Geosmin-producing Species of Coelosphaerium (Synechococcales, Cyanobacteria) in Lake Shinji, Japan.

In Lake Shinji, Japan, periodic outbreaks of musty odour have occurred since mid-May 2007. Although the substance responsible for the odour was identified as geosmin, the odour-producing organism was unknown. We cultivated an axenic unialgal strain and determined that a species of Coelosphaerium (Synechococcales) was responsible for the production of geosmin in Lake Shinji. Our analysis was conducted using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry to determine the odorous compound. To determine the algae species, it was observed by optical microscopy to describe its morphological characteristics and the polymerase chain reaction was used to characterise the nucleotide sequence of the 16S rRNA gene and the 16S-23S rRNA internal transcribed spacer region. In addition, we explored the relationship between the number of cells of the Coelosphaerium sp. and the concentration of geosmin. In conclusion, geosmin, the cause of the musty odour in Lake Shinji in autumn 2009, was produced by Coelosphaerium sp., and to our knowledge, this is the first report of a geosmin-producing species in the family Coelosphaeriaceae.

Dosimetric evaluation of compensator intensity modulation-based stereotactic body radiotherapy for Stage I non-small-cell lung cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the dosimetry of compensator intensity modulation-based stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) [non-coplanar intensity-modulated radiotherapy (ncIMRT)], its use was compared with that of three-dimensional conformation-based SBRT, for patients with Stage I non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). METHODS: 21 consecutive patients with Stage I NSCLC were treated with ncIMRT or SBRT at Tokyo Medical University. To compare the two techniques, ncIMRT and SBRT plans for each patient were generated, where the planning target volume (PTV) coverages were adjusted to be equivalent to each other. The prescribed dose was set as 75 Gy in 30 fractions. PTV coverage, conformity index, conformation number (CN) and homogeneity index (HI) were used to compare the two strategies. RESULTS: There was no statistically significant difference between PTV coverage for the 100%, 95% and 90% dose levels in the SBRT plan and those in the ncIMRT plan. The CN values were 0.53 ± 0.13 in the SBRT plan and 0.72 ± 0.10 in the ncIMRT plan. These values were significantly better than those of the SBRT plan (p < 0.001). The HI in the ncIMRT plan was 1.04 ± 0.03%, which was also significantly better than that of SBRT. CONCLUSION: The ncIMRT plan provided superior conformity and reduced the doses to the lung for patients with Stage I NSCLC. ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE: The delivery technique with compensator intensity modulation-based SBRT was evaluated. Concerning target motion, this is thought to be more robust and safer than SBRT for early-stage NSCLC.

Carbon ion radiotherapy for sacral chordoma.

The National Institute of Radiological Sciences in Chiba, Japan has offered carbon ion radiotherapy (CIRT) since 1994 using carbon ion beams generated by the heavy ion medical accelerator in Chiba (HIMAC). The total number of cases treated with the HIMAC exceeded 5000 in July 2009. Here, we present a retrospective analysis of CIRT for sacral chordoma. The study included 95 patients with medically unresectable sacral chordomas treated between 1996 and 2007. The median age of the patients was 66 years. Of all the patients, 84 had not been treated previously and 11 had a locally recurrent tumour following previous resection. The carbon ion dose ranged from 52.8 to 73.6 GyE (median 70.4 GyE) in a total of 16 fixed fractions over 4 weeks. The median clinical target volume was 370 cm(3). The overall survival rate at 5 years for all 95 patients was 86%, and follow-up survival time was 42 months (range, 13-112 months). The 5-year local control rate was 88% and median time to local failure was 35 months (range, 13-60 months). Of the 95 patients, 91% remained ambulatory with or without a supportive device. Two patients experienced severe skin or soft tissue complications requiring skin grafts. 15 patients experienced severe sciatic nerve complications requiring continuing medication. CIRT appears effective and safe in the management of patients with sacral chordoma and offers a promising alternative to surgery.

