G-CSF-producing Undifferentiated Pleomorphic Sarcoma Adjacent to the Ascending Colon and in the Right Iliopsoas Muscle: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma (UPS) is a soft tissue sarcoma, occurring most commonly on the lower extremities. We herein report a rare case of primary UPS adjacent to the ascending colon and in the right iliopsoas muscle. Computed tomography of the abdomen revealed large masses, and the patient experienced a high-grade fever, leukocytosis, elevated serum C-reactive protein level, and hematopoietic activation on 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography. This inflammatory reaction was caused by granulocyte colony-stimulating factor secreted by tumor cells. Surgical resection was performed, and the inflammatory reaction disappeared immediately. The patient received adjuvant chemotherapy and survived one year after the operation without evidence of recurrence.

[Three Long-Surviving Cases of Peritoneal Metastasis after Colorectal Cancer Resection].

We experienced 3 impressive colorectal cancer patients who developed peritoneal recurrences and underwent surgery several times and survived for more than 5 years. Case No. 1 was of a 44-year-old woman who underwent right hemicolectomy for her stage II A ascending colon cancer. She developed left ovarian metastasis, which was resected 3 years later. Five years later, she developed a pelvic peritoneal recurrence, which was resected successfully. Thirteen years later, she is doing well. Case No. 2 was of a 61-year-old man who underwent transverse colectomy for his stage II B colon cancer. He developed ileus 2 years 9 months later due to peritoneal recurrence, which was removed successfully. He underwent another resection for peritoneal metastasis 2 years 6 months later. He was administered 15 courses of FOLFOX6. He has remained cancer-free since 2009. Case No. 3 was of a 62-year-old man who underwent sigmoidectomy for his stage II A colon cancer. One year 8 months later, he underwent resection for a painful abdominal wall metastasis. Eight months later, he developed another abdominal wall recurrence, which was resected successfully. He underwent thoracoscopic resection 4 times for lung metastases and was given 16 courses of FOLFOX6. In 2009, he developed pelvic peritoneal nodules, which were resected. He later needed lymphadenectomy twice. He has remained cancer-free for the last 5 years and 6 months. Curative resection must be performed for a patient with peritoneal recurrence of colorectal cancer when surgery is indicated.

[Three Long-Surviving Cases of Recurrent Rectal Carcinomas Treated Non-Surgically and Cured].

Few cases of recurrent colorectal carcinomas were treated non-surgically and cured. Here, we report 3 such cases. Case No. 1 was of a 66-year-old woman, who underwent ISR for very low rectal cancer. Her disease Stage was tub2, T2N0M0. Two years and 6 months later, she developed intrapelvic recurrence involving sacral bones(S1-S3). Radiotherapy of 50 Gy followed by mFOLFOX6 with bevacizumab was administered for a year. She has been cancer-free for 6 years. Case No. 2 was of a 47-year-old man who underwent preoperative CRT of 40 Gy with 5-FU plus Leucovorin, and LAR was performed for very low rectal cancer. The disease Stage was tub2, T3N2M0. One year later, he was diagnosed with recurrent aortic lymph node metastasis. After 7 months of mFOLFOX6 with bevacizumab, he developed an anastomotic fistula. His chemotherapy was discontinued; he was cancer-free for 6 years. Case No. 3 was of a 56-year-old man who underwent TPE for low rectal cancer. The disease Stage was muc, T4b(urinary bladder)N0M1a(perianal skin). One year and 6 months later, he developed ileus and was diagnosed with intrapelvic recurrence. He underwent intestinal bypass operation, and CRT of 46 Gy with capecitabine was administered. He attained CR quickly, and was cancer-free for 5 years. Collecting similar cases to analyze the key to successful treatment is important.

Complete response with sorafenib and transcatheter arterial chemoembolization in unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma.

Patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) showing portal vein tumor thrombosis (PVTT) have an extremely poor prognosis. According to treatment guidelines, the only option for HCC patients with PVTT is sorafenib chemotherapy. However, in Asia, various treatments have been attempted and possible prolongation of overall survival has been repeatedly reported. We herein report the first case of a patient with an initially unresectable advanced HCC with PVTT who underwent curative hepatectomy after sorafenib and transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) showing complete histological response. Two months after induction with sorafenib, a significant decrease in serum alpha-fetoprotein level was observed and computed tomography imaging showed a significant decrease in tumor size. Because of remaining PVTT, TACE and curative resection were performed. The combination of sorafenib and TACE may be an effective treatment for HCC patients with PVTT.

[Three Successful TUR Treatments of Urinary Bladder Recurrence of Colorectal Carcinoma].

We analyzed whether TUR was feasible in 4 cases of urinary bladder recurrence of sigmoid colon cancer that invaded into the bladder. Case No. 1 involved a 66-year-old male who presented with sigmoid colon cancer that had invaded the urinary bladder; he underwent sigmoidectomy with partial bladder resection. Six months after the operation, a small, protruded lesion in his urinary bladder was detected and TUR was performed. He has been cancer free for 10 years. Case No. 2 involved a 53- year-old female who underwent sigmoidectomy and hepatectomy for her sigmoid colon cancer and liver metastasis. She developed bladder and liver metastases, which were resected. Four months later, she underwent TUR because she developed a small recurrent tumor in the bladder. Since then, she has had no intrapelvic recurrence for 6 years. Case No. 3 was a 44- year-old male who underwent bladder-preserving resection for a sigmoid colon cancer that had invaded his bladder. He developed a relatively large bladder tumor 1 year 6 months later. TUR was performed and he was administered CRT. He has had no recurrences for 2 years 5 months. Case No. 4 was a 68-year-old male who underwent bladder-preserving surgery for a sigmoid colon cancer that had invaded his bladder. Because he developed a recurrence in the bladder, he underwent TUR 3 months later. He developed a recurrence in the bladder again 1 year 7 months later, and he underwent TUR again. Multiple organ metastases became evident and was prescribed chemotherapy for 2 years. From these cases, we conclude that TUR may be a feasible option for small, protruded recurrences in the bladder, but we should not hesitate to perform total cystectomy if the first TUR is unsuccessful.

[Case of Laparoscopic Sigmoidectomy for a Patient with Persistent Descending Mesocolon].

A 65-year-old man with bloody stools was diagnosed with sigmoid colon cancer on colonoscopy. A preoperative barium enema and a computed tomography colonography scan showed a medial displacement of his descending colon. The preoperative clinical diagnosis was stage cT1 colon cancer, N0, M0, cStage I . Laparoscopic sigmoidectomy was performed. We found adhesions between the descending colon mesentery and the pelvic wall, and noted that the descending colon was not fused with the retroperitoneum and was shifted to the midline. The patient was diagnosed with persistent descending mesocolon (PDM). PDM is a congenital anomaly of fixation resulting from the failure of the descending colon mesentery to fuse with the parietal peritoneum. Anatomical findings should have been noted during the operation, including the fact that the descending colon artery, sigmoid colon artery, and superior rectal artery often branch radially from the inferior mesenteric artery. It is important to understand the anatomical characteristics of PDM and to improve on existing surgical procedures to ensure safe laparoscopic surgery for these patients.

[Five-Year Recurrence-Free Survival after mFOLFOX6 Administration, Right Hemicolectomy, and Lymphadenectomy for Portal Venous Tumor Thromboembolism].

A 71-year-old woman was admitted for fever and appetite loss. She was diagnosed with ascending colon cancer, with portal vein tumor thromboembolism extending to the portosplenic junction. This was deemed unresectable despite the absence of distant metastasis. She underwent 16 courses of mFOLFOX6 therapy, and because the effect of chemotherapy was PR, right hemicolectomy with high ligation of the ileocolic vessels and the right branch of the middle colic vessels was performed. The tumor stage was yp-T3N1bM0, StageⅢB with a few remaining cancer cells in the portal venous system. Staging after chemotherapy effect was Grade 1a. Postoperatively, 13 courses of mFOLFOX6 were administered. A repeat CT scan showed lymph node recurrence along the SMV, which was subsequently resected again. After the second operation, 9 courses of the DeGramont regimen was administered and discontinued. Five years after the last operation, the patient remains well and without any recurrences. Colonic carcinoma with portal venous tumor thromboembolism has been reported in 9 cases, including ours. Among these, 8 cases involved the ascending colon. Seven of the affected patients were female while 3 were poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma. None of the other patients, except for our case, reported a 5 year patient survival rate without recurrence.

