[Effect of Post-Gastrectomy Adjuvant S-1 Chemotherapy on Muscle Volume in Gastric Cancer Patients].

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effect of S-1 adjuvant chemotherapy on muscle volume after curative gastrectomy in gastric cancer patients. PATIENTS: Forty-eight gastric cancer patients (31 men and 17 women) who underwent curative gastrectomy (distal gastrectomy: n=37, and total gastrectomy: n=11) between April 2010 and July 2011 were enrolled in this study. Sixteen patients underwent S-1 adjuvant chemotherapy (S-1 group) for 1 year after the operation, and 32 patients did not (NT group). METHODS: The psoas muscle areas were measured at the fourth lumbar vertebrae on CT images obtained before the operation, and at 6, 12, and 24 months after the operation. Muscle areas was statistically examined by comparing the preoperative and postoperative ratios. RESULTS: The muscle areas 12 months after the operation decreased to 0.86 ± 0.11 in the S-1 group and to 0.96 ± 0.08 in the NT group (p<0.05), and the significant difference disappeared at 24 months (0.93 ± 0.10 vs. 0.93 ± 0.11, NS). In the patients who underwent distal gastrectomy, the muscle areas decreased to 0.90 ± 0.05 in the S-1 group and to 0.96 ± 0.09 in the NT group at 12 months (p<0.05). Meanwhile, in those who underwent total gastrectomy, the muscle areas decreased to 0.80 ± 0.15 and 0.93 ± 0.03, respectively (NS). CONCLUSIONS: S-1 adjuvant chemotherapy affected muscle volume loss after gastrectomy in the gastric cancer patients, but the patients recovered from the adverse effect by 12 months after chemotherapy.

Safety of early laparoscopic cholecystectomy for patients with acute cholecystitis undergoing antiplatelet or anticoagulation therapy: a single-institution experience.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Early cholecystectomy is recommended for patients with acute cholecystitis, particularly when less than 72 hours have passed since symptom onset. The safety of early laparoscopic cholecystectomy for patients receiving anticoagulants or antiplatelet agents is unclear. We retrospectively analyzed the safety of early laparoscopic cholecystectomy for patients with acute cholecystitis undergoing antiplatelet or anticoagulation therapy. METHODOLOGY: Between 2005 and 2012, a total of 239 patients were diagnosed with acute cholecystitis, 183 of whom underwent early laparoscopic cholecystectomy. We compared the clinical features and surgical outcomes of 21 patients undergoing antiplatelet or anticoagulation therapy with those of 162 patients not undergoing antiplatelet or anticoagulation therapy. RESULTS: Of the 21 patients, 15 patients took aspirin and four took clopidogrel sulfate. Three patients received dual therapy with two agents. The distributions of the severity of acute cholecystitis, a past history of abdominal operations, body mass index, blood test results, operation time, and blood loss were not significant between the two groups. Neither conversion to open surgery nor bleeding-related complications occurred in the patients undergoing antiplatelet and anticoagulation therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Early laparoscopic cholecystectomy for selected patients with acute cholecystitis undergoing antiplatelet and anticoagulation therapy is feasible and safe.

[Sternomyelitis caused by delayed tracheal necrosis after thyroidectomy;treatment using muscle flap of petoralis major].

We experienced a rare case of delayed tracheal rupture after thyroidectomy for papillary thyroid cancer, and the infection causing sternomyelitis. A 69-year-old man presented subcutaneous emphysema after 6 days of total thyroidectomy with bilateral cervical and mediastinal dissection for lymph node metastases by adverse T sternotomy. He underwent tracheostomy on 10th postoperative day (POD), debridement of sternum on 14th POD, and implantation of skin-muscle flap using pectolaris major on 43th POD. The flap showed good adaptation and no infectious complications recurred, so that he could consequently receive closing procedure of tracheostomy on 94th POD.

[A case of long-term survival after hepatic resection for metastatic gastric cancer].