Efficacy of NS-018, a potent and selective JAK2/Src inhibitor, in primary cells and mouse models of myeloproliferative neoplasms.

Aberrant activation of Janus kinase 2 (JAK2) caused by somatic mutation of JAK2 (JAK2V617F) or the thrombopoietin receptor (MPLW515L) plays an essential role in the pathogenesis of myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), suggesting that inhibition of aberrant JAK2 activation would have a therapeutic benefit. Our novel JAK2 inhibitor, NS-018, was highly active against JAK2 with a 50% inhibition (IC(50)) of <1 n, and had 30-50-fold greater selectivity for JAK2 over other JAK-family kinases, such as JAK1, JAK3 and tyrosine kinase 2. In addition to JAK2, NS-018 inhibited Src-family kinases. NS-018 showed potent antiproliferative activity against cell lines expressing a constitutively activated JAK2 (the JAK2V617F or MPLW515L mutations or the TEL-JAK2 fusion gene; IC(50)=11-120 n), but showed only minimal cytotoxicity against most other hematopoietic cell lines without a constitutively activated JAK2. Furthermore, NS-018 preferentially suppressed in vitro erythropoietin-independent endogenous colony formation from polycythemia vera patients. NS-018 also markedly reduced splenomegaly and prolonged the survival of mice inoculated with Ba/F3 cells harboring JAK2V617F. In addition, NS-018 significantly reduced leukocytosis, hepatosplenomegaly and extramedullary hematopoiesis, improved nutritional status, and prolonged survival in JAK2V617F transgenic mice. These results suggest that NS-018 will be a promising candidate for the treatment of MPNs.

High temperature ferromagnetism in GaAs-based heterostructures with Mn delta doping.

We show that suitably designed magnetic semiconductor heterostructures consisting of Mn delta (delta)-doped GaAs and p-type AlGaAs layers, in which the locally high concentration of magnetic moments of Mn atoms are controllably overlapped with the two-dimensional hole gas wave function, realized remarkably high ferromagnetic transition temperatures (T(C)). A significant reduction of compensative Mn interstitials by varying the growth sequence of the structures followed by low-temperature annealing led to high T(C) up to 250 K. The heterostructure with high T(C) exhibited peculiar anomalous Hall effect behavior, whose sign depends on temperature.

Use of small pelvic field instead of whole pelvic field in postoperative radiotherapy for node-negative, high-risk stages I and II cervical squamous cell carcinoma.

We investigated whether a small pelvic (SP) field that covers primarily the pericervical regions in postoperative radiotherapy for cervical squamous cell carcinoma is adequate for a subgroup of node-negative patients. Of 84 patients with stage I-II disease treated with postoperative radiotherapy due to pathologic risk factors, 42 node-negative patients received SP-field radiotherapy, whereas remaining 42 node-positive patients were treated with a conventional whole pelvic (WP) field that also covered pelvic lymph nodes, both with 50.0-50.4 Gy/25-28 fractions. The pathologic risk factors included positive nodes, deep stromal invasion (>/=2 /3 thickness), parametrial extension, and positive or close surgical margin. Recurrence was identified for 20 patients: three in the SP group and 17 in the WP group. Intrapelvic recurrence accounted for all three recurrences in the SP group and for four in the WP group; 5-year pelvic-control rate did not differ significantly between the SP (93%) and WP (90%) groups. Extrapelvic recurrence (n = 11) was identified exclusively in the WP group. Patterns of recurrence indicate that use of an SP field instead of a WP field may be adequate in postoperative radiotherapy for a subgroup of node-negative, high-risk patients.

Self-measured systolic blood pressure in the morning is a strong indicator of decline of renal function in hypertensive patients with non-diabetic chronic renal insufficiency.

