Salvage surgery after chemotherapy with S-1 plus cisplatin for α-fetoprotein-producing gastric cancer with a portal vein tumor thrombus: a case report

Background

Patient with α-Fetoprotein (AFP)-producing gastric cancer usually has a short survival time due to frequent hepatic and lymph node metastases. Gastric cancer with portal vein tumor thrombus (PVTT) is rare and has an extremely poor prognosis.

Case presentation

A 63-year-old man was found to have a huge Type 3 gastric cancer with a PVTT and a highly elevated serum AFP level. Chemotherapy with S-1 plus cisplatin was given to this patient with unresectable gastric cancer for 4 months. The serum AFP level decreased from 6,160 ng/mL to 60.7 ng/mL with chemotherapy. Since the PVTT disappeared after the chemotherapy, the patient underwent total gastrectomy. Histological findings of the primary tumor after chemotherapy showed poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma without hepatoid cells and viable tumor cells remaining in less than 1/3 of the neoplastic area of mucosa and one lymph node. The cancerous cells were immunohistochemically stained by anti-AFP antibody. The patient has survived for 48 month without recurrence.

Conclusions

AFP-producing gastric cancer with a PVTT has an extremely poor prognosis, but long-term survival was achieved for this dismal condition by salvage surgery after chemotherapy.     

Decreased visual acuity resulting from glistening and sub-surface nano-glistening formation in intraocular lenses: A retrospective analysis of 5 cases

Background

To report on five patients with decreased visual acuity due to glistening and severe sub-surface nano-glistening (SSNG) formation within their intraocular lenses (IOLs).

Design

Case reports and analysis of extracted IOLs.

Participants and samples

We report improved visual acuity when IOLs with severe glistening and SSNG were exchanged for clear IOLs in five patients.

Methods

Case reports.

Main outcome measures

The main outcome measure was visual acuity. The secondary outcome measure was light transmission. Explanted IOLs were subjected to investigation. Pre- and postoperative slit lamp images of the anterior eye and microscopic images of the extracted IOLs were taken and compared. Light transmission of the IOL was measured using a double beam type spectrophotometer. An integrated value of the percentage light transmittance in the visible light spectrum was calculated.

Results

We report on five patients whose visual acuity improved when IOLs were exchanged because of severe glistening and SSNG. All of the affected IOLs were MA60BM (Alcon, Forth Wroth Texas, USA) and the original implantation had occurred over a range of 6–15 years prior to the IOL exchange. Light transmission was decreased in all affected lenses compared to a similar control IOL.

Conclusions

Although only a few reports of cases in which glistening and SSNG have progressed to the level of decreased visual function have been published, the likelihood is that this phenomena will increase as the severity and incidence of these inclusions have been shown to increase with time. Appropriate evaluations of visual function in such patients are needed and consideration should be given to IOL exchange in symptomatic patients.     

Spontaneous Abortion and Chikungunya Infection: Pathological Findings

Intrauterine transmission of the Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) during early pregnancy has rarely been reported, although vertical transmission has been observed in newborns. Here, we report four cases of spontaneous abortion in women who became infected with CHIKV between the 11th and 17th weeks of pregnancy. Laboratorial confirmation of the infection was conducted by RT-PCR on a urine sample for one case, and the other three were by detection of IgM anti-CHIKV antibodies. Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining and an electron microscopy assay allowed us to find histopathological, such as inflammatory infiltrate in the decidua and chorionic villi, as well as areas of calcification, edema and the deposition of fibrinoid material, and ultrastructural changes, such as mitochondria with fewer cristae and ruptured membranes, endoplasmic reticulum with dilated cisterns, dispersed chromatin in the nuclei and the presence of an apoptotic body in case 1. In addition, by immunohistochemistry (IHC), we found a positivity for the anti-CHIKV antibody in cells of the endometrial glands, decidual cells, syncytiotrophoblasts, cytotrophoblasts, Hofbauer cells and decidual macrophages. Electron microscopy also helped in identifying virus-like particles in the aborted material with a diameter of 40–50 nm, which was consistent with the size of CHIKV particles in the literature. Our findings in this study suggest early maternal fetal transmission, adding more evidence on the role of CHIKV in fetal death.