Perioperative management of severe interstitial pneumonia for rectal surgery: a case report.

This report describes a case of rectal cancer with severe interstitial pneumonia (IP) and chronic pneumothorax. Acute exacerbation of IP is a serious postoperative complication and the consequences are extremely poor. To provide less invasive surgery and to prevent acute exacerbation of the IP, the patient received chemo-radiotherapy for controlling locally advanced tumor following low anterior resection under combined spinal-epidural anesthesia. Adequate epidural analgesia during the postoperative period had been shown and the epidural catheter was removed on the 3rd postoperative day. The patient showed symptoms of intrapelvic abscess due to the anastomotic leakage at 10th postoperative day. In order to avoid complications due to spinal and epidural anesthesia (epidural abscess, meningitis), and to prevent acute exacerbation of the IP, general anesthesia was employed with minimal fraction of inspired oxygen (FIO(2)) to perform the colostomy for the anastomotic leakage. The patient recovered without any postoperative respiratory complications. We herein report the successful perioperative management of a rectal cancer patient with severe IP and chronic pneumothorax, with special attention paid to the respiratory functions.

Randomized trial of the efficacy of adjuvant chemotherapy for colon cancer with combination therapy incorporating the oral pyrimidine 1-hexylcarbamoyl-5-fluorouracil.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The purpose of the present trial was to clarify the efficacy of postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy including an oral fluoropyrimidine anticancer drug, the 1-hexylcarbamoyl-5-fluorouracil (HCFU), for the treatment of colon cancer. METHOD: Patients with clinical stage Dukes' B and C colon cancer, who had been treated surgically, were assigned to a chemotherapy group treated with mitomycin C, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), and HCFU and to a control group that received no postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy. RESULTS: Of the 1,001 patients registered for the study, 17 (1.7%) were ineligible. The incidence of toxicity was significantly higher in the chemotherapy group than in the control group. However, there were few severe side effects and no deaths related to the treatment. Overall survival showed no significant difference between the groups. The disease-free survival or the recurrence-free intervals was significantly higher in the chemotherapy group than in the control group. The incidence of hepatic recurrence was significantly (P=0.003) lower in the chemotherapy group than in the control group. CONCLUSION: The results of this study demonstrated the efficacy of adjuvant chemotherapy for colon cancer, i.e., combined chemotherapy that included the 5-FU oral anticancer drug HCFU.

Phase II study of oral S-1 for treatment of metastatic colorectal carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: The goal of the current study was to evaluate the objective response rate and toxicity associated with the oral fluoropyrimidine S-1 (a combination of tegafur, 5-chloro-2,4-dihydroxypyridine, and potassium oxonate) in patients with previously untreated metastatic colorectal carcinoma. METHODS: Thirty-eight patients were enrolled in the study. S-1 was administered orally at a dose of 40 mg/m2 twice daily for 28 days, followed by a 14-day rest period. Treatment was repeated every 6 weeks unless disease progression was observed. RESULTS: A combined total of 173 courses of S-1 were administered to the 38 enrolled patients. The median number of courses administered to a given patient was 3.5 (range, 1-18). Although no patient exhibited a complete response to treatment, 15 had partial responses (response rate, 39.5%; 95% confidence interval, 24.0-56.6%). In addition, 5 patients had minor responses, and 14 had stable disease. Four patients were found to have progressive disease after two courses of treatment. The median survival time was 358 days (95% confidence interval, 305-490 days), and the 1-year survival rate was 47.4%. The most common adverse reactions included myelosuppression and gastrointestinal toxicity; most cases involved Grade 1 or 2 toxicity, but Grade 3 toxicities (anemia [7.9% of patients], neutropenia [5.3% of patients], diarrhea [2.6% of patients], and abnormal bilirubin levels [7.9% of patients]) also were noted. Neither Grade 4 toxicity nor treatment-related death was observed during the study. CONCLUSIONS: Orally administered S-1 is active against metastatic colorectal carcinoma and has an acceptable toxicity profile. This promising agent has the potential to become a valuable chemotherapeutic option.

Pre- and post-operative adjuvant chemotherapy in colorectal cancer.

A multi-center randomized controlled study was conducted in order to investigate the usefulness of pre- and post-operative adjuvant chemotherapy in colorectal cancer. The patients were stratified into those with colon cancer and those with rectal cancer and divided into 2 groups, Group A and Group B. The patients in Group A received tegafur suppositories (750 mg/day) from 1 to 2 weeks prior to surgery, to 2 weeks following surgery and then oral administration of tegafur and uracil (UFT) (260 mg/m(2)) for 1 year. The patients in Group B, on the other hand, received only UFT (260 mg/m(2)) for 1 year beginning week 2 after surgery. Although there was no significant difference between Groups A and B in the 5-year survival rate, the 5-year disease-free survival rate was significantly higher in Group A, especially for rectal cancer (p<0.05). In addition, remote metastases tended to be suppressed for both colon and rectal cancer in Group A (p=0.08 and p=0.072). There was no serious adverse reaction to tegafur. Pre- and post-operative adjuvant chemotherapy with tegafur had fewer adverse reactions and was convenient to administer. Thus, it was considered useful for suppression of postoperative distant metastasis in colorectal cancer.

Resection of synchronous lung and Vater's papilla cancer.

We present a case of a 78-year-old man with a synchronous double cancer of the lung and Vater's papilla. A pancreaticoduodenectomy was performed for Vater's papilla cancer and a partial lung resection for lung cancer. The pathological diagnosis of the tumors was a well differentiated tubular adenocarcinoma and well differentiated bronchioloalveolar carcinoma, respectively. Although most cases of synchronous double cancers involve lung and gastric cancers, a combination of lung and Vater's papilla is extremely rare. This patient is still alive with no recurrence for 5 years after the last operation.

A case report of disseminated recurrence of inferior bile duct carcinoma in PTCD fistula.

We report a case of disseminated recurrence of inferior bile duct carcinoma growing in the fistula where the percutaneous transhepatic cholangiodrainage (PTCD) catheter was instituted. The recurrent tumor seemed to be implanted by dissemination of the original tumor during the first surgery. We could successfully remove this recurring tumor with lateral segmentectomy of the liver plus peritoneal dissection. This patient had been followed after the first surgery (pancreaticoduodenectomy) for inferior bile duct carcinoma causing obstructive jaundice. CEA and CA19-9 raised and CT scan confirmed the recurrent tumor in the lateral segment of the liver. This patient has been in good condition for 2 years following the second surgery.