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We studied whether insulin and glucagon secretory capacities change in relation to the corresponding hormonal contents in the pancreas remnant after pancreas resection. The following groups of dogs were used: sham operated (S-O), left pancreatectomized (L-Px), right pancreatectomized (R-Px), subtotal pancreatectomized (St-Px), and total pancreatectomized (T-Px). Endocrine functions were assessed by intravenous glucose tolerance test (IVGTT) and insulin tolerance test (ITT) in each dog under anesthesia before surgery and 1 wk after. In these five groups, the insulin secretory capacities, assessed as the integrated incremental secretion of immunoreactive insulin (ΣΔIRI) from the IVGTT, decreased to 95 ± 11, 78 ± 9, 48 ± 8, 12 ± 8, and −4 ± 4% of the respective preoperative values, and these values were proportional to the percentage residual weight (100, 64 ± 2, 35 ± 2, 13 ± 2, 0%) and IRI content (100, 59 ± 4, 45 ± 3, 10± 2, 0%) of the pancreas remnant. After surgery, glucagon secretory capacity, the integrated incremental secretion of immunoreactive glucagon (ΣΔIRG) during the ITT, decreased significantly in the L-Px, St-Px, and T-Px groups but not in the R-Px group. The ΣΔIRG values as percentages of the preoperative values were 109 ± 25, 46 ± 11, 89 ± 13, 19 ± 11, and 3 ± 3%, respectively, for the five groups. These values were proportional to the percentage residual IRG contents of the pancreas remnants (100, 48 ± 6, 65 ± 8, 12 ± 2, 0%) rather than to the percentage residual pancreatic weights. Significant correlations were found between the percentage ΣΔIRI and IRI contents (r = .876, P

Percutaneous transhepatic biliary cytology and biopsy was carried out in 19 patients with a malignancy-related jaundice, using a percutaneous transhepatic biliary tube. The preoperative diagnosis was positive in 17 patients (89%). This simple and safe method will facilitate operative procedures, diagnosis, and palliative chemotherapy regimens.

Canine pancreases divided into 8 anatomical subportions were examined for their regional insulin and glucagon content. Insulin content in the pancreas was gradually increased in the left lobe to about twice as much as that in the uncinatus, while glucagon content was increased steeply in the left lobe to 16 times as much as that of the uncinatus. Although hormonal content differs according to the anatomical area, a statistically significant positive correlation of mean regional insulin and glucagon content was observed (r = 0.994, p less than 0.001). A constant ratio of these two hormones suggests the functional coupling of A and B cells within the islets or in a given pancreatic subportion.

Elimination or inactivation of lymphoid tissue in the pancreatic islet preparation achieves prolongation of islet-allograft survival. In this study we examined the effect of γ-irradiation on mouse islet-allograft survival. In a B6AF1 isograft model, irradiation up to 2400 rad did not induce deterioration of islet function over 200 days, but greater doses caused cessation of graft function between 83 and 186 days. When DBA/2 crude islets were transplanted into B6AF1 recipients, all nonirradiated allografts were acutely rejected. Marked prolongation of allograft survival was achieved by islet irradiation with doses between 800 and 12,000 rad. With higher doses, significant numbers of allografts survived beyond the controls, but many lost function between 78 and 180 days, with none surviving >200 days. Irradiation with 16,000 rad caused acute radiation damage. Because most secondary islet allografts in recipient mice that lost primary islet-graft function between 84 and 195 days survived >100 days, late functional loss was probably due to the radiation injury. Combined use of recipient treatment with cyclosporin A and graft irradiation (2400 rad) achieved prolongation of DBA/2 islets in B6AF1 mice.

In order to improve the survival rate after liver resection for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), 71 HCC patients were treated with transcatheter chemoembolization (TCE). In the present study, we analyzed the effects of TCE on the patients' survival rates, as well as on the liver specimens resected in a histopathological study, comparing those not treated with TCE (n = 21). The overall survival rates, including hospital mortality, for 1 year, 3 years and 5 years were 81%, 72% and 54% respectively. However, no differences were observed in the survival rates between the TCE and the non-TCE groups. A histopathological study demonstrated that TCE was quite effective on the main tumor but not on intrahepatic metastasis or on tumor thrombus in the portal vein. However, we found that most of the intrahepatic metastatic lesions were necrotized in 8 of the 30 cases with these lesions. The histopathological study proved that these particular cases had some abnormalities in the portal blood supply. All but one of them are currently alive 3-48 months after resection, although the prognosis of the patients who had intrahepatic metastasis or a tumor thrombus in the portal vein was extremely poor. Preoperative TCE may, therefore, be thought of as a useful modality when it is effective in killing intrahepatic metastases. To control the lesions, portal vein embolization may be a promising technique in the future.

