1/1013. Chemotherapy for advanced pancreatic cancer: it may no longer be ignored.Two case histories are reported here in which a chemotherapeutic approach improved the clinical conditions of patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. Until recently, chemotherapy was considered ineffective in pancreatic cancer, and most oncologists treated these patients with best-supportive-care only. Enthusiasm for systemic therapy of advanced pancreatic cancer is again growing, spurred by the advent of new drugs and new treatment endpoints such as life quality and symptom palliation. Gemcitabine, the most intensively-investigated new drug in pancreatic cancer, has shown an advantage in both survival and clinical benefit over that of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). Other new drugs such as taxanes have shown interesting levels of activity, and are deserving of further evaluation. Although these results are far from conclusive and are only partially satisfactory, they represent a significant step forward in the treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = cancer (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/1013. learning from case reports: diagnostic issues in an epidemiologic study of pancreatic cancer.epidemiologic studies on exocrine pancreatic cancer show a large heterogeneity in diagnostic criteria applied to define "caseness." Reanalyses conducted after review of diagnostic information have yielded substantially different results than those based on more crude classifications of disease. During a multicenter prospective study on mutations in the K-ras gene in pancreatic and biliary diseases, hospital diagnoses from 602 patients were reviewed by a panel of experts. There were two main motivations to do so: a generic interest for the quality of the diagnostic data, and the anticipation that a firm diagnosis could be needed to assess whether patients whose tumors did not harbor the mutation were true negatives or false negatives. In addition, the review of diagnoses was helpful to minimize tissue misclassification, and it had a high educational value for clinicians and epidemiologists. This article illustrates why and how this was so through a brief presentation of the 10 most significant cases. With respect to selection and classification of subjects, the main issues that studies on pancreatic cancer need to address are the differential diagnosis of exocrine pancreatic cancer and pancreatitis, the differential diagnosis of exocrine pancreatic cancer and other abdominal tumors, and the use of survival as a hallmark of pancreatic cancer. In epidemiologic studies of pancreatic cancer, it is warranted that a panel of experts centrally reviews all the existing diagnostic evidence (cytohistological and other) of all patients, regardless of whether they have cytohistological confirmation and of their hospital discharge diagnosis.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1.1111111111111keywords = cancer (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/1013. Cytologic findings in noninvasive intraductal papillary-mucinous carcinoma of the pancreas. A report of two cases.BACKGROUND: Intraductal papillary-mucinous carcinoma of the pancreas is a new diagnostic term proposed by the 1996 world health organization classification of the exocrine pancreas. So far, there have been only a few reports concerning its cytologic findings, especially in noninvasive cases. CASES: The clinical and cytohistologic findings in two cases of noninvasive intraductal papillary-mucinous carcinoma of the pancreas were reviewed. Cytologic specimens were obtained from pure pancreatic juice in the dilated main pancreatic duct during the operation (case 1) and during endoscopic retrograde pancreatography (ERP) (case 2). Both cases showed three-dimensionally or individually scattered tumor cells with an increased nuclear/cytoplasmic ratio and prominent nucleoli. CONCLUSION: Our cases suggest that pancreatic juice cytology during ERP or surgery is useful in diagnosing pancreatic cancers and that it may detect noninvasive intraductal papillary-mucinous carcinoma of the pancreas.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.11111111111111keywords = cancer (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/1013. Metastasis-induced acute pancreatitis in a patient with small cell carcinoma of the lung.Acute pancreatitis in cancer patients can be secondary to the malignant process itself or a complication of antineoplastic agent administration. However, acute pancreatitis caused by metastatic carcinoma of the pancreas is an uncommon condition with a poor prognosis. We report a case of a 63-year-old man with small cell carcinoma of the lung, who developed acute pancreatitis lately. Thirteen months earlier, he developed small cell carcinoma of the lung and received 6 cycles of chemotherapy. Abdominal CT scan showed swelling of the pancreas with multiple masses. The patient was managed conservatively and pancreatitis subsided. This case indicates that metastasis induced acute pancreatitis can be a manifestation of lung cancer, especially in small cell carcinoma.