Publications by authors named "Akagi K"

Background: Cactus contains dietary fiber and minerals and is expected to have preventive effects against diabetes, arteriosclerosis, and other diseases. Additionally, cactus intake induces the production of short-chain fatty acids derived from the gut microbiota, which might influence immune functions. In this study, we examined the effects of a cactus (: NC)-supplemented diet on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced immune responses and intestinal barrier function.

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Background: The prognosis of patients with lung cancer and malignant pleural effusion (MPE) caused by carcinomatous pleurisy is poor. Chemical pleurodesis is commonly performed clinically, however, often has a high failure rate. Furthermore, prolonged sustained drainage and delayed introduction of systemic chemotherapy could increase the risk of worsening the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status (ECOG PS) in the treatment of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

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Aim: Lynch syndrome (LS) is a dominantly inherited syndrome characterized by an increased risk for LS associated tumors such as colorectal cancer (CRC) and gastric cancer (GC). However, the clinical benefit of surveillance for GC remains unclear while it has already been recommended for CRC. This study aimed to elucidate the clinical features of GC in Japanese individuals with LS, and the risk of developing multiple GCs to build regional-tailored surveillance programs in LS patients with GC.

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Objectives: Serrated polyposis syndrome (SPS) is a rare condition associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer. However, the genetic basis of SPS in Japanese patients remains unclear. The present study therefore aimed to address this omission by identifying candidate causative genes of SPS in Japanese patients.

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  • The report discusses two cases of severe compartment syndrome in the distal forearm due to prolonged compression from immobility, occurring in a 59-year-old man with cervical spondylolisthesis and a 65-year-old man suspected of having Parkinson's disease.
  • Both cases exhibited a unique necrotic pattern, preserving certain compartments of the forearm despite significant tissue damage.
  • Even though the salvaged limbs did not regain full functionality, surgical intervention allowed the patients to use their limbs for basic activities and daily tasks.
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  • A new model for predicting germline pathogenic variants (GPVs) of the APC gene in patients with adenomatous polyposis is being developed to aid in clinical diagnosis and management, especially when genetic testing is unavailable.
  • In a study of 162 patients, 55.6% were found to have GPVs of the APC gene, with key predictors identified, including age under 40, 100 or more polyps, fundic gland polyposis, and a family history of colorectal polyposis.
  • The predictive model demonstrated high accuracy (area under the curve of 0.91) and aims to assist both patients and healthcare providers in deciding on the necessity of genetic testing.
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  • The study investigates optimal colonoscopy surveillance intervals for Lynch syndrome cases by analyzing colorectal cancer incidence and precancerous lesions in a multicenter study conducted in Japan.
  • Results show that advanced colorectal cancers are detected more frequently beyond a 2-year interval, with significant differences in detection rates between intervals.
  • The findings suggest that regular colonoscopy surveillance within 2 years is crucial for early detection, with specific risk stratifications for different gene mutations indicating varying risks for subsequent colorectal cancers.
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  • Patients with familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) face both medical risks and social challenges, particularly related to marriage and childbirth after undergoing colorectal surgery.
  • A study of 161 Japanese patients showed that the overall marriage rate post-surgery (57.8%) was similar to that of the general Japanese population, but those unmarried before surgery had a low marriage rate (16.0%).
  • Factors like younger age and genetic testing significantly increased the likelihood of getting married post-surgery, and 71% of those who married after surgery went on to have successful pregnancies.
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  • Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are porous materials made from metal ions and organic ligands, which show potential for capturing CO from the air.
  • The study developed a regression model to predict how different components of MOFs affect their capacity to adsorb CO, using a combination of experimental and structural data.
  • By applying topological data analysis through persistence diagrams, the researchers were able to assess the impact of the MOF's geometric structure on CO adsorption efficiency, finding strong correlation with experimental results, which could help identify optimized MOF structures.
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Bacteria that have acquired resistance to most antibiotics, particularly those causing nosocomial infections, create serious problems. Among these, the emergence of vancomycin-resistant enterococci was a tremendous shock, considering that vancomycin is the last resort for controlling methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop an inhibitor of VanX, a protein involved in vancomycin resistance.

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Background: APC and MUTYH are both well-known colorectal polyposis causative genes. However, 30-50% of colorectal adenomatous polyposis cases are classified as colonic adenomatous polyposis of unknown etiology and lack identifiable pathogenic variants. Although guidelines recommend total proctocolectomy for colonic adenomatous polyposis of unknown etiology with over 100 adenomas, evidence is lacking.

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HOIL-1L deficiency was recently reported to be one of the causes of myopathy and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). However, the mechanisms by which myopathy and DCM develop have not been clearly elucidated. Here, we sought to elucidate these mechanisms using the murine myoblast cell line C2C12 and disease-specific human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs).

