[A Case of Rectal Cancer Presenting with Perianal Abscess].

An 81-year old man with a perirectal abscess was referred in May 2017 by another hospital. We observed swelling in the anal region at the 4 o'clock position and performed incisional drainage. Although this alleviated the pain and inflammation in the anal region, the irritation recurred in early June. The patient presented with bloody stools and a low-grade fever since late June. Pelvic magnetic resonance imaging(MRI)confirmed a solid tumor in the center of the lower rectum(Rb), outside of the anal fistula. We surmised this was rectal cancer. Colonoscopy revealed an ulcerative invasive(Grade 3)tumor extending more than halfway around the Rb; a biopsy confirmed a diagnosis of differentiated adenocarcinoma. Surgery was the preferred treatment option; however, as the patient also had the complication of anal fistula, there were concerns that the cancerous cells would contaminate the intraperitoneal area during surgery. We subsequently we decided to construct a colostomy and then start chemoradiotherapy. The patient began radiotherapy in the beginning of August, and received S-1 as a sensitizer. Contrast computed tomography(CT)and MRI at the completion of chemoradiotherapy confirmed that the rectal cancer had reduced in size. We scheduled later surgery, but the patient declined and preferred to continue with S-1. The tumor has continued to decrease in size, with good local control.

[A Case of SIADH in an Elderly Patient with Advanced Gastric Cancer].

An 82-year-old woman underwent surgery for gastric cancer at another hospital in May 2007. The pathological diagnosis was pT4a, pN2, M1, CY1, pStage Ⅳ. Although postoperative chemotherapy was administered, recurrence was observed on the abdominal wall in March 2014, and she was treated usingchemotherapy and resection. Intestinal obstruction due to peritoneal metastasis occurred in December 2017 and mid-July 2018 but symptoms improved with conservative treatment. In late August 2018, she was unable to eat and was readmitted to the hospital. Serum Na level at admission was low at 120 mEq/L, and Na correction was performed. Hyponatremia did not improve, and the serum Na level continued to decrease to 115mEq/L on the 14th day of hospitalization. Plasma osmolality was 229mOsm/kg, urine osmolality was 323mOsm/kg, and urine sodium concentration was 56mEq/L. Diagnosis of SIADH was made according to diagnosis standards. Hyponatremia improved by fluid restriction and Na correction. Subsequently, her peritoneal metastasis exacerbated, and she died in mid- October. We would like to report a case of SIADH in an elderly patient with advanced gastric cancer.

[A case of disseminated carcinomatosis of the bone marrow with disseminated intravascular coagulation caused by advanced colon cancer successfully treated with SOX/bevacizumab].

Our patient was a 58-year-old man who was diagnosed with a large bowel obstruction caused by ascending colon cancer, together with multiple liver metastases for which a right hemicolectomy was performed. After the operation, he developed disseminated intravascular coagulation(DIC)and severe anemia. Bone marrow biopsy findings led to a diagnosis of disseminated carcinomatosis of the bone marrow caused by colon cancer. We administered S-1+oxaliplatin(SOX) and bevacizumab( BV)chemotherapy, which improved the DIC. The patient was discharged from the hospital. After a total of six courses of chemotherapy, the carcinoma became resistant. We changed the drug regimen and his clinical condition improved. He survived for 292 days from the onset of disease.

Real-time detection of hepatic micrometastases from pancreatic cancer by intraoperative fluorescence imaging: preliminary results of a prospective study.

