Safe endoscopic resection of gangliocytic paraganglioma of the major duodenal papilla. (73/430)

A case of gangliocytic paraganglioma of the papilla of Vater in a 76-year-old man with a history of recurrent obstructive jaundice is presented. This is the first case of gangliocytic paraganglioma of the major papilla successfully resected by endoscopic ampullectomy.  (+info)

Simple closure of a perforated duodenal diverticulum: "a case report". (74/430)

Spontaneous perforation of a duodenal diverticulum is a rare but serious complication with significant mortality rates. Just over 100 cases have been reported in the world literature. One case of perforated duodenal diverticulum treated by simple closure is reported. An elderly female was admitted to our hospital with an acute abdomen. Computed tomography of the abdomen showed retroperitoneal air around the duodenum and right kidney. Laparotomy with a Kocher maneuver disclosed a perforated diverticulum in the second portion of the duodenum. Although diverticulectomy is the most common treatment, simple closure of the perforated duodenal diverticulum with drainage was performed to avoid injury to the distal common bile duct and ampulla of Vater, which were close to the diverticulum. The patient has fully recovered and has been asymptomatic with no signs of recurrence for 25 months.  (+info)

Signet-ring-cell carcinoma of the Vater's ampulla. (75/430)

CONTEXT: Most tumors affecting Vater's Ampulla are adenocarcinomas and other histological variants are less frequent. A review of the literature revealed only seven previously reported cases of signet ring cell carcinoma of the ampulla of Vater. The presence of this kind of tumor has no clear histological explanation. Two possible theories have been proposed: the presence of gastric heterotopia in the ampulla of Vater or the existence of a perivaterian duodenal heterotopia of ulcerous etiology as the origin of a signet ring cell tumor which secondarily invades the ampulla of Vater. CASE REPORT: We performed a pancreatoduodenectomy in a 67-year-old woman with a T2N0M0 ampulla tumor. A histologic study revealed a signet ring cell neoplasm. CONCLUSION: Etiology and survival of signet ring cell carcinoma of Vater's ampulla is not well-defined in the literature due to the extreme rarity of this disease. Duodenopancreatectomy with pylorus preservation is the treatment of choice.  (+info)

Transduodenal ampullectomy in the treatment of villous adenomas and adenocarcinomas of the Vater's ampulla. (76/430)

INTRODUCTION: Adenomas are the most frequent tumors of the Vater s ampulla. Their capacity for malignant transformation following the adenoma-carcinoma sequence is well known. It is because of this that resection after diagnosis is required. The identification of the appropriate technique according to tumor features would require that patients not be undertreated or overtreated, which would give rise to serious consequences derived from their location. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Villous adenomas and adenocarcinomas of the Vater s ampulla candidates for local resection were revised from January 1st, 1998 through June 30th, 2003. We describe the methods of diagnosis and ampulectomy techniques we performed. RESULTS: We performed an ampulectomy by first intention in all 8 patients included in this study. However, pancreatoduodenectomy was necessary in two patients because of the closeness of resection margins. We had no mortality in this series, and morbidity was limited to two episodes of digestive bleeding that were controlled by electrocoagulation and embolization. The mean follow-up was 28.5 months (range, 6-72 months). CONCLUSIONS: The difficulty of precise preoperatory diagnosis in adenomas of the Vater s ampulla demands resection after identification. Ampulectomy is the treatment of choice for villous adenomas and T1 adenocarcinomas, with 1 cm of resection margin to avoid local recurrence.  (+info)

Homozygous deletion of the MTAP gene in invasive adenocarcinoma of the pancreas and in periampullary cancer: a potential new target for therapy. (77/430)