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.22222222222222keywords = cancer (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/1013. Elevated reticulocyte count--a clue to the diagnosis of haemolytic-uraemic syndrome (HUS) associated with gemcitabine therapy for metastatic duodenal papillary carcinoma: a case report.In adults, the haemolytic-uraemic syndrome (HUS) is associated with probable causative factors in the minority of all cases. Cytotoxic drugs are one of these potential causative agents. Although metastatic cancer by itself is a recognized risk-factor for the development of HUS, therapy with mitomycin-C, with cis-platinum, and with bleomycin carries a significant, albeit extremely small, risk for the development of HUS, compared with all other cytotoxic drugs. Gemcitabine is a novel cytotoxic drug with promising activity against pancreatic adenocarcinoma. We are reporting on one patient with metastatic duodenal papillary carcinoma developing HUS while on weekly gemcitabine therapy. The presenting features in this patient were non-cardiac pulmonary oedema, renal failure, thrombocytopenia and haemolytic anaemia. The diagnosis of HUS was made on the day of admission of the patient to this institution. Upon aggressive therapy, including one single haemodialysis and five plasmaphereses, the patient recovered uneventfully, with modestly elevated creatinine-values as a remnant of the acute illness. Re-exposure to gemcitabine 6 months after the episode of HUS instituted for progressive carcinoma, thus far has not caused another episode of HUS.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.11111111111111keywords = cancer (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/1013. Pancreatic cancer and fibrinogen storage disease.BACKGROUND: Ductal adenocarcinoma is the most common type of pancreatic carcinoma while squamous, carcinosarcoma, sarcoma, giant cell carcinoma, and clear cell types are all rare. Hepatocellular fibrinogen storage disease is also an uncommon disorder which may be associated with hepatocellular carcinoma. Two cases of pancreatic carcinoma were encountered in a family with fibrinogen storage disease, further raising the possibility of a predilection to malignancy in this unusual disorder. The tumour in one case was of the rare clear cell type. These two cases are the basis for this report. methods: Sections were cut from retrieved paraffin embedded tissue and stained for routine histology. immunohistochemistry using the avidin-biotin technique was applied for the expression of the markers p53 (D07), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), c-erbB-2, epithelial membrane antigen (EMA), and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP). RESULTS: Both cases were adenocarcinoma of pancreatic ductal origin. The tumour in one case showed features of a clear cell carcinoma. The tumour cells expressed p53, CEA, and EMA immunoreactivity and were negative for c-erbB-2 and AFP. CONCLUSIONS: Hepatocellular fibrinogen storage disease is rare and has been described in association with chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, and rarely with hepatocellular carcinoma. This represents the first report of its association with carcinoma outside of the liver.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.44444444444444keywords = cancer (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/1013. Complete clinical remission in a patient with advanced pancreatic cancer using mitomycin C-based chemotherapy: the role of adjunctive heparin.In a patient with advanced pancreatic cancer, with a hypercoagulable state, a complete clinical response was obtained with a mitomycin-based regimen plus adjunctive heparin. The patient converted from a partial response to a complete response with the addition of heparin, raising the possibility that heparin was somehow involved in the process. Recent studies have reported prolongation of survival in patients with cancer who were given heparin along with chemotherapy. The known antiangiogenic and antiproliferative action of heparin may explain this possible synergism. If heparin is, in fact, synergistic with cytotoxic cancer drugs, a fertile field of investigation is open to cooperative groups, especially because long-term heparin therapy is now feasible and safe, the low-molecular-weight heparins even more so.