Publications by authors named "Asagi A"
Background: S-1 monotherapy had previously been widely used as a second-line treatment for pancreatic cancer (PC) after gemcitabine-based chemotherapy mainly in Japan. Based on the results of the NAPOLI-1 trial, the recommended second-line therapy is now liposomal irinotecan plus fluorouracil/folinic acid (nal-IRI + 5-FU/LV). However, there have been no studies comparing nal-IRI + 5-FU/LV therapy with S-1 monotherapy.
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- The study focuses on using circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) analysis to identify homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) and BRCA1/2 and ATM mutations in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer (APC).
- Out of 702 APC patients analyzed, 4.8% had BRCA1/2 mutations and 4.4% had ATM mutations, with those having BRCA mutations showing significantly better response rates to platinum-based chemotherapy compared to those without.
- ctDNA profiling is suggested as a valuable, non-invasive method for assessing mutation status and selecting appropriate treatments in advanced pancreatic cancer, offering a practical approach to HRD screening.
Article Synopsis
- Recent advancements in treatments for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have improved patient survival, but these therapies are expensive, creating a financial burden on patients and society.
- A study analyzed first-line systemic treatments for advanced HCC in Japan, focusing on the number of patients receiving different treatments and their associated monthly costs from July 2021 to June 2022.
- The study found that 82.2% of patients received high-cost regimens, with atezolizumab plus bevacizumab being the most common and expensive treatment at 1,176,284 JPY per month.
Adrenal leiomyomas are rare and often reported as Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-associated smooth muscle tumor (SMT) in association with EBV infection in immunocompromised patients. We experienced a case of right adrenal leiomyoma that was incidentally found in a man in his 70s. Computed Tomography (CT) showed a well-circumscribed mass of 3.
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- Zinc deficiency is a significant issue for cancer patients undergoing long-term chemotherapy, but its effects on symptoms like skin rash, taste changes, and oral issues need more research.
- A study analyzed gastric and colorectal cancer patients receiving standard chemotherapy, finding that 38% had zinc deficiency before treatment and that serum zinc levels dropped further for those initially non-deficient during treatment.
- The decline in zinc levels was linked to worsening symptoms such as taste changes and skin issues, suggesting that future research should explore the potential benefits of zinc supplementation for these patients.
The prognosis of advanced biliary tract cancer (BTC) patients remains poor due to limited efficacy of chemotherapy and difficulties in management. Thus, prediction of survival is crucial for the clinical management of advanced BTC. The aim was to develop and validate a nomogram to predict 6-month and 12-month survival in advanced BTC patients treated with chemotherapy.
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- Undifferentiated carcinoma (UC) of the pancreas is a rare and aggressive type of pancreatic cancer with a median survival of less than one year, although cases with osteoclast-like giant cells (UCOGCs) may have better outcomes.
- The World Health Organization classifies UC into three subtypes (anaplastic, sarcomatoid, and carcinosarcoma) and distinguishes UCOGCs based on their unique histological features.
- Currently, surgical resection is the only curative treatment, but promising results from paclitaxel-based chemotherapy and anti-programmed death-ligand 1 therapies highlight potential avenues for improving UC treatment options.
Article Synopsis
- Chemotherapy is not effective for treating macroscopic vascular invasion (MVI) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), leading researchers to investigate the outcomes of 3D conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT) in these patients.
- A study involving 65 patients revealed that factors like poor performance status and advanced disease stages were linked to worse survival outcomes, with a median survival time of 7.5 months for the overall group.
- Notably, patients showing significant positive treatment effects had a higher median survival time of 18.7 months, and 3D-CRT was found to preserve liver function while effectively managing HCC MVI, indicating its potential as a viable treatment option.
Article Synopsis
- Pancreatic adenosquamous carcinoma (PASC) is a rare type of pancreatic cancer, and the study investigates the effectiveness of chemotherapy, particularly combination therapies, for treating patients with metastatic or recurrent PASC.
- The analysis included data from 116 patients who received first-line chemotherapy at multiple institutions in Japan over a 16-year period, comparing outcomes between those on combination therapies and monotherapies.
- Results indicated that combination therapies (like gemcitabine + nab-paclitaxel or fluorouracil/leucovorin + irinotecan + oxaliplatin) tended to provide better overall survival compared to monotherapy, suggesting they may be more beneficial for PASC patients.
Article Synopsis
- - The study examined the effectiveness of S-1 and modified FOLFIRINOX (mFFX) as second-line treatments for unresectable pancreatic cancer (UPC) after patients failed gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel (GnP) therapy, noting that results for these options have limited documentation.
- - Out of 86 UPC patients, 41 received S-1 and 21 received mFFX, with mFFX generally prescribed to younger patients in better health; both treatments showed similar average progression-free and overall survival durations.
- - While S-1 had a lower rate of severe side effects (20%) compared to mFFX (57%), the latter led to a higher response rate
Background/aim: We aimed to evaluate pancreatic cancer (PC) with positive peritoneal lavage cytology (CY1) outcomes following a change in adjuvant therapy.
Patients And Methods: The clinicopathological data of patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma with CY1 at 14 institutions, between 2007 and 2015, were collected and analyzed.
Results: Of the 124 eligible patients, 114 underwent macroscopically curative resection.
