Publications by authors named "Akihiko Yoshizawa"

We report 3 cases of extremely rare familial idiopathic diffuse pulmonary ossification, 2 of 3 received lung transplantation and the other is listed for lung transplantation. The clinical courses of family members varied greatly, and rapid deterioration could occur; therefore, early and close examination is recommended for transplant registration. During transplantation, the lungs appeared and felt exactly like a "pumice stone" and could not collapse, and good visual field was not easily obtained.

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Background: The composite physiologic index (CPI) was developed to estimate the extent of interstitial lung disease (ILD) in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) patients based on pulmonary function tests (PFTs). The CALIPER-revised version of the CPI (CALIPER-CPI) was also developed to estimate the volume fraction of ILD measured by CALIPER, an automated quantitative CT postprocessing software. Recently, artificial intelligence-based quantitative CT image analysis software (AIQCT), which can be used to quantify the bronchial volume separately from the ILD volume, was developed and validated in IPF.

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  • Fibroblastic foci (FF) are important indicators of usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) but can also appear in various fibrotic interstitial lung diseases (ILDs), making them non-specific for UIP.
  • This study analyzed the spatial distribution of FF in different forms of ILDs in patients who underwent lung transplants, categorizing them by anatomical location.
  • Results showed that idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) had more total and peripheral FF compared to other ILDs, while centrilobular FF was more prevalent in fibrotic hypersensitivity pneumonitis (FHP), suggesting distinct spatial patterns associated with different diseases.
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  • Erdheim-Chester disease (ECD) is a rare condition involving abnormal cell growth, characterized by specific types of histiocytes and granulomas leading to tissue fibrosis.
  • About 50% of ECD patients show cardiovascular issues on imaging, but detailed pathological findings are not widely reported.
  • An autopsy of an ECD patient revealed a link between arterial blockages and a BRAF gene mutation, suggesting the need to investigate BRAF mutations in ECD patients with arterial complications.
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  • Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have improved survival rates for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), but the effects of subsequent salvage surgery were previously unclear.
  • This study analyzed data from patients who underwent salvage surgery after ICIs, focusing on characteristics, surgical outcomes, and survival rates from 2016 to 2022.
  • Results showed that while the majority had good outcomes, those having surgery for primary tumors had better progression-free survival (PFS) compared to those with metastatic tumors, indicating potential benefits of selective salvage surgery post-ICI treatment.
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  • Stromal cells in breast cancer help regulate the spread of tumors and are influenced by the tumor cells themselves.
  • The study focused on α-parvin, a protein linked to poor prognosis in various cancers, to see if it could be a therapeutic target by analyzing its expression in breast cancer tissues.
  • Results showed that α-parvin levels were significantly higher in breast cancer tissues compared to normal ones and were positively correlated with cancer proliferation and disease classification, suggesting its potential as a diagnostic marker.
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  • Metaplastic thymoma (MT) is a rare type of thymic tumor that has a specific genetic fusion (YAP1::MAML2), similar to skin tumors called poromas.
  • Recent studies revealed that MT lacks YAP1 C-terminus expression, but the expression of YAP1 N-terminus in MT and other thymic epithelial tumors (TETs) needed further exploration.
  • In an examination of 14 MT cases, it was found that MT consistently showed a distinct staining pattern (YAP1[N]-positive, YAP1[C]-negative), while other TETs like type B3 thymoma exhibited variable staining, highlighting the need for more research on YAP1's role
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Several studies have developed various artificial intelligence (AI) models for immunohistochemical analysis of programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) in patients with non-small cell lung carcinoma; however, none have focused on specific ways by which AI-assisted systems could help pathologists determine the tumor proportion score (TPS). In this study, we developed an AI model to calculate the TPS of the PD-L1 22C3 assay and evaluated whether and how this AI-assisted system could help pathologists determine the TPS and analyze how AI-assisted systems could affect pathologists' assessment accuracy. We assessed the 4 methods of the AI-assisted system: (1 and 2) pathologists first assessed and then referred to automated AI scoring results (1, positive tumor cell percentage; 2, positive tumor cell percentage and visualized overlay image) for final confirmation, and (3 and 4) pathologists referred to the automated AI scoring results (3, positive tumor cell percentage; 4, positive tumor cell percentage and visualized overlay image) while determining TPS.

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Among epithelial ovarian cancer, clear cell carcinoma is common for chemo-resistance and high mortality. This cancer arises from benign ovarian endometrioma (OE), which is a high oxidative stress environment due to the cystic retention of menstrual blood produced during menstruation and the "iron" liberated from the cyst. There has been strong evidence that the iron concentration in OE decreases when they become cancerous.

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Intravascular large B-cell lymphoma (IVLBCL) is a rare type of aggressive extranodal large B-cell lymphoma characterized by the selective growth of lymphoma cells within the lumina of blood vessels, particularly capillaries. IVLBCL lacks mass formation, and its diagnosis can be challenging. We analyzed the utility of insulin-like growth factor II mRNA-binding protein 3 (IMP3) immunohistochemistry for IVLBCL diagnosis in various organs.

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Most lung carcinomas are subtyped by their morphologies; however, immunohistochemistry is usually performed when it is difficult to determine. The most reliable antibodies for distinguishing lung adenocarcinoma from squamous cell carcinoma are thyroid transcription factor-1 (TTF-1) and p40 (ΔNp63). In general, these markers are mutually exclusive in their expression of lung primary carcinoma; however, a few cases of non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) with coexpression of both markers have been reported.

