Publications by authors named "Hirokazu Komatsu"

Electrocatalysts which can operate for several years are required to produce hydrogen and commodity chemicals in an environmentally friendly manner. However, designing materials with long operational lifetimes is challenging, due to the lack of a conceptual framework to predict catalytic lifetimes quantitatively. Here, we report a microkinetic equation which quantifies the lifetime of an electrocatalyst undergoing dissolution.

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During the COVID-19 pandemic period, many patients who required outpatient chemotherapy developed COVID-19, requiring chemotherapy interruption. However, there are no clear guidelines regarding the safe timing for restarting chemotherapy. We conducted a retrospective study to assess when such patients can safely recommence chemotherapy.

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  • * The study analyzed serum samples from MM patients to identify biomarkers predicting the effectiveness of Len and dexamethasone therapy, finding that certain cytokine levels were linked to patient survival outcomes.
  • * Key findings included that high IL-18 and M-CSF levels correlated with shorter survival times, whereas high PDGF-BB levels indicated better survival, highlighting the role of specific cytokines in treatment response.
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We report a case of fulminant hepatitis in a hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-positive patient with aggressive adult T-cell leukemia-lymphoma who received monotherapy with an anti-CCR4 monoclonal antibody, mogamulizumab, with decreased hepatitis B virus (HBV)- DNA levels by entecavir prophylaxis. Although HBV reactivation-related hepatitis was considered in the differential diagnosis, the patient did not meet the conventional criteria for HBV reactivation and was finally diagnosed with drug-induced hepatitis. Considering that the immunoenhancing effects of mogamulizumab can lead to HBV reactivation-related hepatitis in HBsAg-positive patients, we should differentiate drug-induced hepatitis from HBV reactivation, especially in patients receiving immunomodulatory drugs, if HBV-DNA levels are reduced by antiviral prophylaxis.

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A 67-year-old man presented to our hospital with vomiting. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy revealed duodenal stenosis and atypical epithelium. A tumor in the pancreatic head, about 30mm in size, involving the superior mesenteric artery and a superior mesenteric vein was identified using abdominal contrast computed tomography (CT).

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  • A study in Japan compared two treatment intervals for nivolumab (480 mg every 4 weeks vs. 240 mg every 2 weeks) to evaluate their efficacy, safety, and economic impact on cancer patients, as prior real-world data was lacking.
  • The analysis of 126 patients showed no significant differences in overall survival or adverse event rates between the two groups, indicating similar effectiveness and safety.
  • However, the 4-week treatment interval had lower medical costs (excluding drug costs) than the 2-week interval, suggesting a potential economic advantage for using the longer treatment period.
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  • Anti-CD38 monoclonal antibodies improve outcomes for patients with plasma cell dyscrasia (PCD) but increase the risk of infections like cytomegalovirus (CMV) reactivation.
  • A retrospective study involving 154 PCD patients found that 38% of those tested for CMV reactivation showed positive results, with some experiencing mild symptoms and others developing serious conditions.
  • The reactivation of CMV significantly impacted treatment by causing dose adjustments and delays in anti-PCD therapies, highlighting the need for monitoring during anti-CD38 mAb treatment.
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  • Invasive fungal infections can be deadly for patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), prompting some guidelines to recommend antifungal prophylaxis based on individual risk.
  • A study at Nagoya City University Hospital assessed the safety and effectiveness of low-dose fluconazole (FLCZ) prophylaxis in 107 patients who received their first allogeneic HSCT between 2010 and 2019.
  • Results showed that while 70 patients on low-dose FLCZ had a relatively low incidence of antifungal prophylaxis failure (37.1%) and no related deaths, certain high-risk factors like cord blood transplantation and abnormal lung CT scans were linked to increased risk of infections.
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Nicotine adenine dinucleotide derivatives NADH and NADPH are intimately involved in energy and electron transport within cells. The fluorescent ubiquinone-rhodol (Q-Rh) probe is used for NADPH activation monitoring. Q-Rh reacts with NADPH yielding its quenched hydroquinone-rhodol (HQ-Rh) form with concurrent NADPH activation ( NADP formation).

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Introduction: Since May 2019, comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) has been covered by Japan's health insurance system for patients with solid tumours that have progressed on standard chemotherapy, rare tumours or tumours of unknown primary origin. Although CGP has the potential to identify actionable mutations that can guide the selection of genomically matched therapies for patients with advanced cancer and limited treatment options, less than 10% of patients benefit from CGP testing, which may have a negative impact on patients' mental status. The aim of this study is to investigate the prevalence of psychological distress and associated factors among patients with advanced cancer who are undergoing CGP testing across Japan.

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  • * Among 614 patients analyzed, those who experienced irAEs had significantly higher eosinophil counts before treatment compared to those who did not experience irAEs, especially in anti-PD-1 and anti-CTLA-4 therapy groups.
  • * The research concluded that a pre-treatment eosinophil count of 3.0% or higher is an independent risk factor for developing irAEs across various cancers treated with ICIs.
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Background: Multiple myeloma (MM) is a rare cancer, and information on its pathological condition and serum element levels is lacking. In this pilot study, we examined serum element concentrations in Japanese patients with MM by a comprehensive multi-element analysis.

Methods: This is a case-control study of 12 Japanese patients diagnosed with MM at the Nagoya City University Hospital between 2008 and 2013.

