Primary rectal lymphoma as a cause of bowel obstruction. Report of a case.

BACKGROUND: Malignant lymphoma involving the rectum either as a localized process or as a manifestation of disseminated disease is rare. Several treatments have been proposed and reported, including surgical resection alone or associated with adjuvant chemoradiation, chemotherapy alone, and radiotherapy alone. METHODS: A case of bowel obstruction caused by a primary rectal MALT lymphoma is reported. Following emergency loop sigmoid colostomy the patient was started on multiple specific cycles of chemotherapy according to the MACOP-B protocol. RESULTS: At the end of chemotherapy a remarkable reduction in the size of the tumor was noted. Subsequently the patient underwent an ultralow anterior resection followed by a straight coloanal anastomosis. At 36 months of follow-up the patient is alive with no tumor recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: The present report describes the unique case of a patient with primary obstructing rectal lymphoma treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy and sphincter-saving curative surgery.

[Impact of the sentinel lymph node in the staging of colorectal carcinoma]. / Impatto del linfonodo sentinella nella stadiazione del carcinoma colorettale.

In view of the very good results obtained by lymphatic mapping and sentinel node biopsy in the staging of patients with melanoma or breast cancer, we investigated the feasibility of intraoperative regional lymphatic mapping in patients with primary colorectal carcinoma. The aim of this study was to determine whether lymphatic mapping and sentinel node assessment can identify aberrant drainage patterns or make for better staging of the neoplasm in those cases with no or only minimal lymphatic neoplastic involvement. Sixteen consecutive patients with primary colorectal cancer (stage T2-T3) but without macroscopic involvement of the lymphatic system underwent intraoperative lymphatic mapping by injecting 1-1.5 ml of isosulfan blue dye. The identified and resected sentinel nodes were examined using conventional haematoxylin-eosin staining and cytokeratin immunohistochemistry. Sentinel node identification was successful in 15 out of 16 cases (93.8%). In 11 cases (73.3%) sentinel node status correctly predicted the final staging. The false-negative rate was 26.7%. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed the presence of micrometastasis in one case (6.7%), which was consequently upstaged. In cases of colorectal cancer lymphatic mapping is an easy, perfectly feasible technique. However, in our experience, it would not appear to significantly improve the accuracy of the histopathological staging of colorectal carcinoma.

Bradykinin B2 receptors mediate contraction in the normal and inflamed human gallbladder in vitro.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: The components of the kinin system, including kinongens, kininogenases, and B(2) and B(1) receptors, are expressed and activated during inflammation. Here, we investigated the expression of the kinin B(2) receptor messenger RNA, kininogen and kallikrein immunoreactivity, and the ability of kinins to contract control and inflamed gallbladders in vitro. METHODS: Human gallbladders, obtained from patients undergoing cholecystectomy either for acute cholecystitis secondary to gallstone disease or during elective gastro-entero-pancreatic surgery (controls), were processed for reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction analysis, kallikrein and kininogen immunohistochemistry, binding studies, and in vitro contractility studies. RESULTS: Tissue expression of B(2) receptor messenger RNA and specific binding of [(3)H]-bradykinin increased significantly in acute cholecystitis compared to controls. Kallikrein immunoreactivity was detected in the epithelium and infiltrating leukocytes, whereas kininogen immunoreactivity in the lumen of blood vessels and interstitial space. Bradykinin contracted isolated strips of control and acute cholecystitis gallbladders. In acute cholecystitis tissue, efficacy of bradykinin was higher than that of control gallbladders and similar to that of cholecystokinin. The contraction induced by bradykinin was significantly attenuated by B(2) receptor antagonism but not by cyclooxygenase inhibition and B(1), muscarinic, or tachykinin receptor antagonism. CONCLUSIONS: All the components of the kinin system are expressed in the human gallbladder. Bradykinin is a powerful spasmogen via B(2) receptor activation in the normal and, especially, in the inflamed human gallbladder.