore suppress the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Recently, treatment with a single-tablet regimen containing ledipasvir and sofosbuvir resulted in high rates of sustained virologic response among patients with hepatitis C virus genotype 1 infection who did not respond to prior interferon-based treatment. Patients with chronic hepatitis C are expected to receive this treatment worldwide.

Serum miR-21, miR-29a, and miR-125b Are Promising Biomarkers for the Early Detection of Colorectal Neoplasia.

Purpose: Circulating microRNAs (miRNA) are emerging as promising diagnostic biomarkers for colorectal cancer, but their usefulness for detecting early colorectal neoplasms remains unclear. This study aimed to identify serum miRNA biomarkers for the identification of patients with early colorectal neoplasms.

Experimental Design: A cohort of 237 serum samples from 160 patients with early colorectal neoplasms (148 precancerous lesions and 12 cancers) and 77 healthy subjects was analyzed in a three-step approach that included a comprehensive literature review for published biomarkers, a screening phase, and a validation phase.

Screening for IgG4-type anti-nuclear antibodies in IgG4-related disease.

Background: Immunoglobulin (Ig) G4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is characterized by elevated serum IgG4 and infiltration of IgG4(+) plasma cells into multiple organs. It is not known whether serum IgG4 is autoreactive in IgG4-RD.

Methods: We measured anti-nuclear antibody (ANA) in 19 IgG4-RD cases, determined IgG subclasses of the ANA, and compared them with those of other systemic autoimmune diseases (systemic lupus erythematosus, Sjögren's syndrome, systemic sclerosis, and polymyositis), using subclass-based ANA test (indirect immunofluorescence).