Abstract A 52‐year‐old, Japanese man presented to the hospital with a complaint of anal bleeding, and detailed examination resulted in a diagnosis of locally advanced rectal cancer. The patient underwent total neoadjuvant therapy followed by short‐course radiation therapy and consolidation chemotherapy, which provided a partial response. After preoperative contrast‐enhanced computed tomography showed a horseshoe kidney, robot‐assisted, precise, laparoscopic, low anterior resection with D3 dissection and ileostomy construction was performed. The horseshoe renal isthmus was elevated surrounding the inferior mesenteric artery, and the left ureter and seminal vessels ran in front of the kidney. The hypogastric nerve traveled ventral to the horseshoe kidney. With robotic surgery, it was possible to perform more precise surgery while recognizing vascular and nerve anatomy in a rectal cancer patient with a horseshoe kidney due to good three‐dimensional visibility and articulated forceps manipulation.
Abstract Escherichia coli -associated native-valve infective endocarditis is a rare disease that affects elderly patients with underlying risk factors such as diabetes mellitus, malignancy, and renal failure. Long-term use of calcium polystyrene sulfonate is a potential risk factor for gastrointestinal mucosal damage or even colorectal ulcers. Herein, we describe a fatal case of a 66-year-old Japanese man with diabetes mellitus and renal failure who was prescribed calcium polystyrene sulfonate (CPS) for 11 years and developed a CPS-induced rectal ulcer, leading to E. coli native-valve infective endocarditis. The patient was admitted to our hospital due to acute-onset impaired consciousness. As a result of the systemic investigation, he was diagnosed with E. coli bacteremia accompanied by multiple cerebral infarctions and an acute hemorrhagic rectal ulcer. Transesophageal echocardiography revealed a 20-mm vegetative structure on the mitral valve, resulting in a final diagnosis of E. coli -associated infective endocarditis. After rectal resection, mitral valve replacement surgery was performed; however, the patient died shortly after surgery. Pathological findings of the resected rectum showed deposition of a basophilic crystalline material suggesting the presence of CPS. Our case highlights the potential risk of colorectal ulcers in a long-term CPS user, which can trigger bacterial translocation and endocarditis as fatal complications.
Abstract Background Myeloid sarcoma (MS) is an extramedullary tumor constituted by myeloid blasts or immature myeloid cells. It frequently occurs in conjunction with acute myeloid leukemia (AML); however, it can exceptionally manifest in patients without leukemia. Here, we present a rare case of primary MS originating in the small bowel without evidence of bone marrow involvement. Case representation A 33 year-old female with no relevant medical history was admitted to our hospital with recurrent abdominal pain. Computed tomography (CT) revealed bowel obstruction due to thickening of the ileum wall, which was suspected to be an ileal tumor. Initially, ectopic endometriosis was suspected because of abdominal pain associated with the menstrual cycle and changes observed on a follow-up CT scan. The lesion could not be detected by double-balloon endoscopy. Despite conservative treatment, the obstruction persisted, and laparoscopic partial ileal resection was performed, which revealed extensive involvement of the ileum and mesentery. Additionally, the mesentery of the resected ileum was extremely thickened. Histopathological and immunohistochemical examinations of the surgical specimen indicated ileal MS. Bone marrow aspiration after discharge was negative for cytological findings of leukemia, leading to a final diagnosis of primary ileal MS. Her postoperative course was uneventful, and she is currently undergoing systemic chemotherapy tailored to AML at another hospital. Conclusions Even though MS of the small bowel is rare and may not be considered preoperatively, similar surgical treatment to that of other small bowel malignancies can ensure proper postoperative diagnosis and appropriate chemotherapy. Given the potential need for chemotherapy, ensuring surgical safety that allows for its rapid initiation is critical.
Rectal gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are often asymptomatic and may be detected as giant tumors. This may require highly invasive surgery for radical resection. Here, we describe a 74-year-old man with a locally advanced non-metastatic GIST in the right anterolateral wall of the lower rectum. The tumor was giant (128 × 93 mm), and invasion into adjacent organs (right seminal vesicle and prostate gland) was suspected. Although neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) with imatinib reduced the tumor size, it was still giant, 80 mm in diameter. Therefore, we performed super-low anterior resection using a robot-assisted laparoscopic approach with the transanal approach. The bi-directional approach enabled safe and precise surgery, is expected to increase the rate of anorectal preservation as well as R0 resection, and may prevent a decline in quality of life.
A 71-year-old man visited our hospital because ofepigastralgia and anorexia. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy revealed type 1 gastric cancer. Contrast-enhanced abdominal CT revealed gastric wall thickening in the midgastric region and direct invasion ofthe transverse colon. CT findings also revealed a suspicion ofdissemination on the omentum and para-aortic lymph node swelling. We diagnosed gastric cancer with transverse colon invasion. Therefore, we performed distal gastrectomy with transverse colectomy and D2+No.16b1 lymph node dissection after obtaining patient consent. We observed direct tumor invasion into the transverse colon and seeding nodules on the omentum. Liver metastasis was not seen, and ascitic cytology was negative. He was discharged 16 days postoperatively, without any complications. Histopathological analysis revealed poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma and gastrocolic fistula. Postoperatively, S-1 was administered for 4 years as adjuvant chemotherapy. There has been no recurrence for 9 years after surgery.
