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BACKGROUND: Patients with early gastric cancer have an excellent prognosis with low rates of recurrence, but may have an increased risk of developing a second primary cancer. Because the number of early gastric cancers has increased, clarification of both recurrences and second primary cancers is important for the development of effective postoperative follow-up programmes. METHODS: Data on 1070 patients with early gastric cancer were analysed retrospectively with respect to the clinicopathological features of both recurrence and second primary cancers after surgical treatment. RESULTS: Multivariate analysis showed that lymph node metastasis and older age were independent risk factors for recurrence of early gastric cancer. The incidence of second primary cancers was 5.0 per cent; lung and colorectal cancers were detected most frequently, followed by cancers in the oesophagus, breast and remnant stomach. CONCLUSION: Clinicopathological features of patients with early gastric cancer can be used to identify those most at risk of developing either recurrence or a second primary cancer.

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A case of carcinoma of the colon that metastasized to the lower gingiva is described. The patient who had carcinoma of the colon developed a proliferating lesion at the site of a recent tooth extraction. A few days later, the primary site of the malignancy appeared. The clinical features in such cases were reviewed in studies by others, most of which were of oral and dental surgery. Thus, because of our case, gastroenterologists should consider the possibility of gingival metastasis from malignant disease such as colorectal cancer.

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BACKGROUND/AIMS: Lipiodolization, a selective regional cancer chemotherapeutic modality using lipiodol plus anticancer drugs, can prolong the survival time of patients with unresectable liver cancer. A preliminary study was conducted with adjuvant lipiodolization before a potentially curative hepatectomy for patients with metachronous colorectal liver metastases. The ultimate aim of this study was to improve the long-term survival after hepatectomy. METHODOLOGY: Twenty-one consecutive patients with colorectal hepatic metastases were included in this study. Seven patients underwent preoperative lipiodolization, while the remaining 14 patients did not receive any preoperative adjuvant therapy. The clinicopathological features and prognoses of these patients were investigated. The median follow-up period after a curative hepatectomy was 56 months. RESULTS: The clinicopathological factors did not differ markedly between the 2 groups. However, the cumulative survival rate of the 7 patients receiving preoperative lipiodolization was significantly (P < 0.05) better than that in those not receiving any preoperative treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the above encouraging findings, we therefore propose that a prospective randomized trial should be carried out to confirm the beneficial effects of our adjuvant chemotherapeutic modality on patient survival following a curative hepatectomy for the patients with colorectal liver metastases.

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BACKGROUND: Bleeding from gastric varices is difficult to control and has a high mortality rate. Recently, newly developed treatments for this serious lesion have been used, but surgical intervention is still advocated by several studies. We report our experience with gastric devascularization and splenectomy and its effectiveness for patients with gastric varices. STUDY DESIGN: Gastric devascularization and splenectomy was successfully performed to treat patients with isolated gastric varices (n = 42). The patients included 27 men and 15 women who ranged from 29 to 73 years of age (average 53.7 years). We analyzed the findings of gastric varices using endoscopy, the results of gastric devascularization and splenectomy, and survival after the operation. RESULTS: No patient had tortuous varices (F1). Twenty-seven patients (64.3%) had nodular varices (F2) and 15 (35.7%) had tumorous varices (F3). Twenty-five patients (59.5%) had large varices that occupied two or more areas. Twenty-nine patients (69.0%) had varices with a positive red color sign. No major complications during or after the operation were observed, and peri-operative death did not occur. Gastric varices were eradicated in all 42 patients. Survival rates were 97.6% after 1 year, 88.1% after 3 years, 76.2% after 5 years (mean followup period, 46 months). CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that gastric devascularization and splenectomy provides satisfactory results for patients with gastric varices that are likely to bleed and that it can be performed even on patients who have had other treatments.

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Combined hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma is a rare tumor. In addition, both hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma are rarely associated with cystic lesions. We herein present a 62-year-old Japanese woman with combined hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma which was associated with a rapidly enlarging cystic lesion. Both abdominal ultrasonography and computed tomography revealed a cyst with a solid portion in the left hepatic lobe. A partial hepatectomy was performed on the basis of a tentative diagnosis of a cystadenocarcinoma of the liver, while the diagnosis based on immunohistochemical studies was combined hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma with cystic formation. The patient died of tumor recurrence, such as intrahepatic metastases and extensive lymph node metastases, 6 months after the operation. The prognosis of this entity, which has never been reported in the English medical literature and is difficult to preoperatively differentiate from hepatic cystadenocarcinoma, therefore seems to be extremely poor.

