Inorganic polyphosphate is a linear polymer containing tens to hundreds of orthophosphate residues linked by high-energy phosphoanhydride bonds. Polyphosphate has been recognized as a potent anti-metastasis reagent. However, the molecular mechanism underlying polyphosphate action on cancer cells is poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the involvement of polyphosphate in radio-sensitivity using a human non–small cell lung cancer cell line, H1299. We found that polyphosphate treatment decreases cellular adenosine triphosphate levels, suggesting a disruption of energy metabolism. We also found that the induction of DNA double-strand breaks was enhanced in polyphosphate-treated cells after X-ray irradiation and colony formation assay revealed that cell survival decreased compared with that of the control groups. These findings suggest that polyphosphate is a promising radio-sensitizer for cancer cells. Therefore, we hypothesized that polyphosphate treatment disrupts adenosine triphosphate–mediated energy transfer for cellular survival and DNA repair, thereby reducing the cellular capability to resist X-ray irradiation.

Pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) powder consisting of particles with an adhesive polymer core and a hard nanoparticle shell morphology have been synthesized based on liquid marble technology. The PSA shows no adhesion in its original form, and shows its adhesive nature only after application of shear stress.

Technetium-99m methoxyisobutylisonitrile (Tc MIBI) is a substrate with the same uptake kinetics as doxorubicin. Multidrug resistance (MDR) is a mechanism that impedes chemotherapy of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We examined the effect of radiation exposure on MDR in NSCLC and the synergy between an MDR modulator, GG918, and radiation, using 99mTc MIBI in vitro and doxorubicin in vivo.

PURPOSE:To investigate whether image quality can be improved using liquid perfluorocarbon pads (Sat Pad) and clarify the optimal fat-suppression method among chemical shift selective (CHESS), water excitation (WEX), and short TI inversion recovery (STIR) methods in diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) of the head and neck using 3-T magnetic resonance imaging. Correlations between results of visual inspection and quantitative analysis were also examined.MATERIAL AND METHODS:This study was approved by our Institutional Review Board and informed consent was waived. DWI was performed on 25 subjects with/without Sat Pad and using three fat-suppression methods (6 patterns). Image quality was evaluated visually (4-point scales and lesion-depiction capability) and by quantitative analysis (signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR)). Two-way repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to detect significant differences in scores of visual evaluation, SNR, and CNR.RESULTS:Mean visual evaluation scores were significantly higher with Sat Pad using STIR than without Sat Pad for all fat-suppression methods (P<0.05). DWI with Sat Pad using STIR tended to be useful for depicting lesions. DWI using STIR showed reduced W-SNR (W: whole area of depicted structure) and CNR (between semispinalis capitis muscle and subcutaneous fat) due to fewer artifacts and uniform fat suppression.CONCLUSION:Combining Sat Pad with STIR provides good image quality for visual inspections. When numerous artifacts are present and fat suppression is insufficient, higher SNR and CNR do not always provide good diagnostic image quality.

BACKGROUND/AIM:To investigate portal vein stenosis after living-donor liver transplantation by liver scintigraphy.METHODOLOGY:A 63-year-old woman with hepatic cirrhosis due to autoimmune hepatitis underwent living-donor liver transplantation using a graft donated by her daughter. Technetium-99m-diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid-galactosyl human serum albumin (Tc-99m-GSA) scintigraphy was used to determine the maximum rate of Tc-99m-GSA removal (GSA-Rmax) by hepatocytes, as a parameter of hepatic functional reserve.RESULTS:Conventional liver function parameters on laboratory tests and graft volume on computed tomography (CT) were almost unchanged at postoperative month (POM) 12. GSA-Rmax was 0.11 mg/min before surgery and increased 5-fold to approximately 0.5 mg/min at POM 1 and 3, followed by a decrease to 0.25 mg/min at POM 6 and 12. Enhanced CT did not detect blood flow in the intra- or extrahepatic portions of the portal vein at POM 12. The portal vein stenosis was dilated with a balloon catheter, followed by deployment of a self-expanding stent across the stenotic segment via the transileocolic vein. GSA-Rmax recovered to 0.5 mg/min at POM 15, and subsequently remained high.CONCLUSIONS:Decreased GSA-Rmax at POM 6 indicated that the portal vein stenosis was affecting graft function. Tc-99m-GSA liver scintigraphy may be a useful noninvasive method for evaluation of graft functional reserve.

