Masahiko Yamagishi

Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Unknown Origin in Middle Mediastinum

We report a rare case of squamous cell carcinoma located in the middle mediastinum as a solitary mass. Histologically, lymphatic tissues remained together with nests of squamous cell carcinoma which were occupying the greater part of the mass. Examinations of the whole body failed to detect a primary site of the squamous cell carcinoma. It is considered that the carcinoma cells reflect metastasis from a primary-unknown carcinoma (most likely TO lung squamous cell carcinoma) or that they originated from benign epithelial inclusions in a mediastinal lymph node.

Inflammatory Endotracheal Polyp Resolved after Antibiotic Treatment

We describe a rare case of asymptomatic inflammatory endotracheal polyp resolved by antibiotic treatment. Histological examination of biopsy specimens showed an inflammatory polyp consisting of fibrovascular stroma and sparse lymphocyte infiltration. The size of the polyp was unchanged during 3 months without any treatment and its etiology was unclear. Although a bacterial organism was never proven, the polyp decreased remarkably under treatment with an oral antibiotic (ciprofloxacin) and did not recur for 6 months. Antibiotic treatment may be of value for inflammatory tracheobronchial polyps in cases of unclear etiology.

Computed tomographic evaluation of mediastinal lymph node enlargement and metastasis in lung cancer.

原発性肺癌切除例86例において, CTによる縦隔リンパ節腫大及び転移の診断精度についてretrospectiveに検討した.腫大に関して, 10mm厚スキャンでsensitivityは49～55%, specificityは94～96%であった.スライス厚を変えても腫大の指摘率に差はなかった.pN2症例において, 転移の診断率は腫大よりも若干低値を示した.今後は, 原発巣の組織型, 発生部位を考慮するとともに, 縦隔の部位別の診断基準を確立することが必要と考えられた.