The clinicopathology of gastric cancer with pyloric stenosis was examined with special reference to histological differentiation. One hundred sixteen patients treated in Department of Surgery II, Kyushu University Hospital, were classified into differentiated (DT: n = 47) and undifferentiated types (UT: n = 69). The UT group was significantly younger than the DT group (P < 0.05). There were no differences in the incidence of serosal invasion, liver metastasis, lymph node metastasis, and the clinical stage between the groups. The incidence of peritoneal dissemination of the UT group was 41% (28/69), a value significantly higher than the 23% (11/47) for the DT group (P < 0.05). The 5-year survival rates of the DT and UT groups were 27% and 16%, respectively, with survival time for the UT group being significantly less than that of the DT group (P < 0.05). In patients with pyloric stenosis and an undifferentiated adenocarcinoma with the risk of peritoneal dissemination, intensive adjuvant chemotherapy seems essential to improve the prognosis.

Adenocarcinoma↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Continuous hyperthermic peritoneal perfusion with cisplatin in mice with peritoneal dissemination of B16 melanoma.

We designed a model of peritoneal dissemination of gastric cancer in mice. B16 melanoma cells were injected into the peritoneal cavity of C57 BL mice, the object being to search for an effective treatment for peritoneal dissemination, using hyperthermia combined with cisplatin. Following the intraperitoneal administration of tumor cells, each mouse was subjected to continuous hyperthermic peritoneal perfusion (CHPP) using the peritoneal cavity expander (PCE), with or without cisplatin in the perfusate under conditions of laparotomy. Effects of the therapy were evaluated, based on comparison of survival time between the control and treated groups. There was no prolongation of mean survival periods for the groups given CHPP, with or without cisplatin, compared to findings in the no treatment control group. Optimal timing and doses of hyperthermia and cisplatin, or adding biochemical modulators to enhance the effects of cisplatin, will need to be determined to increase the efficacy of CHPP, with or without the concomitant administration of cisplatin.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Gastric cancer in a general hospital in Japan.

During 20 years from 1971 to 1990, 605 patients with gastric cancer were treated by gastric resection at a medium-size general hospital by one surgeon. The overall 5-year survival rate was 61.9%. The 5-year survival rates in the first 10 years (n = 261) and the second 10 years (n = 344) were 53.7% and 67.9%, respectively (P < 0.01). In the second 10 years there was a significant increase in the patients with early gastric cancer (P < 0.01). Meanwhile, operative procedure or R2 or R3 lymph node dissection did not show any improvement of the 5-year survival rates. These results indicate that the prognosis for gastric cancer was relatively good at a general hospital which does not specialize in cancer research, and that much of the improvement in the prognosis could be attributed to the increase in the incidence of patients with early gastric cancer.

Female↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Regulation of fibroblast proliferation in three-dimensional collagen gel matrix.

Fibroblasts in vivo reside in a three-dimensional (3-D) matrix. The 3-D culture method using collagen gels provides valuable information, but it also has some practical difficulties. In particular, the changes caused by the contraction of gels and the occasional abrupt detachment from the underlying surface have made extended culture difficult. In this study, the 3-D culture method was modified in order to observe the cells with minimal change of substrata for longer periods. The proliferation characteristics of fibroblasts cultured in gels in response to fetal calf serum (FCS), to two defined growth factors, insulin and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), and to a growth inhibitory factor, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), were evaluated with this system in comparison with monolayer cultured fibroblasts. The DNA content of fibroblasts cultured both in gels and on dishes increased in response to FCS in a concentration-dependent manner. The proliferation of gel-cultured fibroblasts, however, was lower than that of dish-cultured cells, and higher concentrations of serum were necessary for proliferation. The response of gel-cultured cells to PDGF was also less than that of dish-cultured cells. In addition, fibroblasts cultured in gel culture did not respond to insulin, while the fibroblasts on dishes responded to insulin in a concentration-dependent manner. In contrast to the reduced response to growth stimulators, PGE2 inhibited proliferation in gel culture and in monolayer culture similarly. The reduced responsiveness to growth stimulation but equivalent response to growth inhibition may account for reduced proliferation of fibroblasts in 3-D culture.

Cell Count↗