Lobar decrease in 99mTc-GSA accumulation in hilar cholangiocarcinoma. (1/1182)

Hilar cholangiocarcinoma can obstruct hepatic ducts and involve the portal veins. Both biliary stasis and decrease in portal venous flow are known to reduce 99mTc-diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid-galactosyl human serum albumin (GSA) accumulation. The specific relationship between these pathological conditions due to hilar cholangiocarcinomas and 99mTc-GSA accumulation has never been clarified. METHODS: Sixteen patients with hilar cholangiocarcinomas who underwent 99mTc-GSA liver scintigraphy were reviewed. The relationship between significant decrease in 99mTc-GSA accumulation and lobar biliary stasis, or decrease in the portal venous flow, was evaluated. Average counts of region of interest placed in both right and left lobes were compared in the same transaxial SPECT section. Count ratios of right and left lobes were calculated. RESULTS: Significant lobar decrease in 99mTc-GSA accumulation was observed in 6 of the 16 patients. Ipsilateral portal venous stenosis or obstruction was seen in all these 6 patients, whereas ipsilateral portal venous stenosis or obstruction was seen in only 1 of the other 10 patients. Symmetric bile duct dilatation was seen in 13 patients, and asymmetric bile duct dilatation was seen in 3. Lobar decrease in 99mTc-GSA accumulation correlated well with decrease in ipsilateral portal venous flow (P < 0.0005). The count ratio was significantly reduced when unilateral portal venous flow decreased (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Using 99mTc-GSA liver scintigraphy, we can predict lobar decrease in ipsilateral portal venous flow and monitor hepatic functional lateralities in patients with hilar cholangiocarcinomas.  (+info)

Clinical value of K-ras codon 12 analysis and endobiliary brush cytology for the diagnosis of malignant extrahepatic bile duct stenosis. (2/1182)

Extrahepatic biliary stenosis can be caused by benign and malignant disorders. In most cases, a tissue diagnosis is needed for optimal management of patients, but the sensitivity of biliary cytology for the diagnosis of a malignancy is relatively low. The additional diagnostic value of K-ras mutational analysis of endobiliary brush cytology was assessed. Endobiliary brush cytology specimens obtained during endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreaticography were prospectively collected from 312 consecutive patients with extrahepatic biliary stenosis. The results of conventional light microscopic cytology and K-ras codon 12 mutational analysis were compared and evaluated in view of the final diagnosis made by histological examination of the stenotic lesion and/or patient follow-up. The sensitivities of cytology and mutational analysis to detect malignancy were 36 and 42%, respectively. When both tests were combined, the sensitivity increased to 62%. The specificity of cytology was 98%, and the specificity of the mutational analysis and of both tests combined was 89%. Positive predictive values for cytology, mutational analysis, and both tests combined were 98, 92, and 94%, whereas the corresponding negative predictive values were 34, 34, and 44%, respectively. The sensitivity of K-ras mutational analysis was 63% for pancreatic carcinomas compared to 27% for bile duct, gallbladder, and ampullary carcinomas. K-ras mutational analysis can be considered supplementary to conventional light microscopy of endobiliary brush cytology to diagnose patients with malignant extrahepatic biliary stenosis, particularly in the case of pancreatic cancer. The presence of a K-ras codon 12 mutation in endobiliary brush cytology per se supports a clinical suspicion of malignancy, even when the conventional cytology is negative or equivocal.  (+info)

Villous adenoma of the bile ducts: a case report and a review of the reported cases in Korea. (3/1182)

Villous adenomas are benign epithelial lesions with malignant potential which can occur at any site in the gastrointestinal tract. They are usually encountered in the rectum and colon, less frequently in the small bowel and very rarely in the biliary trees. Nine cases of bile duct villous adenomas have been reported in the literature. However, 4 cases of bile duct villous adenomas have been reported in the Korean literature. Recently, we experienced a case of villous adenoma in the common hepatic duct in a 77-year-old man presenting with obstructive jaundice in which preoperative histologic diagnosis of villous adenoma played a critical role in managing this patient. Herein, we present a case report of bile duct villous adenoma and a review of the reported cases in Korea to help define and manage this rare disease entity in the bile ducts. In addition, confusing nomenclature of bile duct adenomas is discussed.  (+info)

Lymph node metastasis in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. (4/1182)

BACKGROUND: Lymph node metastasis is a significant prognostic factor in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. This study was aimed at investigating lymph node metastasis in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and to examine whether the extent of metastasis affects outcomes after surgery. METHODS: From 1980 through 1996, 70 patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma underwent hepatectomy, with a 50% curative resection rate. Lymph node dissection was performed in 51 patients, and the presence of lymph node metastasis was examined microscopically. The metastatic nodes were divided into groups N1, N2 or N3 using the classification proposed by the Liver Cancer Study Group of Japan. RESULTS: Twenty-three patients had lymph node metastasis. Metastasis was to N1 nodes in 10 patients, to N2 nodes in nine patients and to N3 nodes in four patients. Nineteen patients had metastatic nodes in the hepatoduodenal ligament, which was the most common metastatic site regardless of tumor location. The five-year survival rate in patients with lymph node metastasis (0%) was significantly lower (p < 0.0001) than that in patients without lymph node metastasis (51 %); however, five-year survival rates did not differ between patients with metastases to N1, N2 and N3 nodes. CONCLUSIONS: Lymph nodes in the hepatoduodenal ligament may be sentinel nodes for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, and outcomes after surgery for patients with lymph node metastasis are poor regardless of the sites of nodal metastasis.  (+info)

