LADG seems to be safe and effective even for elderly patients, and their prognosis was satisfactory. However, careful monitoring for cardiovascular and pulmonary disease should be observed during the follow-up period.

Angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels, is involved in a variety of diseases including the tumor growth. In response to various angiogenic stimulations, a number of proteins on the surface of vascular endothelial cells are activated to coordinate cell proliferation, migration, and spreading processes to form new blood vessels. Plasma membrane localization of these angiogenic proteins, which include vascular endothelial growth factor receptors and integrins, are warranted by intracellular membrane trafficking. Here, by using a siRNA library, we screened for the sorting nexin family that regulates intracellular trafficking and identified sorting nexin 9 (SNX9) as a novel angiogenic factor in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). SNX9 was essential for cell spreading on the Matrigel, and tube formation that mimics in vivo angiogenesis in HUVECs. SNX9 depletion significantly delayed the recycling of integrin β1, an essential adhesion molecule for angiogenesis, and reduced the surface levels of integrin β1 in HUVECs. Clinically, we showed that SNX9 protein was highly expressed in tumor endothelial cells of human colorectal cancer tissues. High‐level expression of SNX9 messenger RNA significantly correlated with poor prognosis of the patients with colorectal cancer. These results suggest that SNX9 is an angiogenic factor and provide a novel target for the development of new antiangiogenic drugs.

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Wilms tumor (WT) is the most common malignant kidney tumor in children. High blood pressure is seen in up to 55% of children with WT. However, hypertensive cardiomyopathy with congestive heart failure due to WT is remarkably rare, with only several cases reported worldwide. In this report, a pediatric case of WT with hypertension causing hypertensive cardiomyopathy and congestive heart failure is presented. An 8-month-old male child with abdominal distension was seen by his primary physician. He was referred to our hospital for further examination and treatment. Abdominal contrast-enhanced computed tomography demonstrated a weakly enhancing, large abdominal mass, which was larger than 12 cm. Two-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography showed a diffuse hypokinetic left ventricle. The patient was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy caused by hypertension. Open surgical resection of the mass was successfully performed. His postoperative course was uncomplicated, and the patient was successfully discharged. The plasma renin activity was maintained at a high level even after left nephrectomy, suggesting that the right kidney was likely the source of renin secretion. Mechanical compression of the right renal blood vessels by a greatly enlarged left kidney can cause right renal ischemia, which activates renin excretion. Nephrectomy can be an effective treatment for a WT patient with hypertension causing hypertensive cardiomyopathy, and then cardiac function will be improved within several weeks. We recommend routine echocardiography surveillance in patients with WT. This report can help pediatric surgeons become more familiar with cardiomyopathy caused by WT.

INTRODUCTIONThe association of hepatic sarcoidosis with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is considerably rare. Here we report a rare case of HCC associated with sarcoidosis.PRESENTATION OF CASEA 75-year-old male with no history of alcohol addiction or viral hepatitis was referred to our hospital because of an abnormal liver mass. Subsegmentectomy of the liver was performed for the diagnosis of HCC. A histopathological examination revealed small non-necrotizing granulomas with a tendency to coalesce that were scattered in and around the carcinoma. No features of cirrhosis, steatohepatitis, and any other liver diseases were observed. Furthermore, swelling of the bilateral lung hilar lymph nodes with uptake of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose was found on positron emission tomography/computed tomography and the tuberculin reaction test results were negative. On the basis of these findings, the final diagnosis of HCC associated with sarcoidosis was confirmed.DISCUSSIONBy reviewing previous cases, we found only five cases that described patients diagnosed with HCC associated with sarcoidosis. Of these, four patients died within two years after diagnosis because of ruptures or inoperable huge tumors. In contrast, radical hepatectomy was performed at an earlier stage of disease in two patients, including ours, and both these patients have remained healthy with no recurrences or metastases at the latest follow-up visit.CONCLUSIONPeriodic checkups of the liver should be conducted for patients with systemic sarcoidosis, regardless of the presence of liver cirrhosis.