While blood pressure is a recognized major determinant of renal function deterioration, the role of self blood pressure measurement (BPM) in predicting the loss of renal function in hypertensive patients with chronic renal insufficiency (CRI) has not been adequately addressed. One hundred and thirteen patients (F/M: 46/67; 56 +/- 1 years) with CRI (mean serum creatinine: 1.87 +/- 0.08; range: 1.4 to 3.5 mg/dl; average urinary protein excretion: 1.2 +/- 0.2 g/24 hrs.) were followed for 3 years. The record of renal biopsy revealed that 74 patients had IgA nephropathy, 16 had chronic glomerulonephritis, and 6 had membranous nephropathy, while 17, unbiopsied patients had underlying renal disease of unknown origin. Self BPM were made at regular intervals throughout the course of the study. All recorded blood pressures were included in a stepwise multiple regression analysis in which the decline in GFR per year was the dependent variable. Patients were primarily treated with a combination of amlodipine (5 to 20 mg daily), a calcium antagonist, and benazepril (2.5 to 5 mg daily), an ACE inhibitor in an effort to reduce their blood pressure at the office to < 130/85 mmHg. The simple correlation between blood pressures (i.e., office, home morning and home evening) and the decline in GFR were all statistically significant. The correlation coefficients of determination for this model were as follows: r = 0.64 for home morning SBP; 0.43 for office SBP; 0.39 for office DBP; and 0.38 for home morning DBP. The level of urinary protein excretion did not correlate with the decline in GFR. These data suggest that self BPM improves prognostic ability in hypertensive patients with CRI.

Blood pressure reduction in the morning yields beneficial effects on progression of chronic renal insufficiency with regression of left ventricular hypertrophy.

Self-monitoring values of blood pressure may better reflect the average long-term blood pressure value than sporadic measurements in the physician's office and be more useful for blood pressure control. In the present study, we compared the results of self-monitoring of blood pressure values, especially in the morning, with office blood pressure, and related these to progression of chronic renal insufficiency and left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). Thirty-four patients were selected from 316 subjects with chronic renal insufficiency (average serum creatinine 1.72 +/- 0.15 mg/dl, mean age 52.6 +/- 3.5 yrs) in accordance with the following criteria (1) office blood pressure was less than 140/90 mmHg, (2) blood pressure was controlled with amlodipine (5-20 mg/day) combined with benazepril (2.5 mg/day), (3) morning blood pressure was greater than 150/90 mmHg at 6-9 AM and (4) LVH had been determined by echocardiography (posterior wall thickness; PWT > or = 12 mm). The patients were assigned to 2 groups at random and were given: (1) guanabenz (GB; 2-8 mg at I I PM, n = 17) or (2) placebo (n = 17). Two years later, the average blood pressure of both groups as measured in the office was not significantly different: however, BP in the morning was significantly reduced from 158 +/- 6 to 134 +/- 4 mmHg in GB treated group (P< 0.001). In 14 of 17 patients in GB treated group, LVH resolved and there was only mild progression of nephropathy (serum creatinine: 1.69 +/- 0.18 to 1.81 +/- 0.19 mg/dl). In 12 of 14 patients in placebo group, whose morning blood pressure remained at greater than 150/90 mmHg, LVH was retained and there was moderate progression of nephropathy (serum creatinine: 1.73 +/- 0.14 to 2.62 +/- 0.50mg/dl). From these results, it is suggested that antihypertensive treatment with combination therapy based on self-monitoring BP is cardio-renoprotective in patients with chronic renal insufficiency and LVH.

Newly developed immobilized polymyxin B fibers improve the survival of patients with sepsis.

