Adjuvant immunochemotherapy with oral Tegafur/Uracil plus PSK in patients with stage II or III colorectal cancer: a randomised controlled study.

Intravenous fluorouracil and leucovorin is the standard adjuvant treatment for stage III colon cancer. However, oral adjuvant chemotherapy is attractive because it has low toxicity and greater convenience. We investigated the benefits of oral protein-bound polysaccharide K (PSK) with tegafur/uracil (UFT) as an adjuvant in stage II and III colorectal cancer. Patients were assigned to groups that received either 3 g PSK plus 300 mg UFT, or 300 mg UFT alone orally each day for a 2-year period following intravenous mitomycin C. Of 207 registered patients, 205 with stage II (n=123) or III (n=82) were analysed. The 5-year disease-free survival was 73.0% (95% CI 65.6-80.4%) with PSK (n=137) and 58.8% (95% CI 47.1-70.5%) in the controls (n=68) (P=0.016). Polysaccharide K reduced the recurrence by 43.6% (95% CI 4.5-66.7%) and mortality by 40.2% (95% CI -12.5 to 68.3%). The 5-year survival was 81.8% (95% CI 75.3-88.2%) in the PSK group and 72.1% (95% CI 61.4-82.7%) in the control group (P=0.056). In stage III patients, disease-free and overall survivals in patients receiving PSK were increased significantly: 60.0% (95% CI 47.1-72.9%) and 74.6% (95% CI 63.0-86.1%) in the PSK group as compared with 32.1% (95% CI 14.8-49.4%) and 46.4% (95% CI 28.0-64.9%) in the controls (P=0.002 and 0.003, respectively). Polysaccharide K prevented recurrence, particularly lung metastases (P=0.02; odds ratio 0.27; 95% CI 0.09-0.77). In the models, the presence of regional metastases (relative risk, 2.973; 95% CI 1.712-5.165; P<0.001), omission of PSK (relative risk, 2.106; 95% CI 1.221-3.633; P=0.007), and higher primary tumour (relative risk, 4.398; 95% CI 1.017-19.014; P=0.047) were each significant indicators of recurrence. Adverse effects were mild and compliance was good. Oral PSK with UFT reduced recurrence in stage II and III colorectal cancer, and increased survival in stage III.

[Radiation-induced squamous cell carcinoma of the chest wall seven years after adjuvant radiotherapy following the surgery of breast cancer: a case report].

A 54-year-old woman, who had underwent an adjuvant radiotherapy following the modified radical mastectomy in the left primary breast cancer in June 1988. She underwent second surgery and adjuvant radiotherapy (electronic radiotherapy) for recurrent breast cancer in the major pectoral muscle and received chemoimmunotherapy in May 1989. In May 1996 she complained of two ulcers of the chest wall. The ulcer biopsy findings was squamous cell carcinoma, and we diagnosed she fell the radiation-induced skin cancer. She underwent chest wall resection and reconstruction with vertical rectal abdominal musculocutaneous flap (VRAM). However two months later her chest wall resection, she again got the recurrent squamous cell carcinoma in the right axillary lymph nodes and left pleura. The third radiotherapy and the chemotherapy with pepleomycin were uneffective on her recurrent cancer. And she died in March 1997.

Minute squamous cell carcinoma of the gallbladder: a case report.

Following a simple cholecystectomy, a 63-year-old woman with gallstones was histologically diagnosed as having minute squamous cell carcinoma of the gallbladder. A laparotomy revealed a small, firm nodule that appeared to be an adenoma, which was palpated in the fundus of the gallbladder. The resected gallbladder contained 37 small stones and a small and firm mass (0.4 x 0.4 x 0.3 cm in size) on the mucosal side. Histologically, a pure type of well-differentiated squamous cell carcinoma of the gallbladder was diagnosed. To our knowledge, this is the first case of a minute and pure type of squamous cell carcinoma in the gallbladder. This case may have implications for the histogenesis of squamous cell carcinoma of the gallbladder.

Arterial dynamic appearance of common bile duct carcinoma by helical CT on angiography (angio-HCT): four operated cases.

We present four cases of common bile duct carcinoma in which both angiographic helical CT (angio-HCT) and pancreatoduodenectomy were done in the 3 years since 1995. Angio-HCT was performed with direct infusion of the contrast medium through the gastroduodenal artery inserted on angiography. Angio-HCT displayed the tumors as lower density areas in contrast to the strong enhancement of the circumferential nontumorous areas, including the pancreas and duodenum.

[A case report of advanced breast cancer with remarkable response to chemoendocrine therapy (CTF + MPA)].

A 59-year-old female complaining of breast tumor with suppurative discharge was diagnosed as having advanced breast cancer (T4cN3M1-StIV), with giant liver metastasis. Seven courses of combined chemoendocrine therapy (CTF + MPA) were used. Following the chemoendocrine therapy, primary tumor, lung, pleural, supraclavicular and parasternal metastasis disappeared, and the liver metastasis was obviously diminished. These effects continued for 1 year 7 months. Although CTF + MPA chemoendocrine therapy is widely used with advanced or recurrent breast cancer, a clearly effective case has almost never been reported. The reason for the remarkable effect in this case was the consistent immunity to breast cancer.

Effects of 5'-DFUR and OK-432 on cytokines and thymidine phosphorylase in tumor tissue of gastric cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of the study was to verify whether OK-432 in combination with 5'-DFUR induced thymidine phosphorylase (TdR Pase) and cytokines in gastric cancer patients as well as in vitro. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty patients with invasive gastric cancer were randomly assigned, upon admission using by a closed-envelope technique, to either a group receiving 5'DFUR or OK-432 alone, to a group receiving both 5'DFUR and OK-432, or to a non- treated group up. Surgical specimens of the tumor and normal tissues were taken soon after gastrectomy to evaluate TdR Pase activity, IL-1 alpha and TNF-production. RESULTS: TdR Pase activities were several times higher in tumor than in normal tissues. In normal tissues, TdR Pase activities in the 5'-DFUR + OK-432 group were significantly higher than in the OK-432 group. TdR Pase activity in tumors, however, showed no significant difference between treated group. In the 5'-DFUR + OK-432 group, the level of IL-1 alpha production in tumor was significantly higher compared to the control group. In the 5'-DFUR + OK-432 group, the level of TNF alpha production in tumor was significantly higher than in normal tissue. TNF alpha production in tumor showed no significant difference in each treated group compared to the control. There was a significant correlation between TdR Pase activity and IL-1 alpha production levels in tumor. CONCLUSIONS: TdR Pase was induced by IL-1 alpha in tumor tissues of gastric cancer patients. OK-432 in combination with 5'-DFUR, however, did not induce TNF alpha and IL-1 alpha, and increase TdR Pase activity in gastric cancer tumors.