[Acute Acalculous Cholecystitis Associated with Sunitinib Treatment for Renal Cell Carcinoma].

A 64-year-old man was treated with sunitinib as a first-line therapy for metastatic renal cell carcinoma. He was given oral sunitinib in cycles of 50 mg once daily for 2 weeks followed by a week off. During the 5th week of treatment right upper quadrant pain developed, but this resolved spontaneously during the 6th week (off treatment). However, on the 8th week of treatment, he was admitted to hospital because the acute right upper quadrant pain recurred with nausea, vomiting, and fever. Acute acalculous cholecystitis was then diagnosed by ultrasonography and CT. In addition, his laboratory findings indicated disseminated intravascular coagulation. Accordingly, sunitinib therapy was discontinued and broad-spectrum antibiotics initiated. He subsequently recovered after emergent percutaneous cholecystostomy. His Naranjo Adverse Drug Reaction Probability Scale score was 7, indicaing a probable association of the event with sunitinib. Suspicion of sunitinib-related acute cholecystitis is required, because, although uncommon, it can be life-threatening.

Multicenter phase II trial of modified FOLFIRINOX in gemcitabine-refractory pancreatic cancer.

AIM: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of modified FOLFIRINOX as a second-line treatment for gemcitabine (GEM)-refractory unresectable pancreatic cancer (PC). METHODS: This study was a prospective, multicenter, one-arm, open-label, phase II trial. Patients with unresectable PC, who showed disease progression during GEM-based chemotherapy were enrolled. All patients were administered FOLFIRINOX with reduced irinotecan and oxaliplatin (RIO; irinotecan 120 mg/m2 and oxaliplatin 60 mg/m2), which was set according to the phase I study of FOLFIRINOX. The objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), adverse events were evaluated. Additionally, changes in quality of life (QoL) were assessed using a questionnaire on QoL. RESULTS: Between August 2015 and May 2016, a total of 48 patients were enrolled. The median follow-up time was 259 d with a median of 8.5 cycles. The ORR and DCR were 18.8% and 62.5%, respectively, including one patient who showed complete remission. The median PFS was 5.8 mo [95% confidence interval (CI): 3.7-7.9] and median OS was 9.0 mo (95%CI: 6.4-11.6). Neutropenia (64.6%) was the most common grade 3-4 adverse event, followed by febrile neutropenia (16.7%). Although 14.6% of patients experienced grade 3 fatigue, most non-hematologic AEs were under grade 2. In the QoL analysis, the global health status score before treatment was not different from the score at the last visit after treatment (45.43 ± 22.88 vs 48.66 ± 24.14, P = 0.548). CONCLUSION: FOLFIRINOX with RIO showed acceptable toxicity and promising efficacy for GEM-refractory unresectable PC. However, this treatment requires careful observation of treatment-related hematologic toxicities.

Aggressive intravenous hydration with lactated Ringer's solution for prevention of post-ERCP pancreatitis: a prospective randomized multicenter clinical trial.

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS : The present study aimed to determine the type of intravenous hydration that is best suited to reducing the incidence of post-endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) pancreatitis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In a prospective randomized multicenter trial, average-to-high risk patients who underwent first-time ERCP were randomly assigned to three groups (1:1:1) who received: aggressive intravenous hydration (3 mL/kg/h during ERCP, a 20-mL/kg bolus and 3 mL/kg/h for 8 hours after ERCP) with either lactated Ringer's solution (LRS) or normal saline solution (NSS), or standard intravenous hydration with LRS (1.5 mL/kg/h during and for 8 hours after ERCP). The primary end point was post-ERCP pancreatitis (PEP). RESULTS: 395 patients were enrolled, and 385 completed the protocols. The three groups showed no significant differences in demographic characteristics. There was a significant difference in the intention-to-treat (ITT) PEP rate between the aggressive LRS group (3.0 %, 95 % confidence interval [CI] 0.1 % - 5.9 %; 4 /132), the aggressive NSS group (6.7 %, 95 %CI 2.5 % - 10.9 %; 9 /134) and the standard LRS group (11.6 %, 95 %CI 6.1 % - 17.2 %; 15 /129; P = 0.03). In the two-group comparisons, the ITT PEP rate was significantly lower for the aggressive LRS group than for the standard LRS group (relative risk [RR] 0.26, 95 %CI 0.08 - 0.76; P = 0.008). There was no significant difference in the ITT PEP rate between the aggressive NSS group and the standard LRS group (RR 0.57, 95 %CI 0.26 - 1.27; P = 0.17). CONCLUSION: Aggressive hydration with LRS is the best approach to intravenous hydration for the prevention of PEP in average-to-high risk patients.