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.77777777777778keywords = cancer (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/1013. Sclerosing mesenteritis seen clinically as pancreatic pseudotumor: two cases and a review.Sclerosing mesenteritis is an uncommon nonneoplastic inflammatory process in the mesentery that is seen as a pseudotumor, usually involving the small bowel mesentery, the mesenteric fat, and less commonly, the mesentery of the large bowel. We report two cases of sclerosing mesenteritis and review the literature on this rare disease. Both patients had pain, profound weight loss, and a mass on computed tomography (CT) scan of the abdomen. The provisional diagnosis was pancreatic neoplasm on the basis of clinical presentation and imaging studies. The diagnosis of sclerosing mesenteritis was established by histologic findings in biopsy material obtained at laparotomy in both cases. Interval histologic studies in one patient who had a high CA 19-9 level, progressive biliary ductal and partial duodenal compression, revealed a transitional histologic pattern from predominant inflammation and fat necrosis to predominant fibrosis. This may explain the varied descriptive terms used in the literature to describe this entity.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.1134214284492keywords = neoplasm (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/1013. Minute carcinoma of the pancreas measuring 1 cm or less in diameter--collective review of Japanese case reports.BACKGROUND/AIMS: According to Tsuchiya's collective review on small pancreatic cancer measuring 2 cm or less in diameter (5), more than half of them had obstructive jaundice and the 5-year survival rate was as low as 30%. Thus, a more aggressive diagnostic approach is needed to detect a smaller and more curable cancer of the pancreas. METHODOLOGY: Thus, we collected 36 reported cases of "minute" pancreatic cancer measuring 1 cm or less in diameter, from Japanese medical literature, to analyze the relationships between the diagnostic processes and long-term results. RESULTS: Excluding 3 patients with obstructive jaundice, the other 33 patients did not show any specific initial symptoms. However, 28 (78%) out of 36 patients showed an elevation in serum pancreatic enzyme levels and/or glucose intolerance. Among the 35 patients who had received ultrasonography (US) and/or computed tomography (CT), 20 (57%) patients showed duct dilation alone, whereas only 9 patients (26%) showed tumor mass. Among 35 patients who received an endoscopic retrograde pancreatography (ERP), all patients showed positive findings such as obstruction/stenosis, filling defect or duct dilation. All 36 patients underwent pancreatectomy and the 5-year survival rate was 57%. However, the 5-year survival rate was 34% in the 13 patients with jaundice and/or tumor mass depicted in US/CT, while it was 69% for the 22 patients without these two findings (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: These data lead us to conclude that an elevation of serum pancreatic enzyme levels, glucose intolerance, and duct dilation alone depicted by US/CT should not be overlooked. ERP should be more widely applied to such patients, instead of persisting in delineating the tumor mass by US/CT or follow-up by tumor marker.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.33333333333333keywords = cancer (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/1013. Resection of triple synchronous cancers: a case report.We herein present a case of synchronous triple cancer, which was successfully resected in a curative manner. These cancers consisted of primary duodenal, pancreatic and lung cancers, which were diagnosed in an asymptomatic 74 year-old male, who was referred to our department on December 14, 1996. On admission, his laboratory data showed no abnormality, including tumor markers (CEA 1.0, CA 19-9 1.0, AFP 8.1 U/ml), but he did show an impaired pulmonary function (FEV1.0: 57%). Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy showed a smooth surfaced duodenal tumor measuring 4 cm in size. The second tumor was found at the head of the pancreas by computed tomography (CT), showing a hypervascular mass measuring 3.0 cm, along with neighboring multiple cysts. In endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), marked mucous secretion was observed through the papilla, while a filling defect was found in the dilated pancreatic duct. In a routine chest X-ray, a third tumor, which measured 1.5 cm in diameter, was recognized in the right upper lobe of the lung, and a moderately differentiated squamous cell carcinoma was also detected by a percutaneous CT guided biopsy. The pancreatic and duodenal tumors were surgically resected by a pancreatoduodenectomy (Stage I) in January 1997 and, 5 months later, a lung tumor underwent partial resection (Stage I). This patient tolerated these surgical procedures well and presently leads a normal, healthy life after discharge. In summary, a successful resection of synchronous triple cancers, which has never been previously reported in this specific combination, is described.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.88888888888889keywords = cancer (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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