Multiple and incidentally found cancers detected by 18F-FDG positron emission tomography/CT at one examination.

During the initial 8 months period of 18F-FDG PET/CT examination in our institution eleven cases of double cancers were detected. Eight cases were simultaneous second cancers and 3 cases are consecutive cancers. All cases are clinical ones and were referred from both outside hospitals and our own hospital. 18F-FDG PET/CT examination were utilized either to determine the extent of tumor or to stage the cancer or to detect recurrent tumors during the follow-up period. During the 8-months period 964 cases were studied. Therefore, the detection rates of simultaneous and consecutive cancers are 0.83% and 0.31% respectively. All together the detection rate of double cancer was 1.14%. To gain the general conception of double cancers the authors reviewed the autopsy registry of Japanese Society of Pathology during the four years from 2000 through 2003, and tabulated the combination of primary and second cancers. Frequently found combination of cancers were cancers of the thyroid, lung, stomach, liver, biliary tract, colon, rectum, and prostate. 18F-FDG PET/CT examination seems to be very useful in the management of cancer patients in terms of whole patient care.

Reappraisal of Percutaneous Transluminal Laser Angioplasty.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: We devised a technique to treat peripheral arterial disease (PAD) with laser, i.e. percutaneous transluminal laser angioplasty (PTLA). Considerable good results were obtained with PTLA, but it is apparently considered obsolete as a technique to treat occlusive arterial disease of peripheral arteries, perhaps because of the development and improvement of stents and the ease of their use compared to the somewhat intricate technique required for PTLA. Although the author admits the usefulness of stents, they are foreign to a human body. PTLA does not use a foreign body and contributes to the regeneration of the body's own artery.The aim of this article is to elucidate the beneficial effects of laser procedures in the treatment of PAD and to show the resulting good long-term patency, and to propose PTLA as an option to treat PAD.Some basic experiments and their results useful for PTLA will be introduced. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ninety cases with occlusive peripheral arterial diseases were treated with PTLA during the period of March 1985 to March 1991.Our method of PTLA consists of occlusion of the proximal artery by a dilated balloon of a percutaneously introduced balloon catheter, and flushing with normal saline during irradiation by Nd:YAG laser.We used a ceramic tip attached to a laser catheter most of the time and a bare laser fiber under angioscopy or a bare laser fiber itself to treat smaller arteries in the legs. RESULTS: The initial success rate was 90%.The patency rates of PAD at 6 years are 91.4% (iliac artery) and 85.8% (femoropopliteal artery), and the patency rate of leg artery lesions is 100% at 5 years.Some clinical cases with long-term patency (6 and 30 years) will be introduced.Some fundamental experiments useful to the application of laser to atheroma or thrombi will be introduced. CONCLUSIONS: PTLA could be a useful option to treat occlusive PAD, because it can produce longterm patency of natural arteries, provided a proper lesion was selected.