[A Case of Malignant Peritoneal Mesothelioma Treated with Cisplatin and Pemetrexed].

A 65-year-old man was admitted to our hospital complaining of general malaise, anorexia and weight loss. A computed tomography(CT)scan showed massive ascites and multiple peritoneal masses. Although adenocarcinoma was suspected based on the cytology of the ascites, we were unable to determine the site of origin. We next performed a laparoscopy and a biopsy of the tumor on the omentum. The laparoscopy showed small, white, hard nodules that were disseminated throughout the abdominalcavity, and histologicaldiagnosis confirmed malignant peritonealmesothel ioma. The patient was administered chemotherapeutic treatment of cisplatin and pemetrexed. After treatment, the ascites decreased; however, tumor regression was not observed. The patient's performance status gradually decreased, and he died on hospital day 104. Prognosis of malignant peritoneal mesothelioma remains poor, and malignant peritoneal mesothelioma should be considered when diagnosing peritoneal tumors.

Gastric mucosal cracked and cobblestone-like changes resulting from proton pump inhibitor use.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Use of proton pump inhibitors (PPI) is histologically associated with oxyntic gland dilatations. Two interesting mucosal changes are often detected endoscopically in patients who use PPI: gastric cracked mucosa (GCM) and gastric cobblestone-like mucosa (GCSM). The aim of the present study was to clarify the relationship between PPI use and these mucosal changes. METHODS: This was a single-center observational study. All successive subjects who underwent a routine esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) between August and November 2014 in Hokkaido University Hospital were enrolled. Endoscopists carried out the assessment blinded to the use of PPI and checked for GCSM and GCM using original diagnostic criteria for GCM and GCSM. Subjects were divided into two groups: those who used PPI (PPI group) and those who did not (control group). Endoscopic findings and backgrounds were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: A total of 538 patients were analyzed (control group: 374 patients, men/women: 204/170, median age: 65.2 years; PPI group: 164 patients, men/women: 89/75, median age: 67.1 years). GCM was detected in 54 (10.0%) subjects, and GCSM was detected in 18 (3.3%) subjects. There was a significant difference in the prevalence rate of GCM between the control group (14/374, 3.7%) and the PPI group (40/164, 24.4%) (P < 0.01). GCSM was significantly more prevalent in the PPI group (15/164, 9.1%) than in the control group (3/374, 0.8%) (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Novel GCM and GCSM endoscopic findings in the corpus area seem to be strongly associated with PPI use.

Multicenter randomized controlled study to assess the effect of prophylactic clipping on post-polypectomy delayed bleeding.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Prophylactic clipping has been widely used to prevent post-procedural bleeding in colon polypctomy. However, its efficiency has not been confirmed and there is no consensus on the usefulness of prophylactic clipping. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the preventive effect of prophylactic clipping on post-polypectomy bleeding. METHODS: A multicenter randomized controlled study was conducted from January 2012 to July 2013 in Japan. Patients who had polyps <2 cm in diameter were divided into a clipping group and a non-clipping group by cluster randomization. After endoscopic polypectomy, patients allocated to the clipping group underwent prophylactic clipping, whereas the procedure was completed without clipping in patients allocated to the non-clipping group. Occurrence of post-polypectomy bleeding was compared between the two groups. RESULTS: Seven hospitals participated in this study. A total of 3365 polyps in 1499 patients were evaluated. The clipping group consisted of 1636 polyps in 752 patients, and the non-clipping group consisted of 1729 polyps in 747 patients. Post-polypectomy bleeding occurred in 1.10% (18/1636) of the cases in the clipping group, and in 0.87% (15/1729) of those in the non-clipping group. The difference was -0.22% (95% confidence interval [CI]: -0.96, 0.53). Upper limit of the 95% CI was lower than the non-inferiority margin (1.5%), and we could thus prove non-inferiority of non-clipping against clipping. CONCLUSION: Prophylactic clipping is not necessary to prevent post-polypectomy bleeding for polyps <2 cm in diameter.

Multicenter study on hemorrhagic risk of heparin bridging therapy for periendoscopic thromboprophylaxis.

BACKGROUND: For endoscopic interventions, heparin bridging therapy is recommended in patients who are at high risk from interruption of antithrombotic therapy. Although heparin bridging has been reported to be effective in preventing thrombosis, several reports have raised concerns about increased risk of bleeding. The aim of this study was to clarify complications of hepari bridging therapy in therapeutic endoscopy. METHODS: A nationwide multicenter survey using questionnaire was performed about patients undergoing therapeutic endoscopy with heparin bridging. Patients who underwent therapeutic endoscopy without heparin bridging therapy were considered as controls. Compliance scores of heparin bridging therapy guideline were employed, and association was analyzed between the score and occurrence of post-procedural bleeding. RESULTS: The incidence of post-procedural bleeding was significantly higher (13.5%, 33/245) in the heparin group compared with the control group (2.7%, 299/11102)(p < 0.001). Thrombosis occurred in 1 patient each in the two groups. In the heparin group, post-procedural bleeding was more likely to be delayed bleeding. Dose adjustment of heparin was a significant factor contributing to bleeding. The compliance score of heparin bridging therapy guideline was significantly higher in those who suffered bleeding. CONCLUSIONS: Heparin bridging therapy significantly increased the risk of post-procedural bleeding compared with the control. The bleeding risk was associated with greater adherence with guidelines for heparin bridging therapy.

