Heiji Yoshinaka

Long-term results of subtotal esophagectomy with three-field lymphadenectomy for carcinoma of the thoracic esophagus.

ObjectiveThis study evaluated the impact of aggressive surgery on survival in patients with carcinoma of the thoracic esophagus. Summary Background DataPrognostic value of lymph-node status for patients with esophageal carcinoma was emphasized, although it is currently under debate whether extensive lymph node dissection improves survival. MethodsTwo hundred ninety-five patients with thoracic esophageal carcinoma were admitted to Kagoshima University Hospital from December 1982 to December 1990. Esophagectomy was performed on 244 (82.7%) of these patients; 106 of whom underwent three-field lymphadenectomy (bilateral cervical, mediastinal, and abdominal regions) were analyzed regarding lymph-node status, tumor recurrence, and the effect of prognostic factors on survival using Coxs proportional hazards model. ResultsHospital mortality and morbidity were 10.4% (11/106) and 65.1%, respectively. Seventy-eight patients (73.6%) had nodal involvement, including 49 patients with abdominal lymph-node metastases and 46 patients with recurrent nerve-node metastases. Five-year survival rates were 54.5% for 16 patients with a solitary nodal metastasis, 30.3% for stage III, 17.4% for stage IV, and 7.2% for 28 patients with six or more metastatic nodes. The most frequent sites of recurrence were the upper mediastinal region and the lung – its incidence increased significantly as the number of positive nodes increased. The most unfavorable prognostic factors included regional or recurrent nerve-node metastasis and patient age of more than 71 years. ConclusionsThree-field lymphadenectomy, including especially the removal of bilateral recurrent nerve nodes in the cervical region, is essential for improving the survival of patients with carcinoma of the upper two thirds of the thoracic esophagus.

Endorectal ultrasonography for the assessment of wall invasion and lymph node metastasis in rectal cancer

Endorectal ultrasonography (ERUS) with a flexible-type radial scanner (Aloka Co. Ltd., Tokyo, Japan; 7.5 MHz) was applied to 120 patients with rectal cancer for the assessment of wall invasion and pararectal lymph node metastasis. Normal rectal wall was described as a five- or seven-layer structure excluding the lowest part within 3 cm from the anal verge. Loss of normal layers basically indicated the existence of cancer invasion. According to UICC classification, we divided the depth of wall invasion into four ultrasonographic levels (uT1–uT4), and results were correlated with histopathologic findings. Overall accuracy of the assessment was 92.0 percent (103/112). Overestimation occurred in 5 of 60 cases with T3 cancer (8.3 percent), and underestimation occurred in 1 of 19 cases with T2 cancer (5.3 percent) and 3 of 60 cases with T3 cancer (5 percent). Inflammatory cell infiltration was found around the cancer in a considerable number of cases. However, the assessment of wall invasion was hardly affected in our hands. Because the muscularis propria of the rectal wall was often recognized as a three-layer structure, uT2 cancer was subdivided into three subgroups of uPM1, uPM2, and uPM3. The assessment of invasion of sublayers in muscularis propria was possible in 14 of 19 cases (73.7 percent), and correct assessment was achieved in 57 percent of the cases. The ultrasonographic demonstration of pararectal lymph nodes was studied on 98 patients. No swollen lymph nodes were detected ultrasonographically in 35 of 98 cases (35.7 percent), but cancer metastasis was found histopathologically in 5 of these 35 cases (14.3 percent). The metastasis was observed more frequently in lymph nodes with a diameter of more than 5 mm (53.8 percent) and in those with a well-defined boundary and with an uneven and markedly hypoechoic pattern (72.3 percent). Although unable to detect minimal cancer foci, ERUS was considered a very useful tool for the assessment of the depth of cancer invasion in the rectal wall and pararectal lymph node metastasis.

Number of Lymph Node Metastases Determined by Presurgical Ultrasound and Endoscopic Ultrasound Is Related to Prognosis in Patients With Esophageal Carcinoma

