[Neoadjuvant chemotherapy using TS-1 and CDDP against large type 3/Type 4/Bulky N 2 advanced gastric cancer].

This study was conducted to assess therapeutic results following neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) for large type 3/type 4/Bulky N 2 advanced gastric cancer having a poor prognosis following resection. The subjects consisted of cases (< or = 75 y.o.) having large type 3 (diameter > or = 8 cm), type 4 or Bulky N 2 gastric cancer curable by resection based on preoperative imaging diagnostics. The NAC regimen consisted of TS-1 at 80-120 mg/body on days 1-21 p. o. and CDDP at 60 mg/m2 on day 8 divided. Upon completion of two courses of 4 weeks per course, gastrectomy with > or = D2 lymph node dissection was carried out on days 21-34. The average age of the subjects was 60.7 years, and the therapy completion rate was 80% (8/10 cases). Five of ten cases were responders diagnosed as grade 2 by histopathological examination of excised specimens (response rate 50%). Two of five responders were histopathologically evaluated as down-staging as a result of NAC (Stage III A--> f Stage I A, Stage IV--> f Stage I A). Three of the five non-responders have relapsed, and the relapse-free interval was an average 238 days. In the five responders,one has relapsed at 331 days,while the other 4 responders have shown no relapse yet. Although NAC consisting of TS-1 and CDDP is considered to be effective against advanced gastric cancer, a phase III study with surgical treatment only will be necessary to confirm its true value.

Malignant lymphoma occurring in the residual stomach following gastrectomy: plus discussion based on the literature in Japan.

Malignant lymphoma of the remnant stomach was diagnosed in a 53-year-old man 8 years after gastrectomy for a perforated gastric ulcer. Endoscopic examination demonstrated protruding lesions spreading over the entire residual stomach, and biopsy revealed malignant lymphoma. Rectal cancer was diagnosed simultaneously. The residual stomach was completely excised, with splenectomy, in parallel with low anterior resection of the rectum. Histological studies revealed that the lesion in the residual stomach was a lymphoma of the diffuse, large-cell type, according to the Lymphoma-Leukemia Study Group (LSG) classification, with positivity for CD20 and CD45RA, leading to a diagnosis of B-cell lymphoma. Helicobacter pylori microorganisms were found on the luminal surface of the tumor. Despite postoperative chemotherapy, the patient died of disseminated lymphoma 34 months later. Although malignant lymphoma occurring in the residual stomach following gastrectomy is rare, particular attention should be given to the possible presence of a malignant tumor when examining the residual stomach following gastrectomy.

A patient with small-cell carcinoma of the stomach with long survival after percutaneous microwave coagulating therapy (PMCT) for liver metastasis.

A 66-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with epigastralgia. Preoperative examinations revealed an 8.0 x 8.0-cm, Borrmann type 2 tumor in the posterior wall of the cardia, without distant metastases. Total gastrectomy with pancreato-splenectomy and regional lymph node dissection was performed curatively. Histologically, the tumor was composed mainly of small cells with hyperchromatic nuclei and scant cytoplasm, which showed positive staining for Grimelius, gamma-neuron-specific enolase (gamma-NSE), chromogranin A, and serotonin. About 10 months after the operation, a solitary tumor was revealed in S8 of the liver by abdominal computed tomography (CT), and it was histologically confirmed by needle biopsy to be a metastasis of the small-cell carcinoma from the stomach. Instead of hepatectomy, percutaneous microwave coagulating therapy (PMCT) was indicated, because of the patients' liver dysfunction (ICG R15, 39.9%); CT showed complete necrosis of the metastatic focus in the liver after the PMCT. Now, 33 months after the first detection of the liver metastasis (43 months after the gastrectomy), the patient is still alive without any growth of the liver metastasis. The 67 previously reported cases of small-cell carcinoma of the stomach in Japan, including ours, are also reviewed.