Methylthioadenosine phosphorylase (MTAP) plays an important role in the salvage pathway for the synthesis of adenosine. Novel chemotherapeutic strategies exploiting the selective loss of MTAP function in cancers have been proposed. The MTAP gene, on chromosome 9p21, is frequently included within homozygous deletions of the p16INK4A/ CDKN2A gene. Biallelic deletions of the p16INK4A/CDKN2A gene are found in 40% of pancreatic cancers, suggesting that the MTAP gene may be frequently inactivated in pancreatic cancer and that selected patients with pancreatic cancer may benefit from therapies targeting this loss. We immunolabeled six xenografted pancreatic cancers with known MTAP and p16INK4A/CDKN2A gene status and found that immunolabeling mirrored gene status. Loss of expression of both MTAP and p16 was observed only in those pancreatic cancers with homozygous deletions that encompassed both the MTAP and p16INK4A/CDKN2A genes. We then immunolabeled a series of 320 microarrayed infiltrating pancreatic adenocarcinomas, 35 biliary adenocarcinomas, 54 ampullary cancers, and 35 noninvasive intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms. Immunolabeling for MTAP was lost in 91 of the 300 (30%) evaluable pancreatic cancers, 9 of 54 (17%) ampullary cancers, 4 of 33 (12%) biliary cancers, and in 1 of 35 (3%) IPMNs. All neoplasms with loss of MTAP labeling also demonstrated loss of p16 labeling. These results suggest that MTAP expression is lost in approximately 30% of infiltrating pancreatic cancers and in a lower percentage of other periampullary neoplasms, that this loss is the result of homozygous deletions encompassing both the MTAP and p16INK4A/CDKN2A genes. Thus, pancreatic cancer is a promising cancer type in which to explore novel chemotherapeutic strategies to exploit the selective loss of MTAP function.  (+info)

Prognostic value of Bax, Bcl-2, p53, and TUNEL staining in patients with radically resected ampullary carcinoma. (78/430)

BACKGROUND: There is a lack of data in the literature concerning the identification of potential prognostic factors in ampullary adenocarcinoma. AIMS: To examine the prognostic significance of Bax, Bcl-2, and p53 protein expression and the apoptotic index in a large cohort of uniformly treated patients with radically resected ampullary cancer. METHODS: All patients with a pathological diagnosis of ampullary cancer and radical resection were evaluated. Expression analysis for p53, Bax, and Bcl-2 was performed by immunohistochemistry. Apoptotic cells were identified by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase mediated dUTP nick end labelling (TUNEL). RESULTS: Thirty nine tumour specimens from patients with radically resected ampullary adenocarcinoma were studied. A positive significant correlation between Bax and p53 expression was found by rank correlation matrix (p < 0.001). A trend towards a positive correlation was found between the apoptotic index and p53 expression (p = 0.059). By univariate analysis, overall survival was influenced by Bax expression, p53 expression, and TUNEL staining (p = 0.001, p = 0.01, and p = 0.03, respectively). Bcl-2 expression did not influence overall survival in these patients (p = 0.55). By multivariate Cox regression analysis, the only immunohistochemical parameter that influenced overall survival was Bax expression (p = 0.020). CONCLUSIONS: These results provide evidence that apoptosis may be an important prognostic factor in patients with radically resected ampullary cancer. This study is the first to assess the clinical usefulness of Bax expression in radically resected ampullary cancer.  (+info)

A carcinoid tumor of the ampulla of Vater treated by endoscopic snare papillectomy. (79/430)

Here, a case of a patient with incidental finding of a carcinoid tumor of the ampulla of Vater, who was treated with endoscopic snare papillectomy, is reported. A 62-year-old male was admitted to our hospital due to a carcinoid tumor of the ampulla of Vater, which was found during follow-up endoscopy after an endoscopic mucosal resection of early gastric cancer. No lymphadenopathy or visceral metastasis was found on an abdominal CT scan, In-111 octerotide scan and EUS. The ampulla was then en bloc removed by endoscopic snare papillectomy. The resected specimen revealed a 0.7 x 0.5 x 0.1 cm sized carcinoid tumor. All margins of resection were negative for tumor. After six months of follow-up, there was no evidence of recurrence and metastasis, either endoscopically or radiologically. To our knowledge, this case is the first report of an ampullary carcinoid tumor treated by endoscopic snare papillectomy in Korea.  (+info)

Fatal ascaris pancreatitis: an uncommon problem in the west. (80/430)

Gastrointestinal parasites, although an uncommon cause of biliary and pancreatic problems in western medicine, can produce fatal complications. A Swiss patient presented with acute pancreatitis, with no evidence of gall stones or history of alcohol abuse. He died after a short fulminant illness. At necropsy, an Ascaris lumbracoides was found impacted within the ampulla of Vater and serves as a reminder that non-indigenous causes of biliary tract obstruction should not be overlooked.  (+info)