The esophageal lymphoma is a very rare feature among gastrointestinal lymphoma, and there was no surgical report in Korea. A 62-year-old male patient with submucosal tumor detected on routine esophagoscopy had resection of tumor including the esophageal mucosa, which was confirmed as esophageal lymphoma. As the severe leakage was detected on esophagogram on post-op 7th day, esophagectomy and esophagogastrostomy was followed. Though adjuvant chemotherapy was not performed, there were no evidence of recurrence for 1 year follow up. We experienced a patient with esophageal lymphoma and reported with brief review of literature.
Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Esophagectomy ; Esophagoscopy ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Korea ; Lymphoma* ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Mucous Membrane ; Recurrence

alpha-Viniferin (AVF), a trimer of resveratrol, is known to have an anti-inflammatory effect via inhibition of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). It has been reported that up-regulated COX-2 and iNOS are expressed in colon cancer tissues of humans and rodents as well as pre-neoplastic aberrant crypt foci (ACF) of rodents. In this study, chemopreventive effects of AVF were assessed in Caco-2 cells as well as azoxymethane (AOM)-induced colorectal tumorigenesis in mice. Anti-tumor effect of AVF with regards to apoptotic induction was assessed by TUNEL and caspase-3 expression in human colon cancer Caco-2 cells. For development of ACF, AOM was administered with to mice intraperitoneally at a dose of 10 mg/kg once a week for 3 weeks. To induce colitis-related colon cancer, mice were administered a single dose of AOM (10 mg/kg) and 2% dextran sodium sulfate in drinking water. Mice treated with 0.05 and/or 0.1 mg of AVF by gavage showed significantly reduced development of ACF and colorectal tumors. Immunofluorescence detection in Caco-2 cells showed reduced COX-2 and iNOS expression, whereas cleavage of caspase-3 and apoptotic cell numbers increased upon AVF treatment. Immunostaining showed reduced expression levels of COX-2 and iNOS expression along with increased cleaved caspase-3 expression increased upon AVF treatment. These results suggest that AVF has chemopreventive effects on colorectal cancer via anti-inflammatory potential and pro-apoptotic activity.
Aberrant Crypt Foci ; Animals ; Azoxymethane ; Caco-2 Cells* ; Carcinogenesis ; Caspase 3 ; Cell Count ; Chemoprevention ; Colonic Neoplasms ; Colorectal Neoplasms* ; Cyclooxygenase 2 ; Dextrans ; Drinking Water ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique ; Humans ; In Situ Nick-End Labeling ; Mice* ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II ; Rodentia ; Sodium

The primary esophageal lymphoma is extremely rare, and shows various morphologic characteristics. Only a single case of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) type lymphoma confined to the esophagus has been reported in the literature. A 61-yr-old man was referred to our hospital for evaluation of an esophageal submucosal tumor (SMT) that had been detected incidentally by endoscopy. He had a history of pulmonary tuberculosis with long-term anti-tuberculosis medication 15 yr before, and also had a history of syphilis, which had been treated one year before. He had been taking a synthetic thyroid hormones for the past 10 months because of an autoimmune thyroiditis. Endoscopy showed a longitudinal round and tubular shaped smooth elevated lesion, which was covered with intact mucosa and located at the mid to distal esophagus, 31 cm to 39 cm from the incisor teeth. Endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) showed a huge longitudinal growing intermediate- to hypo-echoic mass located in the submucosal layer with internal small, various sized honeycomb-like anechoic lesions suggesting germinal centers. Subsequently, he underwent a surgery, which confirmed the mass as a primary esophageal low-grade B-cell lymphoma of MALT type.
Alcoholism/complications ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Esophageal Neoplasms/pathology* ; Esophageal Neoplasms/radiography ; Esophageal Neoplasms/ultrasonography ; Esophagoscopy ; Gastritis/complications ; Helicobacter Infections/complications ; Hemangioma, Cavernous/diagnosis ; Human ; Incidental Findings ; Lymphoma, Mucosa-Associated Lymphoid Tissue/pathology* ; Lymphoma, Mucosa-Associated Lymphoid Tissue/radiography ; Lymphoma, Mucosa-Associated Lymphoid Tissue/ultrasonography ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Mucous Membrane/pathology ; Neoplasm Invasiveness ; Smoking ; Thyroiditis, Autoimmune/complications

Conjunctivitis of allergic origin is associated with a diversity of clinical presentation. The common features include pronounced itching, a milky conjunctival appearance, a stringy or ropy discharge & papillary hypertrophy of the tarsal conjunctiva in severe cases, and a family history of allergy. The pathogenesis of ocular allergy involves multiple mechanisms, which lead to mast cell degranulation & the release of chemical mediators. The current therapy of ocular allergy involves elimination of the offending allergen, modulation of the immune system, & pharmacologic inhibition of chemical mediators. We are reporting 5 cases of severe allergic keratoconjunctivitis.
Conjunctiva ; Conjunctivitis ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Hypertrophy ; Immune System ; Keratoconjunctivitis ; Mast Cells ; Pruritus

