Transient homonymous hemianopsia due to thrombosis of the confluence of sinuses after occipital transtentorial removal of pineal region tumor

The authors report a case of 74-year-old woman suffering thrombosis of the confluence of sinuses after the left occipital transtentorial removal of a pineal region epidermoid cyst. Four days after the operation, the patient developed left homonymous hemianopsia. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a venous infarct in the right occipital lobe and magnetic resonance venography disclosed a signal defect of the posterior part of the confluence of sinuses. The patients' neurological symptom recovered soon after anticoagulation treatment, and magnetic resonance venography after the sixth week showed recanalization of the confluence of sinuses. Although it might be rare, thrombosis of the dural sinus should be recognized as a complication of craniotomy.     

Laparoscopic splenectomy may be a superior supportive intervention for cirrhotic patients with hypersplenism

Background and Aims: To evaluate and compare laparoscopic splenectomy and partial splenic embolization as supportive intervention for cirrhotic patients with hypersplenism to overcome peripheral cytopenia before the initiation of and during interferon therapy or anticancer therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma. Methods: Between December 2000 and April 2008, 43 Japanese cirrhotic patients with hypersplenism underwent either laparoscopic splenectomy or partial splenic embolization as a supportive intervention to facilitate the initiation and completion of either interferon therapy or anticancer therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma. We reviewed the peri‐ and post‐intervention outcomes and details of the subsequent planned main therapies. For interferon therapy, the rate of completion, the rate of treatment cessation and virological responses were evaluated. Anti‐cancer therapies for hepatocellular carcinoma included liver resection, ablation therapy, intra‐arterial chemotherapy, and transarterial chemoembolization. Results: All patients tolerated the operations well with no significant complications. The platelet count was significantly higher in the laparoscopic splenectomy group than in the partial splenic embolization group at 1 and 2 weeks after the intervention. Interferon therapy was stopped in two patients in the partial splenic embolization group due to recurrent thrombocytopenia whereas all patients in the laparoscopic splenectomy group completed interferon therapy. The planned anticancer therapies were performed in all patients, and were completed in all patients without any problems or major complications. Conclusion: Laparoscopic splenectomy may be superior to partial splenic embolization as a supportive intervention for cirrhotic patients with hypersplenism. Future prospective, randomized controlled patient studies are required to confirm these findings.     

Statistical examination to determine whether only 48-h value for serum concentration during high-dose methotrexate therapy is a predictor for clinical adverse events using ordered logistic regression analysis

Sustained elevation of serum methotrexate (MTX) concentrations (>1.0 μM) for 48 h (48-h value) has been found to have predictive significance for the development of toxicity. However, we sometimes experience severe adverse events during high-dose (HD) MTX therapy even if serum MTX concentrations comply with recommended values. We performed a retrospective study to identify predictors for occurrence of adverse events and examined whether only the 48-h value is a statistically significant predictor for clinical adverse events during HD MTX therapy. The subjects were 32 hematological patients (n = 58 episodes) treated with MTX at Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine between February 2003 and July 2007. Ordered logistic regression analysis was used to identify predictors for occurrence of adverse events. The predictive factors identified were: 24-h continuous infusion therapy (24-h C-IV) (long infusion time) [odds ratio (OR) = 2.890, confidence interval (CI) =1.493–5.594; P = 0.0016] for fatigue, higher dose [OR = 2.282, CI = 1.287–4.046; P = 0.0048] and combination chemotherapy [OR = 2.177, CI = 1.059–4.477; P = 0.0344] for stomatitis, and 24-h C-IV [OR = 2.573, CI = 1.101–6.016; P = 0.0291] for neutropenia. We found that only the 48-h value was not a predictor for clinical adverse events for HD MTX therapy. A major limitation of the present study was the small number of participants. However, our findings suggest that there is evidence that a long infusion time is a significant predictor for general fatigue and neutropenia, while a higher dose and combination chemotherapy are predictors for stomatitis.     

Development and prevention of morphologic and ultrastructural changes in uremia-induced hyperplastic parathyroid gland

The detailed ultrastructural changes of uremia-induced hyperplastic parathyroid gland and the effects of current medical treatments for secondary hyperparathyroidism were investigated. Marked enlargement of parathyroid cell with accumulation of mitochondria and lipids and a significant increase in the thickness of the pericapillary area with increased fibrosis and appearance of fibroblast like cells were noted in the hyperplastic gland caused by uremia and phosphate retention. These ultrastructural changes and biochemical findings indicating hyperparathyroidism were significantly suppressed by all of the treatment using phosphate restriction, calcitriol, and cinacalcet. The characteristic ultrastructural changes, including the morphologic evidence of nodule formation, were indicated.     