BACKGROUND:To the best of our knowledge, there have been no reports on the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics during the conversion from continuous intravenous infusion (CII) to transdermal fentanyl administration. The primary objective of the present study was to clarify the pharmacokinetic characteristics during this conversion. A secondary objective was to identify an association between serum albumin and the absorption of fentanyl from the transdermal patch. METHODS:A prospective study was conducted from February 2010 to August 2011 that enrolled 19 patients with chronic cancer pain. Patients were classified into 2 study groups according to body mass index and albumin level. All patients received the conversion from CII to transdermal fentanyl using a 2-step taper of CII over 6 hours. Comparisons of efficacy, toxicity, and serum fentanyl concentrations between study groups were analyzed at baseline, 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, and 24 hours after initiation of the conversion. RESULTS:The dose-adjusted serum fentanyl concentrations for all patients were significantly decreased at 15 to 24 hours after conversion compared with baseline, although pain intensity and the number of rescue events remained stable during the conversion. The dose-adjusted serum fentanyl concentrations at 9 to 24 hours were significantly reduced in the low albumin group compared with the normal albumin group (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS:Our study demonstrated that the dose-adjusted serum fentanyl concentrations remained relatively stable, and pain intensity and the number of rescue events remained stable during conversion. Hypoalbuminemia was strongly associated with poor absorption of transdermally administered fentanyl.

BACKGROUND:We previously reported that preoperative chemolipiodolization of the whole liver is effective for reducing the incidence of postoperative recurrence and prolonging survival in patients with resectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The present randomized controlled trial was performed to evaluate the influence of preoperative transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) on survival after the resection of HCC.METHODS:Operative results and long-term outcome were prospectively compared among 42 patients who received only selective TACE targeting the tumor (selective group), 39 patients who received TACE targeting the tumor plus chemolipiodolization of the whole liver (whole-liver group), and 43 patients without preoperative TACE or chemolipiodolization (control group).RESULTS:There were no serious side effects of TACE or chemolipiodolization and the operative outcomes did not differ among the three groups. Even though preoperative TACE induced complete tumor necrosis, there were no significant differences in the pattern of intrahepatic recurrence or the time until recurrence among the three groups. There were also no significant differences in disease-free survival or overall survival among the three groups, even among patients with larger tumor size.CONCLUSION:These results indicate that preoperative selective TACE and whole-liver chemolipiodolization plus TACE do not reduce the incidence of postoperative recurrence or prolong survival in patients with resectable HCC.

This animal study investigated the feasibility of creating a bypass between two hollow organs, using a modified gun-sight approach with a pull-through string and pull-through tow wire. Ten procedures (femoral arteriovenous shunt, n = 4; portacaval shunt, n = 4; cholangiogastrostomy, n = 2) were performed in six adult swine. Snares were inserted into the two hollow organs through the sheath and deployed at the site of bypass creation. When snares overlapped on fluoroscopy, a needle was inserted to pass through both snares. The string was inserted through the needle, with only the needle then withdrawn. The snare furthest from the skin was closed to capture the string and was then withdrawn. The other snare was withdrawn without closing. The string thus served as a pull-through string penetrating both hollow organs. This string was then attached to a pull-through tow wire, withdrawn, and exchanged for the pull-through tow wire. By withdrawing the pull-through tow wire, the delivery sheath connected to the pull-through tow wire was towed through the site of the bypass, and the stent was placed. In all cases, bypass creation was achieved. Percutaneous bypass creation using a modified gun-sight approach with a pull-through string and pull-through tow wire is feasible between two hollow organs.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the utility of metallic stents for treating central airway stenosis caused by malignant tumors. The subjects were 72 patients (16 women, 56 men; mean age, 61 years; age range, 28-87 years) treated with metallic stents for dyspnea due to tracheobronchial stenotic lesions caused by malignant tumors between May 1990 and August 2010. The underlying disorder was primary lung cancer in 42 patients, metastatic lung cancer in 29, and mediastinal tumor in one patient. In 69 of 72 patients (95.8%), dyspnea began to improve following completion of the procedure. The average Hugh-Jones classification score improved from 4.2 before stenting to 2.8 after stenting. The patients' average survival following stent placement was 3.6 months (two days-33 months). Thirteen lesions developed re-obstruction during follow-up. Of these 13 lesions, eight patients with dyspnea underwent re-interventions with metallic stent replacement and improved. Airway stent placement is an immediate and effective method of treatment for dyspnea caused by stenotic lesions of the central airway due to malignant tumor. It is effective for treating stenosis due to either tracheobronchial intraluminal tumor or extrinsic compression. Restenting is also useful to treat dyspnea caused by restenosis following stent placement.

