[A Case in Which Eating Ability Was Restored after Chemotherapy for Gastric Metastasis Following Colon Cancer Resection].

We report here a rare case of gastric metastasis after resection ofa transverse colon cancer in which eating ability was restored following mFOLFOX6 (folinic acid plus fluorouracil plus oxaliplatin) plus cetuximab (Cet) chemotherapy. A 56-year-old man with chief complaints of constipation and abdominal fullness was referred to our hospital. In February 2013, he was diagnosed with transverse colon cancer via enema and colonoscopy. We performed transverse colon cancer resection followed by a 6-month course of capecitabine chemotherapy. In July 2014, the patient's serum carcinoembryonic antigen level increased, in October, he was again referred to our hospital with complaints of appetite loss and vomiting. He was diagnosed with multiple lymph node and gastric metastases via ultrasonography, computed tomography, and endoscopy, as well as multiple lung metastases via computed tomography. As the gastric metastases and vomiting rendered him unable to eat, a nasogastric tube was inserted and was administered mFOLFOX6 plus Cet chemotherapy. After 2 courses of chemotherapy his ability to eat was restored. As of March 2015, the patient remains alive following 12 courses of chemotherapy.

Short-term effects of highly-bioavailable curcumin for treating knee osteoarthritis: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled prospective study.

BACKGROUND: We previously developed a surface-controlled water-dispersible form of curcumin and named it Theracurmin(®) (Theracurmin; Theravalues, Tokyo, Japan). The area under the blood concentration-time curve of Theracurmin in humans was 27-fold higher than that of curcumin powder. We determined the clinical effects of orally administered Theracurmin in patients with knee osteoarthritis during 8 weeks of treatment. METHODS: Fifty patients with knee osteoarthritis of Kellgren-Lawrence grade II or III and who were aged more than 40 years were enrolled in this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, prospective clinical study. Placebo or Theracurmin containing 180 mg/day of curcumin was administered orally every day for 8 weeks. To monitor adverse events, blood biochemistry analyses were performed before and after 8 weeks of each intervention. The patients' knee symptoms were evaluated at 0, 2, 4, 6, and 8 weeks by the Japanese Knee Osteoarthritis Measure, the knee pain visual analog scale (VAS), the knee scoring system of the Japanese Orthopedic Association, and the need for nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. RESULTS: At 8 weeks after treatment initiation, knee pain VAS scores were significantly lower in the Theracurmin group than in the placebo group, except in the patients with initial VAS scores of 0.15 or less. Theracurmin lowered the celecoxib dependence significantly more than placebo. No major side effects were observed with Theracurmin treatment. CONCLUSION: Theracurmin shows modest potential for the treatment of human knee osteoarthritis.