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A 56-year-old man was diagnosed with advanced adenocarcinoma of the esophagogastric junction. He received 1 course of neoadjuvant chemotherapy with S-1. After neoadjuvant chemotherapy, the primary tumor showed a remarkable decrease in size. Subtotalesophagectomy, D2 lymph node dissection, and reconstruction with a gastric tube through the posterior mediastinal route were performed. Pathological examination showed that most of the cancer cells had been destroyed, with a part where adenocarcinoma mucosa was seen. We successfully treated a case of advanced adenocarcinoma of the esophagogastric junction, with neoadjuvant S-1 chemotherapy and surgicalresection.

The diagnosis-related-group/prospective-payment system (DRG/PPS) was introduced into the health care system of the United States in 1983. This system triggered the development and implementation of clinical pathways aimed at reducing the length and cost of hospitalization. In Japan, trial use of a Japanese version of DRG/PPS was initiated in November 1998 in 10 hospitals under the control of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and full-scale implementation of the system is expected in the near future. Clinical pathways, therefore, are a current focus of attention, mainly because of their success in enhancing management efficiency in the U.S. However, in actual clinical settings where clinical pathways are used, several Japanese health care providers have come to realize that they are also useful in improving staff coordination, patient satisfaction, and patient care, rather than simply reducing the length of hospital stay and cost of health care. The introduction of clinical pathways requires that treatment of the disease in question be defined and standardized. The implementation of pathways for the treatment of cancer, however, might prove difficult because of the high frequency of variation. In our experience, the main reason for the use of clinical pathways is not to reduce the number of variant cases but to provide high-quality care through the promotion of a team approach to treatment and enhanced patient care. Therefore, even if there were frequent variances following surgery for cancer, those occurring in accordance with the pathophysiological state of the patient would not interfere with management by clinical pathways. Clinical pathways are advantageous because they allow patients to know their treatment schedule; to prepare for hospitalization procedures; to have a better perspective on discharge; to reduce anxiety regarding hospital admission, even if it is the first time; to communicate better with doctors, nurses, and other medical care staff, leading to greater trust; and to improve their ability for self-management. These features are all important for the improvement of patient care. Furthermore, clinical pathways may lead to a situation in which the cost of hospitalization can be predicted prior to admission, enabling patients to compare differences between several hospitals. From our experience with gastric cancer, breast cancer, and esophageal cancer management, we consider clinical pathways to be of great benefit in helping to reform the current medical care system in regard to the management of cancer patients as well as patients with other diseases.

The first clinical application of biochemical modulation (BCM) of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) was the sequential MTX/5-FU regimen proposed in 1977 by Bertino for the treatment of colorectal cancer. In Japan, sequential MTX/5-FU therapy was mainly used as a new method of treating gastric cancer, and attracted a great deal of attention because it proved effective in many cases of advanced gastric cancer that had been unresponsive to the previous chemotherapy, particularly scirrhous gastric cancer with poor prognosis. Its therapeutic efficacy varied according to histologic type, it was effective in cases of peritoneal dissemination and disseminated intravascular coagulopathy (DIC), it was associated with fewer adverse effects, and it was a multidrug chemotherapy based on a clear rationale. With sequential MTX/5-FU therapy as a starting point, fundamental studies of BCM and its clinical applications have expanded rapidly in Japan. This paper provides an outline of sequential MTX/5-FU therapy from the aspects of its mechanism of action, indications, therapeutic efficacy, relevance to adjuvant therapy, counter-measures to adverse effects, and emergence of resistance to the drugs involved. The high therapeutic efficacy of this therapy in certain histologic types is also discussed, and its combined use with other forms of BCM, as in triple BCM (LV/5-FU + CDDP/5-FU + MTX/5-FU), is introduced.

A total of 222 surveillance colonoscopies were performed in 84 patients with ulcerative colitis between 1979-1989. In 60 patients with total colitis, 3 carcinomas, 2 high-grade, 4 low-grade and 8 indefinite for dysplasia were found. In 24 with left-sided colitis, 1 low-grade and 1 indefinite for dysplasia were found. The overall incidence of dysplasia in patients with total colitis was 28%, similar to the reported incidence from the Western countries. A sequence of dysplasia development was recorded in 14 cases. Progression of dysplasia was found in some of the low-grade or indefinite cases, however regression was also recorded in another cases. These results suggest the usefulness of surveillance colonoscopy for early detection of carcinoma in long-standing ulcerative colitis.

Colonoscopic diagnosis of colonic polyps is a rather easy task, although some small polyps might be missed when they are situated around the steep angulation or behind the fold. A correct diagnosis of mucosal carcinoma is difficult not only by colonoscopy but also by biopsy because the cancer focus may be small or not exposed on the polyp surface. Therefore, colonoscopic polypectomy is the best procedure of choice for correct histologic diagnosis of mucosal and invasive carcinoma. Only by polypectomy can correct diagnosis of invasive carcinoma be made, although there are various endoscopic signs such as irregularity of the surface configuration and white spots on the surrounding mucosa suggesting invasive carcinoma. Over the course of several years experience of colonoscopy we have encountered small flat elevations under 1 cm in diameter of which 58% were benign adenomas and 42% contained minute foci of carcinoma. These small flat lesions might have been missed quite easily during routine examination in the past and they might play an important role in the pathogenesis of colonic carcinoma. Benign polyp and mucosal carcinoma can be adequately treated by polypectomy only, whereas invasive carcinoma needs further treatment as it has a risk of node metastasis. Risk factors influencing metastasis are lymphatic permeation, poorly differentiated carcinoma, massive invasion close to the cut end. Only when one of these findings is seen in the removed polyp, further surgical treatment must be considered. However, the patient's general condition, age and site of the polyp should be carefully taken into account in order to choose the appropriate treatment in each individual case as the risk of metastasis under such situations mentioned above is not so high. Management of invasive carcinoma is still a controversial issue and a long-term, clinicopathologic study will be needed to solve this question.