Approach to Diagnosis of Salivary Gland Disease from Nuclear Medicine Images

Nuclear medicine images can help in the diagnosis and assessment of some salivary disorders. 99mTcO4−, gallium-67-citrate scintigraphy will be an indication of the function of salivary gland together and it will be used for the diffuse diseases such as sialadenitis, Sjögren’s syndrome, sarcoidosis, glossopharyngeal paralysis, and irradiation. It is also effective for distinguishing benign tumor legion with Warthin’s tumor and others. Moreover, fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) is an indispensable modality for determining the localization, focal lesions, and staging of many malignant tumors, the fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) accumulation is visually and semi-quantitatively assessed using the standardized uptake value (SUV), which is the ratio of uptake to the injected dose per unit body weight. Also for radioactive iodine therapy, attention should be paid to adverse reactions. It is important to note that acute/chronic salivary gland disorders are associated with radioiodine therapy for the treatment of postoperative thyroid cancer. Coordination among healthcare providers including nurses, radiological technologists, and doctors of all departments involved in treatment is important for achieving effective outcomes

Rectal Carcinoma with Heterotopic Bone: Report of a Case

Heterotopic bone is rarely present in malignant tumors of the gastrointestinal tract. We herein report a case of rectal adenocarcinoma with heterotopic bone. A 46-year-old Japanese male presented to our hospital with abdominal distension and constipation. Colonoscopic examination showed an ulcerated polypoid tumor of the rectum which nearly obstructed the rectal lumen. Abdominal computed tomography showed a tumor of the rectum with calcified deposits. Low anterior resection with lateral lymph node dissection was performed under the tentative diagnosis of rectal cancer. Histological examination of the resected specimen showed mucinous carcinoma of the rectum with heterotopic bone. One of the metastatic lymph nodes dissected also showed heterotopic bone. In the present report, we describe this rare tumor and briefly review the pertinent literature regarding rectal cancer with heterotopic bone

Temporal activation of anti- and pro-apoptotic factors in human gingival fibroblasts infected with the periodontal pathogen, Porphyromonas gingivalis: potential role of bacterial proteases in host signalling

BACKGROUND: Porphyromonas gingivalis is the foremost oral pathogen of adult periodontitis in humans. However, the mechanisms of bacterial invasion and the resultant destruction of the gingival tissue remain largely undefined. RESULTS: We report host-P. gingivalis interactions in primary human gingival fibroblast (HGF) cells. Quantitative immunostaining revealed the need for a high multiplicity of infection for optimal infection. Early in infection (2–12 h), P. gingivalis activated the proinflammatory transcription factor NF-kappa B, partly via the PI3 kinase/AKT pathway. This was accompanied by the induction of cellular anti-apoptotic genes, including Bfl-1, Boo, Bcl-XL, Bcl2, Mcl-1, Bcl-w and Survivin. Late in infection (24–36 h) the anti-apoptotic genes largely shut down and the pro-apoptotic genes, including Nip3, Hrk, Bak, Bik, Bok, Bax, Bad, Bim and Moap-1, were activated. Apoptosis was characterized by nuclear DNA degradation and activation of caspases-3, -6, -7 and -9 via the intrinsic mitochondrial pathway. Use of inhibitors revealed an anti-apoptotic function of NF-kappa B and PI3 kinase in P. gingivalis-infected HGF cells. Use of a triple protease mutant P. gingivalis lacking three major gingipains (rgpA rgpB kgp) suggested a role of some or all these proteases in myriad aspects of bacteria-gingival interaction. CONCLUSION: The pathology of the gingival fibroblast in P. gingivalis infection is affected by a temporal shift from cellular survival response to apoptosis, regulated by a number of anti- and pro-apoptotic molecules. The gingipain group of proteases affects bacteria-host interactions and may directly promote apoptosis by intracellular proteolytic activation of caspase-3

Intraoperative lavage cytologic analysis of surgical margins in patients undergoing limited surgery for lung cancer

AbstractBackground: One of the unfavorable recurrent patterns after limited surgery for lung cancer is local failure, especially at the surgical margin in the pulmonary parenchyma. To prevent this failure, we preliminarily introduced a novel intraoperative lavage cytologic technique to check surgical margin status for limited surgery. In this study we analyzed the clinical utility of this technique with a larger number of patients under long-term follow-up. Methods: A total 112 consecutive lung cancer lesions prospectively treated by limited surgery with the intraoperative lavage cytologic technique between October 1997 and August 2000 were reviewed through a median follow-up period of 27 months. Results: Eleven lesions (10%) showed cytologically positive results in the attempted surgery on the surgical margin. The positive result rate was significantly higher for lesions with more advanced stage, compromised indication, incurability, and larger size. Surgical modes were converted intraoperatively for 4 lesions; in the other 7 lesions no conversion was performed because of certain disadvantages. Local recurrence in the surgical margin occurred in a total of 4 lesions, including 3 for which the operative mode was unconverted and 1 lesion with cytologically unknown status of the surgical margin that had the mode converted, whereas there were no local recurrences in the surgical margins among the lesions with final cytologically negative results. Conclusion: Cytologically negative results of examination of the surgical margin by the technique of intraoperative lavage cytologic in limited surgery for lung cancer may be predict lack of local recurrence in the surgical margin. This intraoperative cytologic technique is clinically useful in checking for complete resection of this primary disease.J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2003;125:101-

＜報告＞日本の民事執行法の現状と課題

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＜報告＞湘南民事紛争処理研究会一〇〇回を振り返って

平成元年一二月、萩原金美先生の呼びかけにより、実務家と研究者の知的交流の場として「湘南民事紛争処理研究会」が発足しました。爾来、足掛け二〇年にわたり、横浜を拠点とした定例の研究会が開催されてきました。この間、時には公開講演会を伴い盛大に、時には少人数で細々と、紆余曲折を経ながらも研究会が存続してきました。「継続は力なり」と言われるように、二〇年の蓄積は少なからぬ成果と副産物を生みました。現在までに定例研究会の回数は一〇五回を数え、報告テーマは一九〇項目となっております。萩原先生を囲む座談会と特集号に寄せて、ここに湘南民事紛争処理研究会の歴史の一端と研究報告のテーマを紹介させていただきます