Expression of CD44, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor, and Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen in Severe Venous Invasional Colorectal Cancer and Its Relationship to Liver Metastasis

(Received for publication on Jan. 5, 1999; accepted on Nov. 11, 1999)     

Dermatomyositis accompanied by rectal cancer: Report of a case

(Received for publication on Jan. 5, 1999; accepted on Sept. 17, 1999)     

Rapid Growth of a Retroperitoneal Rhabdomyosarcoma Following Right Hemicolectomy for Ascending Colon Cancer: Report of a Case

(Received for publication on Feb. 2, 1999; accepted on Nov. 11, 1999)     

Appendiceal intussusception induced by tubulovillous adenoma with carcinoma in situ: Report of a case

(Received for publication on Feb. 2, 1999; accepted on Nov. 11, 1999)     

Exposure and dissection of the root of the right gastric artery during gastric surgery

(Received for publication on July 27, 1998; accepted on May 27, 1999)     

Rib metastasis appearing 8 years after surgery for lung cancer: Report of a case

(Received for publication on May 17, 1999; accepted on Nov. 11, 1999)     

Colorectal carcinoma among Indigenous people: a public hospital-based study in Townsville and Cairns, North Queensland, Australia

INTRODUCTION: There are very little clinical and pathological data on colorectal cancer among Indigenous people in Australia. METHODS: A retrospective study on Indigenous patients treated for colorectal cancer at the Townsville and Cairns Base Hospitals from 1999 to 2004 was carried out in order to better characterise this disease in the Indigenous population. RESULTS: There were 25 patients (12 M, 13 F) with a median age of 57.3 years. The majority (56%) of the tumours were left-sided, being in the sigmoid colon, rectosigmoid junction and rectum. Of the patients, 60% had American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging system Stage I and II disease at presentation. There was a relatively high proportion of poorly differentiated adenocarcinomas (40%). Six patients died of the disease. The median follow-up was 20.5 months (range 2-51). CONCLUSIONS: Comparisons were made with available data on colorectal cancer in the general Australian population. The limitations and deficiencies of the study, as well as problems of data collection on Indigenous people were discussed.     

Bilateral recurrent pneumothorax complicating chemotherapy for pulmonary metastatic breast ductal carcinoma: Report of a case

(Received for publication on Feb. 8, 1999; accepted on Nov. 11, 1999)     

Long-term survival of a poor-risk octogenarian following wedge resection under VATS for small-cell lung cancer: Report of a case

(Received for publication on Feb. 23, 1999; accepted on Sept. 17, 1999)     

Intussusception Due to Vanishing Colon Cancer with Metastasis of the Regional Lymph Nodes: Report of a Case

(Received for publication on Oct. 19, 1998; accepted on July 13, 1999)     

Recurrence of giant adrenocortical carcinoma in the contralateral adrenal gland 6 years after surgery: Report of a case

(Received for publication on Jan. 5, 1999; accepted on Sept. 17, 1999)     

Pulmonary thromboembolism after surgery for esophageal cancer: Its features and prophylaxis

(Received for publication on Jan. 22, 1999; accepted on Nov. 11, 1999)     

Nationwide quality assurance of rectal cancer treatment

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this prospective study was to examine the influence of the efforts for nationwide quality assurance of rectal cancer treatment. The study focuses on local recurrence and overall survival. METHODS: This study includes all 3388 Norwegian patients with a rectal cancer within 15 cm from the anal verge treated with curative intent in the period November 1993-December 1999. A comprehensive educational programme was established, and training courses were arranged in different Health Regions demonstrating the TME technique. A specific Rectal Cancer Registry enabled the monitoring of outcome of rectal cancer treatment for single hospitals. Radiotherapy was given to 10% of the patients. RESULTS: The risk of local recurrence has been significantly reduced, so that in 1999 the level was 50% below that observed in 1994 (Hazard ratio (HR)1999=0.5; 95% CI 0.4-0.8, P=0.002). Similarly, during 1998, the mean national overall survival was significantly improved, compared to the rate in 1994 (HR1998=0.8; 95% CI 0.6-1.0, P=0.014). CONCLUSION: The prognosis for rectal cancer can be improved by increased organizational focus on rectal cancer treatment and by establishing a rectal cancer registry monitoring treatment standards throughout the country.     