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  • The study classifies deficient DNA mismatch repair (dMMR) solid tumors into three categories: MLH1-hypermethylated tumors, Lynch syndrome (LS)-associated tumors, and Lynch-like syndrome (LLS)-associated tumors, with varying incidences and unclear pathogenic genes for LLS.
  • Researchers analyzed 3,609 tumors from nine different organs, assessing the loss of MMR proteins and performing both methylation and genetic tests, finding that 5.9% of these tumors were dMMR.
  • Results indicated that varying tumor types show different incidences of dMMR, with several somatic MMR gene variants identified in LLS tumors, highlighting the need for further studies on LLS genetics for better patient counseling
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Climate change has a significant impact on rice grain appearance quality; in particular, high temperatures during the grain filling period increase the rate of chalky immature grains, reducing the marketability of rice. Heat-tolerant cultivars have been bred and released to reduce the rate of chalky grain and improve rice quality under high temperatures, but the ability of these cultivars to actually reduce chalky grain content has never been demonstrated due to the lack of integrated datasets. Here, we present a dataset collected through a systematic literature search from publicly available data sources, for the quantitative analysis of the impact of meteorological factors on grain appearance quality of various rice cultivars with contrasted heat tolerance levels.

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Purpose: This study evaluated the risk of metachronous colorectal cancer (CRC) after resection of index (first) rectal cancer in patients with Lynch syndrome (LS).

Methods: Clinicopathological data of patients with genetically proven LS were retrospectively analyzed in this multicenter Japanese study. The cumulative incidence of metachronous CRC and the overall survival were compared between patients with index rectal cancer (rectal group) and those with index colon cancer (colon group).

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Background: According to the sixth Gastric Cancer Treatment Guideline, the regimen included nab-paclitaxel(nab-PTX) is a conditional recommendation as second-line treatment for advanced gastric cancer. However, the selection criteria of nab-PTX is not clear.

Method: Questionnaire survey as narrative approach on the problems of paclitaxel premedication, the symptoms due to paclitaxel containing alcohol, and infusion time was conducted for patients who had been treated with paclitaxel.

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Background: The actual situation of oral care and oral troubles for patients with gastric cancer received chemotherapy is not clear.

Methods: Questionnaire survey in the form of oral questions was performed for patients with gastric cancer who received chemotherapy from December 2021 to February 2022. The relevance between the survey results and background factors was examined using the χ2 test.

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Metastatic penile squamous cell carcinoma (PSCC) has only a 50% response rate to first-line combination chemotherapies and there are currently no targeted-therapy approaches. Therefore, we have an urgent need in advanced-PSCC treatment to find novel therapies. Approximately half of all PSCC cases are positive for high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV).

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Introduction: The efficacy of olaparib for treatment-related neuroendocrine prostate cancer is unknown. Here, we report a case of treatment-related neuroendocrine prostate cancer with a mutation that was treated with olaparib with 1-year efficacy.

Case Presentation: A 75-year-old man initially diagnosed with prostate adenocarcinoma developed treatment-related neuroendocrine prostate cancer after 10-year androgen deprivation therapy.

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  • The study investigates how specific genetic mutations in circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) impact the prognosis of patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) undergoing treatment.
  • Researchers identified 24 mutations in bone marrow plasma cells (BMPC) and 47 in ctDNA from 261 RRMM cases, with certain mutations, especially in the TP53 gene, linked to worse progression-free survival (PFS).
  • A new prognostic index based on the number of ctDNA mutations, plasma DNA concentration, and clinical factors was developed, highlighting ctDNA's role as a superior predictor for patient outcomes compared to mutations found in BMPC.
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Certain genetic alterations and right-sided primary tumor location are associated with resistance to anti-epidermal growth factor (EGFR) treatment in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). The phase 3 PARADIGM trial (n = 802) demonstrated longer overall survival with first-line anti-EGFR (panitumumab) versus antivascular endothelial growth factor (bevacizumab) plus modified FOLFOX6 in patients with RAS wild-type mCRC with left-sided primary tumors. This prespecified exploratory biomarker analysis of PARADIGM (n = 733) evaluated the association between circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) gene alterations and efficacy outcomes, focusing on a broad panel of gene alterations associated with resistance to EGFR inhibition, including KRAS, NRAS, PTEN and extracellular domain EGFR mutations, HER2 and MET amplifications, and ALK, RET and NTRK1 fusions.

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  • * The study included 52 patients (mean age 75, 28 male and 24 female) who underwent NAC GS, with most having tumors located in the pancreatic head; however, only 2 patients completed full treatment due to necessary dose reductions.
  • * Adverse events were common, with 40.4% of patients experiencing significant neutropenia, but the treatment was generally manageable, resulting in 90.4% of patients undergoing successful R0 resection.
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Background: Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a severe degenerative skeletal and cardiac muscle disease, has a poor prognosis, and no curative treatments are available. Because decreased autophagy has been reported to contribute to skeletal muscle degeneration, therapies targeting autophagy are expected to improve skeletal muscle hypofunction. However, the role of this regulatory mechanism has not been evaluated clearly in DMD cardiomyocytes.

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A 60s female, who had undergone single-incision laparoscopic ileocecal resection for ascending colon cancer with pathological diagnosis of T3N1bM0, Stage Ⅲb, followed by adjuvant therapy with 8 courses CAPOX 2 years ago, had enhanced- computed tomography(CT)for follow-up and a 15-mm nodule near anastomotic site was found. 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography(PET)CT revealed abnormal accumulation of 18F-FDG only to the lesion and diagnosis of"anastomotic recurrence"was made. We planned and safely performed resection of the anastomotic site and the nodule.

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