[Chemotherapy and Conversion Surgery for Advanced Gastric Cancer Patient with a Liver Metastasis in 81 Years Old Woman].

Eighty-one year-old woman was pointed out pulmonary tumor by health check and transferred to our hospital. Her performance status was fine. In imaging study, she had advanced gastric cancer with a solitary liver metastasis and highly suspected left lung cancer. She received chemotherapy combined with oxaliplatin and S-1 as first-line. However, the tumor enlarged and then received second-line chemotherapy combined with paclitaxel and ramucirumab. The tumor shrank and a solitary liver metastasis remained. She underwent gastrectomy and partial hepatectomy. After conversion surgery, she had no chemotherapy and had survived over 5 years. Even in old person over 80 years old, chemotherapy and surgery are considerable in patients with well performance status.

Development of a dynamic motion platform with two independent drive systems for radiotherapy.

BACKGROUND: There are some motion platforms for radiotherapy quality assurance. However, no platform with two drive systems that can move along three axes is available. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to develop a dynamic motion platform with two drive systems capable of three-axis motion and to evaluate its motion performance. METHODS: The developed moving platform had two drive systems that use the same equipment. Each axis of the platform used can support a maximum load of 10 kg. The motors for moving the platform in each direction are capable of a drive stroke up to 40 mm. The drive speed is 30 mm/s at maximum load fluctuation. To evaluate the static positional accuracy of this system with an arbitrary input movement, the XYZ position of each axis was measured using a coordinate measuring machine operating from 0 to 40 mm at 10 mm intervals. In addition, the accuracy of dynamic motion was verified with Sine waveform inputs of different patterns to the three axes for approximately 60 s, and they were compared with the resulting detected signals by SyncTrax. RESULTS: The two drive systems were successfully operated on three axes by using independent control systems. For static position, the accuracies were within 0.2 mm, 0.05 mm, and 0.14 mm for lateral, longitudinal, and vertical directions, respectively. For dynamic motion, the mean absolute errors in the X, Y, and Z axes between the platform inputs and SyncTrax detected signals were 0.14 ± 0.10 mm, 0.16 ± 0.12 mm, and 0.16 ± 0.11 mm, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: A new dynamic platform for radiation therapy with two drive systems capable of three-axis motion was developed, and the positional accuracy of the drive axes was confirmed to be less than 0.2 mm.

Evaluation of data-driven respiratory gating for subcentimeter lesions using digital PET/CT system and three-axis motion phantom.

Introduction.The application of data-driven respiratory gating (DDG) for subcentimeter lesions with respiratory movement remains poorly understood. Hence, this study aimed to clarify DDG application for subcentimeter lesions and the ability of digital Positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) system combined with DDG to detect these lesions under three-axis respiration.Methods.Discovery MI PET/CT system and National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) body phantom with Micro Hollow Sphere (4, 5, 6, 8, 10, and 13 mm) were used. The NEMA phantom was filled with18F-FDG solutions of 42.4 and 5.3 kBq/ml for each hot sphere and background region. The 3.6 s cycles of three-axis respiratory motion were reproduced using the motion platform UniTraQ. The PET data acquisition was performed in stationary and respiratory-moving states. The data were reconstructed in three PET groups: stationary (NM-PET), no gating with respiratory movement (NG-PET), and DDG gating with respiratory movement (DDG-PET) groups. For image quality, percent contrast (QH); maximum, peak, and mean standardized uptake value (SUV); background region; and detectability index (DI) were evaluated in each PET group. Visual assessment was also conducted.Results.The groups with respiratory movement had deteriorated QHand SUVs compared with NM-PET. Compared with NG-PET, DDG-PET has significantly improved QHand SUVs in spheres above 6 mm. The background region showed no significant difference between groups. The SUVmax, SUVpeak, and QHvalues of 8 mm sphere were highest in NM-PET, followed by DDG-PET and NG-PET. In visual assessment, the spheres above 6 mm were detected in all PET groups. DDG application did not detect new lesions, but it increased DI and visual score.Conclusions. The application of principal component analysis (PCA)-based DDG algorithm improves both image quality and quantitative SUVs in subcentimeter lesions measuring above 6 mm. Although DDG application cannot detect new subcentimeter lesions, it increases the visual indices.

Simultaneous presence of the hepato-spleno-mesenteric trunk, a common trunk for both inferior phrenic arteries, the left gastric artery, and a common hepatic artery that ran behind the portal vein in a patient with gastric cancer.

The celiac artery usually trifurcates into the common hepatic artery, splenic artery, and left gastric artery, but it is known to present several anatomical variations. In such cases, detailed knowledge of the variation is needed preoperatively to safely perform surgery. A 77-year-old woman was referred to our hospital for the treatment of gastric cancer. She had a triple anatomical variation: simultaneous presence of the hepato-spleno-mesenteric trunk, a common trunk for both inferior phrenic arteries and the left gastric artery, and a common hepatic artery that ran behind the portal vein. We detected this variation on routine preoperative multidetector computed tomography angiography, and safely and adequately performed laparoscopic distal gastrectomy.

[Three Cases of Solitary Brain Metastasis in Advanced Gastric Cancer].

We have experienced 3 cases of solitary brain metastasis after radical surgery in advanced gastric cancer. All of them have similar characteristics such as, upper third location, solitary metastasis to the cerebellum, and no other organ metastasis. As there is a risk of brain hernia, resection have been underwent first, and radiotherapy administered after surgery. One case has been provided over 2-year survival.

[Gastrectomy of a GIST with Diaphragmatic Repair Utilizing the Fascia Lata-A Case Report].