A randomized, multicenter, phase III study of gemcitabine combined with capecitabine versus gemcitabine alone as first-line chemotherapy for advanced pancreatic cancer in South Korea.

BACKGROUND: This phase III trial compared the efficacy and safety of gemcitabine plus capecitabine (GemCap) versus single-agent gemcitabine (Gem) in advanced pancreatic cancer as first-line chemotherapy. METHODS: A total of 214 advanced pancreatic cancer patients were enrolled from 16 hospitals in South Korea between 2007 and 2011. Patients were randomly assigned to receive GemCap (oral capecitabine 1660 mg/m plus Gem 1000 mg/m by 30-minute intravenous infusion weekly for 3 weeks followed by a 1-week break every 4 weeks) or Gem (by 30-minute intravenous infusion weekly for 3 weeks every 4 weeks). RESULTS: Median overall survival (OS) time, the primary end point, was 10.3 and 7.5 months in the GemCap and Gem arms, respectively (P = 0.06). Progression-free survival was 6.2 and 5.3 months in the GemCap and Gem arms, respectively (P = 0.08). GemCap significantly improved overall response rate compared with Gem alone (43.7% vs 17.6%; P = 0.001). Overall frequency of grade 3 or 4 toxicities was similar in each group. Neutropenia was the most frequent grade 3 or 4 toxicity in both groups. CONCLUSION: GemCap failed to improve OS at a statistically significant level compared to Gem treatment. This study showed a trend toward improved OS compared to Gem alone. GemCap and Gem both exhibited similar safety profiles.

Left Hepatic Artery Pseudoaneurysm Caused by Acute Pancreatitis.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this work was to report a case of left hepatic artery pseudoaneurysm due to acute pancreatitis following endoscopic papillectomy. CLINICAL PRESENTATION AND INTERVENTION: A 74-year-old female with an ampullary adenoma underwent papillectomy, which was complicated by acute pancreatitis. Computed tomography showed aneurysmal dilatation of the proximal left hepatic artery. An angiography with coli embolization was performed and was successful. The patient was doing well at the 1-year follow-up. CONCLUSION: This patient with left hepatic artery pseudoaneurysm following severe acute pancreatitis was successfully treated with coil embolization.

A Case of Ciliated Foregut Cyst of the Gallbladder.

Congenital cysts of the gallbladder are extremely rare, hence only a few ciliated foregut cysts of gallbladder have been reported. We report a case of a 20-year-old woman presenting with mild right upper quadrant abdominal discomfort, with normal levels of serum bilirubin and liver function tests. Abdominal ultrasonography revealed a well-defined cystic mass measured about 2 cm attached to the neck of gallbladder, with internal echogenic debris suggesting a complicated cyst, such as a hemorrhagic cyst. Abdominal computed tomography and magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography revealed similar findings. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy showed a slightly distended gallbladder. The size of cyst on the neck was 1.6×1.2 cm, and it contained mucosa lined by ciliated pseudostratified columnar epithelium and underlying smooth muscle layers. Histopathology identified a ciliated foregut cyst of gallbladder.

Vascular calcification on plain radiographs is related with the severity of lesions detected by coronary angiography in dialysis patients.

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a primary cause of mortality and morbidity in dialysis patients. However, it is difficult to select the proper point for coronary angiographic procedure, because dialysis patients frequently do not display typical symptoms. Vascular calcification (VC) scores of artery or aorta on plain radiographs are associated with CAD events and may be predictive of CAD in dialysis patients. Therefore, we evaluated whether high or meaningful VC scores on plain radiographs are related with the severity of lesions detected by coronary angiography (CAG) in dialysis patients. We retrospectively enrolled dialysis patients who underwent CAG and checked several plain radiographs within one year before or after CAG. Significant VC is defined as high or meaningful VC scores, such as long abdominal aortic calcification and medial artery calcification on feet. Of all 55 patients, 41 patients (74.5%) exhibited significant VC on plain radiographs and 23 patients (41.8%) underwent stent insertion. Among the 23 patients, longer stents were used in 18 patients with significant VC (34.1 ± 19.5 mm vs. 16.6 ± 15.2 mm, P = 0.029). Patients with significant VC showed higher prevalence rate of severe coronary artery calcification (P = 0.007) and diffuse/tubular stenosis (P = 0.012), detected by CAG, than those without significant VC. Thus, high or meaningful VC scores on plain radiographs were associated with the degree of calcification or stenosis detected by CAG. In conclusion, VC scores on plain radiographs may be predictive of calcification or stenosis of coronary artery before CAG in dialysis patients.

