Motoki Sassa

Adenocarcinoma within anorectal fistulae: different clinicopathological characteristics between Crohn’s disease-associated type and the usual type

Adenocarcinoma within anorectal fistulae is rare and is sometimes associated with Crohn’s disease. Crohn’s disease-associated adenocarcinoma within anorectal fistulae has a poor prognosis; however, little is known about the clinicopathological differences between Crohn’s disease-associated adenocarcinoma within anorectal fistulae and usual adenocarcinoma within anorectal fistulae. We retrospectively searched patients’ charts and pathology archives at Tokyo Yamate Medical Center and Tokyo Medical and Dental University Hospital for adenocarcinoma within anorectal fistulae. Clinical and pathological data were collected and immunohistochemical examinations were conducted. Overall survival rate was estimated using the Kaplan–Meier method. Prognostic factors of overall survival were assessed using univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses. We examined 82 cases of adenocarcinoma within anorectal fistulae. Fifty-nine of 82 cases (72%) had usual adenocarcinoma within anorectal fistulae, while the remaining 23 cases (28%) had Crohn’s disease-associated adenocarcinoma within anorectal fistulae. Patients with Crohn’s disease-associated adenocarcinoma within anorectal fistulae were diagnosed at a younger age and at a more advanced stage than those with usual adenocarcinoma within anorectal fistulae. Macroscopic and histological types were also different between usual adenocarcinoma within anorectal fistulae and Crohn’s disease-associated adenocarcinoma within anorectal fistulae. Crohn’s disease-associated adenocarcinoma within anorectal fistulae included more ulcerative types and high-grade adenocarcinomas. The rate of lymphovascular invasion was higher in Crohn’s disease-associated adenocarcinoma within anorectal fistulae. Immunohistochemically, the expression of E-cadherin, p53, and MUC5AC differed between usual adenocarcinoma within anorectal fistulae and Crohn’s disease-associated adenocarcinoma within anorectal fistulae. Patients with Crohn’s disease-associated adenocarcinoma within anorectal fistulae exhibited worse overall survival than those with usual adenocarcinoma within anorectal fistulae, and vascular invasion was the strongest significant independent predictor of overall survival in patients with adenocarcinoma within anorectal fistulae. In conclusion, usual adenocarcinoma within anorectal fistulae and Crohn’s disease-associated adenocarcinoma within anorectal fistulae have different clinicopathological characteristics and should be considered separate clinical entities.

TACTILE SENSOR IS USEFUL FOR ESTIMATING LIVER HARDNESS AND LIVER FIBROSIS COMPARED WITH ULTRASONOGRAPHY AND COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY

BACKGROUND/AIMS We examined whether conventional ultrasonography (US) and computed tomography (CT) were useful to evaluate liver hardness and hepatic fibrosis by comparing the results with those obtained by a tactile sensor using rats with liver fibrosis. METHODOLOGY We used 44 Wistar rats in which liver fibrosis was induced by intraperitoneal administration of thioacetamide. The CT and US values of each liver were measured before laparotomy. After laparotomy, a tactile sensor was used to measure liver hardness. We prepared Azan stained sections of each excised liver specimen and calculated the degree of liver fibrosis (HFI: hepatic fibrosis index) by computed color image analysis. RESULTS The stiffness values and HFI showed a positive correlation (r=0.690, p<0.001), as did the tactile values and HFI (r=0.709, p<0.001).In addition, the stiffness and tactile values correlated positively with each other (r=0.814, p<0.001). There was no correlation between the CT values and HFI, as well as no correlation between the US values and HFI. CONCLUSION We confirmed that it was difficult to evaluate liver hardness and HFI by CT or US examination, and considered that, at present, a tactile sensor is useful method for evaluating HFI.