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We report herein the case of a 69-year-old man with basaloid-squamous carcinoma (BSC) of the esophagus. To the best of our knowledge, this is the 60th case of BSC of the esophagus to be reported in Japan, and a review of the other 59 cases is presented after this case report. In our patient, endoscopic findings revealed a circumferential erosion in the middle intrathoracic esophagus (Im), and a protruding tumor with friable ulceration in the center of the erosion. A biopsy suggested that it was moderately differentiated squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), and a thoracoscopic total thoracic esophagectomy was performed. Histologically, the protruding-type lesion with ulceration was composed of BSC, and the circumferential 0 -I + IIc type lesion was composed of moderately differentiated SCC. The immunohistochemical findings of these resected specimens led us to suspect that the basal-layer-type SCC had transformed into BSC by undergoing differentiation and expansive proliferation.

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A BSTRACTBackground: Recently, a second prostaglandin D 2 (PGD 2 ) receptor, chemoattractant receptor-homologous molecule expressed on Th2 cells (CRTH2), was identified. Because PGD 2 was reported to have chemotactic activity on eosinophils, CRTH2 expressed on eosinophils attracted interest as a receptor associated with eosinophil migration to, and accumulation at, inflammatory sites. To elucidate the mechanism regulating the expression of CRTH2 on eosinophils, the effects of PGD 2 , interleukin (IL)-4, IL-5 and interferon (IFN)-γ on CRTH2 expression were investigated. Methods: Blood eosinophils were purified using Percoll and anti-CD16 antibody coated magnetic beads. Eosinophils were incubated with PGD 2 and/or IL-4, IL-5 and IFN-γ . The expression of CRTH2 on eosinophils was measured using a FACScan cytometer (Becton Dickinson Immunocytometry Systems, San Jose, CA, USA). Results: Prostaglandin D 2 and IL-5, but not IL-4 and IFN-γ , downregulated the expression of CRTH2 on eosinophils. Furthermore, PGD 2 -and IL-5-induced downregulation of CRTH2 on human eosinophils was inhibited by phenylarsine oxide, a receptor internalization inhibitor. Conclusions: These results suggest that PGD 2 and IL-5 regulate CRTH2 expression on eosinophils through