We have been collaborating with head and neck surgeons, plastic surgeons and oral surgeons in surgeries for many patients with head and neck carcinomas (especially oral carcinomas) since 2006 (fiscal year 2005). The Head and Neck Cancer Center was established at Okayama University Hospital in 2012.
　This Center was the first of its kind at a national university hospital in Japan.
　At the Center, 174 operations on head and neck carcinomas and 96 reconstructive operations were performed in 2014 (fiscal year).
　Medical and dental collaborative operations have been increasing almost every year since the 2005 fiscal year. There were 45 collaborative operations in the 2014 fiscal year, which included 30 cases of bone or metal plate reconstruction or plate reinforcement of the jaws.
　There were 76 medical and dental collaborative operations in the 7 years before the establishment of the Center, with a mean of 10.9 operations per year. Since the establishment of the Center, there have been 112 cases over 3 years with a mean of 37.3 operations per year. The number of surgeries has been markedly increased by the establishment of the Head and Neck Cancer Center.

View full abstract

　The concomitant administration of adjuvant analgesics is recommended for neuropathic pain due to metastatic invasive cancer, because such pain may respond poorly to analgesic agents such as non-opioid analgesics and opioids. We report the case of a 44-year-old female patient with severe pain caused by a lumbosacral plexus injury associated with a failure of oral pregabalin (200 mg daily for 2 weeks). We administered lidocaine hydrochloride（drip infusion 960 mg/day), which successfully relieved the pain.

View full abstract

　A 43-year-old Japanese woman was diagnosed with ectopic sebaceous glands in the esophagus by esophagogastroduodenoscopy and biopsy. At the age of 46, typical ectopic sebaceous glands were recognized in the upper esophagus, whereas yellowish white granules were faintly observed in the lower esophagus. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy examinations were repeated when she was 47 and again at 50 years old, and the lesions in the lower esophagus had become more evident over the ensuing 3 years. Esophageal ectopic sebaceous glands are relatively infrequent, and there have been few case reports describing the progression of the endoscopic features. We also report the clinical and endoscopic features of the five similar cases with pathologically proven ectopic sebaceous glands in the esophagus.

View full abstract

　Esophageal neuroendocrine carcinoma (ECC) is rare and has a poor prognosis when presenting with vascular invasion and distant metastasis from an early stage. Multidisciplinary therapy with surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy may prolong survival in patients with advanced ECC, but there is as yet no standard therapy for advanced ECC. We treated two patients who have achieved long-term survival (> 4 years) who underwent multidisciplinary therapy, including chemotherapy, for ECC. Our experience with these two cases suggests that multidisciplinary therapy, including chemotherapy, may be effective for treating ECC at an advanced stage.

View full abstract

　We present a case of probably IgG4-related thyroiditis with lymphadenopathy. The patient was a 70-year-old Japanese female who was undergoing hemodialysis and had undergone a right hemi-thyroidectomy in 1989 due to carcinoma. In December 2010, an ultrasonography study revealed a hypoechoic small lesion in thyroid gland. When the patient was admitted to our hospital in November 2013, the lesion and regional lymph nodes had enlarged and we suspected that they were metastatic thyroid cancer. We performed a residual total thyroidectomy and regional lymph node dissection in August 2014. At that time, lymphoplasmacytic infiltration and fibrosis were observed histopathologically in thyroid tissue. Immunohistochemical studies revealed infiltrated lymphocytes and plasma cells were markedly IgG-positive, and the ratio of IgG4-positive to IgG-positive cells was over 40%. We therefore diagnosed the patient with IgG4-related thyroiditis. The cervical lymph nodes were metastases of papillary carcinoma from 25 years earlier. The patient remains well without any recurrences 33 months after the surgery.

View full abstract