A case of synchronous esophagus and stomach cancer successfully treated by combined chemotherapy.

Although cases of simultaneous esophagus and stomach cancer have been reported sporadically, there are rare reports of successful treatment using chemotherapy. We report a case of synchronous esophageal and gastric cancer successfully treated using docetaxel and cis-diammineedichloro-platinum (CDDP) combination chemotherapy instead of surgery. A 82-years-old man with anorexia and progressive weight loss was diagnosed with synchronous esophageal and gastric cancer by endoscopy. Both cancers were diagnosed as resectable by the preoperative clinical staging. However, surgery was contraindicated because of severe lung dysfunction. Moreover, he actively refused radiotherapy and endoscopic management. Therefore, the patient was given combined chemotherapy with docetaxel (65 mg/m²) and CDDP (60 mg/m²). The esophageal and gastric lesion completely disappeared on endoscopy, and there were no residual tumor cells on endoscopic biopsy after three cycles of chemotherapy. Metastatic lymph nodes also completely disappeared on the CT scan. The patient received a total of ten cycles of chemotherapy, without severe adverse effects. The patient remained asymptomatic for 18 months after discontinuation of the chemotherapy, without evidence of local recurrence or distant metastasis. Surgery or endoscopic treatment of both esophageal and gastric cancers is desirable, but, if medically inoperable, chemotherapy can be alternative treatment option.

[Gastrointestinal metastasis from a primary adenocarcinoma of the lung presenting with acute abdominal pain].

Symptomatic gastro-intestinal metastasis in lung cancer is extremely rare and only a few case reports have been published. Here, we report a case with lung adenocarcinoma that presented with acute abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting due to duodenum, jejunum, and colon obstruction by the gastro-intestinal metastasis. The patient underwent colonoscopy and the pathologic report was adenocarcinoma. When there are similar histologic findings in both colon and pulmonary lesion, the question is whether both lesions are primary cancer or the colon lesions are metastases from lung cancer. Microscopic examination of a conventional pathologic section was not sufficient to make this determination. Immunohistochemistry was positive for thyroid transcription factor-1 (TTF-1) and cytokeratin 7 (CK7), and negative for cytokeratin 20 (CK20) and caudal-related homeobox transcription factor-2 (CDX-2) on colon mucosa specimen. Accordingly, we used immunohistochemical marker for differential diagnosis of primary adenocarcinoma of the lung with gastro-intestinal metastasis.

Comparison of serum procalcitonin with Ranson, APACHE-II, Glasgow and Balthazar CT severity index scores in predicting severity of acute pancreatitis.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The aim of this study is to assess serum procalcitonin (PCT) for early prediction of severe acute pancreatitis compared with multiple scoring systems and biomarkers. METHODS: Forty-four patients with acute pancreatitis confirmed by radiological evidences, laboratory assessments, and clinical manifestation were prospectively enrolled. All blood samples and image studies were obtained within 24 hours of admission. RESULTS: Acute pancreatitis was graded as severe in 19 patients and mild in 25 patients according to the Atlanta criteria. Levels of serum PCT were significantly higher in severe acute pancreatitis (p=0.001). The accuracy of serum PCT as a predicting marker was 77.3%, which was similar to the acute physiology and chronic health examination (APACHE)-II score, worse than the Ranson score (93.2%) and better than the Balthazar CT index (65.9%). The most effective cut-off level of serum PCT was estimated at 1.77 ng/mL (AUC=0.797, 95% CI=0.658-0.935). In comparision to other simple biomarkers, serum PCT had more accurate value (77.3%) than C-reactive protein (68.2%), urea (75.0%) and lactic dehydrogenase (72.7%). Logistic regression analysis revealed that serum PCT has statistical significance in acute severe pancreatitis. Assessment of serum PCT levels and length of hospital stay by simple linear regression analysis revealed effective p-value with low R square level, which could make only possibilty for affection of serum PCT to admission duration (r2=0.127, p=0.021). CONCLUSIONS: Serum PCT was a promising simple biomarker and had similar accuracy of APACHE-II scores as predicting severity of acute pancreatitis.