BACKGROUND: Sepsis and septic shock are still major causes of morbidity and mortality in spite of the availability of powerful and broadly active antibiotics. METHODS: A prospective, open and randomized trial of the effect of immobilized polymyxin fibers (PMX-F) on the survival of patients with sepsis throughout a follow-up period of 28 days or until discharge, if earlier, was carried out. Ninety-eight patients were included who met at least 4 of the criteria for systemic inflammatory response syndrome due to infection. The patients were classified into three groups based on their Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II score. RESULTS: The overall survival rate was significantly improved by using PMX-F compared to the control group (41 vs. 11%) (p = 0.002). In patients with an APACHE II score less than 20, treatment with PMX-F was shown to improve outcome (65 vs. 19%) (p = 0.01). In cases of more severe sepsis with an APACHE II score of 20-29, PMX-F still maintained efficacy in improving outcome (40 vs. 11%) (p = 0.04). However, PMX-F treatment did not improve the survival rate in patients with an APACHE II score of greater than 30 (survival rate 7 vs. 0%) (p = 0.59). CONCLUSION: From these results, it is concluded that treatment with PMX-F in patients with sepsis is effective and prolongs the survival rate when applied at an early stage of sepsis. However, in severe sepsis, this therapy does not improve the survival rate.

Preliminary estimation of minimum target dose in intracavitary radiotherapy for cervical cancer.

PURPOSE: In intracavitary radiotherapy (ICRT) for cervical cancer, minimum target dose (Dmin) will pertain to local disease control more directly than will reference point A dose (D(A)). However, ICRT has been performed traditionally without specifying Dmin since the target volume was not identified. We have estimated Dmin retrospectively by identifying tumors using magnetic resonance (MR) images. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Pre- and posttreatment MR images of 31 patients treated with high-dose-rate ICRT were used. ICRT was performed once weekly at 6.0 Gy DA, and involved 2-5 insertions for each patient, 119 insertions in total. Dmin was calculated arbitrarily simply at the point A level using the tumor width (W(A)) to compare with D(A). W(A) at each insertion was estimated by regression analysis with pre- and posttreatment W(A). RESULTS: Dmin for each insertion varied from 3.0 to 46.0 Gy, a 16-fold difference. The ratio of total Dmin to total DA for each patient varied from 0.5 to 6.5. Intrapatient Dmin difference between the initial insertion and final insertion varied from 1.1 to 3.4. CONCLUSION: Preliminary estimation revealed that Dmin varies widely under generic dose prescription. Thorough Dmin specification will be realized when ICRT-applicator insertion is performed under MR imaging.

[Cuff failure in tracheal tubes sprayed with lidocaine].

Lidocaine jelly or spray is usually applied to tracheal tube cuffs as lubricants, and we encountered some cuff troubles in using the spray. Damages on polyvinyl chloride (PVC) tracheal tube cuffs by applying lidocaine spray have been reported. We studied cuff injury with 5 kinds of tracheal tubes (PVC and non-PVC cuffs) with three different substances (normal saline, lidocaine jelly and lidocaine spray). No tracheal tube cuffs were damaged by normal saline and lidocaine jelly, while lidocaine spray changed the shape of some tracheal tube cuffs (PVC and non-PVC). Therefore, we recommend to apply lidocaine jelly on tube cuffs rather than lidocaine spray, even on non-PVC cuffs.

[A case of myeloma kidney complicated by extramedullary plasmacytoma with massive bleeding].

A 76-year-old woman, who had received hemodialysis due to chronic renal failure of unknown cause for two months, was admitted to our hospital. She was suffering from severe pain in the left thigh, rapidly progressive anemia and thrombocytopenia after receiving a contusion on her left thigh. Soon after admission, the patient died of shock. Autopsy revealed multiple myeloma(lamda type) with extramedullary plasmacytoma and systemic amyloidosis. In the kidney, there were typical tubular casts with multinucleated giant cells and interstitial fibrosis. More specific findings included an extramedullary plasmacytoma in the left iliopsoas muscle surrounded by a huge hematoma. Internal hemorrhage resulting from indirect contusion at this site was likely to have caused her shock. Since typical clinical findings of multiple myeloma, such as serum M protein and hypercalcemia, were not found in this case, it was difficult to make a diagnosis of multiple myeloma. In case of multiple myeloma, micro- or macroscopic extramedullary tumor formation is not rare, but there has been no report of a case with macroscopic tumor formed in skeletal muscle, exhibiting massive hemorrhage. We report here a case of multiple myeloma with an unusual clinical course.

