Publications by authors named "Akio Tawa"

Article Synopsis
  • - The study explores the molecular pathology of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), focusing on the discovery of important genetic markers for risk assessment and the need for new treatment approaches, especially for patients with relapsed or refractory AML.
  • - Researchers conducted ATAC-seq analysis on 10 AML patients, finding increased accessibility of the DOCK1 gene, which subsequently led to further testing on 369 pediatric AML patients to evaluate DOCK1 gene expression levels.
  • - Results showed that high DOCK1 expression (noted in 37% of patients) correlated with significantly poorer overall and event-free survival rates; experiments suggest that using a DOCK1 inhibitor may enhance the efficacy of cytarabine, a common AML treatment.
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The dosage of chemotherapy drugs for overweight/obese children with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) has been empirically reduced based on ideal body weight (BW) in Japan to reduce the risk of adverse events. We investigated the associations between pre-therapeutic body mass index (BMI) and clinical outcomes among children with AML. A total of 280 children were divided into two groups based on the World Health Organization Child Growth Standards: a healthy-weight group (n = 254), and an overweight/obese group (n = 26).

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CD25 is an aberrant marker expressed on the leukemic stem cell (LSC) surface and an immunotherapy target in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). However, the clinical prevalence and significance of CD25 expression in pediatric AML are unknown. High IL2RA/CD25 expression in pediatric AML showed a stem cell-like phenotype, and elevated CD25 expression was associated with lower overall survival (p < .

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KIT D816V mutation within exon 17 has been particularly reported as one of the poor prognostic factors in pediatric acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with RUNX1-RUNX1T1. The exact frequency and the prognostic impact of KIT D816V minor clones at diagnosis were not examined. In this study, the minor clones were examined and the prognostic significance of KIT D816V mutation in pediatric patients was investigated.

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Mixed-lineage leukemia (MLL) gene rearrangements are among the most frequent chromosomal abnormalities in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). MLL fusion patterns are associated with the patient's prognosis; however, their relationship with driver mutations is unclear. We conducted sequence analyses of 338 genes in pediatric patients with MLL-rearranged (MLL-r) AML (n = 56; JPLSG AML-05 study) alongside data from the TARGET study's pediatric cohorts with MLL-r AML (n = 104), non-MLL-r AML (n = 581), and adult MLL-r AML (n = 81).

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We previously reported that risk-stratified therapy and intensive postremission chemotherapy (PRC) contributed to the improved survival of childhood acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in the AML99 study, which led us to consider a reduction in the number of PRC courses with more restrictive indications for stem cell transplantation (SCT) in the successor AML-05 study. We here report the outcome of AML patients without core-binding factor mutation (non-CBF AML) in the AML-05 study. Two-hundred eighty-nine children (age < 18 years old) with non-CBF AML were eligible.

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The variability in myelosuppression after chemotherapy for acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) can affect its prognosis; however, the underlying mechanism remains controversial. In the Japanese Paediatric Leukaemia/Lymphoma Study Group AML-05 study, we showed that prolonged neutropenia was associated with high overall survival (P = 0·011) and low frequency of relapse (P = 0·042) in patients without granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) who completed the indicated treatment protocol. Our data indicate that predisposition to prolonged neutropenia after chemotherapy is correlated with a better outcome of AML treatment.

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Article Synopsis
  • A multispecies outbreak of IMP-6 carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (IMP-6-CPE) occurred at a hospital in Japan, affecting 22 patients between July 2013 and March 2014.
  • The study used various molecular techniques to track the transmission of the bacteria and identified risk factors associated with acquiring IMP-6-CPE, particularly in patients undergoing specific surgical procedures.
  • Genomic analysis indicated the presence of a shared 50-kb plasmid across most samples, suggesting gene transfer between species and aiding in understanding how the outbreak spread among affected patients.
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Recent advances in the genetic understanding of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) have improved clinical outcomes in pediatric patients. However, ∼40% of patients with pediatric AML relapse, resulting in a relatively low overall survival rate of ∼70%. The objective of this study was to reveal the comprehensive genetic background of pediatric AML.

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Although infants (age <1 year) with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) have unique characteristics and are vulnerable to chemotherapy, children aged 1-2 years with AML may have characteristics similar to that of infants. Thus, we analysed 723 paediatric AML patients treated on the Japanese AML99 and AML-05 trials to identify characteristics of younger children. We identified patients aged <3 years (the younger group) as a distinct subgroup.

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In the AML-05 clinical trial conducted by the Japanese Pediatric Leukemia/Lymphoma Group from 2006 to 2010, children with high-risk acute myeloid leukemia (HR AML) received allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) at first complete remission (CR1). The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of allo-HSCT on the outcome of HR AML. Patients with either monosomy 7, 5q-, t(16;21), Ph1, FLT3-ITD, or induction failure after the first course of chemotherapy were eligible for transplant.

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The prognosis of paediatric acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) with primary induction failure (PIF) is extremely poor, and effective treatment strategies have not been established. We investigated the clinical and biological features of paediatric AML patients with PIF registered to the Japanese Paediatric Leukaemia/Lymphoma Study Group AML-05 study. The 3-year overall survival rate of the 41 PIF patients was 19.