Efficacy of I-scan endoscopy in the diagnosis of gastroesophageal reflux disease with minimal change.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The aim of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of i-scans for the diagnosis of gastroesophageal reflux disease, especially where only minimal change is involved. METHODS: The esophageal mucosa was inspected using an i-scan following conventional white light endoscopy. The examination with iscan was performed under tone enhancement (TE) esophagus (e) mode. Patients with subtle distal esophageal mucosal changes without definite mucosal breaks, such as blurring of Z-line (B), mucosal coarseness (C), hyperemic or purplish discoloration (D), erythema (E), ectopic gastric mucosal islet (I) and mixed type were classified as minimal change. RESULTS: A total of 156 patients were included. Using i-scan endoscopy, the number of minimal change was found to further increase from 94 (conventional endoscopy; 19B, 9C, 29D, 13E, 5I, 19 mixed type) to 109 (i-scan; 15B, 8C, 29D, 16E, 5I, 36 mixed type). And 14 patients who had single type by conventional endoscopy were converted to mixed type after i-scan. Therefore, 29 of 156 patients were upgraded after i-scan, they were account for 19% (p<0.0001; 95% confidence interval, 0.13 to 0.25). CONCLUSIONS: The use of i-scan endoscopy significantly improves the identification of minimal change and helps to identify more precisely the type of minimal change.

A Case of Bronchiectasis with Elevated Serum CA 125 Level / 결핵및호흡기질환

Serum CA 125 is the most useful marker for monitoring patients with epithelial ovarian cancer. However, it can be elevated above normal level in a variety of conditions other than ovarian cancer such as endometriosis, pelvic inflammation disease, and other malignant or nonmalignant disorders, including pulmonary diseases. Recently, we experienced a case of bronchiectasis in which the serum CA 125 level was elevated, changing with the patient's condition. There was no evidence of underlying malignant disease on positron emission tomography or on gynecologic examination, including transvaginal ultrasonography. During follow-up for 14 months, we could not find any clue of malignant disease that could have been the cause of the elevated levels of serum CA 125. Elevated serum CA 125 level should be interpreted carefully according to the patient's clinical condition. In addition, our case suggests that CA 125 may be used as a surrogate marker for acute inflammatory status for chronic pulmonary diseases.

Extraskeletal mesenchymal chondrosarcoma of the heart responded to systemic chemotherapy: a case report.

Mesenchymal chondrosarcoma is a rare cartilaginous neoplasm of an extraskeletal origin, and this predominately occurs in the head and neck, and also in the lower extremities. Fewer than twenty cases of cardiac mesenchymal chondrosarcoma have so far been reported on. For the most part, the results of treatment for patients with this condition have been dismal. In this study, we describe a case of cardiac mesenchymal chondrosarcoma that responded to chemotherapy following surgical biopsy. A 46-year-old man was referred for evaluation of his pleural effusions in both lungs. Chest computed tomography revealed an ovoid-shaped mass in the posterior wall of the patient's left atrium. The echocardiogram revealed a large ovoid-shaped immobile mass (11x6 cm(2)) in the pericardiac space, which was attached to the posterior wall of the left atrium. Emergency pericardiostomy with closure thoracostomy was performed. Seven days later, a thoracotomy was performed for reduction and diagnosis of the cardiac mass. The pathological diagnosis was extraskeletal mesenchymal chondrosarcoma of the heart.. Postoperative chemotherapy was performed for the huge remaining mass with a combined regimen of etoposide, ifosfamide and cisplatin. After 6 cycles, the patient showed a partial response without symptoms. Although cardiac mesenchymal chondrosarcoma has been reported to be chemotherapy-resistant with a short survival duration, chemotherapy may prove to be an effective treatment modality.