[A case of advanced gastric cancer responding to paclitaxel/CDDP neoadjuvant chemotherapy leading to pathologically complete response].

A 74-year-old male with advanced gastric cancer(cT3N1M0H0P0CY0, cStage III A)was treated with paclitaxel/ CDDP as neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Paclitaxel (80 mg/m(2)) and CDDP (25 mg/m(2)) were administered on days 1, 8 and 15 as one cycle. After the second course, a significant tumor reduction was obtained. Total gastrectomy, splenectomy, and D2 type nodal dissection were performed. The histological diagnosis revealed complete disappearance of cancer cells in the stomach and all of the lymph nodes, a so-called pathologically complete response. The patient has now been in good health without any recurrence for 9 months after surgery. This case suggests that neoadjuvant chemotherapy with paclitaxel/CDDP is a potential regimen for advanced gastric cancer.

Pancreatogram findings for carcinoma in situ (CIS) of the pancreas seen on endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography and postoperative pancreatography of resected specimens: can CIS be diagnosed preoperatively?

BACKGROUND/AIMS: From 1992 to 2003, 7 carcinomata in situ (CIS) were incidentally discovered during microscopical observation of resected materials for advanced carcinomas of peripancreatic organs, of which 4 had undergone endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) or postoperative pancreatography of the resected specimen (POP). In addition, 7 of 79 invasive ductal carcinomata (IDC) of the pancreas were accompanied by CIS > or =2 cm long. A total of 11 patients were reviewed here for pancreatographic findings for CIS of the pancreas. METHODS: All resected pancreatobiliary materials were sliced serially at 5- to 8-mm intervals in a plane at right angles to the main pancreatic duct, referring to POP images. RESULTS: Irregularity (I), non-continuous narrowing (N), granular defects (G), and dilatation (D) were seen in 78, 67, 33 and 22% on ERCP, respectively, and in 90, 70, 60 and 40% on POP, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: I, N, G, and D are most important pancreatographic findings in ERCP and highly suggestive of CIS of the pancreas, so that whenever they are encountered, cytological and/or pathological examination of the pancreatic duct should be actively performed.