Lens culinaris agglutinin-reactive fraction of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP-L3%) is a recently described marker of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and its usefulness has been demonstrated in many studies. We evaluated the usefulness of serial measurement of AFP-L3% as a marker of prognosis and recurrence after treatment of small HCC.AFP-L3% was measured before and after initial treatment in 60 patients with small HCC (maximum diameter < or = 2 cm). AFP-L3% was taken as the ratio of AFP-L3 to total AFP and multiplied by 100%, and levels > or = 10% were considered positive. Outcomes and recurrence were compared between patients AFP-L3%-negative after initial treatment (Group A, n = 43) and patients who were AFP-L3%-positive after initial treatment (Group B, n = 17).Before treatment, AFP-L3% was positive in 14 (23.3%) of the 60 patients. The cumulative survival rate of Group A was significantly longer (p = 0.0091) than that of Group B. The recurrence rate was significantly higher in Group B (p = 0.0104) than in Group A. When recurrence was limited to intrahepatic metastasis, the recurrence rate was significantly higher in Group B (p = 0.0064). However, the recurrence rate of multicentric occurrence did not differ significantly between Groups A and B.Measurement of AFP-L3% after treatment may be useful for understanding prognosis and recurrence of HCC.
The transient 3-dimensional temperature distribution within the gas flame during line heating is measured in detail by a high performance L. I. F. measurement system. It has been found that the relative distribution of gas temperature around the torch is almost the same as that in spot heating. It has also been found that this relative distribution is almost unchanged regardless of the temperature increase in the steel plate. Thease results lead us to a new hypothesis that the relative distributions of gas temperature and local heat transfer coefficient around the torch remain unchanged and they are almost the same as those in spot heating during line heating process. A new method of heat input estimation for line heating process based on this hypothesis has been propounded.
Figure S5. Dose-response curves of revertant Escherichia coli strain WP2uvrA colonies following treatment with AF-2 in the absence of S9 mix (a), or with 2AA in the presence of S9 mix (b). Individual dose-response curves were generated using results produced by each participating laboratory in 2016 (different colors indicate different laboratories). The doses tested were 0.0025, 0.005, and 0.01 μg/plate for AF-2, and 2.5, 5.0, and 10 μg/plate for 2AA. (ODP 342 kb)
In spite of recent advances in the early diagnosis of gastric cancer by mass screening, gastric stump cancers following gastrectomy are still diagnosed at a highly advanced stage, and the surgical results remain very poor. Involvement of the fourth level lymph node stations, local peritoneal carcinomatosis and tumor growth invading the neighboring organs are frequently observed in advanced stump cancers. With the aim of achieving complete resection of these tumors, left upper abdominal evisceration (LUAE) + R4 gastrectomy was performed in 29 patients (Group B) with stump cancer as a radical surgical procedure. The survival of these patients was compared with that of 74 patients (Group A) who underwent total gastrectomy with or without pancreaticosplenectomy. Duration of surgery blood loss, and incidence of postoperative complications were similar with the two methods. When the survival rates were compared, the 5-year-survival rate in stage IV cases was higher for Group B than for Group A. LUAE + R4 gastrectomy is a rational technique for the surgical treatment of stage IV gastric stump cancer.