Treatment of infantile hepatoblastoma and related complications.

Hepatorblastoma is an uncommon childhood malignant tumor of hepatic origin and recent progress of treatment strategy resulted in improved prognosis of patients with hepatoblastoma. Although patients within one year of age were considered to have better prognosis than those over that age, the treatment related deaths have been reported to be the only cause of the treatment failure of the infantile hepatoblastoma. We have successfully treated 4 infants including one with spontaneous rupture and the other with recurrence. Treatment protocol was preoperative chemotherapy using cisplatin and THP-ADR, doses of which were modified according to the age, with optional radiological interventions followed by resection of the primary tumor. This report would describe their clinical courses and experienced side effects of the treatment in order to demonstrate its risk. Trans-arterial embolizations were beneficial to stop bleeding due to rupture and to reduce intraoperative blood loss. In spite of dose modifications high hematological side effects were inevitable and cisplatn-induced hearing loss persisted in one case. In conclusion, for small infants with hepatoblastoma, controlling the inevitable side effects and active but strategic surgical and radiological interventions are essential for successful treatment.

Telangiectatic focal nodular hyperplasia of the liver in an infant with spontaneous regression: a case report.

A distinctive mass in the liver in a two-month-old girl with elevated serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) level was diagnosed as telangiectatic focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH) after biopsy. The tumor spontaneously regressed and finally became no longer detectable by any imaging study within normal range of AFP. The nature of this novel entity and its management are discussed based on literature review.

Effect of the herbal medicine dai-kenchu-to on gastrointestinal motility in patients with megacystis-microcolon-intestinal hypoperistalsis syndrome (MMIHS) and chronic idiopathic intestinal pseudo-obstruction (CIIP): report of two cases.

Dai-kenchu-to (DKT), a traditional Japanese herbal medicine (Kampo medicine), composed of zanthoxylum fruit, ginseng root, dried ginger rhizome and malt sugar, is clinically effective for postoperative ileus and chronic constipation. MMIHS and CIIP are severe motility disorder associated with high morbidity. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of DKT on functional intestinal obstruction. DKT was clinically effective for gastrointestinal motility in a case with MMIHS, but not effective in one with CIIP. MMIHS and CIIP are speculated to have different pathogenesis regarding gastrointestinal pseudo-obstruction based upon the effect of this drug.