Nutritional Impact of Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy: A Retrospective Single-center Study.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Several conditions may cause difficulties with oral feeding. Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) is commonly performed on patients who require enteral feeding for >2-3 weeks. This study examined the nutritional state of patients who required enteral feeding and underwent PEG to quantify the benefits of the procedure. METHODS: This retrospective study included patients who underwent PEG at the Chungnam National University Hospital between January 2013 and December 2018. A gastroenterologist performed all PEG procedures using the pull technique, and all patients were followed up for >3 weeks postoperatively. The BMI and lymphocyte count, along with the levels of hemoglobin, total protein, albumin, total cholesterol, BUN, and creatinine pre-PEG and between 3 weeks and 6 months post-PEG were evaluated. RESULTS: Overall, 151 patients (116 males; mean age 64.92 years) were evaluated. Of these patients, 112 (74.2%), 34 (22.5%), and five (3.3%) underwent PEG tube insertion because of neurological diseases, malignancy, and other conditions, respectively. The BMI and the hemoglobin, total protein, albumin, and total cholesterol levels were significantly higher post-PEG than pre-PEG. CONCLUSIONS: These findings highlight the usefulness of PEG in the management of nutritionally poor patients with difficulties in feeding orally.

Spontaneous regression of non-small cell lung cancer that progressed after multiple chemotherapies: A case report.

Spontaneous regression (SR) of cancer is defined as a complete or partial, temporary or permanent disappearance of all or at least some relevant parameters of malignant disease with inadequate or no treatment. SR of cancer is an extremely rare phenomenon. We report a case of a 67-year-old man who experienced SR of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), which progressed after fifth-line chemotherapy and regressed after chemotherapy ceased. Surprisingly, the primary tumor size continued to decrease for more than 13 months and his general condition markedly improved after discontinuation of the chemotherapy. To our knowledge, this is the first report of SR in a patient with NSCLC that was not responsive to a fifth round of chemotherapy.

Promising effects of 3rd line cyclophosphamide, adriamycin and vincristine (CAV) and 4th line ifosfamide and carboplatin chemotherapy in refractory small cell lung cancer.

Third and fourth line chemotherapy agents are not helpful in the setting of extensive stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC). We describe the case of a 43-year-old Korean patient with T4N3M1b extensive stage SCLC who responded remarkably well to treatment and experienced a prolonged progression-free survival (PFS) period following treatment with fourth line ifosfamide and carboplatin after experiencing disease progression with three previous regimens. Additionally, third line cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin (Adriamycin), and vincristine demonstrated long-term PFS periods.

Malignant Mesothelioma Diagnosed by Bronchoscopic Biopsy.

Malignant mesothelioma is a rare malignant neoplasm that arises from mesothelial surfaces of the pleural cavity, peritoneal cavity, tunica vaginalis, or pericardium. Typically, pleural fluid cytology or closed pleural biopsy, surgical intervention (video thoracoscopic biopsy or open thoracotomy) is conducted to obtain pleural tissue specimens. However, endobronchial lesions are rarely seen and cases diagnosed from bronchoscopic biopsy are also rarely reported. We reported the case of a 77-year-old male who was diagnosed as malignant mesothelioma on bronchoscopic biopsy from obstructing masses of the endobronchial lesion.