A Case Report of Concurrent Acne-Related Occurrence Complications: Telangiectasia, Post-Inflammatory Erythema, Post-Inflammatory Hyperpigmentation, and Atrophic and Hypertrophic Scars

Prior to his initial diagnosis, a 21-year-old male had been experiencing facial acne for two years and had been treated by a doctor in private practice. The patient visited our department because the clinical manifestations of mandibular acne did not improve. At the time of initial examination, telangiectasia (TE), post-inflammatory erythema (PIE), post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH), atrophic scars (ASs), and a hypertrophic scar (HS) with induration were observed on the right neck. We diagnosed this as an acne vulgaris complication. HS lesions were topically treated by injecting triamcinolone acetonide, and the patient was prescribed 8.1 g/day of oral Saireito (Japanese herb). Adapalene benzoyl peroxide gel and topical tacrolimus hydrate ointment were used to treat PIE and TE. Both HSs and PIE improved;however, TE and AS did not improve. Currently, the patient is under observation. We consider this to be a very rare concurrent occurrence of diverse complications of acne vulgaris, and present the following case study.

Tentative New Terminology: Initial Comedonal Phase Preceding Acute Inflammatory Phase of Acne Vulgaris—Importance of Early Treatment

We report a case of a 12-year-old female with closed and open comedo without inflammatory lesions at the first visit. She had been treated with topical adapalene once daily, and closed and open comedo subsided without inflammatory lesions one month after the treatment without any side effects induced by adapalen. The recurrence of comedo had not been observed afterwards. In the Japanese Dermatological Association (JDA) guidelines for the treatment of acne vulgaris, comedonal phase has not been stated. Then we propose the tentative new terminology of a comedonal phase and emphasize its importance in the early initial treatment for comedo to prevent the development of the acute inflammatory phase such as red papules and pustules and formation of acne scars.

Effectiveness of impedance monitoring during radiofrequency ablation for predicting popping

AIM： To retrospectively evaluate the effectiveness of impedance monitoring for predicting popping during radiofrequency ablation （RFA） using internally cooled electrodes. METHODS： We reviewed 140 patients （94 males, 46 females; age range 73.0 ＋ 11.1 year） who underwent RFA between February 2006 and November 2008 with a modified protocol using a limited power delivery rather than a conventional one to avoid popping. All the patients provided their written informed consent, and the study was approved by the institutional review board. Intraprocedural impedances were measured for the study subjects, and the tumors were classified into three types according to the characteristics of their impedance curves： increasing, flat, or decreasing. The tumors were further sorted into seven subtypes （A-G） depending on the curvature of the impedance curve＇ s increase or decrease. Relative popping rates were determined for the three types and seven subtypes. A chi-square test was performed to estimate statistical significance.RESULTS： A total of 148 nodules treated by RFA were analyzed. The study samples included 132 nodules of hepatocellular carcinoma, 14 nodules of metastatic liver cancer, and two nodules of intrahepatic cholangio- carcinoma. The numbers of nodules with each imped- ance curve type were as follows： 37 increasing-type nodules, 43 fiat-type nodules, and 68 decreasing-type nodules. Popping occurrence rates were 24.3%, 46.5% and 64.7%, respectively. Flat-type nodules exhibited a significantly higher rate of popping compared to increasing-type nodules （P = 0.039）. Decreasing-type nodules exhibited a significantly higher rate of popping compared to increasing-type nodules （P 〈 0.0001）. No- tably, nodules that showed a sharp decrease in imped- ance in the latter ablation period （subtype E） exhibited a significantly higher rate of popping compared to other subtypes. CONCLUSION： Intraprocedural impedance monitoring can be a useful tool to predict the occurrence of pop- ping during liver tumor RFA performed with internally cooled electrodes.

Watery diarrhea,hypokalemia and achlorhydria syndrome due to an adrenal pheochromocytoma

Watery diarrhea, hypokalemia and achlorhydria (WDHA) syndrome caused by vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) -producing tumor only rarely occurs in patients with nonpancreatic disease. A 49-year-old woman was referred for evaluation of a right adrenal tumor incidentally diagnosed by abdominal ultrasound during the investigation of chronic watery diarrhea. Laboratory findings showed hypokalemia and excessive production of VIP and catecholamines. After surgical resection of the tumor, diarrhea subsided and both electrolytes and affected hormone levels normalized. Immunohistochemical examination confirmed a diagnosis of pheochromocytoma, which contained VIP-positive ganglion-like cells. We herein present the clinical and histogenetic implications of this rare clinical entity, with literature review.

