[A Case of Locally Advanced Breast Cancer Successfully Treated with Epirubicin/Cyclophosphamide].

A 66-year-old woman was referred to our hospital with the chief complaint of a huge exposed left breast mass with bleeding. Triple-negative invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast was diagnosed by core needle biopsy. Computed tomogra- phy showed axillary and infraclavicular lymph node metastases. Epirubicin/cyclophosphamide(EC)therapy was started. We reduced the dose to 80%during courses 2-4. After 4 courses of treatment, CT showed a complete response. We reduced the dose to 50% during courses 5-12 and stopped chemotherapy. Five years have passed without recurrence since the first treatment.

[A Case of Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Carcinoma Presenting Multiple Liver Metastasis as an Initial Manifestation for Which Diagnosis Confirmation Was Difficult].

A 67-year-old woman with a history of esophageal cancer(poorly-differentiated squamous cell carcinoma, pStageⅡ) was diagnosed with 2 liver tumors by regular checkup CT 10 years after her operation. We also observed elevated levels of tumor marker CEA. The tumors were suspected to be metastatic although no primary lesion was identified. We performed partial hepatectomy for diagnostic therapy. The pathological diagnosis was adenocarcinoma suggestive of metastatic tumors but the primary lesion remained unknown. Tumor marker levels were elevated 2 months after the operation and we detected a pancreatic tumor, multiple liver tumors, peritoneal dissemination, and para-aortic lymph node metastasis. Therefore, our clinical diagnosis was multiple metastases with primary pancreatic cancer and chemotherapy was performed. We conducted a thorough review of the diagnostic images and repeated the pathological analysis. Immunobiological staining showed that the tumor cells were positive for neuroendocrine markers such as chromogranin A, CD56, and Ki-67. We eventually diagnosed the liver tumors as metastasis from the pancreatic neuroendocrine carcinoma(Grade 3).

[Totally Laparoscopic Stomach-Partitioning Gastrojejunostomy for Gastroduodenal Outlet Obstruction for Elderly Cancer Patients].

We have performed totally laparoscopic stomach-partitioning gastrojejunostomy for gastroduodenal outlet obstruction caused by advanced malignancies in 14 cases. We divided 14 patients into 2 groups according to age at surgery: those<80 years of age and thoseB80 years of age. We compared these 2 groups regarding preoperative status, operative findings, and postoperative course. We found that the stage of cancer in the older group was lower than in the younger group, the number of unresectable factors in the older group were fewer than in the younger group, and the postoperative stay in the older group was shorter than in the younger group. There were no serious postoperative complications in either group and all 14 patients were able to drink or eat the day after surgery. These results suggest that palliative, totally laparoscopic stomachpartitioning gastrojejunostomy may be the best option for elderly cancer patients with gastroduodenal outlet obstruction caused by advanced malignancies, even when their general conditions is poor. We should consider this surgical procedure as soon as possible when the patient decides on palliative treatment.

Esophagojejunostomy Using the Purse-String Suturing Device After Laparoscopic Total or Proximal Gastrectomy for Gastric Cancer.

BACKGROUND: Performing a safe esophagojejunostomy is important for the standardization of laparoscopic total gastrectomy. We have performed intracorporeal esophagojejunostomy by a circular stapler using the purse-string suturing device that we co-developed. The advantage of this device is that it makes use of the same surgical procedure as open surgery, but it does not depend on the surgeon's technical skills since this device does not require the laparoscopic hand-sewn technique. Furthermore, we have also adapted this device for double-tract reconstruction after laparoscopic proximal gastrectomy. In this study, we present the surgical procedures and postoperative short-term outcomes that were obtained using this novel technique. METHODS: We enrolled 94 patients that underwent intracorporeal esophagojejunostomy by circular stapler using our device after laparoscopic total or proximal gastrectomy for gastric cancer between November 2009 and October 2016. RESULTS: Postoperative complications related to esophagojejunostomy were due to anastomotic stenosis in two cases (2.1%) and leakage of the jejunum stump in one case (1.1%). CONCLUSIONS: Intracorporeal esophagojejunostomy by circular stapler using the purse-string suturing device is safe and feasible. This method can be one of the standard procedures for performing intracorporeal esophagojejunostomy.

[HER2-Positive T1a Breast Cancer Metastatic to the Liver and Brain in a Patient Who Died Four Years and Three Months after Mastectomy--A Case Report].

