Adult-onset botulism in a Japanese woman with prolonged spore excretion.

We report a case of an 80-year-old woman with botulism from 2020 in Osaka, Japan. The patient complained of dysarthria and dizziness. On the same day, the patient developed respiratory failure, and was intubated and placed on mechanical ventilation. Subsequently, ophthalmoparesis and quadriparesis progressed rapidly. Ten days after onset, the patient failed to respond to any external stimulation. Blood tests showed anemia, and computed tomography revealed undiagnosed cervical cancer. Initially, diagnosis of neuromuscular junction disorder and acute motor neuropathy, including paraneoplastic syndrome, were considered. However, intravenous immunoglobulin therapy and plasma exchange were ineffective. A fecal sample on day 30 showed a large number of C. botulinum spores. On day 34, a mouse bioassay revealed botulinum toxin type A in the patient's serum; therefore, a botulinum antitoxin was administered. Later, the patient's muscle strength was gradually improved. However, severe muscle paralysis persisted, and the patient died of cachexia owing to cervical cancer on day 196. The etiology of this case was unknown because no contaminated food was identified during an inspection of the patient's home. Fecal 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed dysbiosis of the intestinal microbiota with abundant Enterococcus species. Long-lasting excretion of substantial botulinum spores even on day 30 indicated colonization of C. botulinum in the intestinal tract. This case suggests that C. botulinum colonization with co-existing intestinal dysbiosis may be associated with severe and prolonged symptoms of botulism.

[A case of primary unknown cancer difficult to distinguish from lung cancer].

A 26-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with dyspnea, fever, and weight loss. A chest X-ray showed multiple tumor shadows, and a computed tomography (CT) scan showed swelling of the mediastinal and hilar lymph nodes, a mass in the retroperitoneum, and an embolus in the inferior vena cava. A biopsy from the left cervical lymph node revealeda poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma. Metastatic lung cancer was suspected, but in spite of the examinations, its primary site was unknown. Serum alfa-fetoprotein(AFP)was slightly elevated, but an AFP stain of the tumor was negative. The patient's respiratory failure rapidly worsened, and therefore, additional examinations could not be performed. The patient received chemotherapy with carboplatin and paclitaxel. His condition improved, but the tumor increased in size after 5 courses of chemotherapy. He received chemotherapy with docetaxel as second-line treatment, but it was not effective. The third-line chemotherapy regimen with carboplatin and gemcitabine was effective. In total, he received 7 lines of chemotherapy, and he lived for approximately 12 months since receiving the first chemotherapy regimen. After he died, we were able to perform OCT-4 immunohistochemistry on a tumor biopsy specimen from the lymph node, which came back positive for OCT-4. Therefore, we made a final diagnosis of extragonadal germ cell cancer syndrome.

[Spontaneous mediastinal and retroperitoneal hematoma caused by trauma in an patient receiving anticoagulation treatment].

An 80-year-old man had chest and abdominal pains after he fell and twisted his body. He was taking anticoagulant drugs as a precautionary measure to prevent stroke. His chest CT and MRI was taking the presence of a sandglass-like nonenhanced shadow extending from the retromediastinum to the retroperitneum. No mediastinal tumor was detected by gastroscopy or on a chest CT 6 months later. Although the patient gradually became anemic, his vital signs remained normal throughout his hospital stay. The shadow decreased following conservative treatment by transthoracic drainage. We suspect that this tumor was a spontaneous hematoma caused by trauma in a patient receiving anticoagulation treatment.

[Two cases of stage IV gastric cancer responding to chemotherapy with S-1 or UFT].

We report patients with advanced Stage IV gastric cancer responding to chemotherapy with S-1 or UFT. Case 1: The patient was a 59-year-old man with Stage IV gastric cancer because of CY 1. After surgery, chemotherapy with S-1 (100 mg/body/day) was performed for one year and 11 months. At present, 5 years and 5 months after surgery, this patient shows no signs of tumor recurrence. Case 2: The patient was a 68-year-old woman with Stage IV gastric cancer because of P 1. She was treated with 200 mg/day of UFT for one year and 9 months. At present, 5 years after surgery, she shows no signs of tumor recurrence. We considered that the longterm survival of such patients is attributable to chemotherapy with S-1 or UFT. The OPRT activity of the two cases was high, so chemotherapy with S-1 or UFT was thought to be effective for them.

Transudative pleural effusion associated with left brachiocephalic vein resection.

A 70-year-old woman was admitted for surgical treatment of a thymoma. She underwent thymectomy with left brachiocephalic vein resection because of invasion. Left pleural effusion appeared from postoperative day 4 and resolved with drainage. Herein, we report a rare case of pleural effusion associated with brachiocephalic vein resection.

Large cell neuroendocrine thymic carcinoma coexisting within large WHO type AB thymoma.

Large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC) is a rare type of thymic epithelial tumor. It is recognized as a different entity from other thymic tumors on account of it having a more aggressive biologic behavior and poor prognosis. We report an extremely rare case of a very small, "large cell neuroendocrine thymic carcinoma" coexisting within a large thymoma that could not be detected by usual biopsy. Surgery as the initial treatment has the significance of definitive diagnosis and curative treatment for LCNEC of the thymus. To make a successful differential diagnosis, application of detailed immunohistochemical stains may be of aid, since thymic epithelial tumor is not always morphologically homogenous.

