[Efficacy of concurrent chemoradiotherapy with S-1 plus nedaplatin for hypopharyngeal cancer].

Many reports have been published on the treatment for hypopharyngeal cancer, and the treatment modalities and results have become uniform to some extent. More specifically, reconstruction by means of free jejunal grafts has become widespread, and the results of surgical treatments have stabilized. On the other hand concurrent chemoradiotherapy has been widely performed, and the results from the standpoint of organ and function preservation have revealed the various differences between institutions. In our department, we have been using concurrent chemoradiotherapy for advanced cancer with a view to organ and function preservation. In this article, we report 6 cases with hypopharyngeal cancer treated by concurrent chemoradiotherapy with S-1 plus nedaplatin(SN therapy)in our department between January 2005 and December 2008. The complete response rate after SN therapy was 83. 3%, and the laryngeal preservation rate was 100%.

[Three cases of adenocarcinoma of the head and neck maintaining QOL by administration of docetaxel].

A primary head and neck adenocarcinoma is a comparatively rare disease, and surgical resection has been the first choice for its treatment. In the present study, we performed chemotherapy with weekly administration of docetaxel in 3 cases with unresectable or recurrent adenocarcinoma of the head and neck on an outpatient basis, resulting in long-term maintenance of the patients' QOL. Each case had submandibular gland carcinoma, parotid gland carcinoma, or parathyroid gland carcinoma. Their observation period was 42, 76, or 87 months, respectively. Docetaxel was administered for 18, 19, or 28 courses, respectively. No adverse events of grade 3 or higher were observed. The present results might suggest that it is possible to treat patients with adenocarcinoma in the head and neck without decreasing patients' QOL.

[Effectiveness of simultaneous combination therapy using S-1, nedaplatin and radiotherapy for 7 cases of oropharynx cancer].

Various treatments for oropharynx cancer included radiotherapy, arterial injection chemotherapy (as well as combined chemoradiotherapy), combined concurrent chemoradiotherapy, and surgical resection and reconstruction. There are also treatment differences among facilities. Our department has been providing a treatment modality for head and neck malignancies with the aims of functional and morphological preservation with a high cure rate. We herein report the treatment efficacy in 7 cases of oropharynx cancer (6 cases on lateral wall and 1 case on superior wall)treated with S-1, nedaplatin and radiotherapy (SN therapy) at our department between April 2006 and December 2006. The total of 7 cases included 1 case of T1N1M0, 1 of T2N0M0, 2 of T2N2bM0, 1 of T2N2cM0, 1 of T3N2cM0, and 1 case of T4N2cM0. The patients were all male and their ages ranged from 57 to 76 years old, with the average age of 68.4 years. Six of the 7 cases are surviving without cancer through treatment and their functions and morphologies have been preserved. In the 1 case of T4N2cM0, the tumor did not disappear and the patient expired due to the original lesion. Although SN therapy supposedly enables functional and morphological preservation, it is necessary to increase the number of cases and examine the efficacy of SN therapy for oropharynx cancer for functional and morphological preservation and the survival rate.

[Effectiveness of simultaneous combination therapy using S-1 and nedaplatin/radiation (SN therapy) for 4 cases of maxillary cancer].

There are a variety of reports on radiotherapy, combined chemotherapy with radiation (including arterial injection), block resection via surgery, and fractional resection for maxillary cancer, and currently various differences among facilities. In our department, we provide treatment with the aim of preserving the organs and functions in cases of head and neck malignant tumors. We herein report the effectiveness of treatment in 4 cases of maxillary cancer, using S-1, nedaplatin/radiation (SN) therapy at our department from January 2005 to December 2008. The cases comprised 4 patients, including 3 cases of T4N0M0 and 1 case of T2N0M0. All patients were males between 29 to 67 years old, wherein the mean was 52.3 years old. All cases resulted in survival without cancer after the application of the treatment policy of our department, wherein all functions were preserved. It is believed that the performance of SN therapy made it possible to minimize the scope of surgery and preserve the organs and functions. It will be necessary to increase the number of cases in order to examine the effectiveness of the organ and function preservation as well as the survival rate for maxillary cancer after SN therapy.