The prognosis of patients with T1a breast cancer is generally good, with a 5-year overall survival rate of 95%. However, HER2 overexpression is a risk factor for recurrence. A 46-year-old woman with left breast cancer underwent a total breast resection. The resected specimen showed invasive ductal carcinoma (T1a, NX, MX, g, ly0, v0, ER [-], PgR [-], HER2 [3+], Ki-67 20%). The patient did not receive adjuvant chemotherapy based on treatment guidelines. Nine months after the mastectomy, multiple liver metastases and severe acute hepatic insufficiency were found. The patient received chemotherapy with trastuzumab and paclitaxel, and a complete response was observed with disappearance of the liver metastases. One year and 11 months after the mastectomy, multiple brain metastases appeared. The patient received whole brain radiation therapy, Gamma Knife radiosurgery, and Cyber Knife radiosurgery. However, the brain metastasis could not be controlled, and the patient died 4 years and 3 months after mastectomy. HER2 positive T1a breast cancer should be observed carefully, and treatment with trastuzumab should be considered.

Intra-abdominal desmoid tumor difficult to distinguish from a gastrointestinal stromal tumor: report of two cases.

Desmoid tumors are benign fibroblastic neoplasms with no metastatic potential, but a propensity for local recurrence even after complete surgical resection. These lesions can develop at any site in the body, and commonly occur in the intra-abdominal area. Intra-abdominal desmoid tumors usually occur at the mesentery or retroperitoneum, and may morphologically mimic gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs). Distinguishing between these tumors is important, because the therapies differ substantially, but is often difficult even with the use of CD117 staining. We herein report the cases of two patients with sporadic intra-abdominal desmoid tumors that were differentiated from GIST by immunohistological examination using beta-catenin and CD34. Desmoid tumors specifically express nuclear beta-catenin, and show no expression of CD34. We recommend staining for beta-catenin and CD34 when an intra-abdominal desmoid tumor is suspected.

Postoperative Complications of Laparoscopic Total Gastrectomy versus Open Total Gastrectomy for Gastric Cancer in a Meta-Analysis of High-Quality Case-Controlled Studies.

Background. Some meta-analyses of case-controlled studies (CCSs) have shown that laparoscopic or laparoscopy-assisted total gastrectomy (LTG) had some short-term advantages over open total gastrectomy (OTG). However, postoperative complications differed somewhat among the meta-analyses, and some CCSs included in the meta-analyses had mismatched factors between LTG and OTG. Methods. CCSs comparing postoperative complications between LTG and OTG were identified in PubMed and Embase. Studies matched for patients' status, tumor stage, and the extents of lymph-node dissection were included. Outcomes of interest, such as anastomotic, other intra-abdominal, wound, and pulmonary complications, were evaluated in a meta-analysis performed using Review Manager version 5.3 software. Result. This meta-analysis included a total of 2,560 patients (LTG, 1,073 patients; OTG, 1,487 patients) from 15 CCSs. Wound complications were significantly less frequent in LTG than in OTG (n = 2,430; odds ratio [OR] 0.30, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.29-0.85, P = 0.01, I2 = 0%, and OR 0.46, 95% CI 0.17-0.52, P < 0.0001, I2 = 0%). However, the incidence of anastomotic complications was slightly but not significantly higher in LTG than in OTG (n = 2,560; OR 1.44, 95% CI 0.96-2.16, P = 0.08, I2 = 0%). Conclusion. LTG was associated with a lower incidence of wound-related postoperative complications than was OTG in this meta-analysis of CCSs; however, some concern remains about anastomotic problems associated with LTG.

Clinical significance of platelet derived growth factor-C and -D in gastric cancer.

Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-C and PDGF-D are frequently upregulated in human cancers and play important roles in tumor progression, angiogenesis and metastasis. However, the distribution, frequency and prognostic value of PDGF-C and PDGF-D expression in gastric cancer have not been clarified. The present study evaluated the association between expression of PDGF-C and PDGF-D, clinicopathological factors and outcomes, in patients with gastric cancer. Gastric adenocarcinoma tumor samples were obtained from 204 patients who underwent curative gastrectomy between 2003 and 2007. The expression of PDGF-C and PDGF-D was analyzed by immunohistochemical staining. High expression of PDGF-C and PDGF-D was detected in 114 (56%) and 151 (74%) tumors, respectively. PDGF-D expression was significantly associated with tumor depth (P=0.039), histopathology (P<0.01), tumor stage (P=0.01) and recurrence (P<0.01), whereas PDGF-C expression correlated only with histopathology (P=0.05). High PDGF-D expression was also associated with significantly shorter relapse-free survival (RFS) time (P<0.01), whilst high PDGF-C expression was associated with marginally, but not significantly, shorter RFS (P=0.10). On multivariate analysis, high PDGF-D expression was determined to be an independent prognostic factor (hazard ratio, 3.3; 95% confidence interval, 1.20-9.4; P=0.02). These findings indicate that high PDGF-D expression is strongly associated with tumor progression, recurrence, distant metastasis and poor outcomes in patients with gastric cancer. PDGF-D may therefore be an independent prognostic factor and a novel therapeutic target.