Conversion surgery by hand-assisted laparoscopic surgery following chemotherapy for rectal cancer with H3 liver metastases: a case report.

Background: Recent advancements in molecularly targeted chemotherapy for stage IV colorectal cancer have enabled the possibility of complete resection in primary colorectal cancer, which often involves distant liver or lung metastases, by aggressive surgical resection followed by multi-combination chemotherapy. Case description: A 73-year-old man treated previously for hyperuricemia, hypertension, and a dissecting abdominal aortic aneurysm was referred to us after an incidental finding of multiple liver masses on abdominal ultrasound during follow-up for the aneurysm. A detailed examination by contrast-enhanced computed tomography revealed a ring-enhancing mass larger than 5 cm in diameter in segment 3 of the liver and more than 6 low-density areas with total diameter of 1 to 2 cm in both lobes. A barium enema examination revealed a Borrmann type 2 lesion covering two-thirds of the circumference of the colon, with a 5-cm major axis in the rectosigmoid colon. Biopsy revealed a well-differentiated adenocarcinoma. The patient was diagnosed with stage IV rectal cancer. Because there was no intestinal obstruction, we administered 9 cycles of bevacizumab with capecitabine and oxaliplatin as chemotherapy. Subsequent diagnostic imaging revealed the metastatic lesions in liver segment 3 had reduced to 2 low-density areas with a diameter of 8 mm, and the other hepatic metastases had disappeared; the main tumor had flattened and shrunk. Therefore, we used hand-assisted laparoscopic surgery (HALS) to perform anterior resection of the rectosigmoid colon and partial resection of liver segment 3 as conversion therapy. The patient was discharged 10 days after surgery. The rectal lesion was a well-differentiated adenocarcinoma with a depth of invasion of p-MP and a spread of L0, V0, and pN0. The partial hepatectomy did not indicate viable cancer cells; only necrotic, lysed tissue was observed. Postoperative chemotherapy involved 4 cycles of bevacizumab with capecitabine and oxaliplatin. At more than 42 months postoperatively, no metastasis or recurrence has been observed. Conclusions: This rare case demonstrates that conversion surgery can be a viable option following systemic chemotherapy in patients with advanced colon cancer and H3 liver metastases.

Expandable Metallic Stent for Endobronchial Metastasis from Colorectal Cancer: Reports of 2 Cases.

In recent years, there have been many reports about the efficacy of stenting for central bronchial stenosis. When central bronchial stenosis is due to metastasis of a malignant tumor to the trachea and/or bronchi (endobronchial metastasis: EM), it is classified as "narrow EM" and "broad EM." [1] We managed two patients in whom bilateral stent placement was required for narrow and broad EM arising from colorectal cancer. Case 1: In September 2011, a 66-year-old man underwent low anterior resection for advanced colorectal cancer associated with unresectable liver metastasis. The liver metastasis became resectable after chemotherapy, with two resection procedures and radiofrequency ablation (RFA) being performed. Thereafter, lung metastasis occurred and a tumor in the left lung was resected. In May 2015, he developed respiratory distress. CT identified multiple lesions protruding into the lumen of the trachea and the left and right main bronchi. There was no evidence of mediastinal relapse or local relapse at the resection margin, and tumors were only detected in the tracheobronchial walls. Accordingly, narrow EM was diagnosed. An expandable metallic stent (EMS) was placed on the right side where stenosis was more severe, and radiation therapy was conducted for the non-stented tumors. The patient died 8 months later. Case 2: A 69-year-old woman had undergone laparoscopic right hemicolectomy and adjuvant chemotherapy for Stage lllb cancer of the ascending colon. Due to subsequent elevation of tumor markers, PET-CT was conducted and abnormal uptake was seen in the apex of the right lung and right upper abdomen. Both lesions were resected, and omental and lung metastases were diagnosed. She received treatment with UFT / calcium folinate, but relapse occurred at the resection margin in the right lung. At 7 years and 5 months after initial surgery, she complained of respiratory distress at an outpatient visit. CT demonstrated displacement of the trachea and right main bronchus due to enlargement of upper mediastinal lymph nodes. There was also severe stenosis of the right main bronchus due to tumor infiltration. Because there was both infiltration from local recurrence after resection and upper mediastinal lymph node enlargement, broad EM was diagnosed. An EMS was placed at the site of severe stenosis in the right main bronchus. Similar to Case 1, radiation therapy was also conducted, but respiratory distress occurred after 3 months due to tumor re-growth at the stent margin. Accordingly, stent-in-stent placement was performed and her respiratory symptoms improved. However, superior vena cava syndrome occurred 1 month later and the patient died. We consider that placing an EMS is effective in patients with tracheal stenosis due to EM that is judged to be an oncological emergency.

