Necessity for autologous blood storage and transfusion in patients undergoing pancreatoduodenectomy.

PURPOSE: To establish which patients undergoing pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) need autologous blood storage and transfusion. METHODS: Autologous blood was collected and stored for 69 patients scheduled to undergo PD, and not used in 50 patients. Based on the use of the deposited autologous blood and the estimated postoperative hemoglobin (Hb) level when blood was not deposited, we divided the patients into a "transfusion necessary" group and a "transfusion unnecessary" group. By comparing the two groups, we proposed a method of scoring to predict the necessity for storing autologous blood. RESULTS: The "transfusion necessary" group comprised 6 patients (2 who received homologous blood transfusion and 4 with an estimated postoperative Hb of <8.0 g/dL) and the "transfusion unnecessary" group comprised 63 patients (24 whose autologous blood was discarded and 39 with an estimated Hb ≥8.0 g/dL). By analyzing the differences between the groups, including the preoperative hemoglobin level and the need for portal vein resection, we devised a scoring system to predict the necessity of collecting autologous blood. The scoring significantly correlated with the proportion of patients who did not require autologous blood storage and transfusion. CONCLUSIONS: Not all patients benefited from autologous blood storage and transfusion. Our scoring system proved useful for identifying which patients required autologous blood storage and transfusion during PD.

[A case report of neuroendocrine carcinoma of the stomach with liver metastases curatively resected after neoadjuvant chemotherapy].

The patient was a 73-year-old male with advanced gastric cancer in the lesser curvature of the antrum.Abdominal computed tomography revealed multiple liver metastases(S5, S8).He was diagnosed with clinical Stage IV gastric cancer (cT3N0M1H1).He received 3 courses of combined neoadjuvant chemotherapy with capecitabine, cisplatin, and trastuzumab because immunostaining indicated the tumor was human epidermal growth factor receptor 2(HER2)-positive.The therapeutic response, as assessed by imaging studies, was partial for the primary lesions and stable for liver metastases.Distal gastrectomy, D2 lymph node dissection, and S5 extended subsegmentectomy of the liver were performed.Histopathological findings indicated that both the primary tumor and liver metastases were neuroendocrine carcinoma.The patient declined post-operative adjuvant chemotherapy and he is alive 6 months after the surgery with no evidence of recurrence.Surgery with neoadjuvant chemotherapy appears to be a promising option for advanced gastric cancer with liver metastases.

[A case of bile peritonitis caused by jejunal perforation after radiofrequency ablation for the multiple liver metastases from cholangiocarcinoma successfully treated with various interventional radiological procedures after pancreatoduodenectomy].

The case is a man in his 50s who had a curative surgical resection for cholangiocarcinoma in August 2006. The lesion was judged to be T3, N1, H0, P0, M0 and Stage III, and then he received various treatments including thermotherapy, CD3-activated T lymphocyte therapy. Then from June 2007, he was treated for multiple liver metastases by GEM, radiofrequency ablation (RFA), stereotactic radiotherapy, S-1, dendritic cell therapy. But there were multiple liver metastases whose maximum size was 17 mm in diameter and he was introduced to our hospital. In September 2008, ultrasonography and CT fluoroscopy guided RFA was operated on him for the liver tumors with a safety margin. But 2 hours after the ablation, he complained of epigastralgia. CT examination revealed a bile peritonitis caused by perforation of the jejunum which has been anastomosed to the pancreas, and was adjacent to the avascular area caused by RFA in segment 4 of the liver. We treated him by various interventional procedures including percutaneous drainage for bile leakage, pancreatic fistula, abscess in peritoneal cavity, and biloma in segment 3. Fifty days after the ablation, T-tube, with which pancreatic fluid and bile was induced from the cecal portion of the anastomosed jejunum to the anal side slipping through the perforated point, was successfully inserted through right flank, and resulted in complete recovery from a major technical complication of the bile peritonitis.

Hepatic resection followed by IFN-alpha and 5-FU for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma with tumor thrombus in the major portal branch.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) invading the major branches of the portal vein (Vp3) is extremely poor. Recently, we reported the efficacy of combination therapy with subcutaneous interferon (IFN)-alpha and intra-arterial 5-FU for intractable HCC with Vp3. In this study, this therapy was applied for resectable advanced HCC (Vp3) as a postoperative adjuvant. METHODOLOGY: Patients with HCC and tumor thrombi either in the major or first branch of portal vein were included (n=30). Fifteen consecutive patients with HCC and Vp3 were treated with at least 3 cycles of a combination therapy consisting of continuous arterial infusion of 5-FU (300 mg/mm3/day, 5 days/week, for the initial 2 weeks) and subcutaneous injection of IFN (5 MIU, 3 times/week, 4 weeks) as a postoperative adjuvant therapy following hepatic resection. Another 15 patients who underwent hepatic resection with no IFN/5-FU chemotherapy acted as controls. RESULTS: The results were as follows in the IFN/5-FU adjuvant treatment group; disease-free survival (n=11, 5-55 months), survival with recurrence (n=2, 9, 48 months), cancer death (n=1, 18 months), death from other causes but no recurrence (n=l, 22 months). The 1-year survival rate was 100% in patients treated with IFN/5-FU, and 41% in those without IFN/5-FU historical controls (n=15). There was a significant difference in disease-free and overall survival rates between the two groups (p = 0.0033 and 0.0031). CONCLUSIONS: Combination therapy with subcutaneous IFN and intra-arterial perfusion of 5-FU seems to be a promising postoperative adjuvant treatment modality for resectable HCC with Vp3.

[A report of two cases--two patients of the extremely advanced hepatocellular carcinoma have responded completely for a long time after a combination therapy consisting of arterial chemotherapy and injection of interferon-alpha].

The prognosis of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is extremely poor. Patient 1 was a 43-year-old male with major portal tumor thrombi. He received combination therapy consisting of continuous arterial infusion (MTX 30 mg/m2, day 1, CDDP/5-FU 6 mg/m2: 250 mg/m2, day 1-14) and subcutaneous injection of IFN-alpha (500 x 10(4) U, 3 times a week, 4 weeks). Patient 2 was a 66-year-old male with major hepatic venous tumor thrombi. He received combination therapy consisting of continuous arterial infusion (5-FU 6 mg/m2: 250 mg/m2, day 1-14) and subcutaneous injection of IFN-alpha (500 x 10(4) U, 3 times a week, 4 weeks). Decrease in tumor was observed in both patients markers and marked regression of tumor was observed in both patients. They are still in complete response. This combination therapy is an effective strategy for advanced HCC.

[A case of long-term survival with TAE resistant multiple recurrence HCC successfully treated by hepatic resection].

A 55-year-old female was admitted to our hospital for a third recurrence of hepatoma. She was treated with transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) in April and November 1996. Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed multiple tumors of S4/S8 and S7 in the liver. After the third TAE using SMANCS, Lipiodol and Spongel, abdominal CT revealed insufficient Lipiodol retention and the in efficacy of this treatment. A right lobectomy of the liver was performed for the TAE resistant multiple recurrence of HCC. After the surgery, the patient survived for over 5 years with no recurrence. It appears that this surgery may be a useful modality for TAE resistant multiple recurrence hepatoma in cases of good liver function and lesions limited to the hemi lobe.