Permanent prostate brachytherapy for Japanese men: Results from initial 100 patients with prostate cancer

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the initial results of brachytherapy for prostate cancer with permanent iodine-125 implant in Japan. METHODS: The results obtained with brachytherapy in the initial 100 Japanese patients treated at Nagano Municipal Hospital were reviewed. Patients with a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level of less than 10 ng/mL and a Gleason's scores of 5, 6, 3 + 4 were classified as having a low risk of recurrence. Patients with a PSA level of 10-20 ng/mL and/or a Gleason's score of 4 + 3 were classified as having an intermediate risk for recurrence. Seventy-eight of the low-risk patients and 19 of the intermediate-risk patients were treated by seed implants alone, or seed implants combined with preceding external radiation, respectively. A total of 53 patients received neoadjuvant hormone therapy. The efficacy and morbidity of brachytherapy were investigated using the serum PSA, International Prostate Symptom Score, quality of life score and uroflowmetry data. RESULTS: The average V100 and D90 obtained by post-implant dosimetry was 94.3 and 113.7%, respectively. Serum PSA decreased gradually after treatment, although it had still not reached a nadir after 1 year. There was little difference of the PSA level between the patients with and without neoadjuvant hormone therapy even at 1 year after seed implantation. There were no PSA biochemical failure or clinical recurrence during the follow-up period. Voiding symptoms worsened until 3 months after treatment, and then gradually improved. Acute urinary retention occurred transiently in one patient (1%). Rectal bleeding and severe diarrhea did not occur. CONCLUSION: Brachytherapy is a feasible and effective option for the treatment of prostate cancer in Japanese men. Brachytherapy may have a different effect in Japanese patients with respect to voiding symptoms. Urinary retention was rare, but voiding symptoms were persistent in Japanese patients. Neoadjuvant hormone therapy deserves investigation to determine whether it can achieve better results, especially in patients with an intermediate risk.     

Cardiac metastasis of renal pelvic cancer

Abstract:   A 66-year-old man was referred to our hospital with chest discomfort and shortness of breath. Seven months previously he had undergone a laparoscopic left nephroureterectomy for a left renal pelvic tumor and was given two cycles of adjuvant chemotherapy (methotrexate, epirubicin and cisplatin). Echocardiogram showed an 8-mm sized mass extending from the right atrium into the right ventricle. On computed tomography, multiple lung tumors, as well as the right atrial and ventricular mass, were seen. The patient died of acute heart failure caused by right ventricular outflow obstruction. On autopsy, a right atrial and ventricular metastasis of the initial transitional cell carcinoma was found. The patient's cause of death was acute heart failure as a result of cardiac metastasis of his initial renal pelvic carcinoma.     

Liver and lung resection for colorectal metastasis

Aim: To examine the survival benefit of liver and lung resection for colorectal metastasis and the potential prognostic factors that affect patient survival. Methods: All patients who had resection of lung or liver metastasis for colorectal metastasis in Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Hong Kong from 1995 to 2004 were retrospectively reviewed. The overall and disease‐free survival was analysed, in particularly between liver and lung metastasis. All factors that may have affected the survival were entered into Cox's proportional hazards regression model to identify significant variables associated with survival. Results: At 5 years, the overall survival of patients who had resection of lung and liver metastasis was 44% and 38%, respectively; the disease‐free survival was 26% and 24%, respectively. Overall and disease‐free survival of patients with resection of lung metastasis was comparable to those with resection of liver metastasis. The differentiations of primary tumour and time to metastasis were shown to be significant prognostic factors influencing overall survival. Those patients with systemic chemotherapy after resection of colorectal metastasis demonstrated a significantly higher probability of overall survival. Conclusion: Resection of lung and liver metastases from colorectal origin was safe and both procedures improved survival. The use of chemotherapy after resection of metastasis significantly improved the overall survival.     

中、晚期肝癌并发脾功能亢进的介入治疗

目的 探讨肝癌介入治疗与部分脾动脉栓塞同时进行的疗效。方法 对18倒不能手术切除且经B超或CT确诊，脾肿大并有WBC、PLT明显低于正常的肝癌患者行PSE TACE或经导管肝动脉化疗(TAI)介入治疗，记录治疗前后WBC、PLT、甲胎蛋白(AFP)数值进行分析。结果 栓塞后3天、7天、60天WBC、PLT值明显升高，AFP值明显下降，临床症状明显改善。结论 PSE TAI或TACE治疗肝癌并脾功亢进是一种行之有效的办法。     

Panhypopituitarism as first manifestation of a lung cancer

Pituitary metastases of solid tumours are infrequent, specially as a first manifestation. When they happen, they are usually due to breast or lung cancer and are asymptomatic or produce diabetes insipidus. It is very strange that they produce hormonal deficiency. We present a case report of a bronchogenic adenocarcinoma in a 65-year-old man which began with panhypopituitarism, diabetes insipidus and visual alterations. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a large sellar mass, with clivus infiltration and invading the right cavernous sinus. The biopsy result was adenocarcinoma metastases from lung cancer.     

三维适形放疗联合肝动脉碘油栓塞化疗并热疗治疗原发性肝癌的疗效研究

目的:探讨原发性肝癌的肝动脉碘油栓塞化疗(TACE)、热疗、三维适形放疗(3DCRT)的综合治疗价值。方法:122例原发性肝癌患者进行前瞻性随机分组研究,综合治疗组64例,行TACE并3DCRT,结合热疗治疗。对照组58例3DCRT治疗,联合TACE。结果:1、2、3年生存率综合治疗组分别为85%、65%、39%,对照组分别为59%、30%、18%(P<0.05)两组毒副作用相似。结论:对于非手术切除的原发性肝癌患者,TA-CE,结合3DCRT并热疗,能明显提高疗效,而毒副作用不增加。