Curcuma zedoaria 50% methanol extracts increase adiponectin secretion by enhancing PPARγ mRNA expression in 3T3-L1 cells.

Curcuma zedoaria is a characteristic species of its genus that contains little to no curcuminoid. Here, we demonstrate that C. zedoaria extracts with 50% methanol increases adiponectin secretion into the media by enhancing PPARγ mRNA expression in 3T3-L1 cells. These results indicate that C. zedoaria may be useful for preventing/improving lifestyle-related diseases such as diabetes and atherosclerosis.

A high-fat diet increases the incidence of mammary cancer inc-Ha-ras proto-oncogene transgenic rats.

Mammary cancer is the most common type of cancer and the fifth most common cause of cancer-related deaths among Japanese women. The recent sharp increase in the number of women diagnosed with mammary cancer per year is thought to be associated with increased fat intake resulting from changes in the dietary habits of contemporary Japanese citizens. In this study, human c-Ha-ras proto-oncogene transgenic (Hras128) rats, which are highly susceptible to mammary carcinogens, were fed high- or low-fat diets to examine the relationship between fat consumption and the development of mammary cancer. Female 7-week-old Hras128 rats and wild-type littermates were administered benzo[a]pyrene. A week later, the animals were randomly assigned to high-fat or low-fat diet groups (45% or 10% of calories from fat, respectively). After 12 weeks, the rats were sacrificed and autopsied, and mammary tumors were excised and processed for microscopic observation. Mammary tumors were found in 11 of the 12 animals in the high-fat diet group and in 5 of the 12 animals in the low-fat diet group, and the numbers of mammary gland tumors per animal in these groups were 1.7 and 0.7, respectively. Notably, the observed differences in incidence and multiplicity of mammary tumors between the two groups were statistically significant. These results suggest a positive relationship between the incidence of breast cancer and high fat intake.

Radically resected epithelioid angiosarcoma that originated in the mediastinum.

Angiosarcoma is a rare neoplasm, accounting for only 1%-2% of all sarcomas. It occurs most frequently in the skin and soft tissue and rarely in the thoracic region. To our knowledge, a mediastinal angiosarcoma is extremely rare. We report on the surgical resection of a rare case of giant epithelioid angiosarcoma originating in the anterior mediastinum, followed by six courses of adjuvant chemotherapy (doxorubicin + ifosfamide). The patient is alive and asymptomatic 1 year after surgery. As the prognosis for unresectable cases is generally dismal, surgical resection and adjuvant therapy can be an option for mediastinal angiosarcoma.

Overexpression of Necl-5 correlates with unfavorable prognosis in patients with lung adenocarcinoma.

Nectin-like molecule-5 (Necl-5) is an immunoglobulin (Ig)-like molecule that is up-regulated in many types of cancer cells. It was shown experimentally that Necl-5 enhances cell migration, proliferation, and metastasis, but its clinical significance has not been documented. The aim of this study was to observe the expression of Necl-5 in surgically resected primary lung adenocarcinomas and to investigate its clinical significance. A total of 63 surgically resected primary pulmonary adenocarcinoma tissues were investigated by immunohistochemistry for the expression of Necl-5. The relationship between expression of Necl-5 and clinicopathological features was analyzed, and the influence of Necl-5 expression on outcomes in these patients was assessed. A strong expression of Necl-5 by cancer cells was observed in 43 of the 63 tumors. The overexpression of Necl-5 by cancer cells was significantly associated with lymph node metastasis (P = 0.0398), TNM staging (P = 0.0367), and the bronchioloalveolar carcinoma ratio of tumors (P = 0.0423). Furthermore, the disease-free survival rate in patients with positive Necl-5 overexpression was significantly lower than that in patients with negative Necl-5 overexpression (P = 0.0004). Multivariate survival analysis revealed Necl-5 expression to be an independent risk factor for an unfavorable outcome (P = 0.0294). Additionally, an analysis including only the stage I cases revealed that the disease-free survival rate of the Necl-5-positive group was significantly lower than that of the Necl-5-negative group (P = 0.0192). These results indicate that Necl-5 plays a role in mediating tumor cell invasion and that the overexpression of Necl-5 in cancer cells has clinical significance for prognostic evaluation of patients with primary pulmonary adenocarcinoma.

