Islet Xenotransplantation: Are We Really Ready for Clinical Trials?

Four clinical trials of porcine islet transplantation have been reported, and there are verbal reports that clinical trials on much larger scales are continuing in centers in China and Russia. The four reported trials are briefly reviewed and, in the light of the present status of experimental islet xenotransplantation, consideration is given to whether such trials are currently justified. The Ethics Committee of the International Xenotransplantation Association has (1) emphasized the need for encouraging studies in non-human primates before clinical trials should be undertaken, (2) mandatory monitoring for the transfer of porcine microorganisms, and (3) careful regulation and oversight by recognized bodies. Other aspects of the topic, such as the need for informed consent, are briefly discussed. We conclude that, at the present time, more data documenting convincing efficacy, focused on clinically applicable immunosuppressive regimens, are needed to justify the initiation of closely monitored clinical trials. A clinical trial may then be justified even though the potential risk to the patients, and possibly for society, will not be zero.     

Aggressive resection for advanced pancreatic carcinoma

An aggressive pancreatectomy was performed on a 53 year old Japanese man with advanced cancer of the pancreas. The tumor originated from the body of the pancreas and invaded the stomach, duodenum, left kidney, transverse colon and common hepatic artery. An unexpected cancer was also found in the head of the pancreas during the operation. Therefore, total pancreatectomy, total gastrectomy, left adrenonephrectomy, resection of the left transverse colon and dissection of the regional lymph nodes were performed. Resection of the common hepatic artery was also performed, followed by an end-to-end anastomosis between the common hepatic artery and celiac trunk. The postoperative course was uneventful and the patient was doing well until nine months after the operation when multiple metastatic lesions were noted in the liver. He died 391 days after the operation from hepatic failure.     

ENDOSCOPIC PANCREATIC STENTING IN CHRONIC PANCREATITIS WITH DUCTAL DILATION PROXIMAL TO A STRICTURE: A SAFE and EFFECTIVE PROTOCOL

After removal of intraductal stones, a 10‐Fr or 7‐Fr pancreatic stent was placed in 16 patients with upstream ductal dilation proximal to a stricture of the main pancreatic duct. Stents were removed after a mean duration of 52.5 days. Nine patients underwent repeated stenting. About one year after removal of the initial stent, when the remaining upstream ductal dilation was found on follow‐up pancreatograms, the next stent was replaced. Repeated stenting improved outflow of pancreatic juice more effectively than one‐time stenting. Correlation between long‐term pain relief without recurrence of intraductal stones and reduction of duct diameter was also shown. Stent occlusion was observed in 14 of 30 stents. Stent occlusion was frequently associated with recurrence of pancreatitis and intraductal stones, and was also associated with morphologic changes in the pancreatic ductal system. Although there were no significant differences between stent patency of the initial stents and that of the next stents, stent patency of 10‐Fr stents was superior to that of 7‐Fr stents. 10‐Fr stents should be removed within 8 weeks and 7‐Fr stents should be removed within 4 weeks for the prevention of stent occlusion. Repeated stenting with short‐term stenting is therefore considered a safe and effective protocol of endoscopic pancreatic stenting.     

介入化疗结合立体适形放射治疗晚期胰腺癌的临床观察

探讨晚期胰腺癌的介入化疗加立体适形放射治疗的临床疗效。先选择性胰腺动脉化疗,药物:CF 300 mg、5-FU 1 000~1 500 mg、DDP 60~80 mg和健择1.2~2.0 g,共4次。介入化疗后或两次介入之间行立体定向放射治疗,放疗采用4~6个适形野,总剂量为35~45 Gy,4~8 Gy/次,每周3次,21例患者CR率42.85%(9/21),PR率42.85%(9/21),SD 4.76%(1/21),PD 9.52%(2/21),总有效率(CR PR)85.70%(18/21)。初步研究结果提示,主观指标评估,2例临床症状完全消失,17例主观症状有所改善。介入化疗结合立体放射治疗晚期胰腺癌不失为临床选用的治疗手段。     

胰腺分裂与慢性胰腺炎的病因学关系及发病机制

目的:探讨胰腺分裂(PD)在慢性胰腺炎病因学中的作用及其发病机制。方法:将32只犬随机分为4组(每组8只)。Ⅰ组:部分结扎背-腹胰管间的交通支。Ⅱa组:切断并结扎交通支。Ⅱb组:在背胰管注入小乳头前2mm处将其切断并结扎断端。Ⅲ组:假手术对照组,除不结扎交通支外,其余操作同上。于手术前检测各组犬血清磷脂酶(PLA2)和淀粉酶(Ams)活性及背、腹胰管基础压并在胰泌素激发后15、30、45、60和90分钟各测压一次。于术后180天再行胰胆管测压和造影并观察背、腹胰和十二指肠乳头的病理改变。结果:⑴Ⅰ、Ⅱa组和Ⅱb组术后5-80天血清PLA2和Ams活性显著升高。⑵处死时Ⅰ、Ⅱa组腹胰管和Ⅱb组背、腹胰管压力在激发后30-60分钟显著高于注药前(P<0.01);在60分钟后,前两组压力恢复到术前水平(P>0.05),而Ⅱb组仍较高(P<0.05),该组压力在90分钟后恢复正常。⑶光镜:Ⅱb组犬背、腹胰小叶间或/和胰管周围显著纤维组织增生,腺细胞结构破坏和炎细胞浸润。Ⅰ和Ⅱa组腹胰见轻度上述改变。⑷电镜:Ⅰ、Ⅱa组腹胰和Ⅱb组背、腹胰腺细胞粗面内质网脱颗粒、融合和扩张。酶原颗粒减少,线粒体肿张。Ⅰ和Ⅱa组背胰及Ⅲ组背、腹胰未见异常。结论:PD是慢性胰腺炎的病因学因素之一,其引发胰腺炎的机制是在胰液分泌的高峰期副乳头功能性梗阻。     

