Evaluation of beam-on time and number of breath-holds using a flattening-filter-free beam with the deep inspiration breath-hold method in left-sided breast cancer.

We performed a dosimetric study to evaluate the benefits of using a flattening-filter-free (FFF) beam with the deep inspiration breath-hold (DIBH) method for left-breast cancer. We used data from 30 previous patients with treatment plans that included DIBH for left-breast cancer with a flattened beam. FFF beam plans were calculated from previous treatment plan images and compared to the original plans in terms of monitor units (MU), number of segments, beam-on time, and breath-holds.

Professional oral health care reduces oral mucositis pain in patients treated by superselective intra-arterial chemotherapy concurrent with radiotherapy for oral cancer.

Purpose: Oral mucositis (OM) is a painful complication of radiation therapy (RT) for head and neck cancer. OM can compromise nutrition, require opioid analgesics and hospitalization for pain control, and lead to interruption of treatment. Severe oral mucositis appears inevitable in superselective intra-arterial chemotherapy concurrent with radiotherapy (SSIACRT), requiring management of OM for the patient.

Comparison of osteoradionecrosis of the jaw after superselective intra-arterial chemoradiotherapy versus conventional concurrent chemoradiotherapy of oral cancer.

Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to compare the incidence of osteoradionecrosis between superselective intra-arterial chemoradiotherapy and intravenous chemoradiotherapy and to verify the risk factors for osteoradionecrosis.

Materials And Methods: Of the 79 patients with oral cancer, 40 were treated with intra-venous chemoradiotherapy and 39 were treated with superselective intra-arterial chemoradiotherapy. The incidence of, and risk factors for, osteoradionecrosis were evaluated using statistical analysis.

Periosteum-derived cells respond to mechanical stretch and activate Wnt and BMP signaling pathways.

The periosteum supplies osteoblasts and nutrients for bone metabolism and is important for osteoblast differentiation and osteogenesis. Recently, periosteum-derived cells have been used for orofacial bone regeneration therapy. However, little is known about the function of the periosteum in physiological bone remodeling.

Role of type I- and type II-interferon in expression of melanoma differentiation-associated gene-5 in HSC-3 oral squamous carcinoma cells.

Melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 (MDA-5) and retinoic acid-inducible gene-I (RIG-I)are members of DExH family of proteins, and known to play important roles in antiviral responses to induce type I interferons (IFNs). MDA-5 has been thought to sense RNA virus with long(>1 kb) double-stranded RNA. However, MDA-5 is also induced by type II IFN that is involved in acquired immunity, suggesting that role of MDA-5 remains to be elucidated.

Color signal integration for color discrimination along a long-range apparent motion trajectory.

In contrast to the classical view that fundamental visual attributes such as color and motion are independently processed in the visual system (e.g. Livingstone and Hubel, 1987; Marr, 1982), recent studies have revealed various forms of cross-attribute interactions, such as averaging of color appearance along the motion trajectory of an object (Nishida et al.

Cognitive function and number of teeth in a community-dwelling population in Japan.

Background: It has been reported that oral health is poor in elderly populations and is associated with poor cognition and dementia. The objective of this study was to examine the association between tooth loss and cognitive function in a community-dwelling population in Japan.

Methods: We examined the association between tooth loss and cognitive function in 462 Japanese community-dwelling individuals.

[Metastatic renal tumor from oral floor cancer: a case report].

A 61-year-old man with oral floor cancer (adenoid cystic carcinoma, T2N0M1) was treated with systemicc hemotherapy and radiation therapy at the department of dentistry and oral surgery in our hospital. He had three lung metastases and renal tumors detected by screening computed tomography. The oral floor cancer responded to the treatment to achieve partial response.

Influence of dentures in the initial occurrence site on the prognosis of bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaws: a retrospective study.

Objective: This retrospective cohort study was conducted to investigate the influence of wearing dentures in the initial occurrence site of bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaws (BRONJ).

Study Design: A questionnaire regarding the prevalence, therapy, and outcome of jawbone lesions during 2006-08 was mailed to 248 medical institutions with an oral and maxillofacial surgery department in Japan.

Results: Ninety-nine patients wearing dentures had significantly shorter duration until occurrence than 151 patients not wearing dentures.

Superselective intra-arterial chemoradiotherapy with docetaxel-nedaplatin for advanced oral cancer.

Cisplatin-based, superselective, intra-arterial chemotherapy concurrent with radiotherapy (SSIACRT) has gained wide acceptance as a common/curative treatment for advanced head and neck cancer. We combined nedaplatin (CDGP) with docetaxel (DOC) as a new combination in SSIACRT for advanced oral squamous cell carcinoma in 2003. Twenty-two patients with advanced oral cancer were treated by radiotherapy (66 Gy) concurrent with superselective intra-arterial DOC (40 mg/body) and CDGP (80 mg/m²) infusion between 2003 and 2009.

[A case of submandibular gland cancer in elderly patients showed significant effect by S-1 and intravenous docetaxel chemotherapy concurrent with radiotherapy].

An elderly case of with advanced head and neck cancer treated by intravenous infusion chemotherapy with weekly docetaxel( DOC)and concurrent radiotherapy was reported. The patient was a 77-year-old man. Clinical diagnosis was submandibular gland carcinoma.

Characterization of synergistic induction of CX3CL1/fractalkine by TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma in vascular endothelial cells: an essential role for TNF-alpha in post-transcriptional regulation of CX3CL1.

