ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the enhancing effects of ginsenoside Rg3 combined with mitomycin C and tegafur (MF) on postoperative chemotherapy in advanced gastric cancer.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Seventy-one postoperative patients with advanced gastric cancer were randomly divided into two groups, the control group (n=33), which received treatment with only MF (Mitomycin C+Tegafur), and the trial group (n=38), which were treated with ginsenoside Rg3+MF. The serum VEGF levels in the control group and trial group were detected preoperatively and postoperatively, meanwhile, the serum VEGF levels in 30 healthy persons were detected as comparison. The relations between patients survival and serum VEGF levels were analyzed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The levels of serum VEGF in advanced gastric cancer were higher than those in healthy persons [(297.8+/-129.6) pg/ml vs (212.3+/-67.5) pg/ml] (P<0.01), and were correlated with the depth of tumor invasion, lymph node metastasis, tumor size > 4 cm and TNM stage (P<0.05). Fourteen weeks after operation, the levels of serum VEGF in trial group decreased below those of preoperation and approached to normal range, while in the control group, the levels of serum VEGF decreased near those of preoperation only. The median survival of patients in trial group and control group were 40 and 25 months respectively. The survival rate of patients in trial group was significantly higher than that in control group (P=0.047).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The combined application of ginsenoside Rg3+MF chemotherapy can decrease the concentration of serum VEGF and improve the survival rate in advanced gastric cancer patients.</p>
Subject(s)
Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Angiogenesis Inhibitors , Therapeutic Uses , Chemotherapy, Adjuvant , Ginsenosides , Therapeutic Uses , Mitomycin , Therapeutic Uses , Neoplasm Staging , Phytotherapy , Stomach Neoplasms , Blood , Drug Therapy , Pathology , Survival Rate , Tegafur , Therapeutic Uses , Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A , BloodABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the clinical characteristics,diagnosis and treatment of abdominal cocoon.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Clinical data of 203 cases with abdominal cocoon including 7 cases in our hospital and 196 cases reported in Chinese literature from January 1995 to June 2005 were analyzed retrospectively.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The male to female ratio was approximately 1.2:1. The mean age at diagnosis was 33 years. The main clinical manifestations included recurrent acute or chronic intestinal obstruction in 147 cases (72.4%), abdominal mass in 53 cases (26.1%). Of the 203 cases, abdominal plain X-ray were performed in 163, B-ultrasound in 85, CT in 68 and barium meal in 32 cases, however, only 6 cases (3.0%) were diagnosed as abdominal cocoon preoperatively. All the cases received operations included partial or total excision of the membrane and enterolysis in 172 cases (84.7%), together with bowel resection in 34 cases (16.7%) and appendectomy in 51 cases (25.1%). Postoperative complications included recurrent obstruction in 55, and death in 11 cases (5.4%).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The preoperative diagnosis of abdominal cocoon is difficult. Operations should be performed on the cases with intestine obstruction. Recurrent adhesive intestinal obstruction is the main postoperative complication.</p>