Primary appendiceal adenocarcinoma.

Adenocarcinoma of the appendix is rarely encountered and is usually discovered at the pathology examination of the surgical specimen. Adenocarcinoma of the vermiform appendix is a rare neoplasm and constitutes <0.5% of all gastrointestinal neoplasms. There is no symptom of appendiceal cancer, and it is very difficult to diagnose preoperatively. Most female patients are diagnosed as having a gynecologic disease. Second primary synchronous and metachronous neoplasms, especially in the gastrointestinal tract, are found in up to 35% of patients with appendix adenocarcinoma. We report a case of adenocarcinoma in a 56-year-old woman misdiagnosed as having right ovarian carcinoma, and we review the literature.

The effect of alpha-tocopherol and pentoxyfilline on ischemia-reperfusion induced liver injury in rats.

BACKGROUND/AIM: In the present study our purpose was to investigate the effect of pentoxyfilline, that plays a role in microcirculation and tissue oxygenation, alone and in combination with an antioxidant vitamin E on tissue damage in the rat liver induced by ischemia-reperfusion. METHODOLOGY: Thirty-one albino rats were divided into four groups. Rats in group I (n= 7), group II (n= 8) and group III (n= 8) were given, respectively, pentoxyfilline (25 mg/kg), pentoxyfilline and vitamin E in combination (25 mg/kg and 50 mg/kg, respectively) and equal volume of saline solution intraperitoneally for 7 days. Rats in group IV (n= 8) served as controls and received no treatment. On day 7 ischemia was induced by cross-clamping the hepatic artery, portal vein and left branch of the biliary duct for 30 minutes. Malondialdehyde (MDA) and catalase activity were assessed in tissue sample, and the level of ALT was measured in serum obtained after reperfusion for 30 minutes. Histological examination of tissue sample was also carried out. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in ALT level between three study groups. Group I and group II had significant lower MDA and catalase levels than those of group III. The results of histopathologic examination in group I and group II were better than that of group III. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggested that the treatment of pentoxyfilline alone and in combination with vitamin E decreased liver damage induced by ischemia-reperfusion and that the effect of latter was more effective but the difference between the two treatment patterns was not statistically significant.