[A case of synchronous triple cancer involving lung, stomach and bladder, responding to combination chemotherapy of S-1 and cisplatin].

A 77-year-old man was admitted to our hospital complaining of general malaise, loss of appetite and hemoptysis. Chest X-ray film and computed tomography (CT) scan showed right-sided pleural effusion with lung tumor. Succeeding upper gastro-intestinal fiberscopy and cystoscopy revealed poorly-differentiated adenocarcinoma of the stomach and urothelial carcinoma of the bladder. Repeated treatment with 100 mg/body of S-1 on day 1 followed by 60 mg/m(2) of cisplatin on day 8 was effective in this patient.

[Primary mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma of the urinary bladder successfully treated by radiotherapy and rituximab].

A 64-year-old woman visited our hospital in December 2005 because of general malaise. Her hemoglobin level was 9.0 g/dl. Gastrointestinal fiberscopy detected a hemorrhagic gastric ulcer, which was considered as etiology of anemia. Abdominal ultrasonography showed bilateral hydronephroses and hydroureters. A urine test revealed pyuria and macroscopic hematuria, and urine culture revealed 10(8) colony-forming units of Escherichia coli per ml. Pelvic MRI showed thickening of the posterior wall and trigone of the urinary bladder. Transurethral resection was peformed, and biopsy of the mucous of the bladder gave a diagnosis of primary mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma of the urinary bladder. Ann Arbor clinical stage was IEA. It was planned to administer irradiation at a total dose of 36 Gy to the whole bladder and part of the tumor; however, radiotherapy was discontinued at a dose of 26 Gy because of the development of pollakisuria. Pelvic MRI and pathologic examination of the urinary bladder after radiotherapy showed that the lymphoma was in complete remission; however, she received retuximab therapy at a dose of 375 mg/m2/week, 8 times additionally, because of the reduced radiotherapy. The patient has remained in complete remission for 14 months.

[Successful use of cladribine in the treatment of an elderly woman with typical hairy cell leukemia].

A 78-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital because for pancytopenia and splenomegaly. The bone marrow examination revealed hairy cells in 11.6% of all nucleated bone marrow cells. Hairy cells were positive for tartaricresistance acid phosphatase (TRAP) staining, CD2, CD11c, CD19, CD20, sIgD, CD25, CD103 and k chain. In addition, abdominal enhanced computed tomography (CT) demonstrated splenomegaly and multiple nodular early stains in the spleen. She was diagnosed as having typical hairy cell leukemia (HCL). The patient was treated with cladribine infused continuously for 7 days at a dose of 0.09 mg/kg/day, which induced partial remission without severe adverse effects. Purine analogs such as cladribine and pentostatine are considered first-line agents for patients with HCL. Treatment with cladribine achieved a high overall response rate for patients with HCL and was safe even in elderly patients like ours. It is necessary to observe carefully the complications of severe infections, second malignancies and relapse of HCL after treatment with cladribine.

[Analysis of factors associated with quality of life for patients with non-small lung cancer receiving outpatient vinorelbine therapy as alternative inpatient therapy].

An increasing number of patients with lung cancer are undergoing outpatient chemotherapy as an alternative inpatient therapy. To investigate the factors influencing the quality of life (QOL) for these patients,we used a QOL questionnaire, "The QOL Questionnaire for Cancer Patients Treated with Anticancer Drugs" (QOL-ACD) for 8 patients with non-small cell lung cancer. The medical factors related to the overall QOL scores and other categories indicating "activity," "physical condition," "psychological condition," "social relationship" and "face scale" were analyzed. Significant improvements in the factors indicating "psychological condition" were observed in this study.

[Aggressive phase multiple myeloma with post-renal acute renal failure due to multiple extramedullary plasmacytomas].

A 63-year-old woman was diagnosed as having multiple myeloma (MM), IgG-kappa type, stage IIIA, in October 2003. She achieved partial response after receiving three courses of VAD therapy and one course of high dose dexamethasone therapy (HDD); maintenance therapy consisted of melphalan and prednisolone. In November 2004, the patient developed spinal canal stenosis that required surgery. At the end of December 2004, the patient developed renal dysfunction that progressed to anuria. A CT scan showed multiple retroperitoneal masses that impinged on and obstructed both ureters and caused bilateral hydronephroses. Renal function improved after a right percutaneous nephrostomy and chemotherapy consisting of HDD, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, and doxorubicin. Nevertheless, the patient died due to MM in February 2005. On autopsy, multiple retroperitoneal and pelvic plasmacytomas with 13q- and t(4;14) (p16;q32) were found. Our patient is a rare case that, in the terminal stage of MM, developed aggressive phase multiple myeloma with extramedullary plasmacytomas that caused acute renal failure due to compression on both ureters.

[A case of small-cell lung cancer responding remarkably to CPT-11 and CDDP combination chemotherapy].

A 73-year-old man was admitted to our hospital complaining of general malaise, loss of appetite and body weight loss. Chest X-ray film showed left-sided pleural effusion. Computed tomographic (CT) scan of the chest also demonstrated left-sided pleural effusion with lung tumor and lymphnode swelling. Repeated treatment with 60 mg/m(2) of cisplatin on day 1 followed by 80 mg/m(2) of irinotecan on days 1 and 8 were effective in this patient.