[A Case of Survival Following Fourth-Line Outpatient Chemotherapy 19 Months after Surgery for Small Intestinal Cancer with Multiple Liver Metastases in a Patient with Good General Condition].

A 59-year-old woman who complained of melena and lightheadedness visited the outpatient clinic at our hospital.According to her blood test result, she had anemia, and her tumor marker levels were high.Enhanced computed tomography(CT) findings showed small intestinal cancer with multiple liver metastases.Partial resection of the small bowel for the small intestinal cancer was performed.Following the administration of fourth-line outpatient chemotherapy containing S-1 plus irinotecan( IRIS)and IRIS plus bevacizumab(IRIS plus Bev), S-1 plus oxaliplatin plus Bev(SOX plus Bev), and weekly paclitaxel (wPAC), she survived with good condition for 19 months after the surgery.

[Survival after Sorafenib Treatment for Advanced Recurrent Hepatocellular Carcinoma with Tumor Thrombus in the Inferior Vena Cava].

A 72-year-old man with chronic viral hepatitis type B undergoing surgery for hepatocellular carcinoma was found to have a recurrent tumor in the left liver with peritoneal dissemination near the inferior vena cava(IVC)and tumor thrombus in the IVC. For this patient diagnosed with Barcelona clinic liver cancer (BCLC) classification stage C hepatocellular carcinoma, we initiated 800 mg/body sorafenib. Two weeks after the initiation of sorafenib, the patient experienced grade 3 hand-foot syndrome, after which, the dose of sorafenib was reduced to 400 mg/body. After 1 year, CT showed an enlarged tumor in the left liver and multiple metastases to the lung. However, no remarkable difference was observed in the peritoneal dissemination and the tumor thrombus. He has been receiving sorafenib for 19 months with a good quality of life. Sorafenib can be provided on an outpatient basis and it may facilitate long-term survival for patients with advanced recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma with IVC tumor thrombus. This clinical condition is very rare, and the standard treatment for it still has not been established.

Retroperitoneal schwannoma misdiagnosed as a psoas abscess: report of a case.

A retroperitoneal cystic mass compressing the right psoas muscle was found incidentally by ultrasonography in a 67-year-old woman. The radiological findings and a history of costal caries led us to suspect a psoas cold abscess. Ultrasound-guided needle aspiration was done to establish the diagnosis and to drain the content, but only a small amount of sterile fluid was obtained. The patient complained of neuralgia in her right leg at the time of puncture. Under the preoperative diagnosis of a neurogenic tumor, the mass was surgically resected, and found to be filled with old blood. The solid region consisted of a proliferation of fusiform cells, leading to a diagnosis of benign schwannoma. Retroperitoneal schwannoma is often misdiagnosed as an adjacent anatomical structure. Thus, we conclude that both microbiological and cytological examination of an aspiration specimen is important when psoas abscess is considered in a differential diagnosis.

Cholangiojejunal fistula caused by bile duct stricture after intraoperative injury to the common hepatic artery.

A 68-year-old man, admitted for the treatment of recurrent cholangitis after a pancreatoduodenectomy (PD) performed 3 years previously was diagnosed as having multiple hepaticolithiasis. On laparotomy, the hepatic artery was not recognized. The anastomosed common hepatic duct was obstructed, and a fistula had been formed between the right hepatic duct and the Roux limb of the jejunum. Lithotripsy was performed from this fistula and it was reanastomosed. Angiography was performed postoperatively and it revealed common hepatic artery injury, most likely to have occurred during the previous PD. The patient's postoperative course was uneventful and he has been asymptomatic for 8 months after the operation, indicating that reanastomosis of the fistula can be an effective method. The stricture of the anastomosis was suspected to be mainly due to cholangial ischemia, because no episode of anastomotic leak or retrograde biliary infection had occurred during the PD perioperative period. There are several reports of late stricture of anastomosis 5 or more years after cholangiojejunostomy. This patient, therefore, requires further long-term follow up.