ObjectiveTo analyze the impact on prognosis of the number of lymph node metastases detected by ultrasound and endoscopic ultrasound in patients with esophageal carcinoma. Summary Background DataUltrasound and endoscopic ultrasound are useful for diagnosing tumor depth and lymph node metastasis in patients with esophageal carcinoma. However, the clinical significance of the number of lymph node metastases before surgery has not been elucidated. MethodsThe authors evaluated lymph node metastases using preoperative ultrasound and endoscopic ultrasound in 329 consecutive patients who underwent esophagectomy with lymphadenectomy. TNM classification and one-to-one comparison of lymph node metastasis was performed between the preoperative and histologic diagnosis. The number of lymph node metastases was subdivided into four groups: zero, one to three, four to seven, and eight or more. ResultsThe accuracy of preoperative ultrasound and endoscopic ultrasound diagnosis exceeded 70% in each category of TNM classification. The incidence of lymph node metastasis determined by preoperative and histologic diagnosis was 69.0% (234/339) and 59.3% (201/339), respectively. The correlation between preoperative and histologic diagnosis was significant (P < .0001). According to the subdivision of number of lymph node metastases, the accuracy rates associated with nodal involvement of zero, one to three, four to seven, and eight or more were 83.8%, 59.7%, 43.3%, and 96.0%, respectively. The clinical outcome between ultrasound and endoscopic ultrasound diagnosis and histologic diagnosis in stage grouping was almost similar. The 5-year survival rates of patients with zero, one to three, four to seven, and eight or more lymph node metastases determined by ultrasound and endoscopic ultrasound were 53.3%, 33.8% 17.0%, and 0%, respectively. The differences among groups were statistically significant. The survival curves associated with preoperative and histologic diagnosis were similar. ConclusionsNot only the stage grouping of TNM classification but also the number of lymph node metastases determined by ultrasound and endoscopic ultrasound before surgery may be useful for predicting prognosis in patients with esophageal carcinoma.

Human papillomavirus detected in female breast carcinomas in Japan

To investigate the aetiological role of human papillomavirus (HPV) in breast cancer, we examined the presence, genotype, viral load, and physical status of HPV in 124 Japanese female patients with breast carcinoma. Human papillomavirus presence was examined by PCR using SPF10 primers, and primer sets targeting the E6 region of HPV-16, -18, and -33. The INNO-LiPA HPV genotyping kit was used to determine genotype. Human papillomavirus DNA was detected in 26 (21%) breast carcinomas. The most frequently detected HPV genotype was HPV-16 (92%), followed by HPV-6 (46%), HPV-18 (12%), and HPV-33 (4%). In 11 normal epithelium specimens adjacent to 11 HPV-16-positive carcinomas, 7 were HPV-16-positive. However, none of the normal breast tissue specimens adjacent to HPV-negative breast carcinomas were HPV-positive. The real-time PCR analysis suggested the presence of integrated form of viral DNA in all HPV-16-positive samples, and estimated viral load was low with a geometric mean of 5.4 copies per 104 cells. In conclusion, although HPV DNA was detected in 26 (21%) breast carcinomas and, in all HPV-16-positive cases, the HPV genome was considered integrated into the host genome, their low viral loads suggest it is unlikely that integrated HPV is aetiologically involved in the development of Japanese breast carcinomas that we examined.

Assessment of cervical lymph node metastasis in esophageal carcinoma using ultrasonography.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the efficacy of ultrasonography for the diagnosis of cervical lymph node metastasis in esophageal carcinoma. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA Ultrasound (US) examination is useful for diagnosing lymph node metastasis. However, few reports have examined its role in the decision to perform cervical lymph node dissection in esophageal carcinoma. METHODS Ultrasound examination was performed to evaluate cervical lymph node metastasis in 519 patients with esophageal carcinoma. The patients were divided into 5 groups according to treatment received: group 1, 153 patients who underwent curative resection of primary tumor by right thoracotomy and complete bilateral cervical lymphadenectomy; group 2, 112 patients who underwent curative resection of primary tumor by right thoracotomy but without cervical lymphadenectomy; group 3, 78 patients who underwent esophagectomy by left thoracotomy or blunt dissection with or without removal of cervical lymph nodes; group 4, 76 patients with palliative resection without cervical lymphadenectomy; and group 5, 100 patients without any surgical treatment. US diagnosis was compared with histologic findings or cervical lymph node recurrence. RESULTS Lymph node metastasis was detected in 30.8% of patients (160/519). The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of US diagnosis in group 1 were 74.5%, 94.1%, and 87.6%, respectively. Cervical lymph node recurrence was seen in 7 patients (4.6%) in group 1, in 4 patients (3.6%) in group 2, and 3 patients (3.8%) in group 3. Although the incidence of cervical lymph node metastasis as determined by US examination was high in groups 4 and 5, almost none of the patients died of cervical lymph node metastasis. CONCLUSIONS Ultrasound examination plays a useful role in the decision to perform cervical lymph node dissection in patients with esophageal carcinoma, particularly in those with potentially curative dissection.