CX3CL1/fractalkine, a chemokine specific to monocytes and NK cells, is induced synergistically by TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma in vascular endothelial cells. However, the mechanism for this synergism remains unclear. This study explored the hypothesis that the CX3CL1 expression is regulated at a posttranscriptional level, which may responsible for the synergism between TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma.

Expression of interferon-stimulated gene 20 in vascular endothelial cells.

ISG20 is an ribonuclease specific for single-stranded RNA and considered to play a role in innate immunity against virus infections. We herein show that both poly IC, an authentic double-stranded RNA, and IFN-gamma induced ISG20 expression in cultured HUVEC. Poly IC-induced ISG20 expression was inhibited by LY294002, an inhibitor of PI3K, or by RNA interference against IFN regulatory factor three.

Expression of retinoic acid-inducible gene-I (RIG-I) in macrophages: possible involvement of RIG-I in atherosclerosis.

Aim: Retinoic acid-inducible gene-I (RIG-I) is one of the genes induced by interferon (IFN)-gamma which plays an important role in atherosclerosis. The aim of this study is to examine if RIG-I is involved in atherosclerosis.

Methods: The expression of RIG-I in atherosclerotic lesions in human aorta was examined by immunohistochemical analysis.

Retinoic acid-inducible gene-I mediates RANTES/CCL5 expression in U373MG human astrocytoma cells stimulated with double-stranded RNA.

Retinoic acid-inducible gene-I (RIG-I) mediates part of the cell signaling in response to viral infection. Polyinosinic-polycytidilic acid (poly IC) is a synthetic double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) and mimics viral infection when applied to cell cultures. The CC chemokine, RANTES (regulated on activation, normal T-cell expressed and secreted), is a potent attractant for inflammatory cells such as memory T-lymphocytes, monocytes and eosinophils.

Interleukin-1 induces the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor in human pericardial mesothelial cells.

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a mitogen for endothelial cells. We have studied the production of VEGF by human pericardial mesothelial cells. Mesothelial cells were separated by scraping the pericardial surface during cardiac surgery and cultured.

Expression of vascular endothelial growth factor by photodynamic therapy with mono-L-aspartyl chlorin e6 (NPe6) in oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a method for treating pre-cancerous and cancerous lesions of the skin, bladder and oral cavity. However, tumour recurrence after PDT remains problematic despite good initial response. Some studies have shown that PDT induces vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression in human oral squamous cell carcinoma and other organs.

Interleukin-1beta enhances the angiotensin-induced expression of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 through angiotensin receptor upregulation in human astrocytes.

Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) regulates not only fibrinolysis but extracellular matrix remodeling, and angiotensin II is known to play an important role in controlling the expression of PAI-1 in astrocytes. We have studied the effect of interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta), one of major cytokines also active in the nervous system, on the angiotensin II-induced expression of PAI-1 in human astrocytes. Cultures of normal human astrocytes were stimulated with IL-1beta and angiotensin II, and the expression of mRNAs for angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1) and PAI-1 was analyzed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) or real-time quantitative PCR.

Photodynamic therapy with mono-L-aspartyl chlorin e6 can cause necrosis of squamous cell carcinoma of tongue: experimental study on an animal model of nude mouse.

Mono-L-aspartyl chlorin e6 (NPe6) is an effective photosensitizer with a major absorption band at 664 nm. NPe6 is potentially exploitable for photodynamic therapy (PDT) and does not cause the side effect of prolonged normal skin photosensitization. However, there are no clinical and experimental reports of its use in oral cancer till now.

Regulation of synthesis of osteoprotegerin and soluble receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappaB ligand in normal human osteoblasts via the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway by the application of cyclic tensile strain.

Mechanical stress is thought to play an important role in bone remodeling. However, the correlation between mechanical stress and bone remodeling is poorly understood. In this context, using a model of cyclic tensile strain (CTS) toward human osteoblasts, synthesis of osteoprotegerin (OPG) and soluble receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappaB ligand (sRANKL), and the activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) were examined.

Platelet-activating factor enhances the expression of nerve growth factor in normal human astrocytes under hypoxia.

Nerve growth factor (NGF) is required for the survival of neurons. We have addressed the effect of platelet-activating factor (PAF), one of the mediators of ischemic injury of the brain, on NGF expression in astrocytes. Normal human astrocytes in culture were stimulated with PAF, and levels of NGF mRNA and protein were analyzed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), real-time quantitative PCR and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

Photodynamic therapy upregulates expression of Mac-1 and generation of leukotriene B(4) by human polymorphonuclear leukocytes.

This study investigated the expression of Mac-1 (CD11b/CD18) and generation of leukotriene B(4) (LTB(4)) by polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) in response to Mono-L-aspartyl chlorine 6 (NPe6) mediated photodynamic therapy (PDT). PDT was carried out using a laser diode at a light dose of 10 J/cm(2) and wavelength of 664 nm. Expression of Mac-1 was significantly increased about 3-fold by PDT compared with that of Npe6 exposure.

Production of growth related oncogene protein-alpha in human umbilical vein endothelial cells stimulated with soluble interleukin-6 receptor-alpha: role of signal transducers, janus kinase 2 and mitogen-activated kinase kinase.

Growth-related oncogene protein-alpha (GRO-alpha) is a member of the C-X-C chemokine family with a wide variety of biological activities. We studied the production of GRO-alpha by human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) in response to the stimulation with soluble form of interleukin-6 receptor alpha (sIL-6R). sIL-6R stimulated HUVEC to express GRO-alpha mRNA and secrete GRO-alpha protein in concentration-and time-dependent manners.