Vegetable Diet in Cancer Prevention / 이화의대지

Cancer prevention by vegetable diet has received considerable attention in recent years. In the past these attributes of vegetables were based more on beliefs than on scientific evidences. But over the past few decades many studies have been performed about that. Cancer preventive components of many vegetables have been studied in experimental carcinogenesis models. These studies have reported on these components influence carcinogenesis during initiation and promotion phases of cancer development. Also, epidemiological studies and clinical trials have reported cancer preventive effects of vegetables. However, there is no comprehensive summary of cancer preventive effects with the types of vegetables. In this review, we classified the vegetables and described the mechanism of action of active components of vegetables, experimental studies, and clinical trials. Results revealed a negative correlation between consumption of vegetables and cancer risk. But we can't still conclude the effects of vegetables yet, so further studies would be necessary for final conclusion.

A Case of Ileal Mesenteric Desmoid Tumor Resected by Laparoscopic Surgery / 이화의대지

Desmoid tumor is rare neoplasm originated from fibrous sheath or musculoaponeurotic structure. It is classified as benign tumor histologically, but clinically, it has malignant characteristics due to its infiltrative growth to adjacent organ and frequent local recurrence. Especially, mesenteric desmoid tumor shows poor prognosis because of its symptoms of pain, intestinal obstruction, ureter obstruction and fistula formation and high frequency of recurrence. We experienced a case of mesenteric desmoid tumor in a 64-year-old woman with a painless abdominal mass. Laparoscopic exploration was performed and 10 cm sized mesenteric mass was identified, which resected widely and the diagnosis was confirmed with desmoid tumor by pathologic report. We reviewed the feature of the mesenteric desmoid tumor, that is, pathophysiology, clinical presentations, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis.

Metastasis to the breast from colonic adenocarcinoma / 대한외과학회지

A 63-year-old woman was referred to a breast surgeon with a breast mass discovered incidentally during follow-up study after colon cancer surgery. Invasive adenocarcinoma was revealed on core needle biopsy. Wide excision of the breast including the tumor was performed. On standard histological examination the tumor showed features of moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma. The immunohistochemistry study revealed positive results for cytokeratin (CK)20 and CDX2, but negative for CK7. These are typical characteristics for colon cancer. Considering her history of subtotal colectomy for sigmoid colon cancer, it is presumable that the mass in the breast was of colonic origin, and it was an extremely rare case of metastasis to the breast from primary colorectal neoplasm. Although the instance is rare, clinicians should keep the possibility of breast metastasis from colorectal cancer in mind for early and correct diagnosis.

Selection of surgical treatment types for intrahepatic duct stones

BACKGROUNDS/AIMS: Complete elimination of intrahepatic duct (IHD) stones is difficult and IHD stone disease is frequently associated with various complications, recurrence and sometimes cholangiocarcinoma. Therefore, we analyzed the long-term surgical results and evaluated the management currently considered appropriate. METHODS: Overall 110 patients who had been diagnosed with benign IHD stone disease and who underwent surgical treatment were enrolled in this study. The patients were categorized into three groups according to the type of surgery performed; liver resection (LR) group, intrahepatic duct exploration (IHDE) group and hepaticoenterostomy (HE) group. We compared and analyzed the results of these three groups. RESULTS: The number of cases in the LR group, IHDE group and HE group were 77, 25 and 8 respectively. The LR group required a longer operation time (p=0.000), more frequent transfusion (p=0.028) and had higher morbidity (p=0.049). However, the LR group had a higher clearance rate (90.9%) (p=0.000) than the other groups. In addition, there were a total of 22 cases of IHD stone recurrence during the follow-up, but there was no statistically significant difference among the three groups. The location of IHD stones was related to a risk factor for incomplete stone removal, but not for recurrence. CONCLUSION: The fundamental principle for the treatment of IHD stone disease should be liver resection. However, it can lead to a longer operative time and higher rate of complications than the other procedures. There is also no difference in the IHD stone recurrence rate among the procedures. Therefore, these alternative and minor procedures could also be taken into account for patients with poor preoperative condition.

