[A case report of unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with portal vein tumor thrombus responding to DSM-TACE (degradable starch microspheres-transcatheter arterial chemoembolization)].

A 56-year-old man was revealed to be HCC with portal vein tumor thrombus. Curative operation was impossible because we recognized many daughter lesions in the liver. Tumor marker was very high. DSM-TACE was conducted as the first line therapy. There was no remarkable side effect. After two-course, the size of HCC was decreased in CT and tumor marker was normalized. Generally speaking, a prognosis of HCC with portal vein tumor thrombus is poor. Hence, DSM-TACE is one of the effective therapies for HCC with portal vein tumor thrombus.

[A case report of S-1 monotherapy responding to unresectable gallbladder cancer].

A 68-year-old man was found to have a gallbladder cancer. Curative operation was impossible because the gallbladder cancer invaded around the gallbladder in CT on 15th of April, 2008. S-1 monotherapy (120 mg/day) was started. S-1 was given orally twice daily for 4 weeks followed by 2 weeks without a treatment. There was no remarkable side effect. The gallbladder cancer was smaller in CT on 25th of September, 2008, and we confirmed a partial response (PR) in CT on 13th of February, 2009. In a pilot phase II study of S-1 for biliary tract cancer, the overall objective response rate was 35.0%. There was no severe side effect. S-1 is one of the effective drugs for biliary tract cancer.

Radioprotective effect of Lyophyllum decastes and the effect on immunological functions in irradiated mice.

In this study, to explore the radiation protection effects of Lyophyllum Decastes Sing (LDS), a hot distilled-water extract of LDS was orally administered at a dosage of 250mg/kg every other day for a period of 2 weeks in irradiated mice. An automatic blood cell counter was used to measure white blood cells (lymphocytes, monocyte, and granulocytes) one day before X-ray irradiation, and 3 hours, 12 hours, 24 hours, 3 days, 7 days, 15 days and 30 days after irradiation. The Dunnett test was used to examine statistical significance of differences. The peripheral blood cell counts in the Lyophyllum-administered non-irradiation group revealed an increase in the numbers of leukocytes, lymphocytes and monocytes. For 2 Gy whole body radiation, a significant statistical difference was found between the X-ray group and the Lyophyllum plus X-ray group in the numbers of leukocytes, lymphocytes and monocytes. The results suggest that Lyophyllum restrains blood cell-count falling after irradiation, which is probably mediated at least in part by hemopoietic function, and NK and LAK activities seems to play a role in preventing secondary infections associated with irradiation.

Gene expression of 5-fluorouracil metabolic enzymes in primary colorectal cancer and corresponding liver metastasis.

PURPOSE: Expression of thymidylate synthase (TS) and the 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) metabolic enzymes, including dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD), orotate phosphoribosyl transferase (OPRT), thymidine phosphorylase (TP), and uridine phosphorylase (UP), has been reported to be associated with the sensitivity to 5-FU-based chemotherapy in colorectal cancer. We evaluated the correlation of the expression of these genes between primary tumors and corresponding liver metastases. METHOD: The mRNA levels of TS, DPD, OPRT, TP, and UP were measured by real-time quantitative RT-PCR in samples from 23 consecutive patients with both primary colorectal adenocarcinoma and liver metastasis. RESULTS: The DPD, OPRT, TP, and UP mRNA levels were significantly higher in liver metastases than in primary tumor (expression in relation to that of beta-actin mRNA: 0.42 vs 0.16, P=0.00053; 1.4 vs 0.92, P=0.016; 23 vs 11, P=0.00014; 0.36 vs 0.25, P=0.0026; respectively). However, the TS mRNA level did not differ significantly between liver metastases than primary tumor (0.20 vs 0.16, P=0.28). No correlation was observed for any gene between primary tumor and liver metastases. In both primary tumor and liver metastasis, the TS mRNA levels correlated significantly with the OPRT mRNA level (primary rS=0.83, P=0.00000081; liver metastasis rS=0.49, P=0.017), while the DPD mRNA level correlated significantly with the TP mRNA level rS=0.81, P=0.0000024; rS=0.63, P=0.0014; respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The differential gene expression of 5-FU metabolic enzymes between primary colorectal cancer and corresponding liver metastases should be taken into consideration when estimating the sensitivity to 5-FU-based chemotherapy in colorectal cancer. The gene expression of TS and OPRT, which are involved in de novo pyrimidine synthesis, and that of DPD and TP, may be coregulated.