Yoshikazu Hayatsu

Electrical burns of lip and mouth in children. Report of 2 cases.

2 cases of electrical burns of the oral cavity in young children are reported. Both cases were treated conservatively. 1 of the patients, now that 3 years have passed, has a slight scar with a slight deformity of lower and upper lips. We are planning reconstructive surgery within a short time. There are no functional or developmental disturbances. The main cause of electrical burns in young children is biting or sucking the free end of live extension cords or placing sockets into the mouth. Since most of these injuries are from low-voltage, electric circuits are localized to the surroundings of the mouth. However, the injuries are small or narrow, but reach much deeper than initially appear. Therefore, the scar may be small but the deeper tissue may sustain more extensive damage than expected.

A signaling pathway by a new synthetic lipid A analog, ONO-4007, in RAW264.7 cells

ONO-4007 is a new synthetic lipid A derivative with low endotoxic activities. We have reported that ONO-4007 could be a new bio-logical response modifier for the treatment of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-&agr;-sensitive tumors. In this study, we confirmed that ONO-4007 activated a murine macrophage cell line, RAW264.7, and that the activated RAW264.7 cells produced TNF-&agr; in vitro. RAW264.7 cells stimulated for less than 15 min with ONO-4007 (40 μg/ml) did not produce TNF-&agr; (less than 4 U/ml). However, 24 h stimulation with ONO-4007 induced TNF-&agr; production (more than 256 U/ml) in RAW264.7 cells. Although P38 in mitogen-activated protein kinase of the RAW264.7 cells was not tyrosine phosphorylated by ONO-4007 stimulation, ERK1 of the RAW264.7 cells was tyrosine phosphorylated for 5–15 min by ONO-4007 stimulation. Tyrosine phosphorylation of ERK1 decreased gradually from 15 min after stimulation and almost disappeared 60 min after stimulation. These findings indicate that ONO-4007 stimulates RAW264.7 cells immediately and induces tyrosine phosphorylation of ERK1 in the RAW264.7 cells for 5–15 min. These data suggest that the signal transduction pathway of ONO-4007 may be similar to that of lipopolysaccharide.

CyberKnife After Failed Conventional Therapy for Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Report of 2 Patients

Abstract CyberKnife® is a stereotactic radiosurgery system used to treat solid tumours. Two patients with inoperable oral squamous cell carcinoma treated with CyberKnife are presented in this report. A 64-year-old woman with extensive invasion of the primary tumour received superselective intra-arterial chemoradiotherapy, followed by CyberKnife, and obtained a complete response. A 75-year-old man with recurrent tumour in the base of the skull after surgery underwent CyberKnife, but did not achieve a good response. The total dose of irradiation for each patient was more than 100 Gy by way of even fractionated irradiation of 2 Gy/fraction, and there was no evidence of severe damage to the adjacent normal tissues. Although CyberKnife is not a candidate for first choice treatment for oral squamous cell carcinoma, it may be a good option for rescue after failed conventional therapies.

Clinical study of terminal stage of oral cancer patiants.

口腔癌ターミナルステージ患者の臨床動態に関して免疫能, 栄養状態などの検討を行った。対象症例は口腔癌にて死亡した19例で, 男性10例, 女性9例であった。流動食 (経管, 経口含む) を中心にコントロールした症例8例, 経管栄養と中心静脈栄養を併用した者9例, 中心静脈栄養のみ2例であった。疼痛管理には解熱鎮痛剤の坐剤を用いたものが最も多く, 麻薬を用いたものはわずかに2例であった。呼吸管理の目的で気管切開を行ったもの5例で, うち1例は呼吸器による管理を行った。これらの症例について末梢血赤血球数, 白血球数, リンパ球数, リンパ球サブセット値, SCC抗原値, 血清タンパク, アルブミンについて検討を行った。