Comparison of percutaneous transhepatic portal vein embolization and unilateral portal vein ligation

AIM： To compare the effect of percutaneous transhepatic portal vein embolization （PTPE） and unilateral portal vein ligation （PVL） on hepatic hemodynamics and right hepatic lobe （RHL） atrophy.METHODS： Between March 2005 and March 2009, 13 cases were selected for PTPE （n = 9） and PVL （n = 4） in the RHL. The PTPE group included hilar bile duct carcinoma （n = 2）, intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma （n = 2）, hepatocellular carcinoma （n = 2） and liver metastasis （n = 3）. The PVL group included hepatocellular carcinoma （n = 2） and liver metastasis （n = 2）. In addition, observation of postoperative hepatic hemodynamics obtained from computed tomography and Doppler ultrasonography was compared between the two groups.RESULTS： Mean ages in the two groups were 58.9 ± 2.9 years （PVL group） vs 69.7 ±3.2 years （PTPE group）, which was a significant difference （P = 0.0002）. Among the indicators of liver function, including serum albumin, serum bilirubin, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, platelets and indocyanine green retention rate at 15 min, no significant differ- ences were observed between the two groups. Preop-erative RHL volumes in the PTPE and PVL groups were estimated to be 804.9 ±181.1 mL and 813.3 4±129.7 mL, respectively, with volume rates of 68.9% ± 2.8% and 69.2% ±4.2%, respectively. There were no significant differences in RHL volumes （P = 0.83） and RHL volume rates （P = 0.94）, respectively. At 1 mo after PTPE or PVL, postoperative RHL volumes in the PTPE and PVL groups were estimated to be 638.4±153.6 mL and 749.8 ± 121.9 mL, respectively, with no significant difference （P = 0.14）. Postoperative RHL volume rates in the PTPE and PVL groups were estimated to be 54.6% ± 4.2% and 63.7% ± 3.9%, respectively, which was a significant difference （P = 0.0056）. At 1 mo after the operation, the liver volume atrophy rate was 14.3% ± 2.3% in the PTPE group and 5.4%± 1.6% in the PVL group, which was a significant difference （P = 0.0061）.CONCLUSION： PTPE is a more effective procedure than PVL because PTPE is able to occlude completely the portal branch throughout the right peripheral vein.

Simultaneous bile duct and portal venous branch ligation in two-stage hepatectomy

Hepatectomy is an effective surgical treatment for multiple bilobar liver metastases from colon cancer;however,one of the primary obstacles to completing surgical resection for these cases is an insufficient volume of the future remnant liver,which may cause postoperative liver failure.To induce atrophy of the unilateral lobe and hypertrophy of the future remnant liver,procedures to occlude the portal vein have been conventionally used prior to major hepatectomy.We report a case of a 50-year-old woman in whom two-stage hepatectomy was performed in combination with intraoperative ligation of the portal vein and the bile duct of the right hepatic lobe.This procedure was designed to promote the atrophic effect on the right hepatic lobe more effectively than the conventional technique,and to the best of our knowledge,it was used for the first time in the present case.Despite successful induction of liver volume shift as well as the following procedure,the patient died of subsequent liver failure after developing recurrent tumors.We discuss the first case in which simultaneous ligation of the portal vein and the biliary system was successfully applied as part of the first step of two-stage hepatectomy.

Large mucinous cystic neoplasm of the pancreas associated with pregnancy

Mucinous cystic neoplasms (MCNs) of the pancreas occur mostly in females and are potentially sex hormone-sensitive. However, a MCN occurring during pregnancy is quite rare. A 30-year-old woman in the tenth week of pregnancy was referred to us because of a rapid increase in left hypochondrial distending pain. On ultrasound, the patient had a large intra-abdominal cystic lesion. She was thereafter diagnosed with missed abortion and a computed tomography scan showed that the lesion was a cystic tumor 18 cm in diameter originating from the pancreatic tail. The patient subsequently underwent tumor resection with distal pancreatectomy, sparing the spleen. Histopathological analysis of the specimen revealed a pancreatic MCN with moderate dysplasia. Immunohistochemically, the tumor was positive for both estrogen and progesterone receptors. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of pancreatic MCN with moderate dysplasia in association with pregnancy. Our case strongly indicates that pancreatic MCN is female-hormone dependent.

