Totally Laparoscopic Gastrectomy for Gastric Cancer Associated with Recklinghausen's Disease

This paper documents the first case of gastric cancer associated with Recklinghausen's disease, which was successfully treated by a totally laparoscopic operation. A 67-year-old woman with Recklinghausen's disease was referred to this department to undergo surgical treatment for early gastric cancer. The physical examination showed multiple cutaneous neurofibromas throughout the body surface, which made an upper abdominal incision impossible. Laparoscopic surgery requiring only small incisions was well indicated, and a totally laparoscopic distal gastrectomy with lymph node dissection was performed. Billroth I reconstruction was done intra-abdominally using a delta-shaped anastomosis. The patient followed a satisfactory postoperative course with no complications. Since the totally laparoscopic gastrectomy has many advantages over open surgery, it should therefore be preferentially used as a less invasive treatment in the field of gastric cancer

Development of a New Benzophenone–Diketopiperazine-Type Potent Antimicrotubule Agent Possessing a 2‑Pyridine Structure

A new benzophenone–diketopiperazine-type potent antimicrotubule agent was developed by modifying the structure of the clinical candidate plinabulin (<b>1</b>). Although the right-hand imidazole ring with a branched alkyl chain at the 5-position in <b>1</b> was critical for the potency of the antimicrotubule activity, we successfully substituted this moiety with a simpler 2-pyridyl structure by converting the left-hand ring from a phenyl to a benzophenone structure without decreasing the potency. The resultant compound <b>6b</b> (KPU-300) exhibited a potent cytotoxicity, with an IC₅₀ value of 7.0 nM against HT-29 cells, by strongly binding to tubulin (<i>K</i>_d = 1.3 μM) and inducing microtubule depolymerization