Low plasma fibrinogen levels are associated with poor prognosis in cutaneous angiosarcoma of the head and neck.

Angiosarcoma of the head and neck (ASHN) is one of the most aggressive malignancies of the skin, but the prognostic factors are not well known because of its rarity. Recently, high plasma fibrinogen levels were reported to predict poor prognosis in several malignancies. In the present retrospective study, we suggest that low plasma fibrinogen levels predict poor prognosis for ASHN.

Homozygous deletions of UGT2B17 modifies effects of smoking on TP53-mutations and relapse of head and neck carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Smoking induces oncogenic TP53-mutations in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs). Disruptive mutations of TP53-gene and expression of p16 protein [p16 (+)] in tumor tissue associate with worse and better prognosis, respectively. UDP-glucuronosyltransferase 2 family, polypeptide B17 (UGT2B17) detoxifies smoking-related metabolites. Differences among ethnic groups in UGT2B17 are extremely high. Homozygous deletions of UGT2B17 gene (UGT2B17-deletion) are a common copy number variant (CNV) among Japanese, but not a common CNV among Africans and Europeans. Thus, we examined Japanese patients with HNSCC to explore if UGT2B17-deletion and/or p16 (+) modify effects of smoking on TP53-mutations and affect relapse. METHODS: We conducted a posthoc analysis of a prospective cohort. Polymerase chain reaction, immunohistochemistry, and direct sequencing were used to determine UGT2B17-deletion, p16 (+), and detailed TP53-mutations, respectively. RESULTS: UGT2B17-deletion was observed in 80% of this study population. For this 80%, TP53-mutations were significantly more common among smokers than non-smokers (P = 0.0016), but this difference between smokers and nonsmokers was not significant for the 20% with UGT2B17. In patients with UGT2B17-deletion and p16 (+), simultaneously, TP53-mutations were much more common among smokers than among non-smokers (81% versus 17%; P = 0.0050). Patients with both UGT2B17-deletion and disruptive TP53-mutations had higher relapse rates than other patients (hazard ratio, 2.22; 95% confidence interval, 1.30 to 3.80, P = 0.004) in a stepwise method. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that UGT2B17-deletion interacting with p16 (+) may modify effects of smoking on TP53-mutations and may further interact with the disruptive TP53-mutations to raise relapse rates among Japanese patients with HNSCC.

Important points for primary cleft palate repair for speech derived from speech outcome after three different types of palatoplasty.

OBJECTIVE: This study was performed to investigate speech outcomes after three different types of palatoplasty for the same cleft type. The objective of this study was to investigate the surgical techniques that are essential for normal speech on the basis of each surgical characteristic. METHODS: Thirty-eight consecutive nonsyndromic patients with unilateral complete cleft of the lip, alveolus, and palate were enrolled in this study. Speech outcomes, i.e., nasal emission, velopharyngeal insufficiency, and malarticulation after one-stage pushback (PB), one-stage modified Furlow (MF), or conventional two-stage MF palatoplasty, were evaluated at 4 (before intensive speech therapy) and 8 (after closure of oronasal fistula/unclosed hard palate) years of age. RESULTS: Velopharyngeal insufficiency at 4 (and 8) years of age was present in 5.9% (0.0%), 0.0% (0.0%), and 10.0% (10.0%) of patients who underwent one-stage PB, one-stage MF, or two-stage MF palatoplasty, respectively. No significant differences in velopharyngeal function were found among these three groups at 4 and 8 years of age. Malarticulation at 4 years of age was found in 35.3%, 10.0%, and 63.6% of patients who underwent one-stage PB, one-stage MF, and two-stage MF palatoplasty, respectively. Malarticulation at 4 years of age was significantly related to the presence of a fistula/unclosed hard palate (P<0.01). One-stage MF palatoplasty that was not associated with postoperative oronasal fistula (ONF) showed significantly better results than two-stage MF (P<0.01). Although the incidences of malarticulation at 8 years of age were decreased in each group compared to at 4 years of age, the incidence was still high in patients treated with two-stage MF (45.5%). On the whole, there was a significant correlation between ONF/unclosed hard palate at 4 years of age and malarticulation at 8 years of age (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Appropriate muscle sling formation can compensate for a lack of retropositioning of the palate for adequate velopharyngeal closure. Early closure of the whole palate and the absence of a palatal fistula were confirmed to be essential for normal speech. To avoid fistula formation, multilayer repair of the whole palate may be critical.

[Two cases of pancreatic pseudocyst with bleeding].

