Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is a novel predictor of cardiovascular disease

AIM:To clarify whether nonalcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD)increases the risk of cardiovascular disease.METHODS:We carried out a prospective observational study with a total of 1637 apparently healthy Japanese men and women who were recruited from a health check-up program.NAFLD was diagnosed by abdominal ultrasonography.The metabolic syndrome(MS)was defined according to the modified National Cholesterol Education Program(NCEP)ATP Ⅲ criteria.Five years after the baseline evaluations,the incidence of cardiovascular disease was assessed by a self-administered questionnaire.RESULTS:Among 1221 participants available for outcome analyses,the incidence of cardiovascular disease was higher in 231 subjects with NAFLD at baseline(5 coronary heart disease,6 ischemic stroke,and 1 cerebral hemorrhage)than 990 subjects without NAFLD(3 coronary heart disease,6 ischemic stroke,and 1 cerebral hemorrhage).Multivariate analyses indicated that NAFLD was a predictor of cardiovascular disease independent of conventional risk factors(odds ratio 4.12,95% CI,1.58 to 10.75,P = 0.004).MS was alsoindependently associated with cardiovascular events.But simultaneous inclusion of NAFLD and MS in a multivariate model revealed that NAFLD but not MS retained a statistically significant correlation with cardiovascular disease.CONCLUSION:Although both of them were predictors of cardiovascular disease,NAFLD but not MS retained a statistically significant correlation with cardiovascular disease in a multivariate model.NAFLD is a strong predictor of cardiovascular disease and may play a central role in the cardiovascular risk of MS.

Safe procedure in endoscopic submucosal dissection for colorectal tumors focused on preventing complications

Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is efficient for en bloc resection of large colorectal tumors. However, it has several technical difficulties, because the wall of the colon is thin and due to the winding nature of the colon. The main complications of ESD comprise postoperative perforation and hemorrhage, similar to endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR). In particular, the rate of perforation in ESD is higher than that in EMR. Perforation of the colon can cause fatal peritonitis. Endoscopic clipping is reported to be an efficient therapy for perforation. Most cases with perforation are treated conservatively without urgent surgical intervention. However, the rate of postoperative hemorrhage in ESD is similar to that in EMR. Endoscopic therapy including endoscopic clipping is performed and most of the cases are treated conservatively without blood transfusion. In blood examination, some degree of inflammation is detected after ESD. For the standardization of ESD, it is most important to decrease the rate of perforation. Adopting a safe strategy for ESD and a suitable choice of knife are both important waysof preventing perforation. Moreover, appropriate training and increasing experience can improve the endoscopic technique and can decrease the rate of perforation. In this review, we describe safe procedures in ESD to prevent complications, the complications of ESD and their management.

Pseudomembranous colitis presenting as acute colonic obstruction without diarrhea in a patient with gastric Burkitt lymphoma

Pseudomembranous colitis (PMC) usually manifests asfever and diarrhea in hospitalized patients treated withsystemic antibiotics. We described a case of PMC withintestinal obstruction but without diarrhea. A 60-yearold man was hospitalized for chemotherapy for the treatment of Burkitt lymphoma of the stomach. The patient became febrile and complained of crampy abdominal pain during the post-chemotherapy nadir. Plain abdominal radiography showed some intestinal gas and niveau. Because stool cytotoxin assay for clostridium difficile was positive and colon fiberscopic examination showed a pseudomembrane at the left side of the colon,and a diagnosis of PMC was made. Treatment with intracolonic vancomycin administration by colonoscopy and nasoileus tube was successful. Physicians should take into account the possibility of bowel obstruction due to PMC occurring in patients undergoing chemotherapy and perform emergency colonoscopy examination of suspected cases.

