Improvements in therapies for childhood cancers have increased the number of survivors. However, with this prolonged survival, the late effects of disease and anti-cancer therapy are becoming increasingly important. Approximately two-thirds of survivors of childhood cancer will have at least one late effect, and about one-third will have a late effect that is severe or life-threatening. A second neoplasm is one of the most severe late effects in survivors of childhood cancer. Compared with normal populations, persons with a history of childhood cancer have a 10- to 20-fold greater risk of a second malignant neoplasm. Patients who have undergone radiation therapy or been given specific chemotherapeutic agents and patients with a known genetic predisposition to malignancy have been shown to be at higher risk for a second malignant neoplasm. Cardiac problems are another serious late effect for survivors of childhood cancer. Anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicities are common in these patients. A cumulative dose of anthracycline greater than 300 mg/m² is associated with an 11-fold higher risk of clinical heart failure compared with a cumulative dose of less than 300 mg/m². Serial monitoring of cardiac functioning in children receiving anthracycline allows early identification of cardiac damage. One cardioprotectant (dexrazoxane) has proven effective in adult patients, but larger trials are needed to determine its efficacy in children. It is important to recognize that it may not be best to categorize surviving patients by primary diagnosis. Instead, strategies for surveillance of survivors should be based on the treatment each patient received.

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We developed short-term pancreatic cancer models in hamsters using PGHAM-1 cells and examined the utility of the models for research on metastasis and for therapeutic trials. With 3 PGHAM-1 models, including 1) primary pancreatic cancer and simultaneous liver metastasis by intrapancreatic transplantation, 2) liver metastasis alone by intrasplenic transplantation, 3) peritoneal dissemination by intraperitoneal transplantation, within 21 days after inoculation, we studied the specific characteristics of metastases and the effects of several antiangiogenic substances on primary and metastatic pancreatic tumors. Several experiments showed that vascular endotherial growth factor and anatomical characteristics were important factors for metastasis. In therapeutic experiments, the incidence, size, diameter, microvessel density, and apoptotic index of the tumors were preferably influenced by the antiangiogenic substances. In addition, PGHAM-1-Luc, which is luciferase-positive PGHAM-1 cell line, was newly developed and is expected to be a useful new animal model. These models would be suitable for the study of pathogenesis of pancreatic cancer and its metastasis and for preclinical trials of chemotherapeutic agents, such as antiangiogenic substances.

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Background: The duration of suction drainage in patients undergoing breast cancer surgery is difficult to predict. The uncertainty this poses may complicate the development of a clinical pathway for patients with breast cancer. In this study we attempted to identify factors that may influence the duration of suction drainage in patients undergoing breast cancer surgery.
Methods: We examined the relationships between the duration of suction drainage and several clinical factors including type of drainage tube in 60 patients with primary breast cancer who underwent surgical resection at the Nippon Medical School Hospital in 2004 and 2005. The drainage tubes were removed 1 day after the daily drainage volume had decreased to less than 50 mL or on the seventh postoperative day in patients in whom such a decrease did not occur. All patients were discharged from the hospital 1 or 2 days after the drains were removed.
Results: Seroma was observed in all patients. No complications associated with the drainage were observed. The median duration of drainage was 4.5 days, and the range was 2 to 7 days. Univariate analyses revealed significant relationships between the duration of drainage and the following 5 factors: patient age at surgery, body mass index, intraoperative blood loss, operation time, and type of surgery (total breast resection or partial breast resection). Univariate and multivariate analyses showed no significant statistical associations between the duration of drainage and the other factors, including the type of drainage tube.
Conclusion: None of the factors examined was strongly associated with the duration of drainage. This study has shown that any type of drainage tube can be used in breast cancer surgery, in regards to the duration of drainage, and that patient discharge 1 or 2 days after drainage tube removal is appropriate.

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A 30-year-old man was injured when the large motorcycle he was riding crashed into a power pole. Upon arrival at our institution, the patient complained of abdominal pain; blood pressure at admission was 160/70 mmHg, and the heart rate was 112 bpm. Abdominal ultrasonography showed a small collection of fluid in Morrisons pouch. A chest X-ray film showed a right rib fracture. Multidetector computed tomography (MD-CT) revealed pleural effusion, a hepatic lesion, and a dissection of the abdominal aorta distal to the renal artery. Because of the complicated intraluminal injuries, the insertion of a stent graft was difficult. On the 34^th day after injury, elective surgery was performed. Because dissection of the lumen was observed, the vessel was replaced with an artificial graft. Medial degeneration of the aorta wall was not observed upon pathological examination, and no degenerative disorders have occurred. The postoperative progress was favorable, and the patient was discharged from hospital.