We encountered 2 patients (No. 1 and 2) with pseudocyst hemorrhage of the pancreas. Patient No. 1, who presented with hemorrhagic shock due to rupture of a splenic aneurysm, was evaluated as a responder based on the response to the initial transfusion, and emergency TAE (transcatheter arterial embolization) was performed, which proved to be a successful life-saving measure. In Patient No. 2, also judged to be a responder, angiography was conducted and the course could be observed, because the hemorrhage was localized in the cyst. These results indicate that it is important to promptly select treatment policies based on the hemodynamic responses to the initial transfusion in cases with cystic hemorrhage of the pancreas.

Evaluation of a newly identified soluble CD14 subtype as a marker for sepsis.

CD14, a high-affinity receptor for lipopolysaccharide (LPS), is a glycoprotein expressed on the surface membranes of monocytes/macrophages. We have identified a previously unknown form of soluble CD14, named soluble CD14 subtype (sCD14-ST), that is increased in patients with sepsis. To measure sCD14-ST concentrations in plasma, we prepared anti-sCD14-ST antibodies and developed an enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for this soluble form of CD14. With this assay, quantitative measurements are available within 4 h, and we compared the levels of sCD14-ST in plasma from normal subjects (healthy controls), patients with systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), and sepsis patients. The level of sCD14-ST in subjects with sepsis was much higher than the levels in subjects with SIRS and the healthy controls. Additionally, when a subject's sCD14-ST level was used as a diagnostic marker for sepsis, the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was 0.817, thereby demonstrating that elevated sCD14-ST levels were a better marker for sepsis than the other molecular markers we tested. sCD14-ST levels also correlated with procalcitonin (PCT) levels and with sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) scores. Finally, changes in sCD14-ST concentration correlated with the severity of sepsis. Taken together, these results indicate that sCD14-ST is a useful marker for the rapid diagnosis of sepsis and for monitoring the severity of the disease.

Relationship of the serum procalcitonin level with the severity of acute pancreatitis.

The procalcitonin (PCT) level in the blood was determined in cases of acute pancreatitis. The PCT level was found to show a significant correlation with the severity of acute pancreatitis. Furthermore, the PCT level was significantly higher in the cases which developed MODS than in those which did not. The PCT level was significantly higher in the patients who eventually died than in those who survived. A significant correlation was observed between the serum PCT level and the serum tumor necrosis factor alpha level. Thus, PCT level was found to be a reliable indicator of the severity of acute pancreatitis.

Miniaturized amperometric flow immunoassay system using a glass fiber membrane modified with anion.

This paper describes a miniaturized amperometric flow immunoassay system using a glass fiber membrane modified with anion. The glass fiber membrane was functionally modified with gamma-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane and sodium thiosulfate and was used for separation of protein. Anti-human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody conjugated with ferrocenemonocarboxylic acid (Fc), namely, Fc-conjugated IgG (Fc-IgG), was used as a novel analytical reagent. HCG and Fc-IgG complexes were separated from free Fc-IgG based on differences in isoelectric point (pI) using the glass fiber membrane modified with a thiosulfonyl acid functional group. The assay yields a linear relationship between current and HCG concentration in the range of 0-2000 mIU/mL. This simple technique enables the assay of HCG within 2 min. The modified glass fiber membrane was regenerated by occasional elution with malonate buffer (pH 6.0) containing 0.5 M NaCl, to remove free Fc-IgG. Free Fc-IgG recovered in this manner could be reused up to eight times without significant decreases in sensitivity. This miniaturized amperometric flow immunoassay requires only minute quantities of serum and generates highly reproducible results.

Surfactant protein A and D (SP-A, AP-D) levels in patients with septic ARDS.

The levels of surfactant protein-A (SP-A) and surfactant protein-D (SP-D) in the serum of patients with septic acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) were determined. Patients with sepsis without ARDS were examined as controls. The mean serum SP-A level in the former group was 37.6 +/- 16.2 ng/ml and in the latter group was 31.8 +/- 9.6 ng/ml. The difference between the two groups was not statistically significant. The maximum serum SP-D level was 83.0 +/- 33.9 ng/ml in the control group of patients without ARDS, and 476.3 +/- 391.2 ng/ml in the patients with ARDS. The level in the latter population was significantly higher than that in the former population. No significant correlation was observed between the SP-A and SP-D levels. These results suggest that the serum SP-D levels may serve as a good diagnostic indicator of ARDS in patients with sepsis.