Durable response to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors in a patient with non-small cell lung cancer harboring an EGFR kinase domain duplication.

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) kinase domain duplication (KDD) has been identified as an oncogenic driver in 0.05% to 0.14% of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients.

Hydrosurgical debridement as an approach to wound healing: an animal thermal burn model.

Objective: This study investigates the advantages of hydrosurgical debridement compared with surgical debridement.

Method: Thermal skin burns were created on the backs of male Wistar rats. Surgical debridement was used to treat one wound and hydrosurgical debridement (Versajet Hydrosurgery System, Smith&Nephew, UK) used to treat the second wound.

Gluteal fold flap for pelvic and perineal reconstruction following total pelvic exenteration.

Background: The rectus abdominis myocutaneous flap has been used as the first choice for pelvic and perineal reconstruction. However, due to previous abdominal surgery and multiple stoma placements in our patients, the rectus abdominis myocutaneous flap could not be used for such reconstruction. Here, we describe the use of bilateral gluteal fold flaps for pelvic and perineal reconstruction following total pelvic exenteration to treat recurrent cervical cancer.

Correction to: Intracellular hypoxia measured by F-18 fluoromisonidazole positron emission tomography has prognostic impact in patients with estrogen-receptor positive breast (BRCR-D17-00693).

After the publication of this article [1], we noticed that in Fig. 2, the survival curve images (C and D, lower panel) were incorrect. The corrected Fig.

Intracellular hypoxia measured by F-fluoromisonidazole positron emission tomography has prognostic impact in patients with estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer.

Background: Hypoxia is a key driver of cancer progression. We evaluated the prognostic impact of F-fluoromisonidazole (FMISO) prior to treatment in patients with breast cancer.

Methods: Forty-four patients with stage II/III primary breast cancer underwent positron emission tomography/computed with F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG-PET/CT) and FMISO.

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy with trastuzumab, docetaxel, and carboplatin administered every 3 weeks for Japanese women with HER2-positive primary breast cancer: efficacy and safety.

Background: This phase II neoadjuvant study evaluated the efficacy and safety of a triweekly regimen of docetaxel and carboplatin in combination with trastuzumab (TCbH) in Japanese women with human epidermal growth factor receptor type2 (HER2)-positive primary breast cancer.

Methods: Patients with HER2-positive, stage I-III invasive breast cancer received six courses of trastuzumab (8 mg/kg loading dose, then 6 mg/kg, day 1), docetaxel (75 mg/m, day 1), and carboplatin (area under the curve: 6, day 1) every 3 weeks. The primary endpoint was pathological complete response (pCR) of both breast and axillary lymph node disease.

In vivo cardiac nano-imaging: A new technology for high-precision analyses of sarcomere dynamics in the heart.

The cardiac pump function is a result of a rise in intracellular Ca and the ensuing sarcomeric contractions [i.e., excitation-contraction (EC) coupling] in myocytes in various locations of the heart.

Neoadjuvant triweekly nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel followed by epirubicin and cyclophosphamide for Stage II/III HER2-negative breast cancer: evaluation of efficacy and safety.

Objective: Nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel (nab-PTX) is a solvent-free paclitaxel coupled to human albumin without an associated increase in toxicity. The neoadjuvant study of primary breast cancer was planned to evaluate tumor response and safety of triweekly nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel.

Methods: Patients with Stage II/III HER2-negative primary breast cancer received four courses of nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel 260 mg/m(2) every 3 weeks (q3w), followed by four courses of epirubicin 90 mg/m(2) plus cyclophosphamide 600 mg/m(2) q3w.

Safety and feasibility of adjuvant chemotherapy with S-1 in Japanese breast cancer patients after primary systemic chemotherapy: a feasibility study.

Background: Advanced breast cancer patients have a higher risk of postoperative recurrence than early-stage breast cancer patients. Recurrence is believed to be caused by the increase in micrometases, which were not eradicated by preoperative or postoperative chemotherapy. Therefore, a new therapeutic strategy that can improve treatment efficacy is mandatory for advanced breast cancer.

Optical imaging for monitoring tumor oxygenation response after initiation of single-agent bevacizumab followed by cytotoxic chemotherapy in breast cancer patients.

Purpose: Optical imaging techniques for measuring tissue hemoglobin concentration have been recently accepted as a way to assess tumor vascularity and oxygenation. We investigated the correlation between early optical response to single-agent bevacizumab and treatment outcome.

Methods: Seven patients with advanced or metastatic breast cancer were treated with single-agent bevacizumab followed by addition of weekly paclitaxel.

Clinicopathological and prognostic impact of imaging of breast cancer angiogenesis and hypoxia using diffuse optical spectroscopy.

Near-infrared diffuse optical spectroscopy (DOS) imaging can non-invasively measure tumor hemoglobin concentration using high contrast to normal tissue, thus providing vascularity and oxygenation status. We assessed the clinical usefulness of DOS imaging in primary breast cancer. In all, 118 women with a histologically confirmed diagnosis of primary malignant tumor were enrolled.

Optical imaging of tumor vascularity associated with proliferation and glucose metabolism in early breast cancer: clinical application of total hemoglobin measurements in the breast.

Background: Near-infrared optical imaging targeting the intrinsic contrast of tissue hemoglobin has emerged as a promising approach for visualization of vascularity in cancer research. We evaluated the usefulness of diffuse optical spectroscopy using time-resolved spectroscopic (TRS) measurements for functional imaging of primary breast cancer.