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Chronic lung allograft dysfunction (CLAD) remains one of the major limitations to long-term survival after lung transplantation. We modified a murine model of CLAD and transplanted left lungs from BALB/c donors into B6 recipients that were treated with intermittent cyclosporine and methylprednisolone postoperatively. In this model, the lung allograft developed acute cellular rejection on day 15 which, by day 30 after transplantation, progressed to severe pleural and peribronchovascular fibrosis, reminiscent of changes observed in restrictive allograft syndrome.

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Differentiating between idiopathic interstitial pneumonia (IIP) and secondary interstitial pneumonia, particularly connective tissue disease-associated interstitial lung disease (CTD-ILD), can be challenging histopathologically, and there may be discrepancies among pathologists. While surgical lung biopsy has traditionally been considered the gold standard for diagnosing interstitial pneumonia, the usefulness of transbronchial lung cryobiopsy (TBLC) has been reported. If TBLC could effectively distinguish between primary and secondary diseases, it would provide a less invasive option for patients.

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Background: The vascular division sequence in video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) lung resection is usually determined by the handling difficulty due to the limited surgical view through the scope. However, upfront pulmonary vein division is theoretically desirable to avoid tumor cells spreading by surgical manipulation. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is associated with poor prognosis and an increased number of circulating tumor cells.

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  • * Researchers focused on the role of yes-associated protein 1 (YAP1) in enabling this survival and explored combining EGFR-TKIs with a YAP1-TEAD pathway inhibitor (VT104) to enhance treatment effectiveness.
  • * The study found that using VT104 alongside EGFR-TKIs led to better tumor suppression in lab tests and animal models, suggesting this combination could improve outcomes for patients with EGFR mutation-positive lung cancer.
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  • Sarcoidosis is a disease where granulomas (clusters of immune cells) form in the body, and current treatments mainly involve glucocorticoids, with no alternative medications approved yet.
  • Researchers used single-cell RNA sequencing to study sarcoidosis patients and found that certain macrophages (a type of immune cell) associated with the disease were more abundant in skin lesions and exhibited increased metabolism, particularly in a pathway called the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP).
  • It was discovered that inhibiting enzymes from the PPP could reduce granuloma formation in both laboratory cell models and animal studies, suggesting that targeting this pathway could lead to new treatments for sarcoidosis.
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The pathogenesis of malignant mesothelioma (MM) has been extensively investigated, focusing on stress derived from reactive oxygen species. We aimed to identify diagnostic biomarkers of MM by analyzing proteins in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded specimens using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. We extracted proteins from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded sections of MM tissues (n = 7) and compared their profiles with those of benign mesothelial tissues (n = 4) and alveolar tissue (n = 1).

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Dissolved ozone is generally used for sanitization, but it has not been used for thoracic cavity sanitization because of its short half-life (< 20 min) and possible toxicity. We developed a novel solution containing ultrafine ozone bubbles (ozone-UFB) with a fivefold longer half-life than non-UFB ozone. Using an in vitro model, Staphylococcus aureus colonies were counted after exposure to ozone-UFB or non-UFB ozone at the same ozone concentration (0.

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Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) promotes primary tumor progression toward a metastatic state. The role of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) in inducing EMT in lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) remains unclear. We aimed to clarify the significance of TAMs in relation to EMT in LUSC.

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Background: We have shown the efficacy of CD26/dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (CD26/DPP-4) inhibitors, antidiabetic agents, in allograft protection after experimental lung transplantation (LTx). We aimed to elucidate whether CD26/DPP-4 inhibitors effectively improve postoperative outcomes after clinical LTx.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the records of patients undergoing LTx at our institution between 2010 and 2021 and extracted records of patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) at 6 months post-LTx.

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Pulmonary and extrapulmonary complications after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been major public health concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although post-COVID-19 pulmonary manifestations cover a wide spectrum, eosinophilic pneumonia (EP) has rarely been reported. To date, only four cases of EP potentially triggered by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection have been reported, all of which required systemic corticosteroid therapy.

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Neoadjuvant therapies are used for locally advanced non-small cell lung carcinomas, whereby pathologists histologically evaluate the effect using resected specimens. Major pathological response (MPR) has recently been used for treatment evaluation and as an economical survival surrogate; however, interobserver variability and poor reproducibility are often noted. The aim of this study was to develop a deep learning (DL) model to predict MPR from hematoxylin and eosin-stained tissue images and to validate its utility for clinical use.

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Pancreatic acinar cystic transformation (ACT) is a rare non-neoplastic cystic lesion that is predominantly located at the pancreatic head in females. Preoperative definitive diagnosis of ACT remains challenging despite advances in radiologic imaging methods. A 25-year-old male patient presented with abdominal discomfort and a 50-mm cystic lesion in the pancreatic tail.

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  • Gastric cancer risk is linked to chronic gastritis, and the OLGIM system can determine GC risk based on the level of intestinal metaplasia (IM), although scoring requires considerable expertise.
  • A deep learning model, ResNet50, was used to analyze 5753 images of gastric biopsy samples, achieving a high sensitivity (97.7%) and specificity (94.6%) in classifying IM.
  • The study indicates that the AI system can improve the accuracy and consistency of GC risk evaluation, potentially standardizing pathology assessments globally.
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