A case of slowly progressive type 1 diabetes mellitus developing myeloperoxidase-specific anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis with hypertrophic pachymeningitis manifesting as multiple cranial nerve palsy

We report a 63-year-old man with a 35-year history of slowly progressive type 1 diabetes mellitus (SPIDDM), complicated with myeloperoxidase-specific anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (MPO-ANCA)-associated vasculitis presenting alveolar hemorrhage and pachymeningitis. The patient was first diagnosed as having DM at age of 28 years old and deteriorated secretion of insulin and the typical clinical course led us to the diagnosis of SPIDDM. When he was 58 years old, he suffered from fever, headache, and alveolar hemorrhage. He was diagnosed as having MPO-ANCA associated vasculitis based on a high titer of MPO-ANCA and histological findings of lung biopsy. Treatment with steroid pulse therapy, followed by oral prednisolone and oral cyclophosohamide, resulted in clinical improvement. Five years later, he complained of double vision. A gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study of the brain showed normal. Two months later, he developed right cranial nerve V~XII palsy. A second MRI study revealed thickening of the right temporal region and cerebellar dura mater, leading us to the diagnosis of hypertrophic pachymeningitis. He responded well to oral prednisolone (50 mg/day) and intravenous cyclophosohamide (500 mg). This is the first case report of SPIDDM complicated with MPO-ANCA-associated vasculitis, manifesting as alveolar hemorrhage and hypertrophic pachymeningitis.     

Prognostic significance of mitotic figures in metastatic mammary ductal carcinoma to the lymph nodes

We previously reported that the number of mitotic figures in metastatic mammary carcinoma to the lymph nodes accurately predicted the outcome of patients with invasive ductal carcinoma with nodal metastasis. To confirm these previous findings, the present study investigated the number of mitotic figures and other histologic characteristics in metastatic mammary carcinoma to the lymph nodes and their associations with patient outcome according to nodal status and the histologic grade of primary invasive ductal carcinomas in a different series of 1039 patients with invasive ductal carcinoma. Multivariate analyses examining well-known clinicopathologic factors, the number of mitotic figures in the primary invasive ductal carcinomas, the grading system for lymph vessel tumor emboli, the p53 Allred score risk classes of tumor-stromal fibroblasts forming and not forming a fibrotic focus, and 9 histologic features of metastatic mammary carcinoma to the lymph nodes were performed. The presence of 6 or more mitotic figures in metastatic mammary carcinoma to the lymph nodes significantly increased the hazard ratios for tumor recurrence and tumor-related death among patients with invasive ductal carcinoma as a whole, those with nodal metastasis, and those with a histologic grade of 2 or 3. The presence of 6 or more mitotic figures in metastatic mammary carcinoma to the lymph nodes also significantly increased the hazard ratio for tumor recurrence among patients with histologic grade 1 invasive ductal carcinoma. In conclusion, this study clearly confirmed the excellent outcome predictive power of the number of mitotic figures in metastatic mammary carcinoma to the lymph nodes.     

Atypical tumor-stromal fibroblasts in invasive ductal carcinomas of the breast treated with neoadjuvant therapy

Tumor-stromal fibroblasts have recently been reported to play important roles in the tumor progression of cancer in various organs. The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether any characteristic histologic features of tumor-stromal fibroblasts could accurately predict the outcome of 318 patients with invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast who had received neoadjuvant therapy. We observed a small number of tumor-stromal fibroblasts with characteristic nuclear features existing in the tumor stroma and named these cells "atypical tumor-stromal fibroblasts." We then assessed the absence or presence of atypical tumor-stromal fibroblasts in biopsy (taken before neoadjuvant therapy) and surgical (taken after neoadjuvant therapy) materials and analyzed the outcome predictive powers of the presence of atypical tumor-stromal fibroblasts in biopsy and surgical materials using multivariate analyses that included well-known clinicopathological factors. The multivariate analyses demonstrated that the presence of atypical tumor-stromal fibroblasts assessed using biopsy materials had significantly higher hazard ratios for tumor recurrence and tumor-related death in patients with nodal metastasis and also significantly higher hazard ratios for tumor recurrence and tumor-related death independent of the hormone receptor status of the tumors. The results of this study clearly indicated that the presence of atypical tumor-stromal fibroblasts, especially in biopsy materials, is significantly associated with tumor recurrence and the tumor-related death of patients with invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast who have received neoadjuvant therapy.