Background: Endoscopic duodenal stent placement is an alternative technique to gastrojejunostomy for gastric outlet obstruction due to pancreatic cancer. We compared the efficacy of endoscopic duodenal stent placement with that of gastrojejunostomy for treating patients with pancreatic cancer who are candidates for intensive combination chemotherapies as the first line of treatment.
Methods: This retrospective observational study included 100 patients from 18 institutions in Japan.
Objectives: The aim of this multicenter retrospective study was to identify the optimal chemotherapeutic regimen for advanced pancreatic acinar cell carcinoma (PACC).
Methods: Fifty-eight patients with histopathologically confirmed advanced PACC who had received chemotherapy between 1996 and 2013 were enrolled. The clinical characteristics of the patients and the treatment efficacy data were collected from the medical records at 16 Japanese institutions, using standardized data collection instrument.
Definitive chemoradiotherapy(CRT)for esophageal cancer is the standard treatment and alternative to surgery. However, the tolerability of CRT in elderly patients is not well known. In this study, we retrospectively analyzed 60 patients with esophageal cancer who were treated with CRT(5-FU 700 mg/m2, cisplatin 70 mg/m2, radiation 60 Gy)at our hospital between January 2015 and September 2017.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSkin toxicity induced by gemcitabine, a chemotherapeutic agent, is not rare, but is usually mild. However, the occurrence of moderate to severe skin rash has been reported in patients treated with combinations of gemcitabine and other anticancer drugs. The aim of this study was to assess the characteristics of rash caused by gemcitabine-based chemotherapy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2) rearrangement is expected to be a novel therapeutic target in advanced/recurrent biliary tract cancer (BTC). However, efficient detection and the exact frequency of FGFR2 rearrangements among patients with advanced/recurrent BTC have not been determined, and the clinical characteristics of FGFR2 rearrangement-positive patients have not been fully elucidated. We aimed to determine the frequency of FGFR2 rearrangement-positive patients among those with advanced/recurrent BTC and elucidate their clinicopathological characteristics.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: A family/personal history of breast, ovarian, or pancreatic cancer is a useful predictive marker for response to platinum-based chemotherapy in treating patients with pancreatic cancer. These cancers, and prostate cancer, are known as BRCA-related malignancies. We evaluated the efficacy of gemcitabine plus oxaliplatin (GEMOX) in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer with a family/personal history of these cancers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Platinum-containing regimens are widely used as first-line chemotherapy for unresectable pancreatic neuroendocrine carcinoma (NEC), but second-line chemotherapies have yet to be established.
Objectives: We evaluated the safety and efficacy of everolimus in patients with pancreatic NEC refractory or intolerant to platinum-containing chemotherapy.
Methods: This study was a prospective, multicenter, phase II trial in patients with pancreatic NEC after platinum-containing chemotherapy.
Background: Gemcitabine plus cisplatin (GC) is the standard treatment of advanced biliary tract cancer (BTC); however, it causes nausea, vomiting, and anorexia, and requires hydration. Gemcitabine plus S-1 (GS) reportedly has equal to, or better, efficacy and an acceptable toxicity profile. We aimed to confirm the non-inferiority of GS to GC for patients with advanced/recurrent BTC in terms of overall survival (OS).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Epithelioid hemangioendothelioma is an exceedingly rare sarcoma often occurring as an indolent angiocentric vascular tumor at various anatomic sites. Few reports have evaluated large case series of epithelioid hemangioendothelioma.
Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of the clinical data of 42 consecutive patients with epithelioid hemangioendothelioma who were pathologically diagnosed between 1990 and 2014 at 13 Japanese tertiary hospitals.
We conducted a multicenter retrospective analysis to evaluate the efficacy of systemic chemotherapy for unresectable combined hepatocellular and cholangiocarcinoma. We enrolled 36 patients with pathologically proven, unresectable combined hepatocellular and cholangiocarcinoma treated with systemic chemotherapy. The log-rank test determined the significance of each prognostic factor.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To evaluate prospectively the efficacy and safety of sorafenib, which has been the first-line treatment for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), in Japanese HCC patients (pts) with not only Child-Pugh (C-P) A class but also C-P B class.
Methods: Sorafenib was administered orally at the dose of 400 mg twice daily for pts with HCC and liver function of C-P score of 5-8. Administration was continued until the detection of disease progression or appearance of unacceptable toxicity.
A 42-year-old woman with hepatitis C virus-related cirrhosis underwent peginterferon alpha-2b therapy combined with ribavirin but could not achieve a sustained viral response. Following discontinuation of this combined therapy, the patient's serum transaminase levels suddenly became elevated. Therefore, the administration of very-low-dose peginterferon alpha-2a with ursodeoxycholic acid was introduced.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography/contrast-enhanced computed tomography (PET/CE-CT) involving whole-body scanning first by non-CE-CT and FDG-PET followed by CE-CT has been used for detailed examination of pancreatic lesions. We evaluated PET/CE-CT images with regard to differential diagnosis, staging, treatment response, and postoperative recurrence in pancreatic cancer.
Methods: Positron emission tomography/CE-CT was conducted in 108 patients with pancreatic cancer and in 41 patients with other pancreatic tumor diseases.