No abstract

Autologous fat grafting for breast augmentation has faced some historical hurdles. However, in recent years it has been gaining acceptance from the medical community. This prospective, nonrandomized open-label study of 20 Japanese women supports the use of autologous fat grafting in breast augmentation and explores enhancement of fat graft tissue with autologous adipose-derived regenerative cells (ADRCs). After adipose harvesting using syringe liposuction, the tissue is processed in the Celution 800 System(®), which washes the graft and isolates ADRCs. The average cells per gram of harvested adipose tissue was 3.42 × 10(5), and the mean cell viability measured using an automated cell counting system before graft delivery was 85.3%. All patients demonstrated improvement in circumferential breast measurement (BRM) from their baseline state, and breast measurements were stable by 3 months after surgery. The mean BRM 9 months after surgery had increased 3.3 cm from preoperative measurements. Through 9 months, overall physician satisfaction was 69% and patient satisfaction was 75%. No serious or unexpected adverse events were reported, and the procedure was safe and well tolerated in all patients. Postoperative cyst formation was seen in two patients. These prospective results demonstrate that ADRC-enriched fat grafts processed with a closed automated system maintain high cell viability and that the procedure is safe and effective, with all patients showing improvement after a single treatment.

A total of 195 patients with node-positive gastric carcinoma who were treated by curative gastrectomy and lymphadenectomy were studied to evaluate the prognostic significance of the number of metastatic lymph nodes. Univariate analysis showed that the number and level of positive nodes, tumour size and depth of invasion, and type of gastrectomy were significantly related to patient survival. Multivariate analysis indicated that the number of positive nodes (up to six versus seven or more; relative risk 2.91), depth of invasion (three levels; relative risk 1.83) and histological type (well versus poorly differentiated; relative risk 0.63) were independently correlated with survival. The results indicate that the total number of positive nodes is the most significant prognostic factor in patients with node-positive gastric carcinoma.

Background. In cases of surgery for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), postoperative intrahepatic recurrence is the main obstacle to long‐term survival of patients. The association between perioperative transfusion and recurrence‐free survival was studied in 126 patients with HCC who underwent hepatic resection between 1985 and 1990 and in whom complete follow‐up information was available until 1992. Methods. Patients who received neither whole blood nor packed erythrocytes during hospitalization formed the no transfusion group (n = 72), and the remaining patients who were given either whole blood or packed erythrocytes during hospitalization constituted the transfusion group (n = 54). Results. The 1‐year, 3‐year, and 5‐year recurrence‐free survival rates of the nontransfused versus transfused groups were 80.6% versus 74.1%, 50.9% versus 33.4%, and 37.1% versus 26.2%, respectively (P = 0.1590). After adjustment for other covariates, the serum albumin level and histological intrahepatic metastasis (im) remained as significant variables for recurrence‐free survival. Although there was no association between the erythrocyte transfusion and the recurrence‐free survival of the patients with serum albumin levels either more than 3.5 g/dl or less than or equal to 3.5 g/dl, the 1‐year, 3‐year, and 5‐year recurrence‐free survival rates of the nontransfused versus transfused groups of the patients with im‐negative HCC were 92.2% versus 80.0%, 62.6% versus 36.3%, and 47.4% versus 27.1%, respectively (P = 0.0254). Conclusions. The association between erythrocyte transfusion and the recurrence‐free survival was recognized only in patients with im‐negative HCC.

Preoperative serum CEA and CA 19-9 levels in 158 patients with gastric cancer were analyzed with respect to prognostic factors, using univariate and multivariate analysis. The incidence of high preoperative levels of both CEA and CA 19-9 was 10.1% (16/158). 13.9% (22/158) showed high CEA levels and normal CA 19-9 levels, whereas the reverse was true in 16.5% (26/158). Neither marker showed a high level in 59.5% (94/158). The multivariate analysis showed that in addition to tumor stage, the depth of invasion, liver metastasis and peritoneal dissemination, combination assays of preoperative serum CEA and CA 19-9 levels were an independent prognostic factor. Combination assays of preoperative serum CEA and CA 19-9 will allow us to conduct a more careful postoperative follow-up of high-risk patients, and also help determine the optimum adjuvant chemotherapy.