Clinical implication of HLA class I expression in breast cancer

BackgroundHuman leukocyte antigen (HLA)-class I molecules on tumor cells have been regarded as crucial sites where cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) can recognize tumor-specific antigens and are strongly associated with anti-tumor activity. However, the clinical impact of HLA class I expression in breast cancer has not been clarified.MethodsA total of 212 breast cancer patients who received curative surgery from 1993 to 2003 were enrolled in the current study. HLA class I expression was examined immunohistochemically using an anti-HLA class I monoclonal antibody. The correlation between HLA class I positivity and clinical factors was analyzed.ResultsThe downregulation of HLA class I expression in breast cancer was observed in 69 patients (32.5%). HLA class I downregulation was significantly associated with nodal involvement (p < 0.05), TNM stage (p < 0.05), lymphatic invasion (p < 0.01), and venous invasion (p < 0.05). Patients with preserved HLA class I had significantly better disease-free interval (DFI) than those with loss of HLA class I (p < 0.05). However, in multivariable analysis, HLA class I was not selected as one of the independent prognostic factors of disease-free interval.ConclusionThe examination of HLA class I expression is useful for the prediction of tumor progression and recurrent risk of breast cancer via the antitumor immune system.

Occult Lymph Node Metastasis in Gastric Cancer with Submucosal Invasion

To evaluate more precisely the incidence of lymph node metastasis in patients with submucosally invaded (sm) gastric cancer, three additional sections were made from the remaining half of 1,794 lymph nodes taken from 57 patients, for a detailed reexamination. Lymph node metastasis was demonstrated in 19 nodes from 11 patients by the initial routine examination; however, the detailed reexamination showed cancer involvement in a further nine lymph nodes from eight patients. Of these eight patients, metastasis had not been detected in any lymph nodes by routine examination in six. Macroscopically, the lesion was of the depressed or mixed type in six of the eight patients. From the intranodal location and growth pattern of the cancer foci, lymph nodes with occult metastasis were divided into the marginal sinus type, the medullary sinus type, and the mixed type, with the marginal type being found most frequently. The overall incidence of lymph node metastasis in patients with sm gastric cancer was as high as 29.8% (17/57) in this series. Moreover, a follow-up study revealed that two patients with occult metastasis died of cancer recurrence postoperatively. Accordingly, systematic regional lymph node dissection should be carried out at the time of surgery for sm gastric cancer.

Mucosal Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Esophagus: A Clinicopathologic Study of 30 Cases

A clinicopathologic study was carried out on 30 patients with mucosal esophageal cancer (MEC). The depth of cancer invasion was subdivided histologically into three categories: m1 = carcinoma in situ (intraepithelial carcinoma) or carcinoma with questionable invasion beyond the basal membrane; m2 = cancer invasion confined to the lamina propria, and m3 = cancer reaching to or infiltrating into the muscularis mucosae. Lymph node metastases and lymphatic invasion were found only in the tumors reaching or infiltrating the muscularis mucosae (m3). The maximum histologic vertical extent of the tumors was more than 1 mm in 4 of 5 patients with lymph node metastasis or lymphatic invasion. None of the patients died of recurrent esophageal disease, and 3 of the 6 patients who had a second primary tumor died of this other malignancy. It is critical to distinguish between m1, m2 and m3 tumors to plan a treatment strategy, including an endoscopic mucosal resection.

Number of Axillary Lymph Node Metastases Determined by Preoperative Ultrasound is Related to Prognosis in Patients with Breast Cancer.

Objective: To analyze the impact on prognosis of the number of axillary lymph node metastases (LNM) detected by ultrasound (US) in patients with breast cancer. Methods: One-to-one comparison of LNM was performed between the ultrasound and histologic diagnosis in 380 patients. Results: The accuracy of preoperative ultrasound diagnosis was 79.7%. According to the subdivision of number of LNM (0, 1–3, 4–9, 10+), the accuracy rates associated with LNM were 82%, 49%, 34%, and 86%, respectively. The disease-free-survival curves according to the number of LNM were similar in them. Conclusion: Preoperative ultrasound can determine axillary involvement and may be useful for predicting prognosis.

Immediate reconstruction using thoracodorsal adipofascial flap after partial mastectomy.

BCT (breast conserving therapy) has become a standard strategy for breast cancer and ensures local control and acceptable cosmetic results. However, an insufficient resection margin may increase local recurrence if too much attention is paid to cosmesis. Here, we describe a simple technique for reconstruction of the defect on the outer upper part of the breast with early breast cancer using thoracodorsal adipofascial flap.