Usefulness of acoustic radiation force impulse elastography in the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant solid pancreatic lesions.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the tissue stiffness of solid pancreatic lesions by using acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) elastography to differentiate benign from malignant pancreatic lesions. METHODS: ARFI elastography was performed in 26 patients who had 27 focal solid pancreatic lesions, including 8 benign lesions (mass-forming pancreatitis, 5; autoimmune pancreatitis, 3) and 19 malignant lesions (pancreatic adenocarcinoma, 16; metastasis from colorectal cancer, 2; malignant neuroendocrine tumor, 1). On the elastographic images of virtual touch tissue imaging (VTI), the echogenicity of the mass was categorized on a 5-grade scale. On the elastographic image of virtual touch tissue quantification (VTQ), the shear wave velocities (SWVs) of the lesion and surrounding parenchyma were measured. RESULTS: On the VTI images, the mean echogenicity score of the malignant lesions (3.7±1.0) was higher than that of the benign lesions (3.1±0.4; P=0.023). On the VTQ images, there were no statistical differences in the mean SWV between the benign (2.4±1.1 m/sec) and malignant (3.3±1.0 m/sec) lesions (P=0.101). However, the mean SWV difference values between the lesion and background parenchyma of the malignant lesions (1.5±0.8 m/sec) were higher than those of the benign lesions (0.4±0.3 m/sec; P=0.011). CONCLUSION: ARFI elastography can determine the relative stiffness between a lesion and the background pancreatic parenchyma using VTI and VTQ, which is helpful in the differentiation between benign and malignant solid pancreatic lesions.

Focal thickening at the fundus of the gallbladder: computed tomography differentiation of fundal type adenomyomatosis and localized chronic cholecystitis.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The objective of our study was to identify useful computed tomography (CT) findings for differentiating fundal type adenomyomatosis from localized chronic cholecystitis involving the fundus of the gallbladder. METHODS: We retrospectively identified cases of 41 patients with pathologically proven adenomyomatosis (n=21) or chronic cholecystitis (n=20) who had fundal thickening of the gallbladder on preoperative abdominal CT. Analysis of the CT findings included evaluation of the thickness, contour, border, intralesional cystic area, adjacent gallbladder wall thickening, presence of inner layer enhancement, enhancement grade, enhancement pattern, and presence of stones. Statistical analyses were performed using the Mann-Whitney U test and Fisher exact test. RESULTS: Oval contour, inner layer enhancement and intralesional cystic area were more frequently noted in adenomyomatosis than in chronic cholecystitis (p<0.05 for each finding). Flat contour and adjacent gallbladder wall thickening were more frequently observed in chronic cholecystitis than in adenomyomatosis. No differences between adenomyomatosis and chronic cholecystitis in terms of the thickness, enhancement grade, enhancement pattern and presence of stones were apparent. CONCLUSIONS: CT may help to differentiate fundal type adenomyomatosis from localized chronic cholecystitis involving the fundus of the gallbladder.

A comparison of the BISAP score and serum procalcitonin for predicting the severity of acute pancreatitis.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The bedside index of severity in acute pancreatitis (BISAP) is a new, convenient, prognostic multifactorial scoring system. As more data are needed before clinical application, we compared BISAP, the serum procalcitonin (PCT), and other multifactorial scoring systems simultaneously. METHODS: Fifty consecutive acute pancreatitis patients were enrolled prospectively. Blood samples were obtained at admission and after 48 hours and imaging studies were performed within 48 hours of admission. The BISAP score was compared with the serum PCT, Ranson's score, and the acute physiology and chronic health examination (APACHE)-II, Glasgow, and Balthazar computed tomography severity index (BCTSI) scores. Acute pancreatitis was graded using the Atlanta criteria. The predictive accuracy of the scoring systems was measured using the area under the receiver-operating curve (AUC). RESULTS: The accuracy of BISAP (≥ 2) at predicting severe acute pancreatitis was 84% and was superior to the serum PCT (≥ 3.29 ng/mL, 76%) which was similar to the APACHE-II score. The best cutoff value of BISAP was 2 (AUC, 0.873; 95% confidence interval, 0.770 to 0.976; p < 0.001). In logistic regression analysis, BISAP had greater statistical significance than serum PCT. CONCLUSIONS: BISAP is more accurate for predicting the severity of acute pancreatitis than the serum PCT, APACHE-II, Glasgow, and BCTSI scores.

