The efficacy of transcatheter arterial embolization as the first-choice treatment after failure of endoscopic hemostasis and endoscopic treatment resistance factors.

AIM: The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the efficacy of transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) as the first-choice treatment in patients with bleeding peptic ulcer after the failure of endoscopic hemostasis. An additional objective was to clarify endoscopic treatment resistance factors. METHODS: Between April 2004 and December 2010, 554 patients were admitted to Kasugai Municipal Hospital for necessary endoscopic hemostasis for bleeding gastric ulcer or duodenal ulcer. In the patients for whom endoscopic hemostasis failed, TAE was attempted. If TAE failed, the patients underwent surgery. The backgrounds of the patients in whom endoscopic treatment was successful and in whom it failed were compared. RESULTS: TAE was attempted in 15 patients (2.7%). In 12 (80.0%) of 15 patients, embolization with coils was successful. In one patient (6.7%), embolization was ineffective. This patient underwent emergent salvage surgery. In two (13.3%) of 15 patients, no extravasation was observed during arteriography. These patients were cured with medication. In two patients, ulcer perforation was observed during endoscopy after rebleeding. These patients underwent surgery. In total, 3 (0.5%) of 554 patients underwent surgery. No recurrent bleeding was observed after TAE. Hemoglobin level <8 g/dL at presentation (P = 0.02), Rockall score ≥7 at presentation (P = 0.002), and Forrest class Ia/Ib at initial endoscopic hemostasis (P < 0.001) were found to be independent significant endoscopic treatment resistance factors. CONCLUSIONS: TAE is a safe and effective first-choice treatment for patients in whom endoscopic hemostasis has failed.

Mycobacterium avium complex lung disease in a patient treated with an immune checkpoint inhibitor: A case report.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are becoming widely used for the treatment of various types of cancer. However, characteristic side effects, which are referred to as immune-related adverse events, may appear, and they have important clinical implications for the management of patients treated with ICIs. The development of mycobacterial infections has also been reported, but they have mostly been seen in cases with tuberculosis, and only a few cases involved non-tuberculous mycobacteriosis. We herein present the case of an 82-year-old man who was treated with nivolumab for gastric cancer. After the 22nd course of the treatment, the patient experienced loss of appetite for 1 week, and infiltration shadows were observed in the lower lobe of the left lung. Treatment for bacterial pneumonia was ineffective, and the lung field shadow gradually worsened. Mycobacterium intracellulare was detected in two consecutive sputum cultures. Thus, the patient was diagnosed with Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) lung disease, and treatment for MAC infection was thus initiated, with subsequent improvement of the patient's condition and infiltration shadows. At 7 months after the start of treatment, the sputum cultures became negative for acid-fast bacilli. Since MAC lung disease may develop acutely during immunotherapy with ICIs, clinicians should include it in the differential diagnoses for pneumonia during immunotherapy with ICIs.

[A case of peritoneal dissemination from mucinous carcinoma of the duodenum, which was associated with tumor thrombosis in the accessory pancreatic duct and successfully treated by chemotherapy].

A 72-year-old woman was admitted with an abdominal tumor, which had been detected by computed tomography scanning. Endoscopic examination of the upper gastrointestinal tract revealed a type 3 tumor in the descending limb of the duodenum. A diagnosis of adenocarcinoma was made on the basis of the histological analysis of the biopsy sample. Pancreatoduodenectomy was performed, and peritoneal dissemination was confirmed at surgery. The pathological findings indicated primary duodenal cancer (mucinous carcinoma) associated with tumor thrombosis in the accessory pancreatic duct. Postoperative chemotherapy was performed. Carcinomatous peritonitis was controlled and the patient showed long-term survival.