• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.64 no.4
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• pp.631-643
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• 2021

Objective : Here, we evaluated whether cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) profiles and their changes after intraventricular chemotherapy for leptomeningeal carcinomatosis (LMC) could predict the treatment response or be prognostic for patient overall survival (OS) along with clinical factors. Methods : Paired 1) pretreatment lumbar, 2) pretreatment ventricular, and 3) posttreatment ventricular samples and their CSF profiles were collected retrospectively from 148 LMC patients who received Ommaya reservoir installation and intraventricular chemotherapy. CSF profile changes were assessed by calculating the differences between posttreatment and pretreatment samples from the same ventricular compartment. CSF cell counts were further differentiated into total and other based on clinical laboratory reports. Results : For the treatment response, a decreased CSF 'total' cell count tended to be associated with a 'controlled' increase in intracranial pressure (ICP) (p=0.059), but other profile changes were not associated with either the control of increased ICP or the cytology response. Among the pretreatment CSF profiles, lumbar protein level and ventricular cell count were significantly correlated with OS in univariable analysis, but they were not significant in multi-variable analysis. Among CSF profile changes, a decrease in 'other' cell count showed worse OS than 'no change' or increased groups (p=0.001). The cytological response was significant for OS, but the hazard ratio of partial remission was paradoxically higher than that of 'no response'. Conclusion : A decrease in other cell count of CSF after intraventricular chemotherapy was associated with poor OS in LMC patients. We suggest that more specific CSF biomarkers of cancer cell origin are needed.

• Journal of Digestive Cancer Research
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.29-35
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• 2013

Peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC) is defined as the dissemination of cancer cells in the peritoneal cavity resulting in deposition of malignant cells onto parietal or visceral peritoneal surfaces, and is associated with malignant ascites. In general, PC has been treated similarly to metastatic cancers of the primary tumor, but associated with unfavorable outcomes as compared to other sites of metastatic disease from the same primary tumor origin. It has been known to have the median survival of only 3-6 months with supportive care alone. PC is an intractable problem to physicians because of its poor prognosis and limited treatment options. Recent studies have reported that a combination of cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy improved survival in PC of colorectal cancer. This paper gives overviews of the characteristics, symptoms, prognosis, and diagnosis of PC and current treatment options on PC of stomach, colorectal, and unknown primary origin.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.55-61
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• 1992

Background: The lung is the most common site of metastasis and usually it manifests as a single or multiple nodules in chest X-ray. But less commonly the cancer spreads through the lymphatics and X-ray shows diffuse reticulonodular densities. Sometimes, patient is presented with respiratory symptoms only with interstitial lung infiltration before the signs of primary tumor and in that cases, the differential diagnosis with other interstitial lung disease is required. We have experienced 5 such cases, who were diagnosed as lymphangitic carcinomatosis by transbronchial lung biopsy. Methods: Clinical manifestation, pulmonary function test, modified thin section CT, bronchoalveolar lavage and transbronchial lung biopsy were done. Results: The primary tumor was gastric cancer in 3, lung cancer in 2. Pulmonary function test showed restrictive pattern with low DLco in 2 patients and obstructive pattern in one. Bronchoalveolar lavage showed lymphocytosis in 4 patients and malignant cells were found in one patient. Transbronchial lung biopsy revealed malignant cells localized to the lymphatics (peribronchial, perivascular and perialveolar). Cell type was adenocarcinoma in 4 and squamous cell carcinoma in one. Conclusion: Rarely lymphangitic carcinomatosis can be presented as diffuse interstitial lung disease and easily diagnosed by transbronchial lung biopsy.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.48 no.6
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• pp.980-985
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• 2000

A 52-year-old woman was presented with 2-week history of increasing dyspnea and dry cough. The chest radiograph revealed bilateral reticular infiltrates. Radiographic infiltrates were rapidly progressed and symptoms from hypoxemia were aggravated. The patient was intubated and bronchoscopy with transbronchial lung biopsies was performed. Biopsies revealed lymphatic vessels plugged by nests of metastatic adenocarcinoma. She died 11 days after admission despite of intensive ventilatory support. We had difficulties in the diagnosis of lymphangitic lung carcinomatosis at initial presentation of her illness because the progression was unusually rapid. Lymphangitic lung carcinomatosis shoud should be included in the differential diagnosis of patients showing rapidly progressive interstitial radiographic findings. Also, transbronchial biopsy may be a useful tool to confirm the diagnosis.

• Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.357-360
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• 2009

Malignant mesothelioma of the peritoneum is a rare neoplasm with a rapidly fatal course. The tumour arises from the mesothelial cells lining the pleura and peritoneum or, rarely, in the pericardium or tunica vaginalis. This neoplasm is characterized by being difficult to diagnose, having a rapid evolution and a poor response to therapy. Mesothelioma is very glucose avid, and malignant pleural mesothelioma has been reported concerning the utility of F-18 FDG PET or PET/CT. But little has been known about the imaging finding of malignant peritoneal mesothelioma on F-18 FDG PET/CT. We report a case of malignant peritoneal mesothelioma mimicking peritoneal carcinomatosis of F-18 FDG PET/CT.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.59 no.6
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• pp.570-576
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• 2016

Objective : Elevated cell counts and protein levels in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) result from disease activity in patients with leptomeningeal carcinomatosis (LMC). Previous studies evaluated the use of CSF profiles to monitor a treatment response or predict prognosis. CSF profiles vary, however, according to the sampling site and the patient's systemic condition. We compared lumbar and ventricular CSF profiles collected before intraventricular chemotherapy for LMC and evaluated the association of these profiles with patients' systemic factors and LMC disease activity. Methods : CSF profiles were retrospectively collected from 228 patients who underwent Ommaya reservoir insertion for intraventricular chemotherapy after a diagnosis of LMC. Lumbar samples taken via lumbar puncture were used for the diagnosis, and ventricular samples were obtained later at the time of Ommaya reservoir insertion. LMC disease activity was defined as the presence of LMC-related symptoms such as increased intracranial pressure, hydrocephalus, cranial neuropathy, and cauda equina syndrome. Results : Cell counts (median : 8 vs. 1 cells/mL) and protein levels (median : 68 vs. 17 mg/dL) significantly higher in lumbar CSF than in ventricular CSF (p<0.001). Among the evaluated systemic factors, concomitant brain metastasis and previous radiation were significantly correlated with higher protein levels in the lumbar CSF (p=0.01 and <0.001, respectively). Among the LMC disease activity, patients presenting with hydrocephalus or cauda equina syndrome showed higher lumbar CSF protein level compared with that in patients without those symptoms (p=0.049 and p<0.001, respectively). The lumbar CSF cell count was significantly lower in patients with cranial neuropathy (p=0.046). The ventricular CSF cell counts and protein levels showed no correlation with LMC symptoms. Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), which was measured from ventricular CSF after the diagnosis in 109 patients, showed a significant association with the presence of hydrocephalus (p=0.01). Conclusion : The protein level in lumbar CSF indicated the localized disease activity of hydrocephalus and cauda equina syndrome. In the ventricular CSF, only the CEA level reflected the presence of hydrocephalus. We suggest using more specific biomarkers for the evaluation of ventricular CSF to monitor disease activity and treatment response.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.539-543
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• 2016

Background: It is well known that peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC) from colorectal cancer (CRC) is associated with a poor prognosis. However, data on the prognostic significance of modern chemotherapy containing bevacizumab, cetuximab or panitumumab are not available. Materials and Methods: This retrospective review concerned 526 patients with metastatic CRC who were classified into two groups according to the presence or absence of PC, and were treated with systemic chemotherapy, with or without bevacizumab or anti-EGFR antibodies. The genetic background, in particular KRAS, BRAF, and PIK3CA gene mutations, and overall survival (OS) were compared between the two groups. Results: The median OS values were 23.3 and 29.1 months for PC and non-PC patients, respectively (hazard ratio [HR]=1.20; p=0.17). Among all patients, tumor location, number of metastatic sites and BRAF mutation status were significant prognostic factors, whereas the presence of PC was not. In the PC group, chemotherapy with bevacizumab resulted in a significantly longer OS than forchemotherapy without bevacizumab (HR=0.38, p<0.01), but this was not the case in the non-PC group (HR=0.80, p=0.10). Furthermore, the incidence of the BRAF V600E mutation was significantly higher in PC than in non-PC patients (27.7% versus 7.3%, p<0.01). BRAF mutations displayed a strong correlation with shorter OS in non-PC (HR=2.26), but not PC patients (HR=1.04). Conclusions: Systemic chemotherapy, especially when combined with bevacizumab, improved survival in patients with PC from CRC as well as non-PC patients. While BRAF mutation demonstrated a high frequency in PC patients, but it was not associated with prognosis.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.539-547
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• 2022