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BACKGROUND/AIM: We describe a novel use of the cholangioscope to help in the intraoperative localization of small colonic malignancies on the right side of the colon. METHODS: A small incision was made at the base of the appendix and a cholangioscope was inserted into the ascending colon through the incised hole of the appendix. RESULTS: The site of the lesion was precisely determined by palpating the distal end of the cholangioscope while observing the area right under it. CONCLUSION: Our procedure therefore appears to be worthy of consideration in patients with small colonic lesions on the right side of the colon in whom preoperative endoscopic marking techniques might otherwise be required.

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BACKGROUND/AIMS: The aim of this study is to evaluate whether super-elderly patients (> or = 80) with gastric cancer may be appropriate candidates for an R2/R3 (extended) gastrectomy. METHODOLOGY: The study evaluated 1334 patients with gastric cancer treated over the past 15 years, who were over 40 years of age. They were divided into three groups according to age: Super-elderly patients who were over 80 (group A; n=60), those aged 60-79 (group B; n=703) and those aged 40-59 (group C; n=571). RESULTS: The incidence of concomitant systemic disorders was higher in group A than in either group B or group C (65% vs. 53.2% vs. 34%) (p<0.0001). The resection rates were similar (88.3% vs. 93.7% vs. 96.1%), however, the incidence of a total gastrectomy, an R2/R3 dissection, or a combined resection of other organs was much lower in group A than those in the other groups (p<0.005). The survival curves of patients after a curative resection were not significant, however, 34.4% of the super-elderly patients died of other causes and the 5-year survival rates including other cause of death were poorer in groups A and B than those in group C (p<0.01). In group A, patients receiving an R2/R3 dissection had a two-fold higher incidence of post-operative complications over those receiving an R0/R1 (regional) dissection, however, they also had a better prognosis whether or not other causes of death were considered. CONCLUSIONS: We, therefore, conclude that an R2/R3 gastrectomy is basically appropriate for super-elderly patients, as long as they demonstrate a good risk. However, the short-term results should also be considered.

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BACKGROUND: The rarity of the occurrence of metastatic malignancy in injured liver has been noted by many observers. However, since the clinicopathological features of primary carcinoma and the etiology of liver disease of these patients vary greatly, this phenomenon may not be universal. METHODS: We evaluated the relationship between either hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and the incidence of colorectal liver metastasis in 438 patients undergoing surgical treatment for advanced colorectal carcinoma. RESULTS: The liver function of the patients in the infection group (n = 37) was significantly worse than that of those in the noninfection group (n = 401). The incidences of tumor recurrence in the lung or peritoneum were comparable between the two groups. However, the percentage of patients with liver metastases in the infection group (3 of 37, 8.1%) was significantly lower (P <0.05) than that of those in the noninfection group (85 of 401, 21.2%). The patients in the infection group tended to survive longer than the patients in the noninfection group. CONCLUSIONS: We herein report an initial finding that colorectal carcinoma rarely metastasizes to livers infected with HBV or HCV.

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We herein report the very rare case of a 68-year-old Japanese man with multiple jejunal lipomatosis and diverticulosis. He was admitted to our hospital with the chief complaint of melena and anemia. A barium study of the small bowel showed multiple lipomatosis and diverticulosis. An approximately 200-cm length of the jejunum was therefore resected. Thereafter, two diverticula and 215 lipomas were recognized in the resected specimen. A pathological examination showed mature adipose tissue with fibrous septa in the submucosal and muscularis propria. These findings were thus suggested to be due to the attenuation of the muscularis propria. The complications of lipomatosis are also discussed.

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Leiomyosarcoma of the small bowel mesenterium is a rare entity. Approximately 21 cases originating from the small bowel mesenterium have been described in the Japanese literature. Differentiation from its benign counterpart, leiomyoma, and other connective tissue tumors is often difficult, but it is important because each respective tumor type has an entirely different prognosis. The case of a 65 year-old-man in whom an 9 x 6 x 5 cm leiomyosarcoma of the mesenterium was excised surgically is presented.

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We report a very rare case of ileo-abdominal fistula caused by penetration of the ileal diverticulum. Small bowel diverticulosis is generally considered to be an innocuous condition. In this report, we describe a case of ileal diverticulitis associated with an abdominal wall abscess.