[A Case of Long-Term Survival after Nine Surgeries for Recurrent Sigmoid Colon Cancer].

A 67-year-old man was operated for sigmoid colon cancer. Histopathological examination revealed pT3 (SS), N0, M0, Stage Ⅱ cancer. In March 2005, abdominal computed tomography (CT) showed recurrences in the abdominal wall and associated localized dissemination. The patient underwent chemotherapy using TS-1 and CPT-11; however, the disease progressed. Therefore, surgery was performed to resect the recurrences. A re-recurrence developed during the adjuvant chemotherapy. The patient was operated 9 times for recurrences, which were macroscopically resectable, in addition to chemotherapy and radiation. It has been 3 years and 7 months since the last operation, and he is alive with no recurrence. Metachronous peritoneal seeding and distant metastasis developed, but we have observed that surgical resection of each recurrence can prolong patient survival. We conclude that surgical resection can become a treatment of choice for resectable metachronous peritoneal seeding from colon cancer.

[Recurrence of Rectal Cancer with Submucosal Invasion in the Bone and Lymph Nodes 89 Months after Surgery--A Case Report].

A woman in her 60s showed positive results on a fecal occult blood test and consulted her doctor. Early-stage cancer of the lower rectum was diagnosed, and a transanal local excision was performed. Histopathological examination revealed that the depth of submucosal invasion was ≧1,000 mm, and the submucosal invasive part of the tumor was a poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma. Therefore, she was referred to our hospital for additional resection. Intersphincteric resection was performed 11 months after the initial operation. The cancer stage was T1N0M0, Stage Ⅰ(UICC 7th edition), and the cancer did not recur. The patient visited our hospital again, 78 months after the additional resection, because of left hip-joint pain. Positron-emission tomography revealed fluorodeoxyglucose uptake in the left acetabulum, para-aortic lymph nodes, and left external iliac lymph nodes; these findings indicated recurrence of the rectal cancer. The patient received radiation therapy (57 Gy) and FOLFIRI; bevacizumab was added from the third course onward. The therapy reduced the size of the tumor recurrence in the bone. This was a rare case of rectal cancer with submucosal invasion that showed recurrence in the bone and lymph nodes 78 months after the additional resection.

Mechanisms of the preventive effect of pilsicainide on atrial fibrillation originating from the pulmonary vein.

BACKGROUND: It has been shown that pilsicainide terminates atrial fibrillation (AF) by pharmacologic pulmonary vein (PV) isolation. However, whether it can prevent AF induction originating from the PV by the same mechanism is still uncertain. METHODS AND RESULTS: Rapid pacing from the left superior PV (LSPV) and the right atrial free wall (RAF) was performed to induce AF during electrical stimulation of both cervical vagal nerves in 6 anesthetized dogs and during the infusion of acetylcholine (ACh) in 8 isolated atria. Rapid pacing induced AF in all dogs, regardless of the pacing site, before pilsicainide. Pilsicainide (1 mg/kg) prevented AF during rapid pacing from the LSPV, with an impulse conduction block between the LSPV and the left atrial free wall (LAF). However, the same dose of pilsicainide did not prevent AF when pacing was performed from the RAF. Pilsicainide partially restored the action potential duration shortened by ACh infusion and prevented AF with an impulse conduction block at the LSPV-left atrial junction in all isolated preparations tested. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that (1) impulse conduction block at the LSPV-LA junction is the underlying mechanism of pilsicainide-induced prevention of vagally-induced AF originating from the LSPV and (2) pilsicainide is more effective at preventing AF originating from the LSPV than that from the RA.