BackgroundPatients with luminal HER2-negative tumours have a favourable prognosis. However, there is a subpopulation in which poorer outcomes are obtained with endocrine therapy alone. This subpopulation is considered to benefit from chemotherapy. However, the significance of chemotherapy for those with luminal tumours has decreased due to recent changes in treatment strategies. Thus, it is often difficult to determine whether we should recommend chemotherapy to such patients in clinical practice. We investigated Ki67 expression, as a means of predicting the responses of luminal HER2-negative breast cancer patients to neo-adjuvant chemotherapy (NAC), in order to identify a subpopulation that would benefit from these treatments.MethodsWe enrolled 114 luminal HER2-negative breast cancer patients undergoing surgery after NAC. Biomarkers were examined using biopsy specimens obtained prior to treatment, to avoid any chemotherapy-related effects. Chemotherapy effects were determined employing operative specimens and we defined pathological complete response (pCR) as invasive nest disappearance, based only on the primary breast tumour. We applied receiver operating characteristic curve analysis to data from our 114 patients, to investigate Ki67 expression as a predictor of pCR.ResultsThe pCR rate was significantly higher for tumours with high Ki67 expression (p < 0.01) and all patients who obtained pCR remained recurrence-free during the median 58-month observation period. We identified 35% as the Ki67 cut-off value which distinguishes those with a pCR from other cases. Another dataset, comprised of 196 patients with a median 29-month observation period, was recruited for validation. Disease-free survival was found to be significantly (p < 0.01) lower in the patients with tumours in which Ki67 expression was higher than 35%.ConclusionOur results raise the possibility of the luminal HER2-negative subpopulation with Ki67 expression higher than 35% benefiting from chemotherapy, as evidenced by improved survival.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1471-2407-14-550) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Duplication of the alimentary tract is a rare congenital malformation that occurs most often in the abdominal region, whereas esophageal duplication cyst develops typically in the thoracic region but occasionally in the neck and abdominal regions. Esophageal duplication cyst is usually diagnosed in early childhood because of symptoms related to bleeding, infection, and displacement of tissue surrounding the lesion. We recently encountered a rare adult case of esophageal duplication cyst in the abdominal esophagus. A 50-year-old man underwent gastroscopy, endoscopic ultrasonography, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging to investigate epigastric pain and dysphagia that started 3 months earlier. Imaging findings suggested esophageal duplication cyst, and the patient underwent laparoscopic resection followed by intraoperative esophagoscopy to reconstruct the esophagus safely and effectively. Histopathological examination of the resected specimen revealed two layers of smooth muscle in the cystic wall, confirming the diagnosis of esophageal duplication cyst.
Background: As data on using MammaPrint®, a 70-gene expression profile for molecular subtyping of breast cancer, are limited in Japanese patients, we aimed to determine the gene profiles of Japanese patients using MammaPrint and to investigate its possible clinical application for selecting adjuvant treatments. Patients and Methods: 50 women treated surgically at our institution were examined. The MammaPrint results were compared with the St Gallen 2007 and intrinsic subtype risk categorizations. Results: Of 38 cases judged to be at intermediate risk based on the St Gallen 2007 Consensus, 11 (29%) were in the high-risk group based on MammaPrint. 1 of the 30 luminal A-like tumors (3%) was judged as high risk based on MammaPrint results, whereas 7 of the 20 tumors (35%) categorized as luminal B-like or triple negative were in the low-risk group. There have been no recurrences to date in the MammaPrint group, and this is possibly attributable to most of the high-risk patients receiving chemotherapy that had been recommended on the basis of their MammaPrint results. Conclusions: Our results indicate that MammaPrint is applicable to Japanese patients and that it is of potential value in current clinical practice for devising individualized treatments.
Portal vein thrombosis (PVT) is a rare but serious postoperative complication of pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD). We reported a case of late-onset postoperative PVT with hemorrhage from the common hepatic artery (CHA) in a 73-year-old man who underwent pylorus-preserving pancreaticoduodenectomy (PPPD) for duodenum papilla cancer, followed by reconstruction using the modified Child's technique. The pancreaticojejunostomy was achieved by end-to-side, 2-layer invagination anastomosis without pancreatic duct stenting. Drain removal and hospital discharge were scheduled on postoperative day (POD) 18, but blood-stained fluid in the drain and sudden hematemesis were noted. Emergency surgery was performed because PVT and imaging findings were suggestive of necrosis of the lifted jejunum. Although no jejunal necrosis was identified during surgery, bleeding from the side of the CHA was detected and the bleeding point was suture-closed to achieve hemostasis. We suspected late-onset postoperative arterial hemorrhage and subsequent hematoma formation, which caused portal vein compression and PVT formation. We chose a conservative treatment strategy for PVT, taking into account the operation time, intraoperative vital signs and blood flow in the portal vein. Despite the complicated postoperative course, he was discharged home in a fully ambulatory state on POD 167.
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