[Concurrent low-dose cisplatin/5-FU chemotherapy and radiation for the recurrent gastric carcinoma--case reports].

We report two postoperative cases of recurrent gastric carcinoma successfully treated with concurrent low-dose cisplatin/5-FU chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Case 1: A 74-year-old man underwent total gastrectomy and splenectomy for advanced gastric carcinoma followed by a local recurrence at the anastomotic site 6 months after surgery. Case 2: A 75-year-old man underwent total gastrectomy and splenectomy for advanced gastric carcinoma followed by multiple lymph node swelling along the abdominal aorta one year after surgery. We employed concurrent radiation therapy and low-dose CDDP/5-FU therapy for the recurrent gastric carcinoma tumor which consisted of 5-FU (125-250 mg/body/day, as a 24-h intravenous injection for 4 weeks) and low-dose cisplatin (10 mg/body on day 1, 8, 15, 22). X-ray radiation was delivered to the target tumor in a daily fraction of 1.8 Gy, 6 days/week, with a total dose of 50.4 Gy. PR and CR were obtained after the therapy. Grade 3 leucopenia was observed in Case 1,which was successfully treated with G-CSF injection. The concurrent low-dose cisplatin/5-FU chemotherapy and radiation therapy could be an effective treatment modality for the recurrent tumors of gastric carcinoma after surgery.

Concurrent proton beam radiotherapy and systemic chemotherapy for the metastatic liver tumor of gastric carcinoma: a case report.

We report a case of a woman with a metastatic liver tumor from gastric carcinoma, who has been successfully treated with concurrent proton beam therapy and systemic chemotherapy. A 76-year-old woman underwent distal gastrectomy with regional lymph node dissection for advanced gastric carcinoma on January 17, 2002. She received five courses of sequential chemotherapy with methotrexate-5-fluorouracil after the surgical resection. A metastatic liver tumor was detected in the caudate lobe of the liver by computed tomography at 6 months after the surgical resection. We employed concurrent proton beam therapy and systemic chemotherapy which consisted of 5-fluorouracil (250 mg/body per day, as a 24-h intravenous injection for 4 weeks) and low dose cisplatin (10 mg/body on days 1-5 every week for 4 weeks). Proton beam therapy targeting the metastatic liver tumor was performed in a daily fraction of 3 Gy, 5 days per week, with a total dose of 66 Gy over 30 days. The tumor disappeared 3 months after the treatment and no recurrence has been observed for 2 years after termination of the treatment. Throughout the entire course of treatment, the patient received injections of granulocyte stimulating factor subcutaneously for grade 3 leukopenia. She never complained of abdominal symptoms, such as epigastralgia, nausea or diarrhea. Liver failure related to proton irradiation has not been observed. This concurrent proton beam radiotherapy with systemic chemotherapy could be an effective treatment modality for metastatic liver tumor from gastric carcinoma.

Effect of different heating conditions on the extractability of barley hordeins.

The extractability of hordeins from barley grains was investigated after wet and dry heating conditions. It was found that the amount of hordeins extractable with 55% 2-propanol decreased in a time-dependent manner after barley grains were steamed (wet heating), whereas hordeins showed no effect from heating in an oven at 100 degress C for up to 120 min (dry heating). The result of SDS-PAGE analysis revealed that B-hordein decreased time-dependently in extractability with wet heating and had almost completely disappeared by 60 min, but C-hordein remained unchanged until 120 min. With the use of the hordein fraction prepared from the nonheated barley grains, it was confirmed that B-hordein suspended in boiling water lost solubility in 55% 2-propanol. The insolubilized B-hordein was redissolved by the addition of 2-mercaptoethanol to 1%, which suggested that the intermolecular disulfide bonds would play a significant role in the loss of solubility. On the other hand, C-hordein did not lose solubility from being heated under the same conditions.