Yasuo Kabeshima

Randomized controlled trial of laparoscopic versus open colectomy for advanced colorectal cancer

Background: After confirming a favorable outcome of laparoscopic surgery for early colorectal cancer, we conducted a randomized controlled trial to compare short-term outcomes of laparoscopic and open colectomy for advanced colorectal cancer. Methods: Fifty-nine patients with T2 or T3 colorectal cancer were randomized to undergo laparoscopic (n = 29) or open (n = 30) colectomy. Median follow-up was 20 months (range, 6–34 months). Results: Operative time was longer (p <0.0001) and blood loss (p = 0.0034) and postoperative analgesic requirement were less in the laparoscopic group than in the open group. An earlier return of bowel motility and earlier discharge from the hospital (p = 0.0164) were observed after laparoscopic surgery. Serum C-reactive protein levels on postoperative days 1 (p <0.0001) and 4 (p = 0.0039) were lower in the laparoscopic group than in the open group. Postoperative complications did not differ between the two groups. Conclusion: Laparoscopic surgery for advanced colorectal cancer is feasible, with favorable short-term outcome.

Cyclooxygenase-2 expression as a new marker for patients with colorectal cancer.

PURPOSE: Epidemiologic studies indicate that the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, which inhibit cyclooxygenase activity, reduce the risk of colorectal cancer. In addition, several studies demonstrate increased expression of cyclooxygenase-2 in human colorectal cancer tissues. However, the role of cyclooxygenase-2 expression in colorectal cancer has not yet been fully established. The aim of this study was to clarify the clinicopathologic significance of cyclooxygenase-2 expression in human colorectal cancer. METHODS: A total of 232 surgically resected colorectal cancer specimens were analyzed immunohistochemically with the use of a murine anti-human cyclooxygenase-2 monoclonal antibody. Cyclooxygenase-2 expression was then compared with clinicopathologic background and survival outcome. RESULTS: Cyclooxygenase-2 was expressed in the cytoplasm of the cancer cells but not in normal epithelium. Cyclooxygenase-2 expression was noted in 71.6 percent (166/232) of the cancer patients and correlated significantly with histologic type (P = 0.033), depth of invasion (P = 0.016), pathologic stage (P = 0.020), and metachronous liver metastasis (P = 0.001). Multivariate analysis for factors associated with metachronous liver metastasis showed that cyclooxygenase-2 expression was one of the independent risk factors, second only to lymph node metastasis. Patients with cyclooxygenase-2 expression showed a significantly poorer outcome compared with those without cyclooxygenase-2 expression (P = 0.002). CONCLUSION: Cyclooxygenase-2 expression in the primary lesion may be a useful marker for evaluating prognosis and liver metastasis in patients with colorectal cancer.

Serrated adenoma developing into advanced colon cancer in 2 years

We report the case of a 76-year-old woman with a flat elevated lesion (laterally spreading tumor; LST) in the transverse colon that had been identified 2 years before the current presentation. Pathologically, the lesion had been diagnosed as a serrated adenoma with severe dysplasia. The patient had refused endoscopic resection because she was afraid of the risk of colonic perforation; she did not come to follow-up until 2 years after the diagnosis, when she had advanced colon cancer in the transverse colon where the LST had been detected. Histopathological examination confirmed a poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma with no adenomatous component such as had been found in the LST lesion.

Dieulafoy lesion in the ileum of a child: a case report

A 14-year-old girl had massive bleeding from a Dieulafoy lesion of the ileum. A preoperative dynamic computed tomography scan detected the point of bleeding. Selective arteriography with embolization using microcoils could not stop the bleeding, but the microcoils were useful as markers of the location of the bleeding point. The position of the microcoils was confirmed by intraoperative fluoroscopy. A partial resection of the ileum that included the lesion was performed. The pathologic finding was Dieulafoy lesion of the ileum. Dieulafoy lesion is a rare condition that usually presents in the stomach. Dieulafoy lesion of the ileum is extraordinarily rare, and to our knowledge, this is only the second case report of an ileal lesion in a child.