堀口 明彦

In this report, we describe a case of highly advanced hepatocellular carcinoma with tumor thrombosis extending into the main portal vein of the pancreas that was successfully treated with adjuvant lenvatinib after right hepatic resection with thrombectomy. A 70-year-old woman was referred from the clinic because of elevated hepatobiliary enzymes. The patient was positive for the hepatitis B virus antigen at our hospital. The tumor markers were highly elevated with alpha-fetoprotein (14.5 U/mL) and protein induced by vitamin K absence (PIVKAII) (1545 ng/mL), suggesting hepatocellular carcinoma. Dynamic abdominal computed tomography showed an early enhanced tumor approximately 6 cm in size and portal vein tumor thrombosis filling the main portal vein, but not extending into the splenic or superior mesenteric vein (SMV). On magnetic resonance imaging 1 week after CT, portal vein tumor thrombosis had extended to the confluence of the splenic vein with the SMV, indicating rapid tumor growth. Thus, we performed emergent right hepatectomy with tumor thrombectomy. Postoperatively, we treated the patient with lenvatinib for a tumor reduction surgery. Fortunately, the patient was alive 2 years postoperatively without recurrence. This case report suggests that a favorable outcome may be achieved with multidisciplinary treatment including resection and postoperative treatment with lenvatinib.

BACKGROUND: The microbial population of the intestinal tract and its relationship to specific diseases has been extensively studied during the past decade. However, reports characterizing the bile microbiota are rare. This study aims to investigate the microbiota composition in patients with pancreaticobiliary cancers and benign diseases by 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and to evaluate its potential value as a biomarker for the cancer of the bile duct, pancreas, and gallbladder. RESULTS: We enrolled patients who were diagnosed with cancer, cystic lesions, and inflammation of the pancreaticobiliary tract. The study cohort comprised 244 patients. We extracted microbiome-derived DNA from the bile juice in surgically resected gallbladders. The microbiome composition was not significantly different according to lesion position and cancer type in terms of alpha and beta diversity. We found a significant difference in the relative abundance of Campylobacter, Citrobacter, Leptotrichia, Enterobacter, Hungatella, Mycolicibacterium, Phyllobacterium and Sphingomonas between patients without and with lymph node metastasis. CONCLUSIONS: There was a significant association between the relative abundance of certain microbes and overall survival prognosis. These microbes showed association with good prognosis in cholangiocarcinoma, but with poor prognosis in pancreatic adenocarcinoma, and vice versa. Our findings suggest that pancreaticobiliary tract cancer patients have an altered microbiome composition, which might be a biomarker for distinguishing malignancy.

BACKGROUND: Socratic method, which is an educational method to promote critical thinking through a dialogue, has never been practiced in a large number of people at the academic societies. METHODS: Modified Socratic method was performed for the first time as an educational seminar using an example case of moderate acute cholecystitis based on the evidence described in Tokyo Guidelines 2018. We adopted a method that Takada had been modifying for many years: the instructor first knows the degree of recognition of the audience, then the instructor gives a lecture in an easy-to-understand manner and receives questions from the audience, followed by repeated questions and answers toward a common recognition. RESULTS: Using slides, video, and an answer pad, 281 participants including the audience, instructors and moderators came together to repeatedly ask and answer questions in the five sessions related to the case scenario. The recognition rate of the topic of Critical View of Safety increased significantly before vs after this method (53.0% vs 90.3%). The seminar had been successfully performed by receiving a lot of praise from the participants. CONCLUSION: This educational method is considered to be adopted by many academic societies in the future as an effective educational method.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Whether organ-preserving pancreatic surgery has an advantage in postoperative short- and long-term outcomes or not is still unknown because only small case series studies have been available to date. In this multicenter retrospective study, we aimed to elucidate the clinical advantage and disadvantage of organ-preserving pancreatectomy among patients with low-grade malignant pancreatic tumors and benign pancreatic diseases. METHODS: We included patients diagnosed with benign or low-malignant pancreatic tumor who underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) in 621 cases, duodenum-preserving pancreatic head resection (DPPHR) in 31 cases, middle pancreatectomy (MP) in 148 cases, distal pancreatectomy (DP) in 814 cases, and spleen-preserving distal pancreatectomy (SPDP) in 259 cases between January 1, 2013, and December 31, 2017. Preoperative backgrounds, surgical outcomes and pre- and postoperative (3, 6, 12, 24, and 36 months) nutritional status were compared between these procedures. RESULTS: In terms of short-term outcomes, the incidence of pancreatic fistula in patients who underwent MP was significantly higher than in patients with standard pancreatectomy. As for the long-term pancreatic functions in the cases of head or body lesion, both exocrine and endocrine functions after MP were significantly favorable compared with the PD group from 3 to 36 months after surgery. In pancreatic body or tail lesion, significant advantage of endocrine function, but not exocrine function, was found in the MP group compared to standard DP at all time points. CONCLUSIONS: MP may contribute to the improvement of postoperative quality of life for patients with pancreatic body low-malignant tumors, rather than PD or DP; however, reducing the incidence of short-term complications such as pancreatic fistula is a future challenge.