Incremental Value of Three-Dimensional Echocardiography Over Transesophageal Multiplane Two-Dimensional Echocardiography in Qualitative and Quantitative Assessment of Cardiac Masses and Defects

In the present study, we compared three-dimensionally (3-D) reconstructed images with multiplane two-dimensional (2-D) transesophageal echocardiographic (TEE) images in 17 patients with various cardiac masses and defects. To overcome the problem of making measurements from 3-D reconstructed images, we carefully "dissected" the 3-D dataset using paraplane and anyplane 2-D sections, which were then used to obtain the maximum sizes of the cardiac masses and defects. Of the 15 vegetations and 9 abscesses detected by 3-D TEE in 7 patients, only 8 (53%) vegetations and 4 (44%) abscesses were detected by multiplane 2-D TEE (P < 0.02). Also, the exact anatomical location, shape, geometry, and extent of various cardiac masses and defects were more clearly delineated by 3-D than 2-D TEE. The maximum dimensions of cardiac masses and defects were larger by 3-D than by 2-D TEE in 17 (89%) of the 19 lesions available for comparison (P < 0.002). In addition, 3-D TEE correlated more closely than 2-D TEE when compared to surgical measurements in three patients in whom they were available. Thus, it would appear that in several instances, the exact size of the cardiac lesion could only be assessed by analysis of the 3-D volumetric dataset. Out preliminary study has demonstrated the superiority of transesophageal 3-D reconstruction over multiplane 2-D TEE in both qualitative and quantitative assessment of various cardiac mass lesions and pathological defects.     

Surgical management of endocrine tumor of the pancreas in Japan

Endocrine tumor of the pancreas is potentially malignant. A multicenter analysis of these tumors was conducted to clarity the present status of their surgical management and the subsequent long-term surgical results. The Japan pancreatoduodenectomy (JPD) study group carried out the study; 368 patients were enrolled and variables related to tumor characteristics, surgery, and survival were retrospectively analyzed. There were 222 patients with functioning tumor and 143 patients with nonfunctioning tumor. Malignant tumor was found in 140 of 368 (38%) of the patients, and 63/140 (45%) of these patients had metastatic lesion; the most common site of the metastasis was liver 34/136 (25%), followed by regional lymph nodes 26/136 (19%). Pancreatic resection was performed in 91% of patients with nonfunctional tumor and in 83% of those with malignant tumor, and 73% of the pancreatic resections were done with lymph node dissection. The overall 5-year actuarial survival rate was 76% in patients with malignant tumor. The actuarial 5-year survival rate was 93% in the patients without metastasis and 83% in patients who received curative resection. Multivariate analysis showed that the presence or absence of synchronous metastasis was the sole significant prognostic factor. The results suggest that: (i) malignant endocrine tumor of the pancreas is a curable malignancy when pancreatic resection with lymph node dissection is adopted and (ii) that synchronous metastasis is the dominant prognostic factor. This study was carried out as a group project. The authors' institutions are as follows     

VEGF和p53在胰腺癌中的表达及意义

目的　探讨胰腺癌组织中血管内皮生长因子 (VEGF)及p5 3蛋白的表达及其临床病理意义。方法　采用SP免疫组织化学方法 ,对 46例胰腺癌组织中VEGF及 p5 3蛋白的表达进行检测。结果　VEGF与 p5 3表达率分别为 65 .2 %和 5 8.7%。p5 3表达与VEGF表达呈明显正相关(P <0 .0 5 )。VEGF表达与胰腺癌淋巴结转移 (P <0 .0 5 )和远处转移 (P <0 .0 1)显著相关 ,而与肿瘤大小 ,病理学分级无关 ,p5 3表达与胰腺癌远处转移 (P <0 .0 5 )显著相关 ,而与肿瘤大小 ,病理学分级及淋巴结转移无关。结论　在胰腺癌中 ,VEGF表达与 p5 3蛋白的表达呈正相关 ,在胰腺癌的转移中起重要作用     

大鼠胎胰胰岛组织培养及移植的实验观察

本实验对培养中的大鼠胎胰胰岛组织及其移植后的形态功能进行了观察。结果表明,大鼠胎胰经短期培养,不仅内分泌胰岛β细胞的活力保存良好,而且胰外分泌腺泡大大减少以致消失。21只糖尿病大鼠,同种移植经过7天培养的胎胰胰岛,未用免疫抑制剂,术后糖尿病缓解率76.2％。