Objective: To investigate the association between functional tumor burden of peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC) derived from diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and overall survival in patients with advanced ovarian carcinoma (OC). Materials and Methods: This prospective study was approved by the local research ethics committee, and informed consent was obtained. Fifty patients (mean age ± standard deviation, 57 ± 12 years) with stage III-IV OC scheduled for primary or interval debulking surgery (IDS) were recruited between June 2016 and December 2021. DWI (b values: 0, 400, and 800 s/mm²) was acquired with a 16-channel phased-array torso coil. The functional PC burden on DWI was derived based on K-means clustering to discard fat, air, and normal tissue. A score similar to the surgical peritoneal cancer index was assigned to each abdominopelvic region, with additional scores assigned to the involvement of critical sites, denoted as the functional peritoneal cancer index (fPCI). The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of the largest lesion was calculated. Patients were dichotomized by immediate surgical outcome into high- and low-risk groups (with and without residual disease, respectively) with subsequent survival analysis using the Kaplan-Meier curve and log-rank test. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression was used to evaluate the association between DWI-derived results and overall survival. Results: Fifteen (30.0%) patients underwent primary debulking surgery, and 35 (70.0%) patients received neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by IDS. Complete tumor debulking was achieved in 32 patients. Patients with residual disease after debulking surgery had reduced overall survival (p = 0.043). The fPCI/ADC was negatively associated with overall survival when accounted for clinicopathological information with a hazard ratio of 1.254 for high fPCI/ADC (95% confidence interval, 1.007-1.560; p = 0.043). Conclusion: A high DWI-derived functional tumor burden was associated with decreased overall survival in patients with advanced OC.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.117-122
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• 2012

Aim: To elucidate the effects of hyperthermic $CO_2$ pneumoperitoneum on human gastric AGS cells. Methods: Based on a newly devised in vitro study model, we evaluated the anti-cancer effects of HT-$CO_2$ ($42-44^{\circ}C$ for 2-4h) on human gastric cancer cells, and also the corresponding mechanisms. Results: HT-$CO_2$ ($42-44^{\circ}C$ for 2-4h) severely inhibited cell proliferation as assessed by Cell Counting Kit-8 assay, while inducing apoptosis in a temperature- and time-dependent manner demonstrated by annexin-V/PI flow cytometry and morphological analysis (Hoechst/PI fluorescence). In addition, it was found that HT-$CO_2$ ($42-44^{\circ}C$ for 2-4h) promoted the up-regulation of Bax by western blotting. Significantly, it could also suppress gastric cancer cell invasion and metastasis by in vitro invasion and motility assay. Conclusion: In conclusion, HT-$CO_2$ had an efficacious cytotoxic effect on gastric cancer cells through Bax-induced mitochondrial apoptotic signaling. Our studies indicate that it may serve as a potential therapy for peritoneal carcinomatosis of gastric cancer. Further investigations in vivo using animal models are now urgently needed.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.61 no.5
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• pp.640-644
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• 2018

Objective : The purpose of this pilot study was to examine the safety and function of the newly developed cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) reservoir called the V-Port. Methods : The newly developed V-Port consists of a non-collapsible reservoir outlined with a titanium cage and a connector for the ventricular catheter to be assembled. It is designed to be better palpated and more durable to multiple punctures than the Ommaya reservoir. A total of nine patients diagnosed with leptomeningeal carcinomatosis were selected for V-Port insertion. Each patient was followed up for evaluation for a month after the operation. Results : The average operation time for V-Port insertion was 42 minutes and the average incision size was 6.6 cm. The surgical technique of V-Port insertion was found to be intuitive by all neurosurgeons who participated in the pilot study. There was no obstruction or leakage of the V-Port during intrathecal chemotherapy or CSF drainage. Also, there were no complications including post-operative intracerebral hemorrhage, infection and skin problems related to the V-Port. Conclusion : V-Port is a safe and an easy to use implantable CSF reservoir that addresses problems of other implantable CSF reservoirs. Further multicenter clinical trial is needed to prove the safety and the function of the V-Port.