Clinical outcomes of positive resection margin after endoscopic mucosal resection of early colon cancers

BACKGROUND/AIMS: When determining the subsequent management after endoscopic resection of the early colon cancer (ECC), various factors including the margin status should be considered. This study assessed the subsequent management and outcomes of ECCs according to margin status.METHODS: We examined the data of 223 ECCs treated by endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) from 215 patients during 2004 to 2014, and all patients were followed-up at least for 2 years.RESULTS: According to histological analyses, the margin statuses of all lesions after EMR were as follows: 138 cases (61.9%) were negative, 65 cases (29.1%) were positive for dysplastic cells on the resection margins, and 20 cases (8.9%) were uncertain. The decision regarding subsequent management was affected not only by pathologic outcomes but also by the endoscopist’s opinion on whether complete resection was obtained. Surgery was preferred if the lesion extended to the submucosa (odds ratio [OR], 25.46; 95% confidence interval [CI], 7.09–91.42), the endoscopic resection was presumed incomplete (OR, 15.55; 95% CI, 4.28–56.56), or the lymph system was invaded (OR, 13.69; 95% CI, 1.76–106.57). Fourteen patients (6.2%) had residual or recurrent malignancies at the site of the previous ECC resection and were significantly associated with presumed incomplete endoscopic resection (OR, 4.59; 95% CI, 1.21–17.39) and submucosal invasion (OR, 5.14; 95% CI, 1.18–22.34).CONCLUSIONS: Subsequent surgery was associated with submucosa invasion, lymphatic invasion, and cancer-positive margins. Presumed completeness of the resection may be helpful for guiding the subsequent management of patients who undergo endoscopic resection of ECC.

Pancreatic Choriocarcinoma with Multiple Metastases: a Case Report and Literature Review / 대한췌담도학회지

Non-gestational, extragonadal choriocarcinoma is a rare disease and pancreatic choriocarcinoma is an extremely rare disease. Choriocarcinoma of non-placental origin is a highly malignant carcinoma with poor prognosis. It is characterized by high serum human chorionic gonadotropin levels. There is no standard therapy for extragonadal choriocarcinoma. Herein, we report a 47-year-old woman who presented with acute pancreatitis and left hemianopsia and was diagnosed with pancreatic choriocarcinoma with multiple metastases in liver, lung, and brain. Although the patient was treated with best supportive care, she succumbed to cerebral edema and hypernatremia on the fifteenth day of hospitalization.

A Case of Hepatocellular Carcinoma with Pulmonary Metastasis Who Showed Complete Response by Cytotoxic Chemotherapy after Sorafenib Failure

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the 2nd most common cause of cancer related death in Korea and well-known malignancy with poor prognosis. Sorafenib is the first-line molecular targeted agent in patients with extra-hepatic spread of HCC. However, complete response is extremely rare in patients treated with sorafenib and the disease control rate is only 43%. We report a 53-year-old man with advanced HCC with pulmonary metastasis who showed complete response by cytotoxic chemotherapy with doxorubicin and cisplatin with relatively tolerable adverse effects after failure of treatment with sorafenib.

Clinical Features of Tuberculosis in Dialysis Patients / 대한신장학회잡지

BACKGROUND: A retrospective study of the clinical features of tuberculosis in patients undergoing maintenance dialysis was performed. METHODS: We reviewed medical records of patients. RESULTS: Among thirty-four patients, fourteen were on hemodialysis and twenty were on peritoneal dialysis. Mean age was 52.4 +/- 13.8 years, and interval between initiation of dialysis and onset of tuberculosis ranged from 1 to 146 months. There were 14 cases of pulmonary tuberculosis, 10 cases of tuberculous lymphadenitis, 4 cases of tuberculous peritonitis, 3 cases of miliary tuberculosis, 1 case of spinal tuberculosis, 1 case of tuberculous pericarditis, and 1 case of tuberculosis of thigh. Patients with pulmonary tuberculosis usually presented with dyspnea and malaise. But typical symptoms of tuberculosis such as fever, cough, sputum, and weight loss were rarely observed. Leukocytosis was absent but anemia, hypoalbuminemia and significant increase in acute phase reactants such as ferritin and C-reactive protein was obvious. Diagnosis was established by positive AFB in 3 patients, and in cases of extrapulmonaty tuberculosis, 13 among 20 patients were diagnosed by typical histologic characteristics on a tissue biopsy. Antituberculous treatment consisted of isoniazid, rifampicin, pyrazinamide, and occasionally ethambutol. And in several cases, incision and drainage, pericardiocentesis, or removal of peritoneal catheter were performed. Among the patients, just one recurrence was observed and four patients died while on antituberculous treatment. CONCLUSION: In dialysis patients, extrapulmonary tuberculosis is common and diagnosis of tuberculosis is difficult for its atypical manifestations. Therefore, early diagnosis and prompt initiation of treatment is needed in patients with high suspicion of tuberculosis.