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Otitis media chronica cholesteatomatica with cerebral sigmoid sinus thrombosis is an important differential diagnosis in the evaluation of headache. We describe a 31-year-old Filipino man with chief complaints of headache, otalgia, vomiting, and vertigo, and no significant past medical history. Two years before admission he stuffed tissues into the right external auditory canal because of a noise in the street on the night of the New Years festival and sometimes had right ear discharge. One month before admission he had a right occipital headache with right otalgia and fever. One day before admission he vomited. Vertigo developed on the day of admission. On physical examination at admission, the patient was somnolent and had a body temperature of 36.9°C, and meningeal signs were obvious. Magnetic resonance of the brain revealed right otitis media chronica cholesteatomatica and right cerebral sigmoid sinus thrombosis. Computed tomography of the skull base revealed that the tympanic cavity and mastoid air cells were filled with a mass of soft-tissue density invading toward the sigmoid sinus. Cerebrospinal fluid examination showed a cell count of 32/3 mm³. The patients level of consciousness and symptoms improved after administration of ampicillin and ceftriaxone sodium. A diagnosis of "headache attributed to disorder of ears," with The International Classification of Headache Disorders, 2^nd edition (ICHD-II) code 11.4, was made on the basis of symptoms and imaging findings. Otitis media chronica cholesteatomatica had invaded toward the sigmoid sinus and was thought to be the cause of cerebral sigmoid sinus thrombosis and meningitis. Six weeks after admission the patient underwent mastoidectomy and tympanoplasty to cure the cholesteatoma and prevent recurrence of inflammation. The postoperative progress was satisfactory. In cases of headache with otalgia, "headache attributed to disorder of ears" should be considered.

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We describe a 51-year-old woman with a cerebral infarction that showed transient accumulation of thallium-201. On admission, this lesion was well-enhanced by gadolinium injection and gradually expanded, mimicking a malignant brain tumor. A cerebral angiogram, however, did not indicate the presence of a malignant brain tumor. Ethyl cysteinate dimer single photon computerized tomography showed perfusion defects throughout hospitalization. The final diagnosis of cerebral infarction was established by pathological examination. Six months after onset, the enhancement by gadolinium and the expansion of the lesion disappeared. A cerebral infarction showing transient uptake of thallium-201, and lesion expansion is indicative of a lesion in the liquefaction stage that might mimic a malignant tumor. Although thallium-201 scintigrams are useful for the differential diagnosis of radiation necrosis and recurrent brain tumor, the findings in this patient should alert clinicians to the differential diagnosis of intracerebral expansive lesions.

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A 46-year-old man was transferred to our hospital because of a bladder mass. The mass could not be distinguished from a primary bladder tumor or a tumor invading from another organ with computed tomography, magnetic resonance, or cystoscopic examination. Transurethral resection of the mass was performed, and the pathological diagnosis was typical cystitis glandularis. The patient has been followed up with cytologic examination and ultrasonography, and after 10 months there has been no new growth of the mass or malignant change.

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We describe an infant with nemaline myopathy accompanied by hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The patient required long-term, intermittent positive-pressure ventilation after birth owing to muscle weakness, and cardiac failure developed during infancy. We diagnosed hypertrophic cardiomyopathy with outflow tract obstruction, and treated the heart failure with β-adrenergic and angiotensin II receptor blockers. We discuss the prognosis of nemaline myopathy combined with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

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Basaloid squamous cell carcinoma is an uncommon malignancy of the esophagus. We present two cases of basaloid squamous carcinoma of the esophagus. Both tumors histologically consisted of solid cell nests and displayed focal immunoreactivity for type IV collagen. The nests comprised pseudoglandular structures containing myxoid matrix. Transthoracic esophagectomy with lymph node dissection was performed in both patients. The patients had uneventful postoperative courses. One patient showed no evidence of recurrence or metastasis in the 6-month postoperative period, and the other patient died of lung metastasis 28 months after the primary treatment.

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