The Effect of Helicobacter pylori on Gastric Cancer Treated with Adjuvant Chemotherapy After Curative Resection

Helicobacter pylori has been associated with diverse pathologies of varying severity. We investigated the H. pylori infection status and its association with the pathologic features and clinical outcomes in stage III gastric cancer patients treated with adjuvant therapy after curative resection. Between 2004 and 2009, the records of 76 consecutive patients were retrospectively reviewed. H. pylori infection was confirmed by examination of pathological specimen. The relationship between H. pylori and the clinicopathological features was analyzed by Fisher exact test, Student’s t test, and Kaplan-Meier method. Of the 76 patients, 16 patients (21.1 %) were confirmed for H. pylori infection. The median age was 59 years. Twenty-three patients received chemotherapy and remainder received chemoradiotherapy. H. pylori status did not correlate with the clinicopathologic features. It was greater in non-neoplastic tissue than the tumor tissue (21.1 vs 7.9 %). Median follow-up was 21 months. During this period, 88.2 % patients had experienced tumor recurrence, and 85.5 % patients had died. Recurrence was observed in 87.5 % patients and in 88.3 % patients in H. pylori-positive and H. pylori-negative patients, respectively (P = 0.92). Disease-free survival was 28.4 ± 7.9 months and overall survival was 31.5 ± 7.4 months in H. pylori-positive patients compared with 28.3 ± 3.7 and 33.2 ± 3.4 months, respectively, in H. pylori-negative patients. H. pylori infection status did not have effect on the overall or disease-free survival (p = 0.85 and P = 0.86), respectively. H. pylori status might not be useful as a prognostic and predictive factor for clinical outcomes.     

Fragile X Syndrome and Attentional Deficits

This study examined whether boys with Fragile X syndrome have a characteristic behavioural profile associated with the underlying genetic abnormality. Parents of 49 boys with Fragile X syndrome, 45 boys with Down's syndrome and 42 boys with intellectual disabilities of unknown aetiology were interviewed. Measures included the Childhood Behaviour Checklist, parent and teacher versions (CBCL), Parental Account of Childhood Symptoms (PACS) and Vineland social age and social quotient derived from the MRC Schedule of Handicaps, Behaviour and Skills (HBS).     

Intravenous Pyogenic Granuloma of the Hand

BACKGROUND: Intravenous pyogenic granuloma is the intravasal counterpart of cutaneous pyogenic granuloma. This rare, benign lesion appears clinically as a subcutaneous nodule usually located in the upper extremity or neck in middle-aged people. It is hard to make an exact diagnosis on clinical basis, and there is a risk of recurrence because of undertreatment. OBJECTIVE: To report a case of an intravenous pyogenic granuloma located in the hand and to describe the clinical and histopathologic features of this rare vascular tumor. METHODS: An operation was performed on a 58-year-old female who presented with a small, painless mass in the right palm, and the pathologic examination revealed an intravenous pyogenic granuloma. CONCLUSION: This rare lesion should be differentiated from a regular pyogenic granuloma and should be excised with the vein segment to avoid recurrence.     

Syphilitic caries of the skull--the changing face of medicine.

This paper describes the specimens of caries sicca of calvaria due to syphilis in the collections of the Museums of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. The condition appears not to have been uncommon in the nineteenth century. The mechanism of bone destruction is discussed as is also the role of secondary infection and treatment with mercury.     

Composite resection of posterior pelvic malignancy.

Advanced pelvic cancer is a formidable challenge to surgical resection. These tumors commonly invade the bony pelvis, may involve other viscera, and usually have been irradiated previously. The authors are presenting experience with 76 patients who had composite resection of posterior or lateral pelvic malignancy. Fifty-eight patients had secondary cancers involving the musculoskeletal pelvis. This included 47 patients with advanced carcinoma of the rectum (41 curative, 6 palliative), 10 epidermoid cancers of the anorectum (8) or cervix (2), and 1 bladder cancer. Among the 18 patients with primary pelvic tumors were three patients with chordomas, six with bone tumors (osteosarcoma chondrosarcoma, grade III giant cell tumor), and nine with soft tissue tumors. All required major resection of the sacrum or pelvic side walls, and one half had an additional exenterative procedure. The overall mortality rate was 7.9%. Long-term estimated survival was 24% in patients having curative resection of recurrent rectal cancer, and 22.5% in 10 patients with advanced epidermoid cancer. Fifty per cent of patients with primary bone or soft tissue tumors survived from 13 to 88 months. Most patients had reasonable return of function, and were able to return to work or resume their normal previous lifestyle.