Comparison of cedar pollen-induced allergic rhinitis in passively and actively sensitized guinea pigs.

We have developed an allergic rhinitis model in guinea pigs using Japanese cedar pollen as antigen. In the present study, we examined whether provocation by pollen induces similar magnitudes of rhinitis symptoms in passively and actively sensitized guinea pigs. One group of animals was actively sensitized by intranasal application of pollen extract, and another was passively sensitized by intraperitoneal injection with anti-pollen serum. Actively and passively sensitized groups were then challenged by repeated and a single pollen inhalation, respectively. In both groups, sneeze was induced immediately after the challenge. The actively sensitized animals developed not only early but also late nasal blockage, whereas the passively sensitized animals showed only early nasal blockage. In both groups, an H1 antagonist, mepyramine, inhibited the occurrence of sneezing but did not inhibit nasal blockage. Nasal hyperresponsiveness to intranasal instillation of leukotriene D4 was obvious only in the actively sensitized animals. We thus conclude that although early nasal blockage is induced by a single antigen-antibody reaction, repetitive anaphylactic reaction is required for occurrence of late nasal blockage and hyperresponsiveness to stimuli. Furthermore, histamine plays a central role in induction of sneezing but not in nasal blockage, irrespective of whether animals are actively or passively sensitized.

Improved survival with oral administration of enteric-coated tegafur/uracil for advanced stage IV-A hepatocellular carcinoma.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: There is currently no proven chemotherapy regimen for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The principal chemotherapeutic approach in most cases is infusion therapy into the hepatic arteries feeding the tumors. However, the clinical effects of chemotherapy are extremely poor. Therefore, in the present study, we conducted a prospective randomized trial of the efficacy of oral administration of enteric-coated tegafur/uracil for advanced HCC. METHODS: From 1994 to 1999, a total of 56 consecutive patients with unresectable stage IV-A HCC were studied prospectively to examine the efficacy of enteric-coated tegafur/uracil in HCC and to determine the significant prognostic factors. Twenty-eight patients were treated only with enteric-coated tegafur/uracil without other anticancer treatment. Another 20 patients were given conservative management only. The remaining eight patients withdrew from the study. RESULTS: In the group treated only with enteric-coated tegafur/uracil, the median survival time and 1 and 2 year survival rates were 12.13 months and 55.3 and 36.9%, respectively. In the control group, the median survival time and 1 year survival rate were 6.20 months and 5.5%, respectively. By both univariate analysis and multivariate analysis using Cox's proportional hazards model, treatment with enteric-coated tegafur/uracil was shown to be the factor most significantly favoring a better prognosis. CONCLUSIONS: Although the prognosis of most patients with stage IV-A HCC is poor, administration of enteric-coated tegafur/uracil induces long-term survival and is an effective treatment for stage IV-A HCC.

Successful use of thoracoscopic pericardiectomy in elderly patients with massive pericardial effusion caused by uremic pericarditis.

We report the use of thoracoscopic pericardiectomy to treat two elderly patients with massive pericardial effusion caused by uremic pericarditis. A 79-year-old man, admitted to our hospital complaining of dyspnea, was diagnosed with end-stage renal failure and began maintenance hemodialysis. Although intensive hemodialysis was performed, the patient could not remain on hemodialysis because of severe hypotension during the procedure. Echocardiography revealed massive pericardial effusion and severe hypokinesis of the left ventricular wall. Pericardiocentesis was performed first, without success, followed by thoracoscopic pericardiectomy under general anesthesia. One month after the pericardiectomy, episodes of hypotension during hemodialysis improved, and dyspnea diminished. Echocardiography showed no pericardial effusion and improvement of left ventricular wall motion. Pericarditis is a fatal complication in patients with end-stage renal failure and patients on maintenance hemodialysis. The second patient received the same procedure with a similar improvement of clinical symptoms. These cases suggest that thoracoscopic pericardiectomy is a safe and effective treatment of pericardial effusion caused by uremic pericarditis in elderly patients on hemodialysis.