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The rates of the stimulative, insensitive, and inhibitive responses to 10(-2) nM E2 in sixty clinical breast cancer cases were 24.2%, 45.2%, and 30.6%, respectively. We then examined the expression of mRNAs of such cytokines as TNF-alpha, TGF-alpha, EGF, and TGF-beta, in cancer tissue specimens from these three different groups. In MCF-7 showing an E2-stimulative response, the expression of mRNAs of both TNF-alpha and TGF-alpha were suppressed by 10(-2) nM E2, but these same expressions in KSE-1 showing an E2 stimulative response were enhanced by E2. The mRNA expression of TGF-beta in these two cell lines was suppressed by 10(-2) nM E2, but that of EGF was enhanced. In clinical cases showing an E2-inhibitive response, the mRNA expression ratio of TNF-alpha/TGF-beta was above 2.5, but under 2.5 in E2-uninhibitive response cases. The mRNA expression ratio of TGF-alpha/TGF-beta was over 1.8 in the E2-inhibitive responsive cases, but under 1.8 in the E2-uninhibitive response cases. The mRNA expression ratio of EGF/TGF-beta did not show any regular tendency in three groups showing a different E2-response in vitro. Based on in vitro results and mRNA expression in clinical cases, the cytokine expression for E2-inhibitive cancer cells differed from those of E2-stimulative and -insensitive cells. Therefore, E2-inhibitive cancer cells are thus considered to possibly possess a characteristic growth regulation which is different from that for E2-uninhibitive cancer cells.

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A rare case of hyperthyroidism in the presence of a functioning bone metastasis secondary to an occult thyroid cancer is reported. A 59-year-old woman's pelvic bone metastasis was much too extensive and hypervascular to permit resection. An I-131 scan showed striking activity in the pelvic metastasis, which reflected ectopic excessive production of thyroid hormone by a functioning metastatic thyroid carcinoma. After total thyroidectomy, the patient received I-131 ablation and transcutaneous intra-arterial embolization therapy but her metastasis progressively enlarged. Microscopically, concomitant follicular and papillary cancer was found in close proximity to the thyroid. The patient now has vertebral metastases, and her hyperthyroid state still requires methymazole to prevent thyrotoxicosis.

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BACKGROUND/AIMS: We herein report on the clinicopathological factors related to the unresectability of far advanced gastric cancer and the prognostic effect of gastrectomy on these cases. MATERIAL AND METHODS: There are four main prognostic factors for advanced gastric cancer including 1) peritoneal dissemination, 2) hepatic metastasis, 3) lymph node involvement and 4) invasion to adjacent organs. RESULTS: The rate of unresectability was high in the cases demonstrating both histologically undifferentiated type cancer and cancers located in the lower third of the stomach. It was difficult to resect the main tumor based on an increase in the factors regulating the macroscopical stage. The rate of unresectability tended to be higher in cancers with peritoneal dissemination or invasion to adjacent organs. The pancreas was the most frequently invaded organ. accounting for the unresectability of the disease. The prognosis for cases with unresected gastric cancers was poor and all died within 2 years of the operation. In addition, the prognosis for cases with Stage IV gastric cancer, demonstrating either 1 or 2 factors, improved after gastrectomy while no such improvement was seen in cases with 3 or 4 factors. CONCLUSIONS: To improve prognosis, gastrectomy should be performed when a patient has far advanced gastric cancer but only demonstrates 1 or 2 of the above 4 factors.

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A 74-tear-old man presented to our hospital with a 2-year history of a painless and slow-growing fixed mass in the left paratesticular region. There were no specific abnormalities in the laboratory data, and the tumor markers were within normal limits. Computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and ultrasonography (US) revealed findings suggestive of either inguinal hernia or lipoma. However, intraoperatively, the tumor was observed to roll up the isolateral spermatic cord and testicular vessels, which led to the differential diagnosis of liposarcoma. The tumor was then widely resected along with the left testis, spermatic cord, and testicular vessels. Histopathologic study confirmed the diagnosis of well-differentiated liposarcoma, but no malignant cells were found in any of the surgical margins. A periodical follow-up has been performed by US every 3 months, and no evidence of recurrence or metastasis has been seen in the 6 months since his operation, without any postoperative adjuvant therapy.

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