Promoting effects of 3-chloro-4-(dichloromethyl)-5-hydroxy-2(5H)-furanone on rat glandular stomach carcinogenesis initiated with N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine. (5/1182)

The modifying effects of 3-chloro-4-(dichloromethyl)-5-hydroxy-2(5H)-furanone (MX), a mutagenic by-product in chlorinated water, on the development of glandular stomach cancers were investigated in Wistar rats. A total of 120 males, 6 weeks of age, were divided into six groups. After initiation with 100 ppm N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) solution and 5% NaCl diet for 8 weeks, 30 rats each in groups 1-3 were given MX in the drinking water at concentrations of 30, 10, or 0 ppm for the following 57 weeks. Ten animals each in groups 4-6 were administered the MX without prior carcinogen exposure. There were no statistical significant differences in final body weights between the groups. The incidences and multiplicities of adenocarcinomas in the glandular stomachs were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in the initiated 30 ppm MX group than those in the MNNG/NaCl group. The incidences of atypical hyperplasias in the glandular stomachs were also significantly increased (P < 0.05 or 0.01) by the MX treatments. With their multiplicity, the effects were clearly dose dependent. Interestingly, the 30 ppm MX alone itself induced atypical hyperplasias in the pylorus, although the incidences and severity were low. Moreover, MX showed a tendency to enhance the development of intrahepatic cholangiocellular tumors and thyroid follicular cell tumors in the MNNG-treated animals. The results of the present study thus indicate that MX exerts promoting effects when given during the postinitiation phase of two-stage glandular stomach carcinogenesis in rats.  (+info)

Problems and perspective in epidemiological study of occupational health hazards in the rubber industry. (6/1182)

An epidemiological analysis of the problems in the study of companies engaged in the manufacture of rubber products in different countries and in different time periods is given. Selected findings on cancer of gallbladder and biliary system, cancer of the lung, and tumors of the central nervous system among rubber workers are presented.  (+info)

Detection of Helicobacter DNA in bile from bile duct diseases. (7/1182)

Several species of Helicobacter colonize the hepatobiliary tract of animals and cause hepatobiliary diseases. The aim of this study is to investigate Helicobacter found in the biliary tract diseases of humans. Thirty-two bile samples (15 from bile duct cancer, 6 from pancreatic head cancer, and 11 from intrahepatic duct stone) were obtained by percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage. Polymerase chain reaction analysis using Helicobacter specific urease A gene and 16S rRNA primers, bile pH measurement, and Helicobacter culture were performed. Helicobacter DNA was detected in 37.5%, and 31.3% by PCR with ureA gene, and 16S rRNA, respectively. The bile pH was not related to the presence of Helicobacter. The cultures were not successful. In conclusion, Helicobacter can be detected in the bile of patients with bile duct diseases. The possibility of pathogenesis of biliary tract diseases in humans by these organisms will be further investigated.  (+info)

Expression of p73, a novel protein related to the p53 tumour suppressor p53, and apoptosis in cholangiocellular carcinoma of the liver. (8/1182)

p73, the first homologue of the tumour suppressor protein p53, was recently discovered on chromosome 1p36 and has been shown to induce apoptosis in a p53-like manner. The present study was performed with the aim of investigating the expression of p53, its new homologue p73 and the occurrence of apoptosis in cholangiocellular carcinoma. Protein levels of p73 were examined in 41 patients with curatively (R0-) resected cholangiocellular carcinomas with an antiserum, raised against a peptide in the N-terminal domain of p73. The incidence of mutations in the p53 gene was analysed by direct sequencing and also immunohistochemically. Apoptotic cell death was assessed using in-situ end-labelling (ISEL) technique in combination with morphological criteria. The results obtained were correlated with patient survival. Immunostaining of p73 protein was detected in 17/41 carcinomas examined (41%). The immunoreactivity was confined to the cell nucleus. In 15/41 patients (37%), mutations of the p53 gene were observed. Eleven out of these 15 patients stained also positive for p73. In contrast, out of 26 patients without any detectable p53 mutation, only six exhibited p73 immunostaining. We failed to observe a correlation between p73 expression or p53 and apoptosis within a given tumour. Survival analysis including the parameters stage and grade of disease, p73 and p53, and also apoptosis, showed that tumour stage and grade as well as p53 and p73 were significantly related to prognosis. In Cox regression survival analysis, however, only extent of primary tumour and lymph node status had an independent prognostic impact. Our results with a high prevalence of p73 within tumours harbouring mutated p53 gene suggest that p73 could compensate for p53 function. We failed to establish p73 or p53 as independent prognostic factors in cholangiocellular carcinoma of the liver.  (+info)

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