A dramatic response to an immune checkpoint inhibitor plus chemotherapy in a patient with metastatic metaplastic carcinoma of the breast: A case report.

We present a unique case of metastatic metaplastic breast carcinoma responding dramatically to immunochemotherapy. A 46-year-old Japanese woman with primary metaplastic carcinoma of the breast, which was immunohistochemically confirmed to be triple-negative breast cancer, underwent radical surgery, followed by adjuvant chemotherapy with an anthracycline and a taxane. Since multiple lung metastases were detected two months post-chemotherapy and the primary site was shown to be PD-L1-positive, the immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) pembrolizumab plus gemcitabine/carboplatin was initiated.

Bilateral breast metastases from anaplastic lymphoma kinase-positive lung cancer in a male: a case report.

Background: Distant metastases from lung cancer are commonly found in the brain, bone, and liver. Metastases to the breast from non-mammary malignancies are extremely rare, and their clinical presentations remain unclear.

Case Presentation: We herein report a case of bilateral breast metastases from anaplastic lymphoma kinase-positive advanced lung cancer in a 51-year-old Japanese male patient.

Cholesterol sulfate limits neutrophil recruitment and gut inflammation during mucosal injury.

During mucosal injury, intestinal immune cells play a crucial role in eliminating invading bacteria. However, as the excessive accumulation of immune cells promotes inflammation and delays tissue repair, it is essential to identify the mechanism that limits the infiltration of immune cells to the mucosal-luminal interface. Cholesterol sulfate (CS) is the lipid product of the sulfotransferase SULT2B1 and suppresses immune reactions by inhibiting DOCK2-mediated Rac activation.

DOCK2 regulates MRGPRX2/B2-mediated mast cell degranulation and drug-induced anaphylaxis.

Background: Drug-induced anaphylaxis is triggered by the direct stimulation of mast cells (MCs) via Mas-related G protein-coupled receptor X2 (MRGPRX2; mouse ortholog MRGPRB2). However, the precise mechanism that links MRGPRX2/B2 to MC degranulation is poorly understood. Dedicator of cytokinesis 2 (DOCK2) is a Rac activator predominantly expressed in hematopoietic cells.

Amide proton transfer (APT) imaging of breast cancers and its correlation with biological status.

Purpose: To assess the usefulness of amide proton transfer (APT) imaging to predict the biological status of breast cancers.

Method: Sixty-six patients (age range 31-85 years, mean 58.9 years) with histopathologically proven invasive ductal carcinomas of 2 cm or larger in diameter were included in this study.

MUC1-C Dictates PBRM1-Mediated Chronic Induction of Interferon Signaling, DNA Damage Resistance, and Immunosuppression in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer.

Unlabelled: The polybromo-1 (PBRM1) chromatin-targeting subunit of the SWI/SNF PBAF chromatin remodeling complex drives DNA damage resistance and immune evasion in certain cancer cells through mechanisms that remain unclear. STAT1 and IRF1 are essential effectors of type I and II IFN pathways. Here, we report that MUC1-C is necessary for PBRM1 expression and that it forms a nuclear complex with PBRM1 in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells.

Reliability, validity, and responsiveness of the Japanese version of the EORTC QLQ-ELD14 in evaluating the health-related quality of life of elderly patients with cancer.

Purpose: This study evaluated the reliability, validity, and responsiveness of the Japanese version of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) QLQ-ELD14 and measured the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of elderly Japanese patients with cancer aged ≥ 60 and ≥ 70 years.