Optimal combination of radiofrequency ablation with chemoradiotherapy for locally advanced pancreatic cancer

Problems have been reported in the treatment of pancreatic cancer with radiofrequency ablation(RFA), such as the friability of the organ itself. This report presents possible solutions to such problems. Although our patient suffered from locally advanced unresectable pancreatic cancer, she remained well at 18 mo after RFA with no evidence of recurrence. To ameliorate the side effects of RFA, after a palliative bypass procedure, the subject was treated with combined radiotherapy and chemotherapy. After this regimen had been administered, a contrast-enhanced computed tomography scan confirmed that RFA is a viable approach to the treatment of pancreatic cancer as the chemoradiotherapy had resulted in marked tumor shrinkage and pancreatic fibrosis; i.e., sufficient tumor ablation was achieved without serious RFA-related complications, such as pancreatitis or pancreatic fistulae. The present case suggests that RFA combined with preceding chemoradiotherapy is safe and effective for the palliative treatment of locally advanced pancreatic cancer.

Effective Treatment of Acne Fulminans with Oral Corticosteroids

An 18-year-old man had numerous multiple painful nodulocystic lesions, pustules, and necrotic hemorrhagic ulcerative lesions with crusts on the face, back, chest and upper arm two weeks ago. Systemic symptoms such as fever, general fatigue and arthralgia were not observed. Laboratory findings revealed an elevated white blood cell count with a neutrophilia and C-reactive protein. Oral antimicrobials did not respond. Consequently, oral prednisolone (20 mg/d) for two weeks induced remarkable improvement promptly. A case of acne fulminans without systemic symptoms successfully treated with oral corticosteroids has been reported.

Non-Surgical Treatment with Chemical Peeling and Subsequent Vitamin C Iontophoresis for Rolling Scars in Acne Vulgaris

A 19-year-old man had atrophic scars on bilateral temple for several years. The atrophic scars were composed of rolling scars (three depressions, 8 × 4 mm in diameter), ice pick scars and boxcar scar. The patient was treated with chemical peeling (CP) using 20% glycolic acid (GA) (pH 3.2) and subsequent iontophoresis with vitamin C derivative at one month’s interval twice. Remarkable improvement was observed;the rolling scars almost disappeared with traces of hypopigmented macule. However, the ice pick scars and boxcar scar did not improve. CP and subsequent vitamin C iontophoresis can be an alternative non-surgical and non-invasive treatment for rolling scar in acne.

Comprehensive Sequential Successful Therapy Comprising Chemical Peeling, Iontophoresis and Topical Vitamin C for Postinflammatory Hyperpigmentation in Acne Vulgaris

A 20-year-old man presented with for 6-month history of facial acne. He had erythema and red papules on the face secondary to BPO-induced contact dermatitis. He was administered topical corticosteroid. Contact dermatitis improved with this treatment, and he had red papules, comedones, prominent postinflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH), postinflammatory erythema (PIE), erosions and erythema associated with acne vulgaris. He was subsequently treated with oral minocycline 100 mg/d and topical adapalene and ozenoxacin lotion once daily for 3 months. The inflammatory lesions and comedo subsided;however, PIH, PIE, atrophic scar and erosion persisted. During 3 months, the patient underwent chemical peeling using 20% glycolic acid (GA) and subsequent vitamin C iontophoresis twice at 1-month intervals. He showed almost disappearance of red papules and comedones but persistent PIH, PIE and erosion after 3 months of treatment. He was thereafter prescribed topical glyceryl-octyl-ascorbic acid/ascorbyl 2-phosphate 6-palmitate/DL-a-tocopherol phosphate complex for local application twice daily for 3 months. After 7 months of treatment, PIH, PIE, erosion and atrophic scar faded significantly with only trace residual erosions, atrophic scar and PIH. Subsequently, he was prescribed local application of 2% isostearyl-L-ascorbic acid gel vitamin C gel twice daily for 3 months. After 15 months, PIH, PIE, erosion and atrophic scar disappeared completely with significant improvement. Comprehensive sequential therapy resulted in significant improvement. It is suggested that medical treatment using systemic and topical antimicrobials and topical adapalene reduces inflammatory lesions and comedones initially. Subsequent chemical peeling using GA and vitamin C iontophoresis could improve PIH. These synergistic effects might have contributed to the significant improvement observed in this case. Comprehensive sequential treatment using chemical peeling, vitamin C iontophoresis and topical vitamin C can be a useful treatment strategy for PIH in acne vulgaris.

The new era of precision medicine in hepatocellular carcinoma:the urgent need for promising biomarkers

Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)is the second most lethal malignancy worldwide,and the prognosis of advanced HCC is especially dismal.After the SHARP trial reported in 2007,a number of phase III trials of molecular targeting agents for advanced HCC have been conducted,but most of them have failed to achieve their primary endpoint,and sorafenib has been the only first-line systemic therapy approved for HCC in this decade(1).