Asymptomatic Tubular Duplication of the Transverse Colon in an Adult

Colonic duplication is a rare congenital anomaly of the alimentary tract. In most cases, symptomatic duplications of the colon are recognized and treated by childhood. It is uncommon for these lesions to be detected in the adulthood since they present with vague symptoms if at all. We experienced a case of asymptomatic tubular duplication of the transverse colon in a 40-year-old female. Barium enema revealed a tubular duplication of the transverse colon. The duplicated segment arose from the mid ascending colon and incorporated just proximal to the splenic flexure, running parallel to the transverse colon and communicating with it at both ends. Colonoscopy demonstrated a normal colonic mucosa in the duplicated segment. The diameter of its lumen gradually narrowed proximally and the colonoscope could not be passed through the proximal opening of the segment. The patient did not need any treatment. Duplications of the alimentary tract can be found at any age. The possibility of congenital lesions in the adult population should not be overlooked.

A Proposal of New Staging System Based on Survival Rates in Gastric Cancer Patients

PURPOSE: This study was carried out to propose a new staging system to improve the current UICC/AJCC staging system. METHODS: A total of 4217 patients who had undergone gastrectomy for gastric cancer from 1987 to 1997 were retrospectively reviewed. Among them, 4040 patients with either early gastric cancer (EGC, n=1202) or advanced gastric cancer (AGC, n=2838) can be appropriately staged by the 6th UICC/AJCC system. Survival rates of EGC were analyzed according to the number of lymph node metastasis while those of AGC patients were analyzed according to the TNM classifications. RESULTS: The 5-year survival rate (5-YSR) of EGC patients according to the 6th UICC/AJCC was 94.6% for stage Ia, 92.9% for stage Ib, and 40.9% for stage II or IV. The 5-YSR according to the number of lymph node metastases in EGC patients was 94.6% for EGC patients with node negative, 95.1% for those with 1 or 2 positive nodes, and 73.4% for those with 3 or more positive nodes. The 95% confidence intervals of mean survival duration were narrower when patients were grouped with a reference number of metastatic lymph nodes as 3 than when patients were grouped according to the 6th UICC/AJCC staging system. The 5-YSR according to TNM classifications in AGC patients wss 89.8% for T2N0M0, 71.5% for T2N1M0, 74.9% for T3N0M0, 55.2% for T2N2M0, 58.6% for T3N1M0, 44.4% for T4N0M0, 35.1% for T3N2M0, 32.3% for T4N1M0, 9.4% for T4N2M0, 14.1% for TanyN3M0, and 7.6% for TanyNanyM1. The survival of T4N1M0 was rather similar to that of T3N2M0 (P=0.9225) than other TNM classifications in stage IV (P<0.0001). CONCLUSION: With these results we may propose following new staging proposal. For EGC patients, the following division of N1 into two groups is recommanded: 1 or 2 positive lymph nodes as N1a and 3 or more positive nodes as N1b is recommended. With the new nodal classification in EGC, the staging recommendation for EGC patients is I for T1N0M0 and T1N1aM0, and II for T1N1bM0. For AGC patients, the following redistribution of TNM classification is recommanded for a new staging system, regarding T2N0M0 as stage I and T4N1M0 as stage IIIb. In this new staging system, we can reduce the 6 stage groups into 5.

Menetrier's Disease in Korea: Report of Two Cases and Review of Cases in a Gastric Cancer Prevalent Region

Menetrier's disease is a rare disease of the stomach generally described as hypertrophic gastropathy associated with hypoproteinemia. Gastric resection is still the most definitive treatment for the disease, but the appropriate extent of resection has not been determined. One of the major factors that would determine the extent of gastric resection in Menetrier's disease is its malignant potential. We present two recent cases of Menetrier's disease treated in our institution and review cases of the disease reported in Korea where the incidence of gastric cancer is one of the highest in the world.

Analyses of Prognostic Factors and Gastric Cancer Specific Survival Rate in Early Gastric Cancer Patients and Its Clinical Implication

PURPOSE: This study was performed to find out the risk factors for recurrence and prognosis of early gastric cancer (EGC) patients by evaluating the recurrence, overall survival, and disease-specific survival after curative resection. METHODS: Out of 4217 patients who had undergone gastric resections for gastric adenocarcinoma from 1987 to 1997, the records of 1264 curatively resected EGC patients were reviewed retrospectively. Risk factors that determined recurrence, overall survival, and stomach cancer specific survival were investigated by using uni-variate and multi -variate analyses. RESULTS: Among the 1264 patients, 62 patients (4.9%) were diagnosed as having recurrent cancer and 162 patients died during follow-up. Of these 162 patients, 53 (4.2% of 1264, 32.7% of 162) patients died of gastric cancer whereas 92 died of non-gastric cancer causes and 17 died of unknown causes. In uni-variate analyses, the depth of invasion and lymph node metastasis were risk factors for recurrence and gastric cancer-specific survival while age, histologic type, depth of invasion, and lymph node metastasis were risk factors for overall survival. In multi-variate analysis, lymph node metastasis was the only risk factor for recurrence and gastric cancer-specific survival, while age was the only risk factor for overall survival. In a detailed analysis of prognoses based on lymph node metastasis, recurrence and gastric cancer related death were more frequently noted in patients with 3 or more lymph node metastasis and with extra- perigastric lymph node metastasis. CONCLUSION: Although EGC patients treated by curative resection showed good prognosis, those with lymph node metastasis have risks of recurrence and gastric cancer- related death. Considering the high rate of recurrence and gastric cancer-related death, more attention should be given to EGC patients with 3 or more lymph node metastases and/or extra-perigastric lymph node metastases. Adjuvant chemotherapy might be recommended for these high-risk patients.