Hyponatremia associated with syndrome of inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone (SIADH) or renal salt-wasting syndrome (RSWS) after platinum-based chemotherapy is not uncommon. However, no reports of RSWS following taxane monotherapy have been previously published. We report a case of a 63-year-old man with esophageal cancer who developed RSWS after docetaxel administration. He was diagnosed as having esophageal cancer and underwent esophagectomy. This was followed by adjuvant chemoradiotherapy consisting of a total dose of 50 Gy plus cisplatin combined with 5-fluorouracil. Two years after primary treatment, he was admitted to our hospital because of severe pain due to bone metastasis and mediastinal lymph node metastases. Ten days following chemotherapy consisting of nedaplatin and 5-fluorouracil, he experienced severe hyponatremia (113 mEq/L) due to SIADH. Subsequently, 7 days following third-line chemotherapy with docetaxel, he again experienced severe hyponatremia (104 mEq/L), this time due to RSWS. He was treated with a sodium supplement, to which he responded well. He recovered from the hyponatremia episode within a few days without any complications. In summary, treatment with docetaxel may lead to RSWS, even in patients with normal renal function. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of RSWS related to taxane chemotherapy in esophageal cancer. Oncologists should be aware of the possibility that docetaxel could cause RSWS.

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this article is to evaluate the technical and clinical outcomes of 194 patients with 500 osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (VCFs) consecutively treated by percutaneous vertebroplasty, to investigate the long-term efficacy of percutaneous vertebroplasty, and to determine the frequency of new VCFs after percutaneous vertebroplasty. MATERIALS AND METHODS. One hundred ninety-four patients (168 women and 26 men; mean age, 73.3 years; range, 44-89 years) with 500 VCFs (T5-L5) were enrolled in this study. Evaluation at each follow-up time point (1 day, 1 month, 4 months, 1 year, and then once yearly) included pain response by using a pain visual analog scale (VAS) and frontal and lateral radiographs of the thoracic and lumbar vertebrae regardless of the symptoms. RESULTS. The mean volume of cement injected was 3.3 mL (range, 0.5-12 mL) per level. Cement leakage was seen at 213 levels (42.6%). The mean follow-up time was 31 months (range, 1-97 months). The mean VAS score was 7.6 before percutaneous vertebroplasty and 3.1 at 1 day, 2.3 at 1 month, 1.7 at 4 months, 1.5 at 1 year, 1.2 at 2 years, 1.0 at 3 years, 1.1 at 4 years, 0.9 at 5 years, 0.9 at 6 years, and 1.0 at 7 years after percutaneous vertebroplasty. New VCFs were confirmed in 103 vertebrae in 65 patients (33.5%), affecting 65 adjacent vertebrae (63.1%) and 38 nonadjacent vertebrae (36.9%). CONCLUSION. Percutaneous vertebroplasty was effective in relieving the pain associated with osteoporosis-induced VCFs, and the analgesic effect was long lasting when no new VCF occurred. However, radiologic follow-up observation showed that new VCFs occurred in approximately one-third of the patients.