Efficacy of 5-FU/LV plus CPT-11 as first-line adjuvant chemotherapy for stage IIIa colorectal cancer.

The aim of this study was to retrospectively evaluate the effect of adding CPT-11 to postoperative chemotherapy for stage III colorectal cancer. The subjects were 94 patients, including 60 in stage IIIa (or=4 positive nodes), who underwent curative resection. The clinical outcome was compared between patients receiving 5-FU/LV plus CPT-11 (FLC group) and patients receiving 5-FU/LV alone (FL group). The FLC group (54 patients) had a 3-year relapse-free survival (3Y-RFS) of 68.7%, a 5Y-RFS of 68.7% and a 5Y-OS of 67.1%, while the FL group (40 patients) had a 3Y-RFS of 67.5% (n.s.), a 5Y-RFS of 64.9% (n.s.), and a 5Y-OS of 77.3% (n.s.). There were no significant differences of these parameters between the two groups. For stage IIIa patients, the corresponding survival rates were 92.4, 92.4 and 90.9% in the FLC group (29 patients) vs. 64.5% (p=0.024), 61.1% (p=0.018), and 77.1% (n.s.) in the FL group (31 patients). For stage IIIb patients, the rates were 36.6, 36.6 and 24.8% in the FLC group (25 patients) vs. 77.8% (n.s.), 77.8% (n.s.), and 77.8% (n.s.) in the FL group (9 patients). These results suggest that the 3Y-RFS and 5Y-RFS of patients with stage IIIa colorectal cancer were significantly improved by adjuvant chemotherapy with 5-FU/LV plus CPT-11.

Comparison between intravenous and oral postoperative adjuvant immunochemotherapy in patients with stage II colorectal cancer.

The present study was designed to retrospectively examine the efficacy of postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy in 107 patients with stage II primary colorectal cancer who underwent curative resection. The chemotherapy regimen was intravenous 5FU/LV in 30 patients (FL-IV group) and oral UFT/PSK in 77 patients (oral group). There were no significant differences between the FL-IV and the oral group with respect to the 3-year relapse-free survival rate, 5-year relapse-free survival rate, and 5-year overall survival rate, which were 82.4 vs. 83.0% (p=0.8546), 78.8 vs. 80.0% (p=0.756), and 81.6 vs. 92.8% (p=0.1609), respectively. Grade 3 adverse events that occurred in the FL-IV group were leukopenia in one patient (3.3%), nausea/vomiting in two (6.6%), anorexia in two (6.6%), diarrhea in one (3.3%), and fatigue in one (3.3%). No grade 3 or 4 adverse events were observed in the oral group. These results suggest that the oral regimen achieved equivalent efficacy to the FL-IV regimen in patients with stage II colorectal cancer, while improving their postoperative quality of life.

Two-port hand-assisted laparoscopic surgery for the 2-stage treatment of a complete bowel obstruction by left colon cancer: a case report.

A 69-year-old woman presented to her local clinic with vomiting and abdominal distension. Since a bowel obstruction by left colon cancer was suspected due to a marked dilation of the transverse colon, she was referred to our hospital. On admission, an enema disclosed a complete obstruction at the splenic flexure of the colon. An emergency operation was performed, and a temporary loop colostomy was fashioned on the left side of the transverse colon within the range of resection for 2-stage radical surgery. On hospital day 16, a left hemicolectomy D2 was performed by 2-port hand-assisted laparoscopic surgery (2P-HALS) using the stoma as the hand access site, and the tumor was resected along with the removal of the stoma. After surgery, a slight wound infection occurred at the hand access site, but this healed with conservative management. On day 36, she was discharged from hospital. The histological diagnosis was Type 2 circumferential well-differentiated adenocarcinoma with local peritoneal dissemination. Our experience suggests that 2-stage surgery combined with 2P-HALS is applicable even to a large obstructing left colon cancer. This method is less invasive, safe and achieves excellent results, including a good cosmetic outcome.