Folate receptor 1 is a stemness trait-associated diagnostic and prognostic marker for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) can be classified into several subtypes based on molecular traits, aiding in prognostic stratification. The subtype with a poor prognosis is often associated with stem/progenitor features. This study focused on identifying circulating biomarkers for aggressive HCC.

A rare case of a malignant hepatic perivascular epithelioid cell tumor (PEComa) with aggressive progression following the relapse of renal pecoma despite everolimus therapy.

A 55-year-old man with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) was diagnosed with left renal angiomyolipoma (AML), a group of perivascular epithelioid cell tumors called PEComas. He had received the mTOR inhibitor everolimus, which resulted in a complete response. However, a left renal mass relapsed in two years, followed by the occurrence of a hepatic mass five months later.

Guidance of clinical management for patients with tonsillar focal disease.

Tonsillar focal diseases (TFDs) are defined as "diseases caused by organic and/or functional damage in organs distant from tonsil, and the disease outcome is improved by tonsillectomy." Although several reports and reviews have shown the efficacy of tonsillectomy for TFDs, no guidelines for the clinical management of the diagnosis and treatment of TFDs have been reported. Therefore, the Society of Stomato-pharyngology established a committee to guide the clinical management of patients with TFDs, and the original guide was published in May 2023.

Pretreatment with antibiotics is associated with reduced therapeutic response to atezolizumab plus bevacizumab in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

Aim: Alterations in microbial composition of gut microbiota due to antibiotics (ATB) may lead to resistance to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). This study aimed to assess the impact of ATB use on therapeutic response in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) receiving atezolizumab plus bevacizumab.

Methods: This study retrospectively analyzed 105 patients with HCC treated with atezolizumab plus bevacizumab as a primary systemic therapy from prospectively-registered, multicenter, cohorts.

Thrombospondin-2 as a Predictive Biomarker for Hepatocellular Carcinoma after Hepatitis C Virus Elimination by Direct-Acting Antiviral.

We evaluated the value of secreted glycoprotein thrombospondin-2 (TSP-2) to predict hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) occurrence in chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients after Hepatitis C virus (HCV) elimination by direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs). A total of 786 CHC patients without an HCC history who achieved a sustained virological response (SVR) with DAAs were randomly assigned 2:1, with 524 patients as the derivation cohort and 262 patients as the validation cohort. Serum TSP-2 levels at the end of treatment were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

Fucosylated haptoglobin is a novel predictive marker of hepatocellular carcinoma after hepatitis C virus elimination in patients with advanced liver fibrosis.

Background: Patients with advanced fibrosis are at risk for developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) even after hepatitis C virus (HCV) elimination. We previously reported that serum fucosylated haptoglobin (Fuc-Hp) levels increase as the disease progresses from chronic hepatitis to cirrhosis and then HCC. However, it remains unclear whether serum Fuc-Hp levels can stratify the risk of HCC occurrence after a sustained virological response (SVR) is achieved with direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) in patients with advanced liver fibrosis.

Concomitant Clostridioides difficile and Edwardsiella tarda Infection in a Patient with Ulcerative Colitis.

Infectious enteritis is common in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This case presented a young woman who underwent remission maintenance therapy for ulcerative colitis (UC). She was suspected of having concomitant Clostridioides difficile and Edwardsiella tarda infections.

Serum amyloid P component and pro-platelet basic protein in extracellular vesicles or serum are novel markers of liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis C patients.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) contain proteins, mRNAs, and microRNAs, and their cargos have emerged as novel diagnostic markers in various diseases. We aimed to discover novel and noninvasive biomarkers of liver fibrosis by proteomic analysis using serum EVs in patients with chronic hepatitis C. We performed shotgun proteomics using serum EVs isolated from 54 patients with histologically assessed liver fibrosis.

Candidemia in patients with head and neck cancer: mortality and a novel risk factor.

Purpose: Candidemia is a bloodstream infection (BSI) by Candida spp. and is associated with high mortality. However, there have been few reports about BSI in head and neck cancer (HNC).

Serum growth differentiation factor 15 predicts hepatocellular carcinoma occurrence after hepatitis C virus elimination.

Background: After hepatitis C virus (HCV) elimination, patients should be followed up due to risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) is a cytokine induced by mitochondrial dysfunction or oxidative stress. Aim To evaluate the prognostic value of GDF15 for HCC occurrence after HCV elimination.

Activation of p53 After Irradiation Impairs the Regenerative Capacity of the Mouse Liver.

Radiation therapy is one of the treatment methods for hepatocellular carcinoma. However, radiation tolerance of the liver is low, and the detailed effect of radiation on liver regeneration has not been clarified. C57BL/6J mice or hepatocyte-specific p53 knockout (KO) mice (albumin [Alb]-Cre Trp53 ) were irradiated with a single fraction of 10 Gy localized to the upper abdomen.

[Nivolumab‒Induced Severe Thrombocytopenia in a Patient with Advanced Gastric Cancer].

Here, we report a case of severe thrombocytopenia induced by nivolumab. A 70‒year‒old woman with advanced gastric cancer was treated with nivolumab. After the first dose, she noticed an erythematous rash.

Improvement of Skeletal Muscle Mass after Ledipasvir and Sofosbuvir Treatment for Hepatitis C Virus in Decompensated Liver Cirrhosis.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) can be eliminated by direct-acting antivirals in patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis. Although viral clearance in decompensated liver cirrhosis leads to improvement of the liver function and quality of life, changes in the skeletal muscle mass after sustained virologic response (SVR) in patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis have not been reported. We present the first report of skeletal muscle mass improvement with the achievement of SVR for HCV in a 76-year-old woman with decompensated liver cirrhosis.

An autopsy case of Trousseau's syndrome with tumor thrombosis in unknown primary squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

Trousseau's syndrome (TS) and tumor thrombosis (TT) are known as cancer-associated thrombosis with poor prognosis. TS is extremely rare in patients with squamous cell carcinoma. In this study, we report an unknown primary squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) patient with TS and TT in pulmonary artery definitely diagnosed by autopsy.

AIMS65 predicts prognosis of patients with duodenal ulcer bleeding; a comparison with other risk-scoring systems.

Background And Aim: Duodenal ulcer bleeding has a higher risk of mortality than bleeding from other portions of the gastrointestinal tract. AIMS65 is an effective risk-scoring system to predict prognosis of upper gastrointestinal bleeding and can be easily calculated without endoscopic findings. In this study, we investigate the usefulness of AIMS65 to predict prognosis of patients with duodenal ulcer bleeding.

A case of rhinocerebral mucormycosis with brain abscess drained by endoscopic endonasal skull base surgery.

A 70-year-old Japanese man undergoing remission induction therapy for acute monocytic leukemia (AML-M5b) developed fever and headache, and was started on antibiotics and liposomal amphotericin B (L-AMB). There was no improvement, and computed tomography and contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging revealed acute rhinosinusitis and brain abscess. Successful endoscopic endonasal surgery was performed at this point, providing drainage for the rhinosinusitis and abscess.