[Effectiveness of S-1 therapy for unresectable/advanced pancreas cancer].

PURPOSE: Although the susceptibility to chemotherapy of unresectable/advanced pancreatic cancer is very poor, the usefulness of new anticancer drugs, such as S-1, has been reported in recent years. We clinically investigated whether or not S-1 would prolong survival in this study. OBJECTIVE: 17 unresectable pancreatic cancer patients who came for consultation between November 2001 and August 2008 (ten men, seven women). The average age was 72.5 years and performance statuses before medical treatment were 0-2. METHOD: A group of 8 patients did not use S-1 (non-S-1 group) and a group of a patients (S-1 group)did. The average survival period, one-year survival rate, and hospitalization rate were examined. RESULT: The average survival period of the non-S-1 group was 173.1 days, and its one-year survival rate was 12.5%, compared to 435.1 days and 55.6% in the S-1 group. The hospitalization rate was 25.6% in the S-1 group, against 53.1% in the non-S-1 group. DISCUSSION: S-1 treatment for unresectable/advanced pancreatic cancer served to prolong the survival period, suggesting it enabled extension of the recuperation-at-home period.

Aberrant expression of selenoproteins in the progression of colorectal cancer.

Since damage to DNA and other cellular molecules by reactive oxygen species ranks high as a major culprit in the onset and development of colorectal cancer, the aim of the present study is to clarify the role of antioxidant seleonoproteins including glutathione peroxidase (GPx), thioredoxin reductase (TXR) and selenoprotein P (SePP), and the effect of oxidative stress on the progression of colorectal cancer. Expression of 14 oxidative stress-related molecules in both tumorous and non-tumorous tissues in 41 patients was examined by immunohistochemistry and Western blot analysis. Expression levels of proteins modified by 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (4-HNE), malonyldialdehyde (MDA) and 4-hydroxy-2-hexenal (4-HHE), and the positive rate of 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) in tumorous tissues were much higher than those in non-tumorous tissues. Glutathione (GSH) content in tumor tissues was much lower than that in non-tumorous tissues. Expression level of selenoproteins such as GPx-1, GPx-3, and SePP, which are rapidly degraded during selenium deprivation, was significantly decreased in tumorous tissues, whereas that of GPx-2, which is resistant to selenium deprivation, was increased. Expression of SePP was decreased at stage III and IV, compared to that of stage II. These data suggest that contrasting expression pattern of the antioxidant selenoproteins plays an important role in the progression of colorectal cancer.

Prevalence of organic colonic lesions in patients meeting Rome III criteria for diagnosis of IBS: a prospective multi-center study utilizing colonoscopy.

BACKGROUND: It remains unknown whether the Rome III criteria can exclude organic colonic lesions prior to the diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). We evaluated the colonoscopy results of patients meeting the Rome III criteria for the diagnosis of IBS to determine the presence of organic colonic lesions. METHODS: This study was prospectively conducted at 17 centers in Japan. We enrolled 4528 patients who underwent diagnostic colonoscopy examinations. The diagnosis of IBS was evaluated by questionnaire results according to the Rome III criteria. RESULTS: We evaluated 4178 patients (350 were excluded because of incomplete data or previous colonic surgery), of whom 203 met the Rome III criteria (mean age 57.9 years; range 14-87 years) prior to the diagnostic colonoscopy examination. We identified organic colonic diseases in 21 of these 203 patients (10.3 %) , and these disease were also identified in 338 (8.5 %) of 3975 patients who did not fulfill the Rome III criteria. There were no differences in regard to the prevalence of organic colonic diseases between patients who did and did not fulfill the Rome III criteria. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of organic colonic diseases in patients who met the Rome III criteria was at an acceptably low level, indicating that the Rome III criteria are adequately specific for the diagnosis of IBS without performing a colonoscopy examination.