[Laparoscopic Left Hemicolectomy-It Is Confirmed That the Accessory Middle Colonic Artery Branched from the Splenic Artery Showed by Preoperative 3D-CT].

There is a wide variety of vessel types in the transverse colon region. Among them, it is very rare that the accessory middle colonic artery(A-MCA)is branched from the splenic artery. We found a transverse colon cancer. The dominant vessel of the cancer was the A-MCA branched from the splenic artery. This vessel type was confirmed by preoperative 3D-CT. We performed a laparoscopic left hemicolectomy for the cancer. In this study, we report a case of safe laparoscopic surgery in which we separate the A-MCA branched from the splenic artery using the preoperative 3D-CT image.

[A case of appendix cancer treated as cancer of unknown primary origin].

A 57-year-old man initially presented with chief complaints of abdominal distension and anorexia. Positron emission tomography- computed tomography (PET-CT) scan showed ascites and multiple peritoneal metastases with abnormal uptake of fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG). The patient underwent endoscopy, biopsy, and cytology and was diagnosed with adenocarcinoma of unknown primary origin. He was treated with systematic chemotherapy, including carboplatin/paclitaxel (CBDCA/ PTX) and gemcitabine regimens. However, progressive disease (PD) complicated by intestinal obstruction was indicated. He was referred to our department for management. We performed surgery to resolve the intestinal obstruction and confirm the diagnosis. Appendix cancer was diagnosed intraoperatively. He was administered a modified fluorouracil plus Leucovorin and oxaliplatin(mFOLFOX6) /panitumumab regimen following surgery. The tumor had a good response to treatment, and the primary lesion was resected. After resection , the tumor was controlled by systemic chemotherapy for six months. However, the patient unfortunately died owing to arrhythmia. Most patients with cancer of unknown primary origin have a very poor prognosis because it is difficult to select appropriate treatment. Laparotomy can be effective in making a definitive diagnosis, as in the case described here.

[A successful multimodality therapy for a case of recurrent rectal cancer with KRAS mutation].

A man in his 50s underwent high anterior resection for rectosigmoid cancer in January 2010. The primary tumor was diagnosed as a moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma with KRAS mutation, pStage III a. In May 2011, the patient had a recurrent lung tumor detected by computed tomography(CT); the tumor was resected using video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery. However, additional recurrent lung tumors arose, and radiofrequency ablation (RFA) was performed to treat these in February 2012. After RFA therapy, capecitabine was administered as adjuvant chemotherapy. Unfortunately, 10 months later, positron emission tomography (PET) /CT suggested a new recurrence in a left lateral lymph node. Although the pelvic lymph node was surgically removed immediately, a new lung recurrence was found on CT three months after the surgery. RFA was again used to treat this lung lesion. After the second RFA, the patient is doing well without any evidence of recurrence. We describe a case of recurrent rectal cancer successfully treated with multimodality therapy. The combination of appropriate local therapy with systemic chemotherapy is an essential strategy to treat advanced colorectal cancer, especially in patients with KRAS mutation when anti-EGFR antibodies are not effective.

Dual antiplatelet therapy inhibits neutrophil extracellular traps to reduce liver micrometastases of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.

The involvement of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) in cancer metastasis is being clarified, but the relationship between intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA) and NETs remains unclear. The presence of NETs was verified by multiple fluorescence staining in clinically resected specimens of iCCA. Human neutrophils were co-cultured with iCCA cells to observe NET induction and changes in cellular characteristics. Binding of platelets to iCCA cells and its mechanism were also examined, and their effects on NETs were analyzed in vitro and in in vivo mouse models. NETs were present in the tumor periphery of resected iCCAs. NETs promoted the motility and migration ability of iCCA cells in vitro. Although iCCA cells alone had a weak NET-inducing ability, the binding of platelets to iCCA cells via P-selectin promoted NET induction. Based on these results, antiplatelet drugs were applied to these cocultures in vitro and inhibited the binding of platelets to iCCA cells and the induction of NETs. Fluorescently labeled iCCA cells were injected into the spleen of mice, resulting in the formation of liver micrometastases coexisting with platelets and NETs. These mice were treated with dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) consisting of aspirin and ticagrelor, which dramatically reduced micrometastases. These results suggest that potent antiplatelet therapy prevents micrometastases of iCCA cells by inhibiting platelet activation and NET production, and it may contribute to a novel therapeutic strategy.

Comparison of outcomes between symptomatic and asymptomatic patients with colorectal cancer: a propensity score-matched analysis of surgical invasiveness, medical costs and oncological outcomes.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Whether asymptomatic patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) who are treated in hospitals show better outcomes than symptomatic patients with CRC still remains unknown. The aim of this study was to evaluate differences in clinical benefits following treatment in asymptomatic and symptomatic patients with CRC. METHODS: This study was a retrospective cohort analysis with data obtained from records. A cohort of 145 asymptomatic and 123 symptomatic patients who underwent CRC surgery between January 2009 and December 2011 was enrolled. To reduce bias in comparing outcomes, propensity score (PS) analysis was used for matching of patients in the symptomatic and asymptomatic groups based on clinicopathological factors. Surgical invasiveness, medical costs and oncological outcomes were examined by unadjusted and PS-matched analysis. RESULTS: Tumours in the symptomatic group were more often diagnosed in advanced stages compared with tumours in the asymptomatic group. Therefore, fewer symptomatic group patients underwent minimally invasive surgery. Short-term outcomes, including amount of blood loss, duration of postoperative hospital stay and perioperative medical costs, were significantly better in the asymptomatic group. Although overall survival was significantly better in the asymptomatic group, there was no significant difference between the groups when the patients were adjusted on the basis of PS. CONCLUSIONS: Though this study was limited by the retrospective nature and small sample size, favourable outcomes in asymptomatic patients were due to the higher proportion of patients in this group who were diagnosed with CRC in earlier stages, due to participation in CRC screening programmes.