We report a case of long-term survival of a patient who underwent hepatic resection for metastatic gastric cancer. The patient was a 75-year-old man who underwent distal gastrectomy for gastric cancer in 2004. On pathological examination, the tumor was diagnosed as T4a (SE) N0M0, stage IIB. A metastatic lesion was detected in segment 6 of the liver at 2 years after gastrectomy. With regard to radiological findings, a single metastatic lesion and no lymph node metastasis or peritoneal recurrence was observed. The hepatic lesion was curatively resected. Another metachronous liver metastasis was identified in segment 7 of the liver at 3 years after gastrectomy. We resected the remnant liver metastasis, after which the patient has not exhibited any evidence of tumor recurrence for more than 5 years. This case suggests that patients could survive for a long period after undergoing resection of hepatic metastasis because no lymph node metastasis was observed during the operation of the primary gastric cancer, only a single hepatic metastasis without any metastasis to other organs was observed, and the metastatic lesion of the liver could be curatively resected.

[A case of a patient with giant mucinous cystadenocarcinoma who presented with abdominal pain].

We report a case of a patient in whom a giant mucinous cystadenocarcinoma was treated with distal pancreatectomy. A 37-year-old woman was admitted to the hospital complaining of intermittent epigastric pain. The laboratory data revealed a marked increase in serum levels of carcinoembryonic antigen( CEA 22 ng/mL), cancer antigen( CA) 19-9( 258,129 U/ mL), and CA125 (53 U/mL). A computed tomography (CT) scan revealed a cystic tumor, 15 cm in diameter, in the body of the pancreas. The tumor presented as a multilocular cyst with enhanced nodules. On positron emission tomography (PET)-CT,[ 18F] fluorodeoxyglucose uptake by the nodules of the cyst was noted. Under the diagnosis of malignant mucinous cystic neoplasm, we performed distal pancreatectomy, splenectomy, partial gastrectomy, and left adrenalectomy because the tumor was suspected to be invading the stomach and left adrenal gland. The tumor was histologically diagnosed as invasive mucinous cystadenocarcinoma with ovarian-like stroma. The patient survived for 14 months after surgery without tumor recurrence. Invasive mucinous cystadenocarcinoma of the pancreas has high rates of lymph node metastasis and early recurrence after surgery. We believe that we would have had to perform complete tumor resection equivalent to that of invasive ductal carcinoma of the pancreas if the mucinous cystic neoplasm was found to be malignant preoperatively.

[Abdominal lymph node metastases detected five years after surgery for the lung cancer; report of a case].

A 73-year-old woman who had underwent right lower lobectomy for adenocarcinoma of the lung( S10,pT1aN0M0, stage I A) 5 years before, visited our hospital with back pain. Whole body computed tomography (CT) revealed the enlargement of the abodominal lymph nodes surrounding the celiac artery,which was positive for fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography( FDG-PET). Open biopsy of the lymph node was performed and histopathological diagnosis was metastases of adenocarcinoma.Additional immunohistological examination showed positive findings for cytokeratin( CK) 7 and thyroid transcription factor( TTF)-1, but negative for CK20, suggesting the lesion to be metastases of lung cancer. Abdominal lymph node should be kept in mind in patients with lower lobe lung cancer.

[A case of intrahepatic recurrence of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma treated with repeated hepatectomy].

A 60-year-old man with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) underwent a left hepatectomy. Following the procedure, S-1 was administered during the period of five months. About two years after the hepatectomy, the patient underwent a hepatic resection again for remunant hepatic recurrences of ICC. Aggressive surgical resection may be the only method to assure a good outcome. An indication of resection for the hepatic recurrence of ICC will be examined in the future.

[A radical resection of non-small cell lung cancer invading chest wall with ipsilateral axillary lymph node metastases].

A 41-year-old man who had non-small cell lung cancer invading his right 3rd, 4th and 5th ribs with hilum lymph node swelling(cT3N1M0, cStage III A), received chemoradiation therapy, cisplatin(CDDP)/docetaxel, and 2 Gy/Fr of irradiation prior to surgery. But the therapy was discontinued due to interstitial pneumonitis on day 24, during 28 Gy of radiation. At that time, a PET-CT scan revealed the accumulation of FDG in the primary tumor, hilar lymph node, and one of the ipsilateral axillar lymph nodes, in which cancer cell presence was proven by aspiration needle cytology. We organized a radical operation even though the node status was classified to cStage IV, because ipsilateral axillary lymph nodes may be regarded as regional nodes for tumors invading the chest wall. Right upper lobectomy and chest wall resection were performed, and the ipsilateral hilar, mediastinal, and axillary lymphnode were dissected. Pathological findings showed no active cancer cell in the primary lesion and hilar lymph nodes(Ef. 3), but obvious metastasis in one of the axillary lymph nodes(pT0N0M1b, pStage IV). The patient received adjuvant chemotherapy(CDDP/vinorelbine), and is alive and tumor-free 10months after the resection.

[Squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal showing pathological complete response after S-1 plus radiotherapy -a case report].

The patient was a 53-year-old woman who underwent colonoscopy for anal pain and melena. We diagnosed her with Stage I (T2N0M0) anal canal squamous cell carcinoma by biopsy specimen and CT scan. We recommended chemo-radiotherapy because she hoped to keep her anus. For this patient, we planned an S-1 administration at a dose of 120 mg/ body/day for consecutive 14 days followed by 7 days of rest period with whole pelvis and bilateral inguinal radiation (total 45 Gy/25 Fr). Then we added a booster radiation (14 Gy/7 Fr) to a local area for 5 days followed by 2 days of rest period. After 2 weeks of chemo-radiotherapy, we could not detect any tumors by colonoscopy. We diagnosed it as a pathological complete response for biopsy specimen.

[Long-term control of sacral metastasis from rectal cancer with S-1 + radiation treatment (RT) and mFOLFOX6 combination therapy--a case report].

Combined chemotherapy including 5-FU plus radiation treatment resulted in a synergistic effect has been reported. S-1 enhances a radiation response of colon cancer cell line xenografts. Also the effectiveness of S-1 + radiation therapy has been reported. A 66-year-old man underwent a low anterior resection for lower rectal cancer. Adjuvant chemotherapy was not performed due to Stage II rectal cancer. Twenty months after the operation, solitary sacral bone metastasis was found during the postoperative work-up. S-1 (120 mg/day) combined with radiotherapy was performed on days 1-14 and 21-35. Radiation (3 Gy) was administered a total of 45 Gy on days 1-5, 7-12 and 35-40. Moreover, the reduction was judged as complete response after 11 courses of mFOLFOX 6. There has been no sign of recurrence for 44 months. It suggested that local control therapy (S-1 + radiation) plus systemic chemotherapy (mFOLFOX6) was one of the promising effective therapies for single sacral bone metastasis of rectal cancer.

[Evaluation of systemic chemotherapy for unresectable gallbladder carcinoma].

We analyzed a treatment outcome and the effect of systemic chemotherapy for patient with unresectable gallbladder carcinoma. Sixteen patients were investigated. Gemcitabine (GEM) was administrated for fifteen patients as the first-line chemotherapy. S-1 was administrated for ten patients as the second-line chemotherapy. The response rate and tumor control rate of the first-line GEM were 14.3% and 78.6%, respectively. The median progression free time of the first-line GEM was 6.0 months. The response rate and tumor control rate of the second-line S-1 were respectively 20.0% and 30.0%. The median progression free time of the second-line S-1 was 1.8 months. The median survival time of all cases was 14.9 months. The outcome of systemic chemotherapy for patients with unresectable gallbladder carcinoma in our hospital was feasible compared with past reports.

Duodenogastric reflux after choledochoduodenostomy: evaluation by technetium-99m scintigraphy.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Persistence of dyspeptic symptoms after choledochoduodenostomy (CDD) is common. There is evidence that at least some of these symptoms may be attributed to duodenogastric reflux (DGR). The aim of the study was to quantify DGR after CDD. METHODOLOGY: A total of 6 patients who had undergone cholecystectomy with a standard side-to-end CDD for choledocholithiasis or Lemmel syndrome were studied by symptom evaluation, biliary scintigraphy and endoscopy at least 6 months after surgery. Duodenogastric reflux was quantified using continuous intravenous infusion of 99mTc-HIDA. RESULTS: The incidence of DGR after CDD was 67% compared to healthy control. In the majority of the patients the DGR was mild to moderate, but not with the clinical symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: 99mTc-HIDA scanning of the hepatobiliary system is a reasonable and reliable method for the quantitative evaluation of DGR. CDD is associated with a high incidence of DGR, but its occurrence does not produce significant clinical symptoms.