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In acute myeloid leukemia (AML), () rearrangements are among the most frequent chromosomal abnormalities; however, knowledge of the genetic landscape of -rearranged AML is limited. In this study, we performed whole-exome sequencing (n = 9) and targeted sequencing (n = 56) of samples from pediatric -rearranged AML patients enrolled in the Japanese Pediatric Leukemia/Lymphoma Study Group AML-05 study. Additionally, we analyzed 105 pediatric t(8;21) AML samples and 30 adult -rearranged AML samples.

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Acute myeloid leukemia harboring internal tandem duplication of FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 (AML) is associated with poor prognosis. We evaluated the results of the AML-05 study, in which all AML patients were assigned to receive hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in the first remission (1CR). We also investigated the effects of additional genetic alterations on FLT3-ITD.

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Background: Gene abnormalities, particularly chromosome rearrangements generating gene fusion, are associated with clinical characteristics and prognosis in pediatric acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Karyotyping is generally performed to enable risk stratification, but the results are not always consistent with those of reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and more accurate and rapid methods are required.

Methods: A total of 487 samples from de novo AML patients enrolled in the Japanese Pediatric Leukemia/Lymphoma Study Group (JPLSG) AML-05 study (n = 448), and from acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) patients enrolled in the JPLSG AML-P05 study (n = 39) were available for this investigation.

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Background: In acute myeloid leukemia (AML), accurate detection of minimal residual disease (MRD) enables better risk-stratified therapy. There are few studies, however, on the monitoring of multiple fusion transcripts and evaluation of their accuracy as indicators of MRD at multiple time points.

Methods: We retrospectively examined RNA obtained from 82 pediatric AML patients enrolled in the Japanese Pediatric Leukemia/Lymphoma Study Group (JPLSG) AML-05 study.

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Clinical outcomes and the genetic background of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in adolescent and young adults (AYAs) are known to differ in younger children and older adults. To clarify the impact of genetic mutations on clinical outcomes of AYAs with AML, we analyzed data from the JPLSG AML-05 and JALSG AML201 studies. AYAs aged 15-39 years (n = 103) were included.

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Purpose: This study was conducted as the first clinical trial by Japan Association of Childhood Leukemia Study to improve the outcome of B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia and explore a less toxic reinduction block.

Patients And Methods: From 1997 to 2002, 563 patients with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia aged 1 to 15 years were enrolled. The patients were assigned into 4 risk groups (standard, intermediate, high, or extremely high risk) and treated with regimens intensified according to the risk.

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ASXL2 is an epigenetic regulator involved in polycomb repressive complex regulation or recruitment. Clinical features of pediatric acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients with ASXL2 mutations remain unclear. Thus, we investigated frequencies of ASXL1 and ASXL2 mutations, clinical features of patients with these mutations, correlations of these mutations with other genetic alterations including BCOR/BCORL1 and cohesin complex component genes, and prognostic impact of these mutations in 369 pediatric patients with de novo AML (0-17 years).

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Pediatric acute megakaryoblastic leukemia in non-Down syndrome (AMKL) is a unique subtype of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Novel CBFA2T3-GLIS2 and NUP98-KDM5A fusions recurrently found in AMKL were recently reported as poor prognostic factors. However, their detailed clinical and molecular characteristics in patients treated with recent improved therapies remain uncertain.

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Background: Anthracyclines are used to treat childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Even when administered at low doses, these agents are reported to cause progressive cardiac dysfunction. We conducted a clinical trial comparing the toxicities of two anthracyclines, pirarubicin (THP) and daunorubicin (DNR), in the treatment of childhood ALL.

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Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) is a molecularly and clinically heterogeneous disease. Targeted sequencing efforts have identified several mutations with diagnostic and prognostic values in KIT, NPM1, CEBPA and FLT3 in both adult and paediatric AML. In addition, massively parallel sequencing enabled the discovery of recurrent mutations (i.

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Background: Overexpression of CXC chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4+) is a poor prognostic factor in adult acute myeloid leukemia (AML); however, its prognostic significance in pediatric AML is unclear.

Procedure: This retrospective study examined the prognostic significance of CXCR4+ in pediatric AML patients enrolled in the Japanese Pediatric Leukemia/Lymphoma Study Group AML-05 study.

Results: In the total cohort (n = 248), no significant differences were observed between CXCR4+ patients (n = 81) and CXCR4- patients (n = 167) in terms of 3-year overall survival (OS) (69.

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We evaluated the efficacy of treatment using reduced cumulative doses of anthracyclines in children with acute promyelocytic leukaemia (APL) in the Japanese Paediatric Leukaemia/Lymphoma Study Group AML-P05 study. All patients received two and three subsequent courses of induction and consolidation chemotherapy respectively, consisting of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA), cytarabine and anthracyclines, followed by maintenance therapy with ATRA. Notably, a single administration of anthracyclines was introduced in the second induction and all consolidation therapies to minimize total doses of anthracycline.

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