Sigmoid colon cancer associated with primary hyperparathyroidism: Report of a case

(Received for publication on Apr. 13, 1998; accepted on Jan. 7, 1999)     

Resectable carcinoma of the pancreatic head developing 7 years and 4 months after distal pancreatectomy for carcinoma of the pancreatic tail

A 67-year-old woman was referred with an abnormal finding on an abdominal echogram but presented with no symptoms; a pancreatic tail tumor was detected by ultrasonography. Biochemical examinations showed slight elevation of serum carcinoembryonic antigen level. The lesion was resected by tail and body pancreatectomy and her postoperative course was uneventful. Seven years and 4 months after the initial operation, however, her serum level of carbohydrate antigen 19-9 was found to be elevated, and a recurrence of pancreatic cancer was suspected. Examinations revealed a mass in the head of the remnant pancreas. The lesion was radically resected by total remnant pancreatectomy. Histological examinations showed that the initial tumor was a well differentiated tubular adenocarcinoma, while the second tumor was characterized as a moderately differentiated tubular adenocarcinoma. The surgical margins of the distal pancreatectomy specimen were free of atypical cells. Therefore, the position of the second lesion diminished the likelihood that it had developed by intrapancreatic metastasis. This suggests that the second carcinoma in the head of the pancreas may have been a second primary lesion. Received for publication on June 1, 1999; accepted on Sept. 20, 1999     

Clinical application of an in vitro chemosensitivity test, the Histoculture Drug Response Assay, to urological cancers: wide distribution of inhibition rates in bladder cancer and renal cell cancer

To investigate the variations in chemosensitivity of individual cancers, we performed an in vitro chemosensitivity test, the Histoculture Drug Response Assay (HDRA), on fresh biopsied or surgical specimens. They were 26 bladder cancers and 19 renal cell cancers. Ten anticancer drugs were tested. By prolonging the drug exposure time to 7 days, we obtained reliable results. The mean inhibition rates (IRs) were higher for bladder cancer than for renal cell cancer, and the difference was significant for cisplatin, carboplatin, vinblastine, mitomycin C, and adriamycin. There was no significant correlation between the histological grade of the tumor and HDRA sensitivity. IR values showed a wide distribution and cancers could be classified into two groups of sensitive and resistant. This was especially true for 4-hydroxy-ifosfamide. Three bladder cancer patients with evaluable lesions were treated with drugs selected on the basis of the results of the HDRA. One patient achieved a complete response and the other patients showed a partial response. Our results suggest that chemosensitivity is independent of the clinicopathological classification of cancer, and that the HDRA may be useful for selecting the effective anticancer drug for patients with urological cancer. Received: 17 July 1998 / Accepted: 25 March 1999     

Endo-organ full-thickness excision for gastric cancer: Report of a case

(Received for publication on June 8, 1998; accepted on May 27, 1999)     

En Bloc Surgery for Colon Cancer: Report of a Case

(Received for publication on Oct. 28, 1998; accepted on July 13, 1999)     

Esophageal cancer associated with right aortic arch: Report of two cases

(Received for publication on Oct. 7, 1998; accepted on Mar. 11, 1999)     

Hepatoid adenocarcinoma of the gallbladder

We describe here a rare case of hepatoid adenocarcinoma (HAC) of the gallbladder without the production of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP). A 77-year-old man was referred to our division with complaints of general fatigue, loss of appetite, and loss of body weight. A preoperative diagnosis of advanced gallbladder cancer was made, and cholecystectomy with combined resection of two liver subsegments (S4a + S5) and lymph node dissection were performed. Microscopically, the tumor was mainly composed of characteristic cells featuring eosinophilic cytoplasm, enlarged nuclei, and prominent nucleoi, arranged in nests or proliferated in a trabecular pattern. These features were highly suggestive of HAC of the gallbladder, and the tumor cells were negative for AFP immunohistochemical staining. The patient is doing well and has survived for 15 months postoperatively without any recurrence. Received for publication on June 21, 1999; accepted on Oct. 18, 1999