Comparison of Short-term Follow-up Results of Open, Laparoscopic and Hand-assisted Laparoscopic Colectomy in Colorectal Cancer / 이화의대지

OBJECTIVES: Hand-assisted laparoscopic surgery had both technical advantages of open surgery and better postoperative short-term follow-up results of laparoscopic surgery. We compared open colectomy, laparoscopic colectomy and hand-assisted laparoscopic colectomy, and tried to find the most effective operative modality. METHODS: 90 patients, who were diagnosed with colorectal cancer and underwent colectomy in our institution, were categorized as 3 groups of open colectomy (OC) group, laparoscopic colectomy (LC) group and hand-assisted laparoscopic colectomy (HALC) group by the surgical modality. RESULTS: In this study, ratio of male and female was 57 : 37, and mean age was 64.1 years old. LC group and HALC group showed longer operation time, shorter hospital stay after operation, lesser pain and earlier removal of closed drainage catheter than OC group. Amount of bleeding during operation, frequency of transfusion and incidence of complication showed no significant difference. In permanent pathologic results, the number of harvested lymph nodes had significant difference between OC group and other groups (P=0.030), but it was probably caused by the bias of the different distribution of the stages in each group. Overall 14 of the cases resulted in complications while there was no mortality. CONCLUSION: Laparoscopic colectomy and hand-assisted laparoscopic colectomy showed better short-term follow-up results rather than open colectomy. And hand-assisted laparoscopic surgery could provide tactile sensation to operator, which lacked in laparoscopic surgery. Hand-assisted laparoscopic colectomy could be an alternative surgical option for colorectal cancer with these advantages.

Optimal Time for Appendectomy in Perforated Appendicitis of Children

PURPOSE: It is controversial to treat complicated appendicitis in pediatric patients on several points, especially optimal time for appendectomy. The purpose of this study is to determine optimal time for operation in perforated appendicitis in pediatric patients. METHODS: Children with perforated appendicitis under the age of 14 underwent appendectomy between January 2006 and December 2008 at Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital were analyzed retrospectively according to factors which may affect the postoperative hospital course such as complications, time of beginning of diet, and length of hospital stay. RESULTS: During the study period, 357 patients with acute appendicitis underwent appendectomy and 118 patients were diagnosed with perforated appendicitis. Comparing symptom durations between more than 48 hours and less, the former induced significantly higher postoperative complication rates. Body temperature above 37.5degrees C at admission affected significantly higher complication rates and delay of beginning of diet. Children with intraabdominal abscess at appendectomy showed higher complication rates than without abscess. Children who underwent operation in the daytime started diet significantly earlier and showed less complication than those operated on at night. The frequency of preoperative antibiotics administration did not alter the postoperative hospital course. CONCLUSION: For the children diagnosed with perforated appendicitis, non-urgent appendectomy in the daytime after initial conservative management including intravenous administration of antibiotics, hydration, and correction of serum electrolyte is safer and more efficient than performing emergency operation, and moreover there is no necessity for secondary admission for interval appendectomy.

Comparison of Primary Closure and T-tube Drainage following Laparoscopic CBD Exploration

PURPOSE: Laparoscopic common bile duct exploration (LCBDE) has traditionally been accompanied by T-tube drainage. However, patients must carry it for several weeks and often suffer problems related to the T-tube. So, primary closure of CBD has been proposed as a safe and effective alternative to T-tube placement after laparoscopic choledochotomy. The aim of this study was to compare primary closure versus T-tube drainage after LCBDE. METHODS: Between January 2000 and December 2005, 63 patients suffering from choledocholithiasis underwent LCBDE successfully through choledochotomy. Those patients were devided into two groups; primary closure group (group P) and T-tube placement group (group T). Patients' clinical characeristics, postoperative outcome and follow up data were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: Of 63 patients, 30 (48.6%) had primary closure of the choledochotomy and 33 (52.4%) had T-tube drainage. Stone clearance rate was 100% in both groups. The mean operation time and the incidence of postoperative complications had no significant difference between the two groups. The mean postoperative hospital stay (8.8 vs. 16.4 days, P<0.001) was significantly shorter in the P group compared to the T group. Each group had one recurrent CBD stone. None of both groups showed symptoms or signs associated with CBD stricture during the follow up period. CONCLUSION: Primary closure of choledochotomy after LCBDE can prevent the disadvantages associated with T-tube and lead to a shorter hospital stay. Therefore, primary closure should be considered as a safe alternative method after LCBDE.