Control of inflammation is widely accepted as an important strategy for cancer chemoprevention. Anti-inflammatory effects of bark extracts of elm tree (BEE) have been amply reported. Therefore, BEE may be a good candidate cancer chemopreventive agent. Considering the high incidence of hepatic cancer and limited therapeutic approaches for treating this disease, it is important to develop liver cancer-specific chemopreventive agents. To evaluate the chemopreventive potential of BEE, we investigated the growth inhibition effect of BEE on the HepG2 human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line. We performed a cell counting kit-8 assay to determine cell viability, and 4,6-diamino-2-phenylindole staining and flow cytometry to measure apoptotic cell death. Finally, the expression levels of pro- and anti-apoptotic proteins were measured. BEE inhibited the growth of HepG2 cells and induced apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. Pro-apoptotic activity was promoted via the mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis, as demonstrated by the activation of pro-apoptotic proteins Bax, caspase-9, caspase-3, and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase as well as the down-regulation of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2. These results suggest that BEE may have potential use in hepatic cancer chemoprevention by suppressing cancer cell growth via pro-apoptotic activity.
Apoptosis/*drug effects ; Blotting, Western ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/*drug therapy/metabolism/pathology ; Caspase 3/metabolism ; Caspase 9/metabolism ; Cell Survival/drug effects ; Flow Cytometry ; Hep G2 Cells ; Humans ; Indoles/chemistry ; Liver Neoplasms/*drug therapy/metabolism/pathology ; Plant Bark/chemistry ; Plant Extracts/*pharmacology ; Poly(ADP-ribose) Polymerases/metabolism ; Ulmus/*chemistry ; bcl-2-Associated X Protein/metabolism

Garlic and mugwort have long been used in traditional medicine to prevent various diseases. Several in vitro studies have reported protective efficacies of garlic and mugwort in cases of gastric cancer. In the present study, we investigated the cancer preventive effects of garlic and mugwort mixture extract (GME) in a Helicobacter (H.) pylori-associated gastric carcinogenesis mouse model. To induce gastric cancer, C57BL/6 mice were treated with N-methyl-N-nitrosourea and H. pylori. Various concentrations of GME (0, 100, 500, and 1,000 ppm) were then fed to the mice for 38 weeks, after which the tumor tissues were examined for histopathology, mucin histochemistry and beta-catenin. The incidence of gastric tumors was significantly lower in the highest dose GME-treated mice (46.7%) than control mice (85.7%) (p < 0.05). The multiplicity and size of tumors were also significantly reduced by GME feeding in a dose-dependent manner (p < 0.01). Furthermore, GME suppressed the H. pylori-associated chronic inflammation measured by histologic grading of H. pylori density, chronic gastritis, glandular atrophy and intestinal metaplasia in non-tumorous gastric mucosae. Our data suggest that GME suppresses gastric tumorigenesis via suppression of H. pylori-associated chronic inflammation.
Animals ; Artemisia* ; Atrophy ; beta Catenin ; Carcinogenesis* ; Garlic* ; Gastric Mucosa ; Gastritis ; Helicobacter pylori ; Helicobacter* ; Incidence ; Inflammation ; Medicine, Traditional ; Metaplasia ; Methylnitrosourea ; Mice* ; Mucins ; Stomach Neoplasms

Garlic and mugwort have long been used in traditional medicine to prevent various diseases. Several in vitro studies have reported protective efficacies of garlic and mugwort in cases of gastric cancer. In the present study, we investigated the cancer preventive effects of garlic and mugwort mixture extract (GME) in a Helicobacter (H.) pylori-associated gastric carcinogenesis mouse model. To induce gastric cancer, C57BL/6 mice were treated with N-methyl-N-nitrosourea and H. pylori. Various concentrations of GME (0, 100, 500, and 1,000 ppm) were then fed to the mice for 38 weeks, after which the tumor tissues were examined for histopathology, mucin histochemistry and beta-catenin. The incidence of gastric tumors was significantly lower in the highest dose GME-treated mice (46.7%) than control mice (85.7%) (p < 0.05). The multiplicity and size of tumors were also significantly reduced by GME feeding in a dose-dependent manner (p < 0.01). Furthermore, GME suppressed the H. pylori-associated chronic inflammation measured by histologic grading of H. pylori density, chronic gastritis, glandular atrophy and intestinal metaplasia in non-tumorous gastric mucosae. Our data suggest that GME suppresses gastric tumorigenesis via suppression of H. pylori-associated chronic inflammation.
Animals ; Artemisia* ; Atrophy ; beta Catenin ; Carcinogenesis* ; Garlic* ; Gastric Mucosa ; Gastritis ; Helicobacter pylori ; Helicobacter* ; Incidence ; Inflammation ; Medicine, Traditional ; Metaplasia ; Methylnitrosourea ; Mice* ; Mucins ; Stomach Neoplasms

PURPOSE: This study aimed to examine the following questions: to what extent do patients and caregivers perceive their family members to be avoidant of communication regarding patient's cancer, and to what extent do these perceptions interrelate; and how do such perceptions influence their own and each other's communication behaviors, communication outcome, mental health, and quality of life. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A national survey was performed with 990 patient-caregiver dyads (participation rate, 76.2%). To examine the dyadic interaction, we developed linked patient and family member questionnaires, including the Family Avoidance of Communication about Cancer (FACC) scale. RESULTS: The mean scores (standard deviations) of patient- and caregiver-perceived FACC were low at 10.9 (15.5) and 15.5 (17.5), respectively (p < 0.001), and concordance was low, a well (Spearman's rho, 0.23). Patient-perceived FACC was associated with lower levels of disclosure and behaviors of holding back communication, as well as lower levels of mental health outcome and quality of life. The same was true for caregivers (all p < 0.05). Patient-perceived FACC was associated with caregiver holding back, caregiver's depression level, and caregiver quality of life (all p < 0.05). Both patient- and caregiver-perceived FACC were independently associated with communication difficulty within the family. CONCLUSION: Future research would benefit from the measurement of FACC from both patients and caregivers, and promote family intervention to enhance openness to communication, which would be helpful for improving mental health and quality of life for both patients and caregivers.
Caregivers ; Depression ; Disclosure ; Humans ; Mental Health ; Quality of Life