Human intestinal spirochetosis is significantly associated with sessile serrated adenomas/polyps.

It remains unclear whether or not human intestinal spirochetosis (HIS) has any associated symptoms or lesions. In this study, we assessed the prevalence of HIS in sessile serrated adenomas/polyps (SSA/Ps) and their possible association. Following identification of early cecal cancer with SSA/P accompanied by a colonization of HIS, we went on to conduct a retrospective case-control study using endoscopically resected SSA/P specimens to examine the frequency of HIS infection in SSA/Ps. Nineteen SSA/P cases and 172 controls were obtained. The rate of HIS infection was significantly higher at 52.6% (10/19) in the SSA/P cases compared to the controls at 8.1% (14/172). Our SSA/P series were associated with a remarkably higher rate of HIS than controls or than previously reported. This is the first report to provide evidence for potential association between HIS and SSA/Ps.

Factors associated with risk for colorectal cancer recurrence after endoscopic resection of T1 tumors.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: More information is needed on the long-term outcomes of patients who undergo endoscopic resection of colorectal tumors. We evaluated recurrence of colorectal cancer (CRC) after endoscopic resection or a combination of endoscopic research and surgery for T1 colorectal tumors. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective study of 389 patients with T1 CRC treated by endoscopic resection from January 1989 to December 2008 in Sapporo, Japan. We compared outcomes between patients who underwent subsequent surgery (ER + SURG, n = 205) and those who did not (ER only, n = 184) and statistically adjusted baseline differences between the groups according to the propensity scores. RESULTS: There was almost no risk of cancer recurrence among patients without indications for surgery recommended by the Japanese Society for Cancer of the Colon and Rectum (these indications include tumors with vertical margins, deep submucosal invasion, lymphatic or venous invasion, poor differentiation, or high-grade budding). Among patients with indications for surgery, the cumulative risks of recurrence (CRRs) were 3.7% in the ER + SURG group and 20.1% in the ER only group (P = .001). However, the patients with only deep submucosal invasion had a low CRR, even without surgery (2.3% in the ER + SURG group and 3.4% in the ER only groups, P = .867). In contrast, patients with indications for surgery other than deep submucosal invasion (high-risk patients) had much better outcomes when they also underwent surgery (CRRs: 5.8% in the ER + SURG group vs 58.0% in the ER only group, P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: On the basis of a retrospective study of patients who underwent endoscopic resection for T1 CRC, those with tumors with only submucosal invasion are at low risk for cancer recurrence. However, patients with other high-risk tumor features have greater risks for cancer recurrence and benefit from subsequent surgery.

Endoscopic diagnosis of early neoplasia of the esophagus with narrow band imaging: correlations among background coloration and iodine staining findings.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: It was previously reported that high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia of the esophagus turns pink within a few minutes after iodine staining (pink-color sign; PCS); however, iodine staining is uncomfortable. By using narrow band imaging (NBI), color change in the area between the intraepithelial papillary capillary loop (background coloration; BGC) is often observed within the brownish area. The diagnostic usefulness of BGC findings for differentiating high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia from low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia was evaluated. METHODS: In a prospective observational study from September 2010 to August 2012, 285 patients who were in a high-risk group for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma underwent endoscopic examination. Lesions with both endoscopic findings of dilated intraepithelial papillary capillary loop on NBI and iodine-unstained areas were studied, in which endoscopic biopsy or endoscopic resection was subsequently performed. The esophageal background mucosa was also evaluated on the basis of the iodine staining pattern (uniform type: Group U, scattered type: Group S). RESULTS: One hundred three esophageal lesions in 87 patients were studied. When BGC was used as the differentiation index, sensitivity was 93.8%, specificity was 88.2%, and accuracy was 91.3%. When PCS was used, sensitivity was 97.9%, specificity was 88.2%, and accuracy was 93.2% (P = 0.79). In Group U (n = 54), BGC had an accuracy of 93.8%, and PCS had an accuracy of 92.3% (P = 1.0). On the other hand, in Group S (n = 33), BGC had an accuracy of 86.8%, while PCS had an accuracy of 94.7% (P = 0.27). CONCLUSIONS: Diagnosis using BGC on NBI may substitute for diagnosis based on PCS in many patients.

The sequential organ failure assessment score as a useful predictor for estimating the prognosis of systemic inflammatory response syndrome patients being treated with extracorporeal blood purification.

Systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in critically ill patients. Extracorporeal blood purification procedures are becoming important for treating these patients. However, the cost of these procedures is high. Therefore, a prognostic marker would be helpful. To establish the reliability of the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score as a prognostic indicator, we evaluated daily changes in the SOFA score of 40 SIRS patients who needed blood purification procedures such as continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT), endotoxin adsorption, bilirubin adsorption, and/or plasma exchange. Twenty patients survived and 20 died. Although the baseline scores of the two groups (survivors and non-survivors) did not differ, both the maximum value of the SOFA score and the DeltaSOFA score (the difference between the maximum SOFA and baseline SOFA scores) were significantly higher in the non-survivor group. The mortality rate among patients with a maximum SOFA score greater than or equal to 18 or a DeltaSOFA score greater than or equal to 3 was higher than for the rest of the patients. The changes in the SOFA score correlated well with the outcomes of the SIRS patients. The maximum SOFA score and the DeltaSOFA score are therefore likely to be useful prognostic markers.