A 73-year-old man was admitted with the chief complaint of upper abdominal discomfort.After close examination, he was diagnosed with a huge stomach gastrointestinal stromal tumor(GIST)that occupied the upper left abdomen with a maximum diameter of 150 mm.The patient was referred to our department for surgery.The border between the tumor and spleen was unclear on CT images.As the diaphragm was thinned due to compression by the tumor, gastrectomy with splenectomy and partial resection of the diaphragm was planned.For the diaphragmatic defects, a simple closure was considered at first. However, artifacts have a high risk of infection when the defect holes are too large.Therefore, in this case, we attempted to repair the diaphragm hole with the autologous fascia lata.Intraoperatively, while the tumor was resected with 1 more layer of the diaphragm, the diaphragm itself was thinned, resulting in a defect hole of about 60×80 mm.Therefore, an 80×110mm fascia lata was harvested, and the diaphragm was repaired.Fascia lata can be conveniently harvested as a free graft.In addition, the fascia of the thigh has the advantage of being more resistant to infection than artificial materials.In addition, there was no functional failure due to collection, and special plastic surgery techniques and tools were unnecessary.Thus, it is a useful reconstruction material for general surgeons.Here we report the details of the surgery along with a review of the literature.

Retroperitoneal perforation arising from duodenal diverticulum treated by endoscopic drainage: a case report.

Retroperitoneal perforation of duodenal diverticula around the papilla of Vater is relatively rare. In this report, we describe retroperitoneal abscess, which was successfully treated by endoscopic drainage. Thus, endoscopic approach for retroperitoneal perforation caused by diverticulum is one of the treatment options in addition to surgery.

A simple respiratory indicator for irradiation during voluntary breath holding: a one-touch device without electronic materials.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the use, structural principles, operation, and acquired reproducibility of a respiratory monitoring device to be used for voluntary patient breath holding. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Evaluation was performed of a respiratory monitoring device that enables determination of the respiratory level in a patient by measuring the movement of two contacts on the abdomen and chest wall. Neither metallic nor electronic materials are used in the mechanics for this device. The initial study group comprised 21 consecutive patients (15 men, six women; mean age, 75 years; range, 56-92 years) with lung or abdominal tumors who underwent examination with the device and computed tomography (CT) for three-dimensional reproducibility of lung base position during voluntary breath holding with or without use of the device. RESULTS: One patient with mild dementia was excluded; in most of the remaining 20 patients, high reproducibility of the breath-holding position was achieved in a short time with the device. In these 20 patients who were able to adapt to use of the device, three-dimensional mean maximum differences in lung base position during three random voluntary breath holds were 2.0 mm along the cranial-caudal axis, 1.5 mm along the anterior-posterior axis, and 1.2 mm along the right-left axis. The differences in all axes were significantly smaller with use of the respiratory monitoring device than without the device. CONCLUSION: The device demonstrates satisfactory reproducibility of voluntary patient breath holding easily and inexpensively and may offer a convenient device for easy use during irradiation with voluntary breath-holding conditions that require a small internal margin.

A packed building-block compensator (TETRIS-RT) and feasibility for IMRT delivery.

A packed building-block compensator (TETRIS-RT) for IMRT (Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy) delivery has been proposed. The compensator contains two kinds of cubic blocks: x-ray absorbing blocks for intensity modulation and x-ray transparent blocks for packing. The packed blocks are placed inside a rectangular enclosure, and the resulting compensators can be attached to a linac gantry head through a rotatable mount for efficient multiportal IMRT. A fabrication device and a sorting device were also developed. The fabrication device can automatically stack two different types of blocks to produce a compensator while the sorting device can separate each type of the blocks for subsequent fabrication. Preliminary film experiments have shown that an additional leakage dose through the rounded edges of the ten-layered x-ray absorbing blocks was 0.9% of the delivered dose with a total shielded dose ratio of 10% including the peak leakage. It was observed that the proposed compensator may provide a highly modulated dose distribution. This suggests its feasibility for IMRT delivery with a limit of 1 cm x 1 cm spatial resolution at isocenter in the plane perpendicular to the beam, and larger discrete intensity steps of approximately 10% compared to conventional compensators. Advantages of the proposed compensator include that the compensator blocks are reusable and can be utilized to automatically and quickly fabricate a compensator, thereby minimizing human labor.

A packed building-block compensator (TETRIS-RT) and feasibility for IMRT delivery.

A packed building-block compensator (TETRIS-RT) for IMRT (Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy) delivery has been proposed. The compensator contains two kinds of cubic blocks: x-ray absorbing blocks for intensity modulation and x-ray transparent blocks for packing. The packed blocks are placed inside a rectangular enclosure, and the resulting compensators can be attached to a linac gantry head through a rotatable mount for efficient multiportal IMRT. A fabrication device and a sorting device were also developed. The fabrication device can automatically stack two different types of blocks to produce a compensator while the sorting device can separate each type of the blocks for subsequent fabrication. Preliminary film experiments have shown that an additional leakage dose through the rounded edges of the ten-layered x-ray absorbing blocks was 0.9% of the delivered dose with a total shielded dose ratio of 10% including the peak leakage. It was observed that the proposed compensator may provide a highly modulated dose distribution. This suggests its feasibility for IMRT delivery with a limit of 1cm×1cm spatial resolution at isocenter in the plane perpendicular to the beam, and larger discrete intensity steps of approximately 10% compared to conventional compensators. Advantages of the proposed compensator include that the compensator blocks are reusable and can be utilized to automatically and quickly fabricate a compensator, thereby minimizing human labor.