Characteristics of tissue distribution of various polysaccharides as drug carriers: influences of molecular weight and anionic charge on tumor targeting.

Using the Walker 256 model for carcinosarcoma-bearing rats, we intravenously administered 5 polysaccharide carriers with various molecular weights (MWs) and electric charges and tested for their plasma and tissue distribution. Two carriers, carboxymethylated-D-manno-D-glucan (CMMG) and CMdextran (CMDex), showed higher plasma AUC than the other carriers tested, namely, CMchitin (CMCh), N-desulfated N-acetylated heparin (DSH), and hyaluronic acid (HA). This was consistently found to be true over the range of MWs tested. For CMDex, the maximum value of plasma AUC was obtained when the MW exceeded 150 kDa. As for the anionic charge, CMDex (110-180 kDa) with a degree of substitution (DS) of the CM groups ranging from 0.2 to 0.6, showed maximum plasma AUC values. Twenty-four hours after administration, the concentration of CMDex (180-250 kDa; DS: 0.6-1.2) in tumors was more than 3% of dose/g--approximately 10-fold higher than those observed with CMCh, DSH and HA. Doxorubicin (DXR) was bound to these carriers via a peptide spacer, GlyGlyPheGly (GGFG), to give carrier-GGFG-DXR conjugates (DXR content: 4.2-7.0 (w/w)%), and the antitumor effects of these conjugates were tested with Walker 256 carcinosarcoma-bearing rats by monitoring the tumor weights after a single intravenous injection. Compared with free DXR, CMDex-GGFG-DXR and CMMG-GGFG-DXR conjugates significantly suppressed tumor growth, while the CMCh-GGFG-DXR, DSH-GGFG-DXR, and HA-GGFG-DXR conjugates in a similar comparison showed weak tumor growth inhibition. These findings suggest that the antitumor effect of the carrier-DXR conjugates was related to the extent with which the carriers accumulated in the tumors.

Improved outcome prediction for patients with multiple organ failure undergoing continuous hemodiafiltration.

A number of patients with multiple organ failure (MOF) regardless of accompanying acute renal failure have been treated with continuous hemodiafiltration (CHDF). However, despite its high cost, the costs/benefits of CHDF for MOF patients still need to be evaluated. Although many scoring systems were established to predict the outcome of MOF, their predictive powers were not estimated in MOF patients undergoing CHDF. Therefore, using 52 Japanese patients with MOF treated with CHDF for more than 1 week, we estimated the predictive powers of multiple organ dysfunction (MOD) scores and acute physiology and chronic health evaluation (APACHE) III scores, retrospectively. The patients were divided into 2 groups according to outcome at Day 28 after the initiation of CHDF. In both scoring systems, the median values at Day 0 were not significantly different between the survival (n = 19) and the nonsurvival (n = 33) groups. In contrast, at Day 3, the median values of MOD scores was 4 (0-14) in the survival group and 9 (1-12) in the nonsurvival group (p = 0.0035). The median value of APACHE III scores were 37 (19-97) and 87 (16-150) at Day 3, respectively (p < 0.0001). In the survival group, APACHE III scores significantly decreased from the median value of 64 (32-89) to 37 (p = 0.0269), and in the nonsurvival group, it increased significantly from the median value of 70 (29-103) to 87 (p = 0.0116). In contrast, no significant changes were observed in the MOD scores. In conclusion, the MOD score and the APACHE III score systems had less power to predict the outcome of MOF patients undergoing CHDF at Day 0. However, rescoring at Day 3 of each index was much more powerful to accurately predict the outcome of such patients.