BACKGROUND: Recently, a highly sensitive fluorescent imaging technique was developed for the real-time identification of hepatic tumors. The authors applied this procedure for the intraoperative detection of radiographically occult hepatic micrometastases from pancreatic cancer. METHODS: Forty-nine consecutive patients with pancreatic cancer who underwent surgical intervention were examined. Preoperative clinical images had not revealed any hepatic metastases. On the day before surgery, indocyanine green was injected intravenously. During the operation, the liver was observed with a near-infrared camera system, and abnormal fluorescent foci were examined by frozen-section histology. The patients with hepatic micrometastases were judged to have unresectable disease and underwent only palliative surgery followed by systemic chemotherapy using gemcitabine. RESULTS: Abnormal hepatic fluorescence at least 1.5 mm in greatest dimension without any apparent tumor was observed in 13 patients. Among them, histologic examination confirmed micrometastases in 8 of 49 patients (16%). All patients with hepatic micrometastases had clinical T3 or T4 disease and high serum CA19-9 levels (P = .042). On follow-up computed tomography images that were obtained within 6 months after surgery, the patients with hepatic micrometastases manifested hepatic overt metastases (7 of 8 patients; 88%) more frequently than the patients without hepatic micrometastases (4 of 41 patients; 10%; P < .001). Regardless of histologic confirmation, the positive predictive value of abnormal fluorescence for the manifestation of hepatic relapse within 6 months was 77% (10 of 13 patients), and the negative predictive value was 97% (35 of 36 patients). CONCLUSIONS: Indocyanine green-fluorescent imaging can detect hepatic micrometastases of pancreatic cancer during surgery. The hepatic micrometastases seem to have an adverse clinical impact identical to that of evident distant metastases.

C4B deficiency associated with membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis.

A 10-year-old girl was noted to have microscopic hematuria and proteinuria in 1986. As her urinary abnormalities were persistent, she underwent a renal biopsy on 4 occasions until 2003. Although the appearances of the renal biopsies were strongly suspicious of systemic lupus erythematosus, she never exhibited specific autoantibodies or distinctive symptoms. She received corticosteroid therapy and the urinary findings responded. The 4th component of complement remained low during the period of the observation. Both genotyping and allotyping analysis revealed complete C4B deficiency. Some case reports have mentioned renal disease associated with C4B deficiency and we consider the nephropathy in this case to be related to the C4B deficiency.

Expression of anti-apoptotic protein, Bcl-2, in liver regeneration after a partial hepatectomy.

BACKGROUND: Although Bcl-2 is well known to have anti-apoptotic activities in vitro and in vivo, the role of Bcl-2 relating to liver regeneration remains controversial. The aim of this study was to document the effect of Bcl-2 expression on liver regeneration in rats undergoing a partial hepatectomy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Adult male Wistar rats (n = 4/group) at 72 h before undergoing a 70% partial hepatectomy (PH) were administered 1 x 10(9) plaque-forming units of adenovirus vector encoding either human Bcl-2 (group 1) or LacZ (group 2) intravenously and were sacrificed at 0, 12 h, and at 1, 2, 3, 7, 14, and 21 days postoperatively. In group 3, normal saline was injected instead of adenovirus vector. Liver regeneration was monitored by measuring the restituted liver mass and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) immunostaining. The incidence of apoptosis in the liver was analyzed by the immunohistochemical detection of single-stranded DNA at 14 and 21 days postoperatively. RESULTS: The restituted liver mass showed significantly higher values in group 1 (26.1 +/- 7.2%) than in group 2 (14.7 +/- 6.8%) and 3 (13.6 +/- 5.0%) at 1 day after PH (P < 0.05). The PCNA labeling index was significantly higher in group 1 (47.2 +/- 9.9%) than in groups 2 (19.0 +/- 7.8%) and 3 (19.2 +/- 15.2%) at 1 day after a partial hepatectomy (P < 0.05). The hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) mRNA expression was significantly lower in group 1 than in group 2 at 12 h after PH (P < 0.05). The number of single-stranded DNA-positive cells decreased significantly more in group 1 (5.67 +/- 1.53 positive cells/10 fields per tissue) than those in group 2 (18.33 +/- 7.57 positive cells/10 fields per tissue) at 14 days after PH. CONCLUSIONS: These results thus indicated that an overexpression of anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 does not necessarily have an anti-apoptotic effect on liver regeneration but appears to have a pro-proliferative effect in the early phase of liver regeneration.