Trisomy 3 may predict a poor response of gastric MALT lymphoma to Helicobacter pylori eradication therapy

AIM: To investigate the relation of the response to Helicobacter pylori eradication therapy to the depth of tumor invasion and chromosome abnormalities in patients with mucosaassociated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma and to determine the clinical value of aneuploidy.METHODS: We studied 13 patients with localized gastric MALT lymphoma of stage E1. Before eradication therapy,the depth of tumor invasion was assessed by endoscopic ultrasonography in 8 patients and by endoscopic examination and gastrointestinal series in the remaining patients. To detect chromosomal abnormalities, paraffin-embedded tissue sections of diagnostic biopsy specimens underwent tissuefluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), using chromosomespecific α-satellite DNA probes for chromosomes 3,7,12,and 18 and YAC clones for t(11;18)(q21;q21).RESULTS: Seven of the 13 patients had complete regression(CR) in response to H pylori eradication therapy. No patient with CR had submucosal tumor invasion. Trisomy 18 was seen in 1 patient with CR, and both trisomies 12 and 18 were present in another patient with CR. All patients with no response or progressive disease had deep submucosal tumor invasion and showed t(11;18)(q21;q21) or trisomy 3. Trisomy 7 was not detected in this series of patients.CONCLUSION: The depth of tumor invasion is an accurate predictor of the response of stage E1 MALT lymphoma to H pylori eradication therapy and is closely associated with the presence of chromosomal abnormalities. Trisomy 3 may predict the aggressive development of MALT lymphoma.

Detection of BCL2-IGHrearrangement on paraffin-embedded tissue sections obtained from a small submucosal tumor of the rectum in a patient with recurrent follicular lymphoma

A 59-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital because of recurrent follicular lymphoma(FL).Colonoscopic examination revealed a rectal submucosal tumor(SMT)without any erosions and ulcers.In this patient,it was difficult to distinguish non-Hodgkin's lymphoma(NHL)invasion from other disorders of the colon including carcinoid tumor merely based on endoscopic findings.Histopathologic and immunohistochemical studies on biopsy specimens showed an infiltration of atypical lymphocytes that were positive for CD20 and BCL2 but negative for UCHL-1.Fluorescence in situ hybridization on paraffin-embedded tissue sections (T-FISH)identified a translocation of BCL2 with IGHgene. Based on these findings,the tumor was defined as an invasion of FL.T-FISH method is useful for the detection of a monoclonality of atypical lymphocytes in an SMT of the gastrointestinal tract,and particularly for the detection of chromosomal translocations specific to lymphoma subtypes.

Efficient hemostatic method for endoscopic submucosal dissection of colorectal tumors

AIM:To evaluate a new hemostatic method using hemostatic forceps to prevent perforation and perioperative hemorrhage during colonic endoscopic submucosal dissection(ESD).METHODS:We studied 250 cases,in which ESD for colorectal tumors was performed at the Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine or Nara City Hospital between 2005 and 2010.We developed a new hemostatic method using hemostatic forceps in December 2008 for the efficient treatment of submucosal thick vessels.ESD was performed on 126 cases after adoption of the new method(the adopted group)and the new method was performed on 102 of these cases.ESD was performed on 124 cases before the adoption of the new method (the unadopted group).The details of the new method are as follows:firstly,a vessel was coagulated using the hemostatic forceps in the soft coagulation mode according to the standard procedure,and the coagulated vessel was removed using the forceps in the"endocut" mode without perioperative hemorrhage.Secondly,the partial surrounding submucosa was dissected using the forceps in the endocut mode.In the current study,we evaluated the efficacy of this method.RESULTS:Coagulated vessels were successfully removed using the hemostatic forceps in all 102 cases without severe perioperative hemorrhage.Moderate perioperative hemorrhage occurred in five cases(4.9%);however,it was stopped by immediately reuse of the hemostatic forceps.The partial surrounding submucosa was dissected using the forceps in all 102 cases.In the adopted group,the median operation time was 105 min.The proportion of endoscopic en bloc resection was 92.8%(P<0.01)compared to 80.6%in the unadopted group.The postoperative hemorrhage and perforation rates were 2.3%and 2.3%.The rate of perforation was significantly lower than that in the unadopted group (9.6%,P<0.01).We evaluated the ease of use of this method by allowing our three trainees to performed ESD on 46 cases,which were accomplished without any severe hemorrhage.CONCLUSION:The new method effectively treated submucosal thick vessels and shows promise for the prevention of perforation and perioperative hemorrhage in colonic ESD.