Mechanisms involved in enteropathy induced by administration of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDS).

Mice received oral indomethacin (1 mg/mouse) daily for five days. It was found that severe gastroenteropathy (ie, paralytic stomach and necrotic intestine) was induced on the sixth day. Ulcer formation was also seen at many sites in the digestive tract, especially in the colon. In parallel with the increase in the number of leukocytes in the digestive tract, the proportion of granulocytes increased at various sites, for example, in the intraepithelium and lamina propria of the colon and the lamina propria of the appendix. The number of extrathymic T cells at these sites in the digestive tract, especially gammadelta T cells in the colon, increased. A functional assay revealed that granulocytes isolated from mice injected with indomethacin were activated in terms of their superoxide production upon stimulation. In conjunction with the data on the simultaneous activation of granulocytes in the liver and blood, the present results suggest that nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have the potential to induce severe granulocytosis in specific sites of the body, possibly via their stimulatory effect on the sympathetic nervous system (ie, granulocytes bear adrenergic receptors on their surface).

High viral loads, serum alanine aminotransferase and gender are predictive factors for the development of hepatocellular carcinoma from viral compensated liver cirrhosis.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The aims of the present study were to determine the occurrence rate of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and to assess the risk factors for the development of HCC in compensated viral liver cirrhosis. METHODS: Two hundred and thirty-nine cirrhotic patients (65 hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) positive, 165 hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibody positive (anti-HCV), and nine with both HBsAg and anti-HCV positivity) were studied. The Kaplan-Meier method evaluated by a log-rank test was used to estimate the cumulative probability of HCC development. Independent predictors of HCC development were estimated by using the Cox proportional hazard regression analysis. RESULTS: Dual infection manifested as HBsAg and anti-HCV positive was the highest risk of HCC. Multivariate analysis indicated that anti-HCV positive, HBsAg positive, and lactate dehydrogenase were independent predictors of the development of HCC among individuals with viral cirrhosis. In the HBsAg-positive group, a high-titer of HBV-DNA (more than 3.7 log genome equivalents (LGE)/mL) was most predictive of HCC development. In the anti-HCV-positive group, male gender and a high-titer of HCV-RNA (more than 1.0 Meq/mL) were predictive factors for the development of HCC. CONCLUSIONS: Individuals with high viral loads should be monitored for the development of HCC. Clinical efforts at eradicating or reducing the viral load may reduce the risk for HCC.

Exfoliative tumor clearance following radiotherapy estimated by comparing radioresponse between primary esophageal cancer and its lymph node metastasis.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: We estimated the capacity for exfoliative mechanical clearance which could occur in shrinkage of esophageal tumors following radiotherapy; both mechanical clearance and phagocytotic biological clearance of another clearance mechanism could participate in primary diseases located on outer tissue surfaces, whereas only biological clearance can participate in lymph node metastases surrounded by normal tissues which prevent mechanical clearance. METHODOLOGY: Twenty-one patients with primary esophageal cancer and lymph node metastasis both treated by radiotherapy with the same dose were reviewed. The extent of tumor shrinkage was estimated by measuring the size on computed tomography scans before and after radiotherapy. The capacity for biological clearance plus mechanical clearance (primary disease) or biological clearance alone (lymph node metastasis) was defined as the slope of a tumor shrinkage curve. The capacity for mechanical clearance was estimated by intra-patient subtraction. RESULTS: Extent of tumor shrinkage was consistently greater in primary disease than in lymph node metastasis for each patient, showing significant correlation in extent of shrinkage between them. The capacity was smaller for mechanical clearance than for biological clearance as a whole, showing no correlation between them. CONCLUSIONS: Mechanical clearance is highly likely to participate extra in the shrinkage of tumors located on outer tissue surfaces; therefore, these tumors will normally respond more highly than parenchymal tumors.