Methods: The study recruited elderly Japanese patients with cancer aged ≥ 60 (≥ 70) years (n = 1803 [n = 1236]). The EORTC QLQ-ELD14 was evaluated for reliability, validity, responsiveness, and correlations of changes in score between the EORTC QLQ-ELD14 and the EORTC QLQ-C30 before and after the commencement of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Potential role of green tea amino acid l-theanine in the activation of innate immune response by enhancing expression of cytochrome b responsible for the reactive oxygen species-generating ability of leukocytes.

l-Theanine (N-ethyl- l-glutamine) is an analog of l-glutamine and l-glutamic acid, accounts for up to 50% of all free amino acids in green tea, and elicits an umami taste. As l-theanine also shows various physiological activities including immune response-modifying activities, it is expected to be an excellent health-promoting phytochemical agent. To know the influences of l-theanine on the human innate immune response, we investigated the effect of l-theanine on the superoxide anion (O )-generating system of leukocytes using U937 cells.

Comprehensive molecular profiling broadens treatment options for breast cancer patients.

Precision oncology with next generation sequencing (NGS) using tumor tissue with or without blood has begun in Japan. Tumor molecular profiling tests are available, including the OncoGuide™ NCC Oncopanel System and FoundationOne CDx (F1CDx). Our purpose was to identify potentially actionable genetic alterations in breast cancer with this comprehensive tumor profiling test.

Effects of Diluent Volume and Administration Time on the Incidence of Anaphylaxis Following Docetaxel Therapy in Breast Cancer.

Hypersensitivity reactions, including anaphylaxis, are common side effects associated with docetaxel treatment in breast cancer patients. However, preventive measures have not yet been established. In this study, we retrospectively analyzed the risk factors for developing anaphylaxis in 182 female breast cancer patients treated with docetaxel.

Omics-based Identification of Glycan Structures as Biomarkers for a Variety of Diseases.

Glycans play important roles in cell communication, protein interaction, and immunity, and structural changes in glycans are associated with the regulation of a range of biological pathways involved in disease. However, our understanding of the detailed relationships between specific diseases and glycans is very limited. In this study, we proposed an omics-based method to investigate the correlations between glycans and a wide range of human diseases.

Predicting drug-induced transcriptome responses of a wide range of human cell lines by a novel tensor-train decomposition algorithm.

Motivation: Genome-wide identification of the transcriptomic responses of human cell lines to drug treatments is a challenging issue in medical and pharmaceutical research. However, drug-induced gene expression profiles are largely unknown and unobserved for all combinations of drugs and human cell lines, which is a serious obstacle in practical applications.

Results: Here, we developed a novel computational method to predict unknown parts of drug-induced gene expression profiles for various human cell lines and predict new drug therapeutic indications for a wide range of diseases.

CD44v9 as a poor prognostic factor of triple-negative breast cancer treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

Background: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) is the standard therapeutic strategy for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). TNBC patients with residual disease after NAC have a significantly worse survival than those with pathological complete response (pCR); however, there is no apparent prognostic factor for non-pCR patients. Cancer stemness or epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) might influence the sensitivity to chemotherapy.

Impact of Visceral Metastasis on Efficacy of Fulvestrant in Patients with Hormone Receptor-positive Recurrent Breast Cancer.

Background: Previous studies have suggested that the presence of visceral metastasis is a parameter useful in predicting the treatment efficacy of fulvestrant in patients with advanced breast cancer.

Patients And Methods: We retrospectively examined the association between treatment efficacy and presence of visceral metastasis in 75 patients with hormone receptor-positive recurrent breast cancer who were treated with fulvestrant or no more than five lines of other endocrine monotherapy after recurrence.

Results: Nineteen patients received fulvestrant, 10 of whom had visceral metastasis.

Subpopulations of vomeronasal sensory neurons with coordinated coexpression of type 2 vomeronasal receptor genes are differentially dependent on Vmn2r1.

The mouse vomeronasal organ is specialized in the detection of pheromones. Vomeronasal sensory neurons (VSNs) express chemosensory receptors of two large gene repertoires, V1R and V2R, which encode G-protein-coupled receptors. Phylogenetically, four families of V2R genes can be discerned as follows: A, B, C, and D.

Relationship between bovine endometrial thickness and plasma progesterone and estradiol concentrations in natural and induced estrus.

