Primary squamous cell carcinoma of the stomach.

Primary squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the stomach is extremely rare; only 32 cases are found in the Japanese literature. The pathogenesis of this neoplasm remains obscure and controversial. Furthermore, the optimal treatment, including adjuvant chemotherapy, remains unclear.

Mast cell infiltration around gastric cancer cells correlates with tumor angiogenesis and metastasis.

BACKGROUND: Increased numbers of mast cells are found in various solid tumors. To investigate the role of mast cells in the vicinity of gastric cancer cells, we used special staining and an immunohistochemical technique.METHODS: Specimens were surgically obtained from 102 patients with gastric cancer.

The usefulness, indications, and complications of laparoscopy-assisted colectomy in comparison with those of open colectomy for colorectal carcinoma.

The technique of laparoscopy-assisted colectomy (LAC) was developed for benign and malignant diseases of the colon and rectum; however, its feasibility and the associated clinical outcome remain unclear. We reviewed 45 patients who underwent LAC (LAC group) and 62 patients who underwent traditional open surgery (Open group) for colorectal carcinoma in our hospital, and compared the clinical data between the two groups in an effort to determine whether LAC is really minimally invasive and if it enhances the quality of life. So that the backgrounds of the patients in both groups were almost the same, we only compared data of patients with colorectal carcinoma of stages 0, I, and II.

Factors influencing joint-preserving operations in the treatment of the late stages of osteoarthritis of the hip.

Between November 1983 and December 1992, 136 hips (119 patients) with coxarthritis were operated on using joint-preserving techniques based on the rationale of Pauwels' osteotomy. The criterion for selection was a patient in whom the height of the joint space in the weight-bearing area of the hip was less than 1 mm. The mean age at operation was 48 years and the mean follow-up 109 months (60 to 171).

Granuloma annulare in herpes zoster scars.

A 54-year-old Japanese female developed granuloma annulare twice in herpes zoster scars. Soon after the second event, she developed ulcerative colitis, which was well controlled by sulfonamides and corticosteroid suppository. She had no history of diabetes mellitus.

Ki-67 positive fractions in benign and malignant thyroid tumours: application of flow cytometry.

We investigated the DNA ploidy pattern, cell cycle and the percentage of Ki-67 positive fractions in fresh surgical material from 17 benign and 33 malignant thyroid tumours using flow cytometry. DNA aneuploidy was not seen at all in benign tumours, but was seen in 3 out of 33 malignant tumours, suggesting that detection of DNA aneuploidy indicates malignancy, although the detection sensitivity was low. Regarding the cell cycle, there was no difference in the percentage of S-phase fractions (SPF) or G2 plus M phase fractions (G2M) between benign and malignant tumours.

Vesicoureteral reflux in a boy presenting with difficulty in walking.

Background: We report an uncommon case who presented himself at our hospital with main complaints of high fever and difficulty in walking due to pain on extension of his right lower extremity.

Methods: He was diagnosed, through investigation of his urinary tract, as having secondary psoas pyomyositis spread from acute pyelonephritis caused by vesicoureteral reflux.

Results: He was successfully managed firstly by antibiotic therapy, followed by the correction of reflux by ureteroneovesicostomy.

Laparoscopic surgery for blind pouch syndrome following Roux-en Y gastrojejunostomy: report of a case.

We report herein the case of a 59-year-old man in whom blind pouch syndrome was successfully treated by laparoscopic surgery. The patient had undergone distal gastrectomy and Roux-en Y gastrojejunostomy for a peptic ulcer 35 years previously, and had been suffering from watery diarrhea, anemia, weight loss, and pain in the left upper quadrant of his abdomen for several years. Long-term insufficient oral intake and the malabsorption of nutrients had resulted in severe emaciation.

Effect of hyperbaric oxygen on ophthalmic artery blood velocity in patients with diabetic neuropathy.

To assess the relationship between blood flow and the complications of diabetes mellitus, we investigated the changes in the velocity of blood flow in the ophthalmic artery before and after hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO), one of the treatments for diabetic neuropathy. Color Doppler imaging was used before and after HBO. Seven diabetic neuropathy patients, 3 diabetics without neuropathy, and 7 normal, control subjects were enrolled.

Pre-operative assessment of metastatic parotid tumors.

Metastatic disease to the parotid gland is rare and its diagnosing procedures are not established. We assessed several parameters, including the prior history of malignancy, fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and determined the most useful combinations for diagnosing metastatic parotid tumors. The primary tumors were squamous cell carcinomas of the eyelid, larynx, tonsil and of unknown origin, malignant melanoma of the auricle and small cell lung carcinoma.

[Evaluation of scanning laser Doppler flowmetry in anesthetized cats].

The aim of this work was to evaluate the reliability of scanning laser Doppler flowmetry (SLDF) developed by Michelson (Heidelberg retina flowmeter) as compared to fundus camera based laser Doppler flowmetry (FLDF). Blood flow was measured on several occasions by SLDF in the optic nerve head (ONH) and in retinal capillaries of the intervascular area (IV A) in four immobilized anesthetized cats. The circulation was stimulated with pure oxygen breathing, and intravenous infusion of noradrenalin or papaverine.

[PyNPase expression and cancer progression in the colorectum].

We analyzed PyNPase expression discriminating between cancer and tumor stroma of the colorectum by Western blotting using a newly developed extraction method from microdissected tissue sections fixed with buffered formalin. Analysis of 98 colorectal cancers revealed that PyNPase was as high as 70.2 +/- 18.