Stimulation of NHE3 in OKP cells by an autocrine mechanism.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Chronic hypokalemia increases NHE3 activity in OKP cells. The aim of the present study was to determine whether an autocrine mechanism is involved in this activation. METHODS: After incubation of OKP cells in normal-K(+) and low-K(+) media for 24 h, the potassium concentration in the low-K(+) media was adjusted to a normal level. These conditioned media were then used as the normal-K(+) and low-K(+) supernatants. Other OKP cells were incubated in these normal-K(+) and low-K(+) supernatants and the mechanism of Na(+)/H(+) antiporter activation was examined. RESULTS: The EIPA-resistant Na(+)/H(+) antiporter activity of OKP cells increased after 4 h incubation in the low-K(+) supernatant, and the amount of NHE3 protein increased at 24 h. Since both BQ788 and saralasin blocked this antiporter activation, the supernatant concentration of endothelin I (ET-I) and angiotensin II (Ang-II) were measured. The ET-I concentration was reduced, but the Ang-II concentration remained unchanged. There was a significant association between a reduction in the ET-I concentration and an increase in Na(+)/H(+) antiporter activity, but only when Ang-II was present in the supernatant. CONCLUSION: An autocrine mechanism is involved in the activation of NHE3 in OKP cells. Both ET-I and Ang-II play a role in this activation.

[A case of constrictive bronchiolitis].

A 31-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital because of a dry cough and progressive exertional dyspnea after her second delivery. She had almost normal laboratory data except for an elevated value for antibody for nucleic acid, and her chest radiograph was normal. However, pulmonary function tests revealed a mixed pattern of dysfunction, and chest CT revealed a mosaic perfusion pattern. The VATS lung biopsy demonstrated complete occlusion of the membranous bronchiole. These results led to a diagnosis of constrictive bronchiolitis (CB). The patient and her family rejected the option of lung transplantation, and selected immunosuppressive therapy (steroid pulse therapy and cyclophosphamide pulse therapy). Her condition improved temporarily, but her respiratory condition worsened progressively, and finally she died one and a half years after the appearance of the symptoms. Although steroid pulse therapy and cyclophosphamide pulse therapy failed to cure the CB, they did retard its progression.

Hyponatremia and/or hyperkalemia in patients treated with the standard dose of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole.

OBJECTIVE: High-dose trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) is known to cause hyperkalemia by blocking amiloride-sensitive sodium (Na) channels in distal nephrons. The purpose of this study was to establish whether the standard dose of TMP-SMX could cause electrolyte disorders. METHODS AND PATIENTS: Serum Na, potassium (K) and creatinine (Cr) levels were examined retrospectively in 53 of 77 patients prescribed TMP-SMX, before and after taking the antibiotic combination. RESULTS: Electrolyte disorders (Na < 135 mEq/l and/or K > 5.0 mEq/l) were found in 14 of the 53 patients (26.4%) during TMP-SMX treatment. The average dose was 145.7 +/- 24.9 mg/day. The dose of TMP was significantly larger in patients with electrolyte disorders (267.7 +/- 84.2 mg vs. 101.9 +/- 9.38 mg, p = 0.0024). Electrolyte disorders were also seen in 9.1% and 22.2% of patients given the low dose (TMP < 80 mg) or standard dose (TMP 80-120 mg) of TMP-SMX, respectively. Electrolyte disorders were seen in 85.7% of patients with renal dysfunction (Cr > 1.2 mg/dl), compared with 17.5% of patients with normal renal function (p = 0.0008). Logistic regression analysis showed that the dose of TMP and the presence of renal dysfunction increased the incidence of electrolyte disorders with an odds ratio of 2.35 and 80.29, respectively. CONCLUSION: Electrolyte disorders, particularly hyperkalemia and hyponatremia can be detected in patients given TMP-SMX. These disorders are more frequent in patients given high doses, but can also be detected after low-dose administration. Renal dysfunction accelerates the incidence of electrolyte disorders induced by TMP-SMX.