Importance of histological evaluation in endoscopic resection of early colorectal cancer

The diagnostic criteria for colonic intraepithelial tumors vary from country to country.While intramucosal adenocarcinoma is recognized in Japan,in Western countries adenocarcinoma is diagnosed only if the tumor invades to the submucosa and accesses the muscularis mucosae.However,endoscopic therapy,including endoscopic mucosal resection(EMR)and endoscopic submucosal dissection(ESD),is used worldwide to treat adenoma and early colorectal cancer.Precise histopathological evaluation is important for the curativeness of these therapies as inappropriate endoscopic therapy causes local recurrence of the tumor that may develop into fatal metastasis.Therefore,colorectal ESD and EMR are not indicated for cancers with massive submucosal invasion.However,diagnosis of cancer with massive submucosal invasion by endoscopy is limited,even when magnifying endoscopy for pit pattern and narrow band imaging and flexible spectral imaging color of enhancement are performed.Therefore,occasional cancers with massive submucosal invasion will be treated by ESD and EMR.Precise histopathological evaluation of these lesions should be performed in order to determine the necessity of additional therapy,including surgical resection.

Image-enhanced endoscopy for diagnosis of colorectal tumors in view of endoscopic treatment

Recently,image-enhanced endoscopy(IEE) has been used to diagnose gastrointestinal tumors.This method is a change from conventional white-light(WL) endoscopy without dyeing solution,requiring only the push of a button.In IEE,there are many advantages in diagnosis of neoplastic tumors,evaluation of invasion depth for cancerous lesions,and detection of neoplastic lesions.In narrow band imaging(NBI) systems(Olympus Medical Co.,Tokyo,Japan),optical filters that allow narrow-band light to pass at wavelengths of 415 and 540 nm are used.Mucosal surface blood vessels are seen most clearly at 415 nm,which is the wavelength that corresponds to the hemoglobin absorption band,while vessels in the deep layer of the mucosa can be detected at 540 nm.Thus,NBI also can detect pit-like structures named surface pattern.The flexible spectral imaging color enhancement(FICE) system(Fujifilm Medical Co.,Tokyo,Japan) is also an IEE but different to NBI.FICE depends on the use of spectral-estimation technology to reconstruct images at different wavelengths based on WL images.FICE can enhance vascular and surface patterns.The autofluorescence imaging(AFI) video endoscope system(Olympus Medical Co.,Tokyo,Japan) is a new illumination method that uses the difference in intensity of autofluorescence between the normal area and neoplastic lesions.AFI light comprises a blue light for emitting and a green light for hemoglobin absorption.The aim of this review is to highlight the efficacy of IEE for diagnosis of colorectal tumors for endoscopic treatment.

Successful treatment with rifampin for fulminant antibiotics-associated colitis in a patient with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

A 74-year-old man was admitted to the hospital because of chemotherapy for relapsed non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL).The patient became febrile and experienced diarrhea after chemotherapy. Although ceftazidime and amikacin sulfate were administered as empiric therapy, diarrhea was continued.After several days, stool cytotoxin assay for clostridium difficile (C. difficile) was positive and he was diagnosed as having antibiotics-associated colitis (AAC). Although antibiotics were discontinued and both oral vancomycin and metronidazole were administrated, disease was not improved. To rule out the presence of an additional cause of diarrhea, colon fiberoscopic examination was performed. It revealed multiple deep ulcerative lesions at right side colon, surface erosive and minute erosive lesions in all continuous colon.Pseudomembranes were not seen. These findings are compatible with AAC without pseudomembranes. There are no reports that the rifampin is effective on refractory AAC.However, we administered oral rifampin for the current patient.The reasons are 1) conventional antibiotics were not effective,2) rifampin has excellent in vitro activity against C. difficile,and 3) the efficacy of rifampin on relapsing colitis due to C.difficile is established. After administration of rifampin, fever alleviated and diarrhea was improved. Because AAC may result in significant mortality, patients with refractory or fulminant AAC should be treated with oral rifampin from outset.

Successful endoscopic hemostasis for gastric arterial bleeding due to invasion of malignant lymphoma

A 75-year-old male with malignant lymphoma (ML) accompanied with gastric lesion was treated with combination chemotherapy. The patient produced tarry stool on the 4th d, and emergency gastroscopy showed arterial bleeding from the lesion. Hemostasis was achieved by injecting pure ethanol and using hemostatic clips. There is only one previous report on endoscopic hemostasis being effective for bleeding due to lymphoma. Since gastric bleeding causes significant mortality, endoscopic hemostasis should be considered as first-line treatment for ML patients who were treated with chemotherapy.