Clinicopathological significance of altered Notch signaling in extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and gallbladder carcinoma.

AIM: To investigate the role and clinicopathological significance of aberrant expression of Notch receptors and Delta-like ligand-4 (DLL4) in extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and gallbladder carcinoma. METHODS: One hundred and ten patients had surgically resected extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (CC) and gallbladder carcinoma specimens examined by immunohistochemistry of available paraffin blocks. Immunohistochemistry was performed using anti-Notch receptors 1-4 and anti-DLL4 antibodies. We scored the immunopositivity of Notch receptors and DLL4 expression by percentage of positive tumor cells with cytoplasmic expression and intensity of immunostaining. Coexistent nuclear localization was evaluated. Clinicopathological parameters and survival data were compared with the expression of Notch receptors 1-4 and DLL4. RESULTS: Notch receptor proteins showed in the cytoplasm with or without nuclear expression in cancer cells, as well as showing weak cytoplasmic expression in non-neoplastic cells. By semiquantitative evaluation, positive immunostaining of Notch receptor 1 was detected in 96 cases (87.3%), Notch receptor 2 in 97 (88.2%), Notch receptor 3 in 97 (88.2%), Notch receptor 4 in 103 (93.6), and DLL4 in 84 (76.4%). In addition, coexistent nuclear localization was noted [Notch receptor 1; 18 cases (18.8%), Notch receptor 2; 40 (41.2%), Notch receptor 3; 32 (33.0%), Notch receptor 4; 99 (96.1%), DLL4; 48 (57.1%)]. Notch receptor 1 expression was correlated with advanced tumor, node, metastasis (TNM) stage (P = 0.043), Notch receptor 3 with advanced T stage (P = 0.017), tendency to express in cases with nodal metastasis (P = 0.065) and advanced TNM stage (P = 0.052). DLL4 expression tended to be related to less histological differentiation (P = 0.095). Coexistent nuclear localization of Notch receptor 3 was related to no nodal metastasis (P = 0.027) and Notch receptor 4 with less histological differentiation (P = 0.036), while DLL4 tended to be related inversely with T stage (P = 0.053). Coexistent nuclear localization of DLL4 was related to poor survival (P = 0.002). CONCLUSION: Aberrant expression of Notch receptors 1 and 3 play a role during cancer progression, and cytoplasmic nuclear coexistence of DLL4 expression correlates with poor survival in extrahepatic CC and gallbladder carcinoma.

Comparison of serum procalcitonin with Ranson, APACHE-II, Glasgow and Balthazar CT severity index scores in predicting severity of acute pancreatitis.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The aim of this study is to assess serum procalcitonin (PCT) for early prediction of severe acute pancreatitis compared with multiple scoring systems and biomarkers. METHODS: Forty-four patients with acute pancreatitis confirmed by radiological evidences, laboratory assessments, and clinical manifestation were prospectively enrolled. All blood samples and image studies were obtained within 24 hours of admission. RESULTS: Acute pancreatitis was graded as severe in 19 patients and mild in 25 patients according to the Atlanta criteria. Levels of serum PCT were significantly higher in severe acute pancreatitis (p=0.001). The accuracy of serum PCT as a predicting marker was 77.3%, which was similar to the acute physiology and chronic health examination (APACHE)-II score, worse than the Ranson score (93.2%) and better than the Balthazar CT index (65.9%). The most effective cut-off level of serum PCT was estimated at 1.77 ng/mL (AUC=0.797, 95% CI=0.658-0.935). In comparision to other simple biomarkers, serum PCT had more accurate value (77.3%) than C-reactive protein (68.2%), urea (75.0%) and lactic dehydrogenase (72.7%). Logistic regression analysis revealed that serum PCT has statistical significance in acute severe pancreatitis. Assessment of serum PCT levels and length of hospital stay by simple linear regression analysis revealed effective p-value with low R square level, which could make only possibilty for affection of serum PCT to admission duration (r2=0.127, p=0.021). CONCLUSIONS: Serum PCT was a promising simple biomarker and had similar accuracy of APACHE-II scores as predicting severity of acute pancreatitis.

Risk factors for recurrent symptomatic pigmented biliary stones after percutaneous transhepatic biliary extraction.