[Effectiveness of concomitant therapy with S-1, nedaplatin, and radiation for laryngeal cancer].

Laryngeal cancer occurs more frequently in head and neck cancers, so there are a number of reports regarding the treatment results,wherein the therapeutic strategy and results are stable to some extent. However, due to the spread of chemoradiotherapy, there are differences in the larynx preservation rates for T2 and T3 cases, depending on the facility. Our department has been administering chemoradiotherapy for advanced cancer based on the perspective of conserving the organ and the function. We herein report our examination of 20 laryngeal cancer cases receiving concomitant therapy with S-1, Nedaplatin, and radiation (hereinafter, referred to as SN therapy) in our department from April 2005 to December 2008. The resulting complete response (CR) rate for the SN therapy was 82.4%, excluding T4 cases. Due to their refusal of surgery, 2 of 3 cases in which the SN therapy had been administered for T4 cases receiving SN therapy showed CR, wherein the CR rate in all cases after the SN therapy was 80. 0%. The larynx preservation rate after the SN therapy was 94.1%.

[The effectiveness of concomitant radiotherapy with S-1 and nedaplatin for tongue cancer].

The development of reconstructive surgery and the use of free flaps have allowed for a larger dissection range even for advanced tongue cancer, resulting in an improvement of the prognosis. However, both the postoperative swallowing and masticatory function are still considered to have not yet reached a satisfactory level. Accordingly, our department has been administering concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) for advanced cancer to preserve the organ and the function; there are cases in which even comparatively small tumors are difficult to dissect due to the occurrence site. We have been treating these cases using CCRT as well. We herein report our results of 10 tongue cancer cases in which CCRT with S-1 and Nedaplatin (hereinafter, referred to as SN therapy) was administered in our department from April 2002 to October 2008. The complete response rate of the SN therapy was 60. 0% (6 of 10 examples). The 5-year disease-specific survival rates were 50. 0% for Stage II, 75. 0% for Stage III, and 75. 0% for Stage IV, respectively.

The effect of a glucocorticoid on olfactory response of isolated mouse olfactory cells.

Oral administration and nasal instillation of glucocorticoids are currently being conducted and are producing satisfactory results for the treatment of olfactory dysfunctions. However, there are still many unanswered questions about the actions of glucocorticoids on the olfactory cells. In the present study, the effects of glucocorticoids on the olfactory response in mouse olfactory cells were examined by measuring changes in the intracellular Ca2+ concentration. The olfactory cells isolated from the BALB/c female mouse mucosa were stained with a Fura-2/AM and the changes in the intracellular Ca2+ concentration were observed by using a fluorescent microscopic image processing device, ARGUS50. The cells were exposed to the following olfactory stimuli, 3-ethoxy-4-hydroxy-benzaldehyde, caprylic acid, nonanoic acid, phenethyl alcohol and n-amyl acetate. When 0.1 and 0.01% betamethasone was applied to the olfactory cells for short periods(1 or 3 minutes), no changes were observed. However, long-term(7 minutes) application of 0.1 and 0.01% (but not 0.001 and 0.0001%) betametathone significantly decreased intracellular Ca2+ concentration, which was increased by olfactory stimulation. The inhibitory effect of betamethasone on Ca2+ influx into olfactory cells was attenuated by pre-treatment olfactory cells with RU486, a glucocorticoid receptor antagonist.

Suppressive activity of macrolide antibiotics on nitric oxide production from nasal polyp fibroblasts in vitro.

The influence of macrolide antibiotics on nitric oxide (NO) generation was examined using human nasal polyp fibroblasts (NPFs) in vitro. Addition of roxithromycin (RXM) at a concentration of > 7.5 microg/ml to cell cultures was shown to suppress NO production in response to stimulation with 25.0 ng/ml tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha. However, jyosamycin (JM) did not suppress NO production from NPFs induced by TNF-alpha stimulation in vitro, even when added to cell cultures at a concentration of 20.0 microg/ml. We then examined the influence of RXM on inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) mRNA expression in NPFs. Addition of RXM at a dose of 7.5 microg/ml to cell cultures caused reduction of iNOS mRNA expression, which was enhanced by TNF-alpha stimulation in vitro.