[A case report of primary small cell esophageal carcinoma responding successfully to radiochemotherapy].

Primary small cell esophageal carcinoma is a rare cancer with a poor prognosis, for which to date there is no recommended standard treatment. We present a 60-year-old male with this disease who was successfully managed by the combination of radiation and chemotherapy. The patient was referred to our hospital for liver dysfunction of unknown cause. On admission, he was diagnosed as having a primary small cell esophageal carcinoma and multifocal metastasis in the liver. He received cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil(CDDP 40mg/m2-days 1, 8, 5-FU 400 mg/m2-days 1-5, 8-12)and local radiation of 50 Gy for the esophagus, followed by 4 courses of chemotherapy the same as listed above. At the end of therapy, radiological findings showed that both primary and metastatic lesions completely disappeared. Unfortunately, he died of liver failure due to the recurrence of metastatic small cell carcinoma in the liver 13 months after the end of initial therapy. However, the primary cancer lesion had not recurred by that time. These findings suggest the beneficial effect of the combination of radiotherapy and chemotherapy for advanced-stage small cell esophageal carcinoma.

Global analysis of cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) gene variation in Dibothriocephalus nihonkaiensis (Cestoda: Diphyllobothriidae).

The cestode Dibothriocephalus nihonkaiensis (syns. Diphyllobothrium nihonkaiense and Diphyllobothrium klebanovskii), the broad fish tapeworm, is a parasitic agent of intestinal infection acquired by consumption of raw or undercooked Pacific salmon, Onchorhynchus spp. Sequencing studies conducted about a decade ago revealed the presence of two major lineages (A and B) in the broad fish tapeworm population within Asian coastal areas. However, in spite of the accumulation of sequence data on GenBank recently, no further genetic analyses of D. nihonkaiensis have been attempted. The present study assessed for the first time the global cox1 variation in D. nihonkaiensis. Novel partial cox1 sequences of 14 isolates of D. nihonkaiensis from 12 patients were generated, and a global genetic analysis was performed using the 14 novel and 79 previously published sequences for isolates from definitive and second intermediate hosts of this species was performed. A total of 48 haplotypes of three haplotype groups (Types A, B and C) were identified, and co-infections with genetically different D. nihonkaiensis were highlighted in humans and Pacific salmon.