Kidney Transplantation in Diabetic Patients: Clinical Study in a Single Center / 대한이식학회지

PURPOSE: End stage renal disease caused by diabetic nephropathy is increasing throughout the world. In earlier years, the results of kidney transplantation in diabetics were not as good as those in non-diabetics and the presence of diabetes has been considered as contraindication at many centers. But the survival rate of diabetic patients treated with transplantation has improved in recent years. In this study we compared the results of kidney transplantation in diabetic patients group with those of non-diabetic patients group. METHODS: We reviewed our experience in a single center with 1,386 kidney transplantation patients in non-diabetic patients, compared with 31 kidney transplantation patients in diabetic patients. The clinical characteristics such as age, sex, duration of diabetes mellitus, serum albumin, blood urea nitrogen, hemoglobin, glycated hemoglobin, creatinine clearance, and morbidity were retrieved from medical charts. RESULTS: For diabetic transplantation patients one- and five year patient survival were 92.3% and 84%; for non-diabetic transplantation patients one- and five year patient survival were 98.7% and 93.4%. It showed statistically significant differences in patient survival between two groups. We analyzed graft survival in two ways. When all deaths were not censored, the graft survival rate of diabetic transplantation patients was significantly lower than that of non-diabetic transplantation patients: 80.6% vs 85.8% at 5 years and 27.3% vs 68.6% at 10 years (P=0.04). But the graft survival rate did not differ significantly between the diabetic and non-diabetic patients when deaths were censored: 95% vs 91.7% at 5years and 63.3% vs 79.5% at 10 years (P=0.96) In the analysis of risk factors affecting patient mortality, presence of DM and graft loss were associated with mortality and its odds ratios were 8.94 and 6.33 respectively. CONCLUSION: The overall patient survival and graft survival were significantly worse in the diabetic transplantation patient group than the non-diabetic transplantation patient group. But graft survival was not different between two groups when death was censored. This means that graft survival in diabetic transplantation group is not different actually with non- diabetic transplantation group when comorbidities are fully evaluated and treated before transplantation.

A Case of IgA Nephropathy Associated with Early Gastric Cancer / 대한신장학회잡지

The association of malignancy with glomerulonephritis is well known. The most frequent observed renal lesions associated with malignancy are the membranous glomerulonephritis on carcinoma and minimal change nephrotic syndrome on Hodgkin's disease. Recently, IgA nephropathy associated with liver disease, connective tissue disease, gastrointestinal disease, dermatologic disease, hematologic disease and malignancy were reported. But the relationship between malignancy and IgA nephropathy is not clearly resolved. Here we report a case of IgA nephropathy associated with early gastirc cancer. Successful treatment of early gastric cancer didn't completely resolve the IgA nephropathy but led to a significant reduction of hematuria and loss of proteinuria. Therefore we suggest that a certain association between IgA nephropathy and early gastric cancer can be made by studying the course of the disease.

A Study on the About Timing of Arteriovenous Fistula Formation for Maintenance Hemodialysis patients / 대한신장학회잡지

The number of patients and long-term survival rates of chronic renal failure have been increasing since the development of renal replacement therapy. Therefore, continuous follow-up observation on an outpatient basis, vascular access for dialysis and the determination of when to start dialysis have clinical significance associated with the prognosis of these patients. Presently, there is little clinical data about chronic renal failure patients such as, clinical features at initial dialysis, the presence or absence of neph-rologist follow-up, and the types and timing of vas-cular access. The goal of this study therefore was to investigate the clinical features at initial dialysis, presence or absence of follow-up, types and timing of vascular access in 80 patients retrospectively. The results are as below ; 1) The mean age of the patients was 47.8+/-14.0 years, and there were 47 male and 33 female patients. 2) Seventeen patients(21.3%) had DM as an underlying disease and 63 patients(78.79%) were non-diabetic patients. 3) At the initial dialysis, the diabetic patients had an average BUN of 79.2 +/- 29.6mg/dl, average Cr of 7.82.0mg/dl and an average Ccr of 10.0+/-7.0ml/min. The non-diabetic patients had the following averages ' BUN 118.7 +/- 37.9mg/dl, Cr 15.36.3mg/dl and Ccr 5.5 +/- 4.3ml/min. 4) The initial meeting with a nephrologist prior to dialysis occured as follows : in the diabetic group, 13 patients(76.596) met their nephrologist 12 months before, 3 patients(17.6%) 1 month before, one patient(5.9N) met the specialist one to 3 months before and no one had meeting 4 to 12 month before their dialysis. In the non-diabetic group, 36 patients(63.296) initially visited a nephrologist 12 months before, 16 patients (28.1M) one month before, 3 patients(5.3%) one to 3 months before and 2 patients(3.5%) had a meeting 4 to 12 months before the first dialysis. 5) The timing of native arteriovenous fistula for- mation was as follows; In the diabetic group, 10 patients(66.7%) had an A-V fistula constructed imme- diately upon admission, 2 patients(13.3%) had one constructed one to 3 months before, 2 patients(13.396) had one made 4 to 12 months before, one patient (6.7%) had a fistula created one week to one month before, and no one had a fistula formed 12 months before their initial dialysis. In the non-diabetic group, 36 patients(69.2%) had an A-V fistula constructed on admission ll patients(21.2%), one week to one month before 2 patients(3.8%), one to 3 rnonths before 2 patients(3.8%), 4 to 12 months before - one patient(1.9%) had the fistula created 12 months before initial dialysis. From these results, we learned that the time interval between either the patient's first meeting with his/her nephrologist or initial referral for renal replacement and vascular access preparation for hemodialysis was much longer than what is currently known. In conclusion, prompt referral to a nephro-logist early in the course of the disease and proper education of the patient by the nephrologist can lead to timely initiation of dialysis at a lower serum creatinine and higher Ccr levels which will reduce mortality, morbidity, and hospital care cost.