Methods: Fifty-five consecutive TNM stage I/II patients with histologically proven invasive ductal carcinoma and operable breast tumors (<5 cm) who underwent TRS measurements were enrolled.

Genomic profiling shows increased glucose metabolism in luminal B breast cancer.

We had previously reported a close association between pathological response and the maximum tumor standardized uptake value (SUVmax) measured by (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography prior to chemotherapy in estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer. We hypothesized that glucose hypermetabolism by luminal B tumors may result in chemotherapy responsiveness. Using a single-gene expression assay, TargetPrint® (Agendia) and a 70-gene expression classifier, MammaPrint® (Agendia), we divided 20 patients with ER-positive primary breast cancer into luminal A and luminal B subtypes and compared the tumor SUVmax value between the two groups.

17-Hydroxycyclooctatin, a fused 5-8-5 ring diterpene, from Streptomyces sp. MTE4a.

A new diterpene with a fused 5-8-5 ring system was isolated from the fermentation broth of a soil actinomycete. The stereochemistry at C-15 was determined in an unusual manner using a decomposition product.

Persistent primitive hypoglossal artery associated with proximal posterior inferior cerebellar artery aneurysm.

Background: A persistent primitive hypoglossal artery (PPHA) is a rare anomaly. The association of PPHA with intracranial aneurysms of the artery has also been rarely reported. We surgically treated a case of PPHA associated with a ruptured saccular aneurysm at the proximal posterior inferior cerebellar artery (PICA).

Effects of music listening and relaxation instructions on arousal changes and the working memory task in older adults.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of subject-preferred music and relaxation instructions on older adults' arousal and working memory. Fifteen female older adults participated in 10 minutes of all 3 experimental conditions: (a) subject-preferred music, (b) relaxation instructions, and (c) silence control. Four subcategories of arousal level, energy, tiredness, tension, and calmness, were measured before and after experimental treatment using the Activation-Deactivation Adjective Check List by Thayer (1978).

The effects of music listening after a stressful task on immune functions, neuroendocrine responses, and emotional states in college students.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of listening to high-uplifting or low-uplifting music after a stressful task on (a) immune functions, (b) neuroendocrine responses, and (c) emotional states in college students. Musical selections that were evaluated as high-uplifting or low-uplifting by Japanese college students were used as musical stimuli. Eighteen Japanese subjects performed stressful tasks before they experienced each of these experimental conditions: (a) high-uplifting music, (b) low-uplifting music, and (c) silence.

Two surgical cases of internal carotid-ophthalmic artery aneurysms: special reference to the usefulness of three-dimensional CT angiography.

Three-dimensional computerized tomography angiography (3D-CTA) is a noninvasive tool for the diagnosis of cerebral aneurysms. 3D-CTA is helpful in the evaluation of the configuration of aneurysms and their surrounding vessels and anatomical structures. The aim of this study is to assess the usefulness of 3D-CTA for patients with unruptured internal carotid-ophthalmic artery aneurysms.

Hypertrophic pachymeningitis as a result of a retropharyngeal inflammatory pseudotumor: case report.

Objective And Importance: An extremely rare case of a patient with hypertrophic pachymeningitis that resulted from an inflammatory pseudotumor of retropharynx is described.

Clinical Presentation: A 59-year-old man with a 9-year history of retropharyngeal inflammatory pseudotumor sought care for severe headache and multiple cranial nerve palsies. Magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomographic scans revealed pachymeningeal enhancement and obstructive hydrocephalus attributable to marked dural thickening around the foramen magnum.

[Fetal germinal matrix and intraventricular hemorrhage associated with periventricular leukomalacia].

Subependymal germinal matrix hemorrhage with intraventricular hemorrhage(SEIVH) is a common complication associated with delivery in preterm neonates but has rarely been observed in the fetus. We report a fetus with SEIVH, hydrocephalus and periventricular leukomalacia(PVL). Although this fetus had uneventful prenatal periods, transabdominal ultrasound examination(US) at 33 weeks of pregnancy revealed SEIVH and hydrocephalus, and MRI at 36 weeks did associated PVL.

[Twin-twin transfusion syndrome and intraventricular hemorrhage followed by hydrocephalus: report of two cases].

We report 2 infants who were born as one of monochorial twins. Both of them had been suffering from twin-twin transfusion syndrome(TTTS) as a donor fetus. Case 1 was delivered by caesarean section at the 28th week of pregnancy.

[Clinical trial of bradykinin-enhancing chemotherapy for a recurrent malignant glioma: a case report].

Patients with malignant glioma undergo a combined treatment with surgical resection, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. Although those treatments usually show some restraining effects on the tumor, a relapse occurs in most of the patients within a few years. We have investigated the feasibility and safety of intra-arterial chemotherapy for malignant brain tumors by enhancing vascular permeability using intra-arterial bradykinin infusion.

Myocardiopathy and expression of atrial natriuretic peptide in rats with monocrotaline-induced pulmonary hypertension.

Myocardiopathy in rats with monocrotaline (MCT)-induced pulmonary hypertension was investigated morphologically and immunohistochemically. A single subcutaneous injection of MCT (60 mg/kg body weight) to SD rats produced progressive cardiac lesions. Histologically, the lesions were characterized by myocardial hypertrophy and myocardial degeneration followed by mononuclear cell infiltration and fibroblast proliferation in the right atrium and ventricle.