Volume-Outcome Relationship in Cancer Survival Rates: Analysis of a Regional Population-Based Cancer Registry in Japan.

BACKGROUND: There is limited data on the relationship between hospital volumes and outcomes with respect to cancer survival in Japan. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of hospital volume on cancer survival rate using a population-based cohort database. METHODS: Using the Kanagawa cancer registry, propensity score matching was employed to create a dataset for each cancer type by selecting 1:1 matches for cases from high- and other-volume hospitals. The 5-year survival rate was estimated and the hazard ratio (HR) for hospital volume was calculated using a Cox proportional hazard model. Additional analyses were performed limited to cancer patients who underwent surgical operation, chemotherapy, and other treatments in each tumor stage and at the time of diagnosis. RESULTS: The number of cases with complete data, defined as common cancers (prostate, kidney, bladder, esophagus, stomach, liver, pancreas, colon, breast, and lung), was 181,039. Adjusted HR differed significantly among hospital volume categories for the most common cancers except bladder, and the trends varied according to cancer type. The HR ranged from 0.76 (95%CI, 0.74-0.79) for stomach cancer to 0.85 (0.81-0.90) for colon cancer. CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed that a relationship may exist between hospital volume and cancer survival in Japan.

Efficacy of Hypertonic Saline-Epinephrine Local Injection Around the Anal Side before Endoscopic Papillectomy for Ampullary Tumors.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Bleeding is a complication of endoscopic snare papillectomy for ampullary tumors. This study aimed to investigate the clinical efficacy of hypertonic saline-epinephrine (HSE) local injection before endoscopic papillectomy for prevention of bleeding. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the data of 107 consecutive patients with ampullary tumors who underwent endoscopic papillectomy. The rates of en bloc resection, pathological resection margins, and prevention of immediate or delayed bleeding in the simple snaring resection group (Group A) and the HSE injection group (Group B) were compared. RESULTS: A total of 44 and 63 patients were enrolled in Groups A and B, respectively. The total complete resection rate was 89.7% (96/107); the clinical complete resection rates in Group A and Group B were 86.3% (38/44) and 92.1% (58/63), respectively (p=0.354). Post-papillectomy bleeding occurred in 22 patients. In Groups A and B, the immediate bleeding rates were 20.5% (9/44) and 4.8% (3/63), respectively (p=0.0255), while the delayed bleeding rates were 7% (3/44) and 11% (7/63), respectively (p=0.52). The rates of positive horizontal and vertical pathological margin in both groups were 27% and 16%, respectively. CONCLUSION: HSE local injection was effective in preventing immediate bleeding and was useful for safely performing endoscopic papillectomy for ampullary tumors.

The role of peroral video cholangioscopy in patients with IgG4-related sclerosing cholangitis.

BACKGROUND: The cholangioscopic features of IgG4-related sclerosing cholangitis (IgG4-SC) remain undefined. The aim of this study was to clarify these endoscopic features using peroral video cholangioscopy (PVCS) in IgG4-SC patients. METHODS: PVCS was performed in 33 patients: IgG4-SC (n = 13); primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC; n = 5); and cholangiocarcinoma (n = 15), which included hilar cholangiocarcinoma (HCCA; n = 5) and distal cholangiocarcinoma (DCCA; n = 10). RESULTS: The most frequent findings on PVCS in the IgG4-SC patients were dilated (62 %) and tortuous (69 %) vessels, and absence of partially enlarged vessels. The incidence of dilated and tortuous vessels was significantly higher in IgG4-SC patients than in PSC patients (p = 0.015). Scarring and pseudodiverticula were found significantly more often in PSC patients than in IgG4-SC patients (p = 0.001 and p = 0.0007, respectively). The incidence of partially enlarged vessels was significantly higher in DCCA patients than in IgG4-SC patients (p = 0.004). In contrast, the incidence of dilated vessels was significantly higher in IgG4-SC patients than in HCCA patients (p = 0.015). PVCS performed after corticosteroid therapy showed resolution of bile duct stenosis and dilated, tortuous, or partially enlarged vessels, as well as resolution of friability in all patients with IgG4-SC. CONCLUSION: Cholangioscopy was useful in differentiating IgG4-SC from PSC. In addition, monitoring the patterns of proliferative vessels on PVCS may be useful to differentiate IgG4-SC from cholangiocarcinoma.

Rapid development of central pontine myelinolysis after recovery from Wernicke encephalopathy: a non-alcoholic case without hyponatremia.

We describe a non-alcoholic diabetic patient with central pontine myelinolysis (CPM) and Wernicke encephalopathy (WE). A 69-year-old man developed consciousness disturbance after parenteral hyperalimentation for liver abscess and sepsis. Neurological examination revealed drowsiness and no articulation. MRI disclosed T2-hyperintense lesions in the dorsal medulla oblongata and dentate nuclei, and symmetric enhancement in the inferior colliculus. Thiamine treatment (1,000 mg/day, div) attenuated neurological deficits. Seven days later, WE-related lesions were markedly regressed and a central pontine T2-hyperintensity lesion appeared. Serum sodium levels were normal. Physicians should pay more attention to rapid development of normonatremic CPM under thiamine supplementation in non-alcoholic WE patients.

Myelodysplastic syndrome with central diabetes insipidus manifesting hypodipsic hypernatremia and dehydration.

Central diabetes insipidus (DI) is a rare but recognized complication of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML) that is caused by leukemic infiltration to the hypothalamo-neurohypophyseal system. In rare patients in whom a wide region of the hypothalamus is involved, central DI results in hypodipsic hypernatremia and dehydration. Typical DI symptoms such as polydipsia, polyuria, and marked thirst are concealed in these cases, because the hypothalamic "thirst center" cannot send thirst stimuli to the cerebral cortex. Herein we describe a patient with MDS developing into AML, who presented with hypodipsic hypernatremia and dehydration. A diagnosis of central DI was made on the ground of a low level of serum anti-diuretic hormone (ADH) despite high serum osmolality. A magnetic resonance imaging study revealed attenuation of a physiological "bright spot" of the neurohypophysis. An induction course chemotherapy including regular-dose cytarabine and daunorubicin produced a rapid improvement of hypernatremia. The bone marrow aspirate after two courses of chemotherapy showed complete remission. At that point, ADH release and the "bright spot" were recovered. In order to correctly diagnose central DI in association with hematological malignancies, we should not overlook this atypical type of DI.