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  • Cytokine release syndrome (CRS) is a significant side effect of CAR-T therapy, which can be severe in patients with certain risk factors, including high tumor burden.
  • A case study is presented of a 54-year-old woman with multiple myeloma who experienced laryngeal edema as a rare form of local CRS after receiving BCMA-targeting CAR-T therapy (ide-cel).
  • Treatment with tocilizumab addressed systemic CRS symptoms, while intravenous dexamethasone was effective in reducing the laryngeal edema, highlighting the uncommon nature of this local CRS reaction.
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  • Researchers studied the immune response in 109 patients with plasma cell dyscrasia (PCD) after receiving two or three doses of the SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine, focusing on the production of antibodies and immune cells.
  • The results indicated that while ongoing anti-myeloma treatments negatively affected antibody production, booster dose (Dose 3) significantly improved antibody levels and the number of patients achieving adequate immune response.
  • The study underscored the importance of the booster vaccine for enhancing both humoral (antibody) and cellular immune responses in PCD patients, noting specific drug classes that had varying impacts on vaccine effectiveness.
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We report a 69-year-old female who was a human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 carrier and exhibited a unique clinical course of developing three hematological malignancies within a short period: diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMMoL), and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Although the blast cells in AML showed typical morphological and immunophenotypical features of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), it did not harbor gene fusion and thus initially diagnosed as APL-like leukemia (APLL). The patient developed heart failure with a fulminant clinical course and died soon after the diagnosis of APLL.

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  • This study evaluated the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines in 165 lymphoma patients, focusing on their antibody levels after the second and third doses.
  • Results showed that after the second dose, 56% had adequate antibody responses, while 28% were non-responders, influenced by factors like timing of vaccination after chemotherapy and lymphocyte count.
  • After the third dose, there was a notable increase in antibody levels, with 26% of previous non-responders achieving seroconversion, indicating that additional vaccine doses can improve immune responses in immunocompromised individuals.
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  • * A study on 72 relapsed or refractory MM patients revealed that those with high kynurenine to tryptophan (Kyn/Trp) ratios had significantly shorter progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) compared to those with lower ratios.
  • * High Kyn/Trp ratios also inhibited T cell function and increased the expression of immune inhibitors, suggesting that altered tryptophan
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Introduction: Treatment-emergent small cell/neuroendocrine prostate cancer occurs predominantly in advanced or metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer that arises when prostate adenocarcinoma is transformed after androgen deprivation therapy. The clinical course for the pathogenesis involved or associated genetic information have not been clearly elucidated.

Case Presentation: A Japanese male, 63-year-old, underwent a para-aortic lymph biopsy due to sudden severe bilateral leg edema, with a final diagnosis of stage IV prostate adenocarcinoma.

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We report a case of recurrent pain attacks during romiplostim treatment in a woman with immune thrombocytopenia carrying a heterozygous MEFV mutation. Five months after starting treatment with romiplostim for immune thrombocytopenia, she was diagnosed with idiopathic pericarditis. She was switched to eltrombopag, but thrombocytopenia did not improve.

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Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is characterized by a series of retinoic acid receptor (RAR) fusion genes that lead to the dysregulation of RAR signaling and onset of APL. PML-RARA is the most common fusion generated from t(15;17)(q24;q21). In addition, the reciprocal fusion RARA-PML is present in over 80% of t(15;17) APL cases.

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Purpose: Cancer of unknown primary site (CUP) is an aggressive disease with poor prognosis. As research on the experiences of CUP patients and their families is scarce, this study aimed to compare the family caregiver-perceived burden of CUP with that of common cancers (lung, colon, and stomach cancers). The association between family caregiver-perceived burden and CUP patients' quality of life (QOL) at end-of-life and family depression, respectively, was also explored.

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  • - Chronic inflammation from conditions like Crohn's disease can cause harmful mutations in hematopoietic stem cells, potentially leading to leukemia.
  • - A case study highlighted a patient who developed acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) at 51 after living with chronic Crohn's disease since age 28, despite receiving some treatments.
  • - The findings suggest that ongoing inflammation in Crohn's disease may increase the risk of genomic instability in stem cells, making APL a serious concern for these patients.
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Aims: To prevent hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation-related hepatitis, we examined the clinical usefulness of a highly sensitive HB core-related antigen (iTACT-HBcrAg) assay in patients with resolved HBV infection after nucleos(t)ide analog (NA) treatment for HBV reactivation.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 27 patients with resolved HBV infection who experienced HBV reactivation (defined as HBV DNA levels of 1.3 log IU/ml or more), and who received systemic chemotherapies for hematological malignancies between 2008 and 2020.

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Objective: The blowing time ratio, which is the ratio of the blowing time when the nostrils are open and closed, is significantly correlated with velopharyngeal pressure, not only during speech but also during swallowing. This study aimed to further evaluate the usefulness of the blowing time ratio as a screening tool to evaluate the swallowing pressure of patients treated for oral and oropharyngeal cancers using high-resolution manometery (HRM).

Methods: Ten patients treated for oral or oropharyngeal cancer were recruited for this study.

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A 68-year-old man was transferred to our hospital because of sudden right costal pain with unmeasurable hypotension. Ultrasonography revealed possible hemorrhagic shock due to ruptured hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). As the patient was not hemodynamically stable after primary treatment, resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta (REBOA) was performed, and hemodynamic stability was then achieved.

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Synopsis of recent research by authors named "Hirokazu Komatsu"

  • - Hirokazu Komatsu's recent research focuses on diverse areas, particularly the development of microkinetic models to understand the lifetime and stability of electrocatalysts, as well as assessing treatment protocols and outcomes for cancer patients during and after COVID-19.
  • - He has conducted comprehensive studies on the immunological responses and safety of various therapies for hematological malignancies, analyzing cytokine levels, immune responses to COVID-19 vaccines in immunocompromised patients, and the effects of treatments like lenalidomide on multiple myeloma.
  • - Additionally, his research explores the clinical significance of infectious complications, such as cytomegalovirus reactivation during therapy, and evaluates the prevalence of psychological distress among cancer patients undergoing genomic profiling, emphasizing the importance of patient well-being in oncological treatments.