PURPOSE: To evaluate risk factors for the recurrence of biliary stones after a percutaneous transhepatic biliary stone extraction. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The procedures were performed on 339 patients between July 2004 and December 2008 (54 months). Medical records and images were retrospectively reviewed for 135 patients (mean age, 66.4 years; 83 men and 52 women) who had undergone follow-up for a mean of 13.2 months (range, 3-37 months). To evaluate risk factors for the recurrence of biliary stones, variables were evaluated with univariate and multivariate analyses. Variables included sex, age, stone location, number of stones, stone size, presence of a peripapillary diverticulum, application of antegrade sphincteroplasty, presence of a biliary stricture, largest biliary diameter before the procedure, and gallbladder status. RESULTS: Thirty-three of the 135 patients (24%) had recurrent symptomatic biliary stones and underwent an additional extraction. The mean time to recurrence was 17.2 months +/- 8.7. Univariate analysis of risk factors for recurrence of biliary stones demonstrated that location, number of stones, stone size, application of antegrade sphincteroplasty, presence of a biliary stricture, and biliary diameter were significant factors (P < .05). With use of multivariate analysis, the number of stones (> or =6; relative risk, 64.8; 95% confidence interval: 5.8, 717.6) and stone size (> or =14 mm; relative risk, 3.8; 95% confidence interval: 1.138, 13.231) were determined to be significant risk factors. CONCLUSIONS: The independent risk factors for recurrence of symptomatic biliary stones after percutaneous transhepatic biliary stone extraction were a stone size of at least 14 mm and the presence of at least six stones.

Long-term outcomes of endoscopic submucosal dissection in gastric neoplastic lesions at a single institution in South Korea.

OBJECTIVE. Although endoscopic treatment for early gastric cancer (EGC) is an accepted therapy in South Korea and Japan, long-term outcomes remain unknown. We evaluated the clinical outcome of endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) for gastric dysplasia and EGC. MATERIAL AND METHODS. A total of 402 patients with gastric dysplasia and EGC were treated with ESD at a single hospital from January 2004 to December 2007. The patients underwent ESD and then received periodic endoscopic follow-up and metastatic surveys for 9-49 months (median 30 months). Resectability (en bloc or piecemeal resection), curability (complete or incomplete), local recurrence, and disease-free survival rates were estimated. RESULTS. There were 107 patients with low-grade dysplasia (LGD), 97 with high-grade dysplasia (HGD) and 198 with EGC. In EGC patients, en bloc resection was achieved in 89.7% (177/198), the complete resection rate was 87.9% (174/198), and the local recurrence rate was 5.1% (10/198). Tumor size >20 mm was significantly associated with local recurrence (odds ratio 6.45; 95% CI 1.20-20.11; p=0.001). There were significant correlations between the incidences of a piecemeal or incomplete resection and that of local recurrence (odds ratio 5.23; 95% CI 1.02-18.34; p=0.001; and odds ratio 6.99; 95% CI 1.22-21.65; p=0.002, respectively). The 3-year cancer-free survival rate was 94.9%. CONCLUSIONS. Curative treatment with successful en bloc resection can reduce the local recurrence of gastric neoplastic lesions after ESD. Clinical outcome may be excellent, although longer follow-up studies are warranted.

Risk factors for immediate and delayed bleeding associated with endoscopic submucosal dissection of gastric neoplastic lesions.

OBJECTIVE. Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) of gastric neoplasia has been reported to have a higher bleeding rate than conventional endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR). The aim of this study was to identify the risk factors for bleeding associated with ESD. MATERIAL AND METHODS. The records of consecutive patients who underwent ESD for gastric adenoma/early gastric cancer were reviewed. Potential risk factors included patient age, lesion size, gross findings, location, and histology of the tumor. The primary end-point was the incidence of immediate or delayed bleeding related to ESD. RESULTS. A total of 144 patients were studied; bleeding occurred in 32 cases (22.2%) with immediate bleeding in 29 cases. Delayed bleeding (3 cases) occurred at day 2 (2 patients) and at day 7 in 1 patient. In all cases of immediate bleeding, immediate hemostatic therapy was successful. The histology of tumor was the only factor that was statistically significantly associated with bleeding (adjusted hazard ratio 6.770, 95% confidence interval 1.830-25.048, p=0.004). CONCLUSIONS. The only factor that correlated with an increased risk of bleeding with ESD was the presence of gastric malignancy. We found no factor that would, prospectively, be amenable to prevention of bleeding.