Abstract Anastomotic leakage and subsequent pelvic sepsis are serious complications after surgery for pelvic malignancies, particularly challenging due to the large pelvic cavity dead space post‐exenteration. We report a 47‐year‐old man treated for a severely infected pelvic hematoma and sepsis following anastomotic leakage after anterior pelvic exenteration. Post robot‐assisted exenteration for locally advanced sigmoid colon cancer treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy, a pelvic abscess from anastomotic dehiscence was identified. Initial CT‐guided drainage and subsequent laparoscopic drainage were performed. On postoperative day 22, a bleeding left internal iliac pseudoaneurysm required embolization. Despite these efforts, the sepsis worsened due to an enlarged, infected hematoma. Endoscopic lavage, in collaboration with skilled endoscopists, successfully removed the hematoma, leading to an improved inflammatory response, and the patient was discharged. Endoscopic lavage proved to be the safest and most effective treatment for pelvic sepsis with an infected hematoma after various attempted interventions.
A minimally invasive approach using laparoscopy or robotics has become the standard procedure in surgery for colorectal cancer. However, obesity is considered to be associated with a poor prognosis in laparoscopic colorectal surgery. Perioperative management, as well as the surgical procedure, is particularly important in severely obese patients. A case of colon cancer with severe obesity that underwent laparoscopic colectomy and was managed safely by multidisciplinary perioperative management in collaboration with a bariatric and metabolic surgery (BMS) team is presented. The patient was severely obese, with a body mass index (BMI) of 50.4 kg/m2. After one month of preoperative weight loss intervention by the BMS team, the patient's weight was successfully decreased by approximately 15 kg (BMI: 46 kg/m2), and the patient underwent laparoscopic colectomy for transverse colon cancer in collaboration with the BMS team. In the laparoscopic surgery, a small incision for specimen removal was made above the umbilicus to insert the first trocar safely, and five additional trocars, whose placement was determined based on the target vessels of the dissected lymph nodes in reference to preoperative computed tomography (CT), were also inserted above the umbilicus. Gastrointestinal reconstruction was performed intracorporeally by an overlap technique using an endoscopic linear stapler to perform the procedure safely with minimal invasiveness. The patient was discharged on postoperative day eight without any postoperative complications, following early postoperative rehabilitation with intervention by the BMS team. The proportion of colorectal cancer patients with obesity is expected to increase in the future, and the establishment of multidisciplinary perioperative management and surgical techniques will be useful to improve the surgical outcomes and prognosis of colorectal cancer patients with severe obesity.
Post-gastrectomy syndrome (PGS) and body weight loss (BWL) decrease quality of life (QOL) and survival of the patient undergoing gastrectomy. We have introduced perioperative and post-discharge continuous nutritional counseling (CNC) to prevent BWL and improve QOL after gastrectomy. In the present study, we evaluated the effect of CNC on QOL using the Post-gastrectomy Syndrome Assessment Scale-45 (PGSAS-45). Eighty-three patients with gastric cancer (GC) who underwent curative gastrectomy between March 2018 and July 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. Patients received either pre-discharge nutritional counseling alone (control group,
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) cells have an exceptional ability to invade nerves through pronounced crosstalk between nerves and cancer cells; however, the mechanism of PDAC cell invasion remains to be elucidated. Here, we demonstrate the therapeutic potential of telomerase-specific oncolytic adenoviruses, OBP-301 and tumor suppressor p53-armed OBP-702, against human PDAC cells. Highly invasive PDAC cells exhibited higher levels of phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/2) expression independent of KRAS expression; ERK1/2 inhibitor or small interfering RNA (siRNA) treatment significantly reduced the migration and invasion of PDAC cells, suggesting that the ERK signaling pathway is associated with the invasiveness of PDAC cells. OBP-702 infection suppressed ERK signaling and inhibited PDAC cell migration and invasion more efficiently than OBP-301. OBP-702 also effectively inhibited PDAC cell invasion even when invasiveness was enhanced by administration of motility stimulators, such as nerve and neurosecretory factors. Moreover, noninvasive whole-body imaging analyses showed that OBP-702 significantly suppressed tumor growth in an orthotopic PDAC xenograft model, although both viruses were equally effective against subcutaneous tumors, suggesting that OBP-702 can influence the orthotopic tumor microenvironment. Our data suggest that oncolytic virus-mediated disruption of ERK signaling is a promising antitumor strategy for attenuating the invasiveness of PDAC cells.