Re-evaluation of non-palpable scalene lymph node biopsy for the staging of non-small cell lung cancer.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to determine the most suitable candidates for scalene lymph node biopsy to detect non-palpable scalene lymph node metastasis (N(3)-scalene) in non-small cell lung cancer patients. METHODS: Standard cervical mediastioscopies and ipsilateral scalene lymph node biopsies were performed preoperatively by a single surgeon on 121 consecutive patients with non-small cell lung cancer scheduled to have surgical resection between January 1997 and August 2002, who had neither evidence of distant metastasis on imaging diagnosis nor palpable supraclavicular lymph nodes. RESULTS: N(3)-scalene was detected in six patients (5.0%), who all had non-squamous cell carcinoma, including one (1.0%) out of 98 patients with negative standard cervical mediastinoscopy and five (21.7%) out of the remaining 23 patients with positive mediastinal lymph node involvement. There was a significant difference in the incidence of the N(3)-scalene between the two groups (P<0.01). Five patients with N(3)-scalene had metastatic lesions in the multilevel mediastinal lymph node station on the same side as the cancer (multilevel N(2)), and accounted for 31.3% of 16 patients with multilevel N(2) disease. The N(3)-scalene was detected in 5 (45.5%) of 11 patients with lung cancer classified as non-squamous cell carcinoma with multilevel N(2) disease. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the present study suggest that non-palpable scalene lymph node biopsy is indicated for lung cancer patients diagnosed as having non-squamous cell carcinoma with mediastinoscopic multilevel N(2) disease.

Spontaneous thymic cyst hemorrhage causing hemothorax.

The case describes a 56-year-old man who had thymic cyst hemorrhage, followed by right hemothorax. There was a high possibility that his accompanying disease, an alteration in hemostasis due to alcoholic liver cirrhosis and hypertension, would induce thymic cyst hemorrhage. Thymic cyst hemorrhage should be included in possible causes of the sudden onset of mediastinal or intrathoracic hemorrhage, in addition to the rupture of aortic aneurysm or malignant mediastinal tumor.

Elimination of Pancoast tumor by carboplatin, paclitaxel, and concurrent radiation.

Preoperative chemoradiotherapy with carboplatin (AUC 1.5), paclitaxel (40 mg/m2), and concurrent extracorporeal radiation (40 Gy) was used to treat a Pancoast tumor (clinical T3N0M0), without causing adverse events. Then left upper lobectomy was performed along with mediastinal lymph node dissection plus resection of the chest wall and Th1 nerve root. Histological examination revealed a pathological complete response. This multimodal regimen was feasible and achieved a good response, so it seems worthwhile to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of the therapy in a cohort study.

Induction concurrent chemoradiation therapy for invading apical non-small cell lung cancer.

OBJECTIVE: Although non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) involving the superior sulcus has been generally treated with radiation therapy (RT) followed by surgery, local recurrence is still a big problem to be solved. We investigated a role of induction therapy, especially induction concurrent chemoradiation therapy (CRT), on the surgical results of this type of NSCLC. METHOD: We retrospectively reviewed 30 patients with NSCLC invading the apex of the chest wall who underwent surgery from 1987 to 1996. Ten patients (57 +/- 8 years) received surgery alone, 9 (55 +/- 13 years) received RT (42 +/- 7 Gy) followed by surgery and 11 (51 +/- 9 years) received cisplatin based chemotherapy and RT (47 +/- 5 Gy) as an induction therapy. RESULTS: Two and 4-year survival rates were 30% and 20% in patients with surgery alone, 22% and 11% in patients with induction RT, and 73% and 53% in patients with induction CRT, respectively. The survival was significantly better in patients with induction CRT than those with induction RT or surgery alone. Univariate analysis demonstrated that curability (yes versus no: p = 0.027) and induction therapy (surgery alone and RT versus CRT: p = 0.0173) were significant prognostic factors. Multivariate analysis revealed that only induction therapy (p = 0.0238) was a significant prognostic factor. CONCLUSIONS: Induction CRT seems to improve the survival in patients with NSCLC invading the apex of the chest wall compared with induction RT or surgery alone.

Videopericardioscopy using endothoracic sonography for lung cancer staging.

We performed videopericardioscopy using an endothoracic sonographic probe for the staging of left hilar nonsmall cell lung cancer. This method will be useful for an accurate diagnosis of direct tumor invasion into the intrapericardial great vessels and lead to the institution of appropriate treatment.

Gastropleural fistula due to gastric perforation after lobectomy for lung cancer.

We report a case of acute gastropleural fistula due to gastric perforation after a left lower lobectomy for lung cancer. A 76-year-old male, who received a left hemicolectomy 20 years previously, came to our hospital for surgical treatment of lung cancer, which was performed uneventfully as a left lower lobectomy with combined resection of the diaphragm. On the postoperative day 2, acute dilatation of the stomach followed by gradual cardiopulmonary collapse, and then gastric perforation into the thorax occurred. The perforated stomach wall and diaphragm became paper-thin and necrotic, though the abdominal cavity was free of contamination. This life-threatening condition was treated by an emergency thoracotomy and partial gastrectomy through the thorax, as the left hemidiaphragm was remarkably elevated. An oeganoaxial torsion gastric volvulus caused by anatomic rotation following the lobectomy was speculated as the disease process, with loss of suspended tissue of the gastro-colic ligament from the left hemicolectomy being a possible predisposing factor. Such an episode is rare, however, it should be looked for during perioperative care following a lobectomy.