A small subxiphoid incision makes bar implantation easier and has reduced the incidence of major complications in this early experience with 15 patients.

Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) titre elevation is sometimes found in benign diseases, such as gastro-intestinal tract inflammatory disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; however, very high CEA titre is rarely encountered in benign pulmonary disease.A 36-yr-old female, who had suffered from body weight loss, was found to have high serum CEA titre (60.8 ng?mL -1). Image studies revealed one pulmonary tumour at the left lower lobe, satellite nodules and mediastinal lymphadenopathy.Left lower lobectomy and lymph node dissection were performed for suspicious pulmonary malignancy. The pathological examination revealed that the tumourous lesion was composed of small and fragmented foreign bodies, fibrinopurulent exudate and heavy eosinophils. The bronchial epithelium was characterised by goblet cell hyperplasia and CEA overexpression. The remaining lung parenchyma possessed similar foreign body reaction. The patient's medical history was reviewed and it was found that she had spread propolis topically on nasal mucosa as an adjuvant therapy to asthma for 6 months prior to this medical event. The CEA titre decreased after the operation to 14.2 and 7.88 ng?mL -1 after 2 weeks and 6 months, respectively.Propolis is used widely in folk medicine but it also has strong sensitising potential. One rare case of propolis aspiration is reported with presentation mimicking lung cancer.

The possible association between the risk of pancreatic cancer mortality and hardness levels in drinking water from municipal supplies was investigated in a matched case-control study in Taiwan. All eligible pancreatic cancer deaths (883 cases) of Taiwan residents from 1990 through 1994 were compared with deaths from other causes (883 controls), and the hardness levels of the drinking water used by these residents were determined. Data on water hardness throughout Taiwan was collected from Taiwan Water Supply Corporation (TWSC). The control group consisted of people who died from other causes and were pair matched to the cancer cases by sex, year of birth, and year of death. The results show that there is a 39 % excess risk of mortality from pancreatic cancer in relation to the use of soft water. Trend analyses showed an increasing odds ratio for pancreatic cancer with decreasing levels of hardness in drinking water. This is an important finding for the Taiwan water industry and human health.

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