The immunosuppressive effect of splenectomy, alone or in combination with cyclosporine (CsA), was examined in hamster-to-rat orthotopic liver xenografts. The mean survival time was 7.3 +/- 0.5 days in untreated controls, 7.6 +/- 0.8 days with 40 mg/kg/day CsA, 7.2 +/- 0.4 days with splenectomy alone, and 17.6 +/- 5.6 days with splenectomy combined with 30 mg/kg/day CsA (P less than 0.01). The longest survival time was 27 days in this group. Marked enlargement of the spleen and high lymphocytotoxic antibody titer were characteristic of the unmodified recipients and those treated with CsA alone. Splenectomy by itself decreased the antibody formation without improvement of graft survival. In animals treated with the combined regimen, the lymphocytotoxic antibody titer was significantly suppressed, and the PMN and round cell infiltration were greatly reduced. Therefore, a synergistic effect was postulated between cyclosporine and splenectomy in this liver xenograft system.

Background Total gastrectomy is a relatively difficult and invasive procedure among gastrointestinal surgeries, and major morbidities following total gastrectomy can be serious and fatal. This study aimed to develop and validate preoperative risk models of morbidities associated with total gastrectomy using a Japanese web-based nationwide registry. Methods The national clinical database was used to retrieve the records of 39,253 patients who underwent total gastrectomy in 1,841 hospitals between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2012. Results Mean patient age was 69.1 years, and 73.8% of the patients were male. The overall morbidity rate was 21.5%, which included 8.1% with surgical site infection (SSI), 4.5% with anastomotic leak, 5.0% with pancreatic fistula, 3.7% with pneumonia, 1.9% with prolonged ventilation, and 1.2% with renal failure. Sex, splenectomy, and Brinkman index were selected as common risk factors for SSI, anastomotic leak, and pancreatic fistula. Pancreatectomy was the most significant preoperative risk factor in the risk model of SSI and pancreatic fistula. Need of assistance with activities of daily living, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, previous cerebrovascular disease, American Society of Anesthesiologists score class 3 and over, presence of esophageal cancer, and body mass index more than 25 were selected as common risk factors for pneumonia, prolonged ventilation over 48 h, and renal failure. Conclusions We have created the first reported risk models of morbidities associated with total gastrectomy, using a Japanese nationwide database. The risk models developed in this study may be useful to preoperatively predict operative morbidities in patients undergoing total gastrectomy. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10120-017-0706-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Background Video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) lobectomy is a standard treatment for lung cancer. This study retrospectively compared long-term outcomes after VATS lobectomy versus lobectomy via open thoracotomy for clinical stage IA non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods From July 2002 to June 2012, 160 patients were diagnosed with clinical stage IA NSCLC and underwent lobectomy. Of these, 114 underwent VATS lobectomy and 46 underwent lobectomy via open thoracotomy. Results The 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) rate was 88.0% in the VATS group and 77.1% in the thoracotomy group for clinical stage IA NSCLC (p = 0.1504), and 91.5% in the VATS group and 93.8% in the thoracotomy group for pathological stage IA NSCLC (p = 0.2662). The 5-year overall survival (OS) rate was 94.1% in the VATS group and 81.8% in the thoracotomy group for clinical stage IA NSCLC (p = 0.0268), and 94.8% in the VATS group and 96.2% in the thoracotomy group for pathological stage IA NSCLC (p = 0.5545). The rate of accurate preoperative staging was 71.9% in the VATS group and 56.5% in the thoracotomy group (p = 0.2611). Inconsistencies between the clinical and pathological stages were mainly related to tumor size, nodal status, and pleural invasion. Local recurrence occurred for one lesion in the VATS group and six lesions (five patients) in the thoracotomy group (p = 0.0495). Conclusions The DFS and OS were not inferior after VATS compared with thoracotomy. Local control was significantly better after VATS than after thoracotomy. Preoperative staging lacked sufficient accuracy.

Presentation d'une technique chirurgicale simple permettant la reconstruction de l'artere hepatique et evitant les complications au niveau des voies biliaires

Vaccine treatment using multiple peptides derived from multiple proteins is considered to be a promising option for cancer immune therapy, but scientific evidence supporting the therapeutic efficacy of multiple peptides is limited. We conducted phase I trials using a mixture of multiple therapeutic peptide vaccines to evaluate their safety, immunogenicity and clinical response in patients with advanced/recurrent NSCLC. We administered two different combinations of four HLA-A24-restricted peptides. Two were peptides derived from vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 1 (VEGFR1) and 2 (VEGFR2), and the third was a peptide derived from up-regulated lung cancer 10 (URLC10, which is also called lymphocyte antigen 6 complex locus K [LY6K]). The fourth peptide used was derived from TTK protein kinase (TTK) or cell division associated 1 (CDCA1). Vaccines were administered weekly by subcutaneous injection into the axillary region of patients with montanide ISA-51 incomplete Freund’s adjuvant, until the disease was judged to have progressed or patients requested to be withdrawn from the trial. Immunological responses were primarily evaluated using an IFN-gamma ELiSPOT assay. Vaccinations were well tolerated with no severe treatment-associated adverse events except for the reactions that occurred at the injection sites. Peptide-specific T cell responses against at least one peptide were observed in 13 of the 15 patients enrolled. Although no patient exhibited complete or partial responses, seven patients (47%) had stable disease for at least 2 months. The median overall survival time was 398 days, and the 1- and 2-year survival rates were 58.3% and 32.8%, respectively. Peptide vaccine therapy using a mixture of four novel peptides was found to be safe, and is expected to induce strong specific T cell responses. These studies were registered with ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00633724 and NCT00874588 .