Acute superior mesenteric venous thrombosis with advanced gastric cancer: a case report

Although the advanced stages of neoplasms have a risk of superior mesenteric venous thrombosis (MVT), an initial clinical diagnosis of MVT is sometimes difficult and it can be treated as a cancer-related pain using NSAIDs and/or opioids

IRIS plus panitumumab for metastatic CRC

Background Irinotecan plus S-1 (IRIS) is the only oral fluoropyrimidine-based regimen reported to be non-inferior to FOLFIRI and widely used in clinical practice for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients. However, the combination of IRIS plus an anti-EGFR agent has not been evaluated previously. This study aimed to investigate the feasibility and efficacy of IRIS with panitumumab as second-line therapy for wild-type KRAS mCRC. Methods Main inclusion criteria were patients with wild-type KRAS mCRC refractory to one prior chemotherapy regimen for mCRC, ECOG PS 0-2, and age ≥ 20 years. Patients received panitumumab (6mg/kg) and irinotecan (100mg/m2) on days 1 and 15 and S-1 (40-60 mg according to body surface area) twice daily for 2 weeks, repeated every 4 weeks. The primary endpoint was the feasibility of the therapy. The secondary endpoints were response rate (RR), progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS). Results A total of 36 patients received protocol treatment in eight centers. Of these, 23 patients (63.9%) completed protocol treatment, demonstrating achievement of the primary endpoint. The most frequent grade 3/4 toxicities were diarrhea (16.7%), acne-like rash (13.9%), and neutropenia (11.1%). The overall RR was 33.3% (12/36). Of these 4 five underwent conversion surgery. Median PFS and OS were 9.5 months (95% CI 3.5-15.4 months) and 20.1 months (95% CI 16.7-23.2 months), respectively. Conclusion IRIS plus panitumumab has an acceptable toxicity profile and a promising efficacy in patients with previously treated wild-type KRAS mCRC. Accordingly, this regimen can be an additional treatment option for second-line chemotherapy in wild-type KRAS mCRC

A case report of extrahepatic portal vein aneurysm with thrombosis

Extrahepatic portal vein aneurysm (PVA) is very rare with only 17 previously reported cases. Methods of treatment include resection, thrombectomy, and portal venous decompression. We report herein the first case of large PVA with thrombosis which has been managed without surgical treatment over a long period. A PVA was detected in a 78-year-old woman by abdominal ultrasonography. Computed tomography revealed an aneurysm of 6 cm in a diameter in the porta hepatis. Portal venography showed obstruction of the portal vein and developed collateral vessels around the aneurysm. Since the patient had no symptoms of portal hypertension, we decided to carefully manage her clinical course without surgical treatment. At present, this patient is healthy and has developed no complications over the 5 years since leaving our hospital. This case suggests that surgical treatment is not required for PVA without portal hypertension

The relationship between partial pressure of oxygen and perfusion in two murine tumors after X-ray irradiation: a combined gadopentetate dimeglumine dynamic magnetic resonance imaging and in vivo electron paramagnetic resonance oximetry study

Changes of partial pressure of oxygen (pO2) and blood perfusion were studied in MTG-B and RIF-1 tumors (n = 5 each) before and after a single 20-Gy dose of X-ray irradiation. Using electron paramagnetic resonance oximetry, we have observed an initial fast decrease of pO2 after irradiation, followed by a slow increase. The time course of these changes was faster in the MTG-B tumors than in the RIF-1 tumors. Gadopentetate dimeglumine (Gd-DTPA) dynamic magnetic resonance imaging studies showed a reduction in uptake of Gd-DTPA at the time of minimum pO2 and a recovery at the time of maximum pO2 in each tumor. Previous work indicates that there is microscopic heterogeneity in tumors, with well-vascularized "capillary regions" being closer to capillaries than poorly vascularized "noncapillary regions." We propose a two-component (slow and fast) model of Gd-DTPA uptake that is designed to quantify the kinetics of these two compartments by analyzing the total tumor uptake kinetics without having to identify specific regions of interest. Total perfusion in the tumors was greatly reduced at the time of minimum oxygenation, and the volume of the slow component increased after irradiation. We conclude that a decrease in blood perfusion is one of the main causes of the decline in pO2 observed after irradiation

Characteristics of a Teflon rod antenna for millimeter and submillimeter wave irradiation on living bodies

The development of a millimeter and submillimeter wave catheter for irradiation on living bodies using a Teflon rod dielectric antenna is described. The power sources of electromagnetic wave are an Impatt oscillator (90 GHz, 0.3 W) and gyrotron (302 GHz, 30 W). Irradiation tests using various Teflon rod dielectric antennas were performed on beef livers. Irradiation results were considered by microwave theory and ray optics

Pharmacokinetics of the nitroxide PCA measured by in vivo EPR

PCA (2,2,5,5-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl-3-carboxylic acid) is a relatively stable free radical which has been shown to be useful as a contrast agent for nuclear magnetic resonance imaging and as an imaging/spectroscopy agent for EPR. In an effort to determine the role of the liver and kidney in the pharmacokinetics of PCA, using low frequency in vivo EPR spectroscopy, we followed the clearance of PCA after intravenous injection in mice: under normal conditions, with a restricted blood supply to the kidneys, after exposure to an acute hepatotoxin CCl4, and after exposure to lipopolysaccharide (endotoxin). The observed pharmacokinetics fit a two-component model. The fast component was dramatically affected when the renal vessels were restricted, while CCl4 and endotoxin had a smaller but significant effect. The half times of the slow components were not significantly different (p > 0.05) in the groups treated by renal blood flow occlusion, CCl4, or LPS, compared with the control group. In conclusion, we find that the pharmacokinetics of PCA need to be completely described in term of a two component model: the fast component of the decay is mainly due to the elimination by the kidneys and also is affected by the time for the initial distribution; the slow component is related to the bioreduction of the nitroxide. In addition to the liver other tissues can also effectively metabolize PCA. The effect of oxygen on the rate of metabolism is modest at most