Background Gastric cancer with extensive lymph node metastasis is commonly considered unresectable, with a poor prognosis. We previously reported the results of the use of cisplatin and S-1 as preoperative chemotherapy for gastric cancer with extensive lymph node metastasis; docetaxel, cisplatin, and S-1 (DCS) have now been investigated for the same purpose. Methods Patients received two or three 28-day cycles of DCS therapy (docetaxel at 40 mg/m 2 and cisplatin at 60 mg/m 2 on day 1, S-1 at 40 mg/m 2 twice daily for 2 weeks) followed by gastrectomy with D2 plus para-aortic nodal dissection. After R0 resection, S-1 chemotherapy was given for 1 year. The primary end point was the response rate (RR) to preoperative chemotherapy determined by central peer review according to the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors version 1.0. The planned sample size was 50, with one-sided alpha of 10 %, power of 80 %, expected RR of 80 %, and threshold of 65 %. Results Between July 2011 and May 2013, 53 patients were enrolled, of whom 52 were eligible. The clinical RR was 57.7 % [30/52, 80 % confidence interval 47.9-67.1 %, p = 0.89], and R0 resection was achieved in 84.6 % of patients (44/52). Common grade 3 or grade 4 adverse events during DCS therapy were leukocytopenia (18.9 %), neutropenia (39.6 %), and hyponatremia (15.1 %). The common grade 3 or grade 4 surgical morbidity was abdominal infection (10.2 %). The pathological RR was 50.0 % (26/52). Conclusions Preoperative DCS therapy was feasible but did not show a sufficient RR. Preoperative cisplatin and S-1 therapy is still considered the tentative standard treatment for this population until survival results are known.

For preoperative evaluation of patients with IPMN, it is recommended to rule out IC-IPMC using multidetector-row computed tomography and then to categorize IPMN other than IC-IPMC according to malignant potential based on the diagnostic score.

Combined analysis of WA and IO images obtained with dual-energy CT improves the diagnostic performance and interobserver reproducibility of evaluations of laryngeal cartilage invasion by SCC.

BackgroundTwo standard sets of criteria are used to evaluate the tumor response of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC): RECIST (Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors) and modified RECIST (mRECIST). The purpose was to compare two tumor response evaluation criteria, RECIST version 1.1 and mRECIST, for HCC treated using transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE).MethodsThe radiological findings of patients who underwent TACE for HCCs in a multicenter clinical trial were examined. Sixty-five lesions in 21 patients treated with TACE without mixing iodized-oil were evaluated. The tumor size was evaluated by measuring the entire lesion, including the necrotic part, using RECIST version 1.1, whereas only the contrast-enhanced part observed during the arterial phase was measured using mRECIST. Five radiologists independently measured each lesion twice. To evaluate the inter-criteria reproducibility, the complete response (CR) rate, the response rate, the kappa statistics, and the proportion of agreement (PA) for response categories were calculated. The same analyses were conducted for inter- and intra-observer reproducibility.ResultsIn the inter-criteria reproducibility study, the CR rate and the response rate obtained using mRECIST (56.9% and 79.7%) were higher than those obtained using RECIST version 1.1 (9.2% and 43.1%). In the inter- and intra-observer reproducibility study, mRECIST exhibited an ‘almost perfect agreement', while RECIST version 1.1 exhibited a ‘substantial agreement'.ConclusionsConsiderable differences in the CR rate and the response rate were observed. From the viewpoint of the high inter- and intra-observer reproducibility, mRECIST may be more suitable for tumor response criteria in clinical trials of TACE for HCC.

Celiac axis stenosis is found at an incidence of 2%-24% in the general population. During pancreatoduodenectomy in patients with celiac axis stenosis, division of the gastroduodenal artery from the common hepatic artery may cause acute ischemia of the upper abdominal organs, such as the liver, stomach, or spleen. Under these circumstances, the clinical indications of arterial reconstruction remain controversial. Between 1994 and 2003, seven patients with celiac axis stenosis (n = 4) or occlusion (n = 3) underwent pancreatoduodenectomy at our hospital. Arterial reconstruction, including division of the median arcuate ligament, was conducted in two patients; the replaced right hepatic artery was preserved in one patient, and no vascular refinement was undertaken in the remaining four of the seven patients. In two of the four patients without arterial reconstruction or preservation, the serum levels of liver enzymes were markedly elevated (> 800 IU/l) on postoperative day 1, and these patients subsequently developed liver abscesses. Two patients who underwent arterial reconstruction and three patients who showed no decrease in intrahepatic arterial flow under Doppler ultrasonography after clamping of the gastroduodenal artery developed no ischemic complications. Although our experience is limited, when intraoperative Doppler ultrasonography indicates a decrease in the hepatic arterial signals, we believe that reconstruction of the hepatic artery will be necessary to minimize ischemic complications in the liver in patients with celiac axis stenosis.

No abstract

In this study, hepatocyte-specific Gd-EOB-DTPA was shown to be safe and to improve the detection and characterization of focal hepatic lesions compared with unenhanced MR imaging. When compared with spiral CT, Gd-EOB-DTPA enhanced MRI seems to be beneficial especially for the detection for smaller lesions or hepatocellular carcinoma underlying cirrhotic liver.

The aim of this study was to establish new biliary tract carcinoma (BTC) cell lines and identify predictive biomarkers for the potential effectiveness of gemcitabine therapy. Surgical specimens of BTC were transplanted directly into immunodeficient mice to establish xenografts, then subjected to in vitro cell culture. The gemcitabine sensitivity of each cell line was determined and compared with the genome-wide gene expression profile. A new predictive biomarker candidate was validated using an additional cohort of gemcitabine-treated BTC cases. From 55 BTC cases, we established 19 xenografts and six new cell lines. Based on their gemcitabine sensitivity, 10 BTC cell lines (including six new and four publicly available ones) were clearly categorized into two groups, and MAGEH1 mRNA expression in the tumor cells showed a significant negative correlation with their sensitivity to gemcitabine. Immunohistochemically, MAGEH1 protein was detected in three (50%) out of six sensitive cell lines, and four (100%) out of four resistant cell lines. In the validation cohort of gemcitabine-treated recurrence cases, patients were categorized into ''effective'' and ''non-effective'' groups according to the RECIST guidelines for assessment of chemotherapeutic effects. MAGEH1 protein expression was detected in two (40%) out of five ''effective'' cases and all four (100%) ''non-effective'' cases. We have established a new BTC bioresource that covers a wide range of biological features, including drug sensitivity, and is linked with clinical information. Negative expression of MAGEH1 protein serves as a potential predictive marker for the effectiveness of gemcitabine therapy in BTC. (Cancer Sci 2010; 101: 882-888)