The objective of this study was to investigate cyclical changes in endometrial thickness in relation to progesterone (P) and estradiol-17β (E) concentrations during natural and induced estrus in 15 cows. In the prostaglandin (PG) F-induced estrus group, ultrasonography (USG) at 6-h intervals was used to determine endometrial thickness 48-24 h before the PGF treatment until 24 h after ovulation (ovulation = Day 0). In the natural estrus group, USG was performed every 48 h from Day 3 to Days 15-18 after the first ovulation, and then every 6 h until 24 h after ovulation.

Cytogenetic analysis of metaplastic squamous cell carcinoma of the breast inter- and intratumoral heterogeneity.

Background: Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the breast is a rare and generally aggressive disease that accounts for less than 0.1% of all breast carcinomas. Although SCCs have distinct morphological features, their origin and cytogenetic profile are not well understood.

Chemotherapy-induced amenorrhea and the resumption of menstruation in premenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive early breast cancer.

Background: For premenopausal women with breast cancer, information on the effects of chemotherapy and the risk of infertility is important. In this study, the effect of chemotherapy on the ovarian function in premenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer was investigated, with an age-stratified analysis of the appearance of amenorrhea and the resumption of menstruation after the use of chemotherapy with anthracyclines or taxanes.

Patients And Methods: Premenopausal women diagnosed with operable Stage I-III hormone receptor-positive breast cancer and underwent neoadjuvant or adjuvant chemotherapy with the standard regimen of anthracyclines and/or taxanes were included.

Expression of APOBEC3B mRNA in Primary Breast Cancer of Japanese Women.

Recent studies have identified the apolipoprotein B mRNA-editing enzyme catalytic polypeptide-like 3B (APOBEC3B) as a source of mutations in various malignancies. APOBEC3B is overexpressed in several human cancer types, including breast cancer. In this study, we analyzed APOBEC3B mRNA expression in 305 primary breast cancers of Japanese women using quantitative reverse transcription-PCR, and investigated the relationships between the APOBEC3B mRNA expression and clinicopathological characteristics, prognosis, and TP53 mutations.

Noise-driven growth rate gain in clonal cellular populations.

Cellular populations in both nature and the laboratory are composed of phenotypically heterogeneous individuals that compete with each other resulting in complex population dynamics. Predicting population growth characteristics based on knowledge of heterogeneous single-cell dynamics remains challenging. By observing groups of cells for hundreds of generations at single-cell resolution, we reveal that growth noise causes clonal populations of Escherichia coli to double faster than the mean doubling time of their constituent single cells across a broad set of balanced-growth conditions.

[Academic achievement of children born with very low birth weights at the age of 10 years].

Objective: The academic achievement in Japanese and arithmetic of children born with very low birth weights (VLBW) was examined by means of academic skill tests at the age of 10 years.

Methods: The participants were 14 VLBW children who could be followed up in our hospital at the age of 10 years, and 6 men and 8 women. They had a mean gestational age of 27 weeks and 6 days and a mean birth weight of 988 g.

Epigenetic Inactivation of BRCA1 Through Promoter Hypermethylation and Its Clinical Importance in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer.

Background: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) has many similarities with basal-like breast cancer. Additionally, TNBCs are associated with Breast cancer susceptibility gene I (BRCA1) functional loss, which leads to impaired homologous recombination-mediated DNA repair. Although somatic mutations in BRCA1 rarely occur in sporadic breast cancer, lower than normal rates of expression of BRCA1 is reported to be an important factor that contributes to tumorigenesis in sporadic tumors.

is an indicator of prognosis in breast cancer patients.

MicroRNA-29b () targets numerous important genes that mediate carcinogenesis and tumor development in breast cancer and . The aim of the present study was to determine the clinical significance of expression in primary breast cancer patients. Reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) of and certain target genes of , such as DNA methyltransferase 3A (), ten-eleven translocation 1 () and thymine DNA glycosylase (), was performed in 94 primary breast cancer samples.