Indicators of sorafenib efficacy in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.

Aim: To determine significant indicators for the efficacy of sorafenib in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods: A total of 46 patients with Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage C who received sorafenib for more than 30 d at the Iizuka Hospital from June 2009 to December 2012 were enrolled in this study. Multivariate and univariate analyses were performed to evaluate the associations of hepatic function according to Child-Pugh grade, location and size of the largest tumor and adverse events of sorafenib treatment, such as hand-foot syndrome (HFS), hypertension, diarrhea, and alopecia, with the efficacy of treatment, as measured by overall survival (OS) and time to progression (TTP).

Liver X receptor in cooperation with SREBP-1c is a major lipid synthesis regulator in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Aim: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most frequent causes of liver dysfunction and its incidence has increased markedly. However, the mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of NAFLD in humans have not been thoroughly investigated. Sterol regulatory element binding protein (SREBP)-1c and carbohydrate responsive element binding protein (ChREBP) are transcriptional factors that regulate the expression of lipogenic genes, including acetyl-CoA carboxylases (ACCs) and fatty acid synthase (FAS).

Investigation of hyperuricemia during pegylated-interferon-alpha2b plus ribavirin combination therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C.

Objective: Hyperuricemia has been reported as being an adverse effect of pegylated-interferon-alpha2b (Peg-IFNalpha2b) and ribavirin combination therapy for chronic hepatitis C and hyperuricemic changes occur in some patients during the therapy. However, detailed investigation of the elevation of uric acid has not been carried out previously. The incidence and mechanism of hyperuricemia were investigated in this study.

[Frequency of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) as a complication in patients with chronic liver diseases: estimation of frequency scale for the system of GERD].

Recently, a questionnaire, Frequency Scale for the System of GERD (FSSG), has been estimated to be clinically useful for the initial diagnosis of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). We investigated the frequency of GERD as a complication in patients with chronic liver diseases by using the questionnaire, FSSG. As a result, it may be considered that, as a complication of chronic liver disease, GERD exists in about 20% of patients and mainly belongs to a dyskinetic type.