[The time course of white retinal arterioles in two cases of antiphospholipid antibody syndrome].

We report two cases of antiphospholipid antibody syndrome with elevated anti-beta 2-glycoprotein I antibodies. Patient 1 had systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and was treated with an oral corticosteroid and aspirin. There were foci of sheathed retinal arterioles appearing as white lines in the fundus of both eyes.

[Liver metastases from breast cancer--clinical features and treatment].

Between 1986 and 1997, we treated 55 patients with liver metastases of breast cancer. In this study, the clinical features and effects of systemic or intra-arterial chemo-endocrine therapy for these patients were reviewed to clarify the characteristics of liver metastases and establish the optimum therapy. One of the 55 patients underwent hepatectomy, 25 were treated with systemic chemo-endocrine therapy [A] and 10 were treated with one-shot intra-arterial chemoembolization through hepatic artery [B] while the other 19 were given hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy [C].

Primary thyroid lymphoma associated with metastatic thyroid tumor: discrimination with US.

We surgically treated a 75-year-old man who suffered from metastatic adenocarcinoma from the colon associated with primary thyroid lymphoma measuring 1 cm maximum in diameter. Radiologic findings were correlated with histopathology of excised specimens. Ultrasonography could discriminate between these two tumors based on the margin characteristics and the lesion echogenicity: the metastatic tumor was shown as an ill-defined hypo to iso echoic mass, while the malignant lymphoma was detected as a well-defined markedly hypoechoic mass.

DNA ploidy, proliferative activities, and immunophenotype of malignant lymphoma: application of flow cytometry.

Background: To explore the flow cytometric diagnosis of malignant lymphoma, we examined the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) ploidy, proliferative activities, and immunophenotype of surgical biopsy- and fine-needle aspiration (FNA)-derived materials. Our goal was to determine the possibility of making a diagnosis of malignant lymphoma by flow cytometric analysis of FNA-derived materials.

Methods: The DNA ploidy and proliferative indices including the percentage of S-phase fraction (SPF), G2 + M fraction (G2M), and Ki-67-positive fraction (Ki-67) were analyzed on the fresh materials from 84 consecutive patients with suspected malignant lymphoma.

[Metastasis of small cell lung cancer to the parotid gland as the initial clinical manifestation, followed by metastases to the pituitary gland and lumber spinal cord].

The patient was a 48-year-old woman. In January 1995, she noted swelling in the left parotid gland, and saw an otorhinolaryngologist. Needle biopsy showed small cell carcinoma, and she was subsequently admitted to our hospital.

Flow cytometric analysis of DNA content and Ki-67-positive fractions in the diagnosis of salivary gland tumors.

To explore the utility of flow cytometry (FCM) for the diagnosis of histopathology of salivary gland tumors, fresh materials taken at surgery from 23 Warthin's tumors, 57 pleomorphic adenomas, and 14 malignant tumors were analyzed for DNA ploidy and proliferative cell activities, including S-phase fraction (SPF), G2- plus M-phase fraction (G2M), and Ki-67-positive fraction. To facilitate this study, glands were taken from all major salivary sites and minor glands in the head and neck. DNA aneuploidy was not detected in the benign tumors.

[Analysis of 18 breast cancer patients with hypercalcemia].

A total of 91 breast cancer patients died of advanced and recurrent breast cancer at the Osaka Teishin Hospital from 1986 to 1996. There were 18 cases (19.8%) among them showing hypercalcemia (serum corrected Ca > or = 11.

[A case of retinal detachment in Kniest dysplasia treated with vitreous surgery].

We report a case of retinal detachment with Kniest dysplasia for which vitreous surgery was effective. The patient was a 7-year-old female who had the typical ocular and physical findings of this disease. Visual acuity was light perception alone due to a hypermature cataract and bullous retinal detachment.

Heel lifting as a conservative therapy for osteoarthritis of the hip: based on the rationale of Pauwels' intertrochanteric osteotomy.

Patients with osteoarthritis of the hip were treated with a conservative therapy of heel lifting. Orthoses were applied on 35 hips in 33 subjects and the cases were followed for 23 months on average. Dramatic pain relief was reported, but the time required to reduce or completely relieve pain increased according to the stage of osteoarthritis.

Granulocyte colony stimulating factor-producing tongue carcinoma.

Background: Leukocytosis without infection in patients with malignancies is known as the leukemoid reaction. The mechanisms involved in this phenomenon remain uncertain.

Methods: We describe the clinical, biochemical and immunohistochemical findings in a patient with recurrent tongue carcinoma accompanied by marked leukocytosis as high as 96200/ mm3.

[A comparative study between low-dose and high-dose medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) in the treatment of advanced and recurrent breast cancer--in relation to dose, serum concentration and response. Osaka Breast Cancer Research Group].

A prospective randomized study was carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of MPA in the treatment of breast cancer by comparing low dose (600 mg/day) with high dose (1,200 mg/day) of MPA. In 35 evaluable cases, the response rate to treatment was 40.0% (8/20) with low dose MPA and 26.

Appraisal of combination treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma: long-term follow-up and lipiodol-percutaneous ethanol injection therapy.

Since 1988, 124 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma were treated in our departments. Among them, 31 cases treated by surgical resection and 30 cases administered a combination therapy (Lipiodol [Laboratoire Guerbet, Villepinte, France]-transcatheter arterial embolization [L-TAE] and lipiodol-percutaneous ethanol injection therapy [L-PEIT]) were analyzed retrospectively. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates were, respectively, 89.