Chronic abdominal pain, appendiceal mucinous neoplasm, and concurrent intestinal endometriosis: a case report.

INTRODUCTION: Although both appendiceal tumor and intestinal endometriosis have been reported as rare causes of abdominal pain, the coexistence of appendiceal mucinous neoplasm and ileal endometriosis has not previously been reported. CASE PRESENTATION: A 41-year-old Japanese woman presented with a positive fecal occult blood test and a 3-year history of menstruation-related lower abdominal pain. A colonoscopy demonstrated extrinsic compression of the cecum, suggesting a mass arising from the appendix or adjacent structures. Abdominal imaging showed a 6-cm cystic mass with intraluminal thick fluids originating from the appendix. At ileocecal resection for an appendiceal tumor, a 2-cm mass in the terminal ileum was incidentally found, which was included in the surgical specimen. Microscopic examination confirmed a diagnosis of a mucinous neoplasm of the appendix with endometriosis of the terminal ileum. CONCLUSIONS: To avoid urgent surgery for subsequent serious events associated with disease progression, appendiceal tumor and intestinal endometriosis should be ruled out in patients with chronic abdominal pain.

Expression of matrix metalloproteinase 7, laminin and type IV collagen-associated liver metastasis in human colorectal cancer: immunohistochemical approach.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Matrix metalloproteinase 7 (MMP-7) plays an important role in vessel invasion and metastasis in human colorectal cancer. METHODOLOGY: The significance of MMP-7, laminin and type IV collagen expression in human colorectal cancer was investigated by immunohistochemical assay, and the correlation with liver metastasis was analyzed. RESULTS: In a synchronous metastasis group, 26 of 36 cases (72%) showed positive staining of MMP-7: There were 32 cases (89%) in the lymph channel and 28/32 cases (87%) in the vessels, and 17/34 cases (50%) showed a positive rate of laminin. In the metachronous metastasis group, 14 of 30 cases (47%) showed positive staining of MMP-7: There were 19 cases (63%) in the lymph channel and 13/19 cases (69%) in the vessels, and 17/30 cases (57%) showed a positive rate of laminin. In the control group, which was a 5-year disease-free group, despite there being no significant clinicopathological factors compared with the other two groups, 17 of 37 cases (51%) showed positive staining of MMP-7: There were 12 cases (37%) in the lymph channel and 6 cases (18%) in the vessels, and 2/31 cases (5%) showed a positive rate of laminin. The expression of type IV collagen attenuated in 19 out of 32 cases (59%) in Group S, 10 out of 19 cases (53%) in Group M, and 14 out of 37 cases (38%) in Group C, with no significant differences among the groups. Thus, the metastatic groups were significantly higher than the control group in terms of expression of laminin and MMP-7 in the lymph channel. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that laminin and the expression of MMP-7 in the lymph channel is a useful parameter for predicting liver metastasis.

Involvement of IL-2/IL-2R system activation by parasite antigen in polyclonal expansion of CD4(+)25(+) HTLV-1-infected T-cells in human carriers of both HTLV-1 and S. stercoralis.

The intermediate state of HTLV-1 infection, often found in individuals dually infected with Strongyloides stercoralis (S. stercoralis) and HTLV-1, is assumed to be a preleukemic state of adult T-cell leukemia (ATL). To investigate the effects of S. stercoralis superinfection on the natural history of HTLV-1 infection, we characterized peripheral blood samples of these individuals in Okinawa, Japan, an endemic area for both HTLV-1 and S. stercoralis and we studied effects of the parasite antigen on T-cells. The dually infected individuals showed a significantly higher provirus load and an increase in CD4(+)25(+) T cell population, with a significant, positive correlation. This increase was attributable to polyclonal expansion of HTLV-1-infected cells, as demonstrated by inverse-long PCR analysis of the integration sites. S. stercoralis antigen activated the IL-2 promoter in reporter gene assays, induced production of IL-2 by PBMC in vitro, and supported growth of IL-2 dependent cell lines immortalized by HTLV-1 infection or the transduction of Tax. Taken collectively, these results indicate that S. stercoralis infection induces polyclonal expansion of HTLV-1-infected cells by activating the IL-2/IL-2R system in dually infected carriers, an event which may be a precipitating factor for ATL and inflammatory diseases.