Publications by authors named "Hisao Imai"
Background/aim: Amrubicin is recognized as a second-line treatment for refractory small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) and is administered immediately after chemotherapy; however, it has not been evaluated in patients with recurrent SCLC following chemoradiotherapy (CRT). This study aimed to examine the activity and safety of amrubicin monotherapy in patients with relapsed SCLC previously treated with CRT.
Patients And Methods: This retrospective study evaluated patients with relapsed SCLC who had been previously treated with CRT, followed by amrubicin monotherapy between April 2007 and June 2021.
Purpose: Nivolumab plus ipilimumab (Nivo-Ipi) combination therapy is an effective first-line treatment for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, its effectiveness and feasibility in elderly patients (aged ≥ 75 years) remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of first-line Nivo-Ipi therapy in elderly patients with NSCLC.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPleural mesothelioma (PM) is a rare and highly aggressive malignancy originating from the pleural lining, with a median overall survival of merely 1 year. This cancer primarily arises from mesothelial cells following exposure to carcinogenic, biopersistent mineral fibers, particularly asbestos. The histological subtypes of mesothelioma are epithelioid (approximately 60%), sarcomatoid (20%), and biphasic (20%), exhibiting epithelioid and sarcomatoid characteristics.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe report a rare case of concurrent onset of osimertinib-induced heart failure and metronidazole-induced encephalopathy during treatment of a brain abscess. A 78-year-old female with lung adenocarcinoma presented with neurological symptoms and was diagnosed with a brain abscess. During treatment, she developed heart failure and encephalopathy, linked to osimertinib and metronidazole, respectively.
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- This study explored the effectiveness and safety of combining chemoradiotherapy (CRT) with local consolidative therapy (LCT) for patients with Stage IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and oligometastases.
- During the Phase II trial involving 19 patients, the treatment resulted in a 58% response rate, median progression-free survival of 8.6 months, and a two-year survival rate of 68.4%.
- The findings suggest that this aggressive treatment approach may prolong survival and improve local control without severe adverse events.
Article Synopsis
- This study looked at how cardiac uptake of F-FDG PET, a commonly used imaging technique for cancer, relates to cancer cachexia and overall survival in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
- Researchers evaluated 43 patients who experienced weight loss before starting treatment and found that low visual scores for cardiac F-FDG uptake correlated with higher tumor activity and a higher risk of cachexia.
- The findings suggest that lower cardiac F-FDG uptake indicates poorer nutritional status and is a significant predictor of reduced overall survival for patients with advanced NSCLC.
Background: The L-type amino acid transporter (LAT1) exhibits significantly increased expression within tumor cells across various neoplasms. However, the clinical significance of LAT1 expression in patients with pleural mesothelioma (PM) remains unclear.
Methods: Eighty patients diagnosed with PM between June 2007 and August 2022, were eligible for this study.
Background: The standard treatment for patients in good general condition with limited-disease small cell lung cancer (LD-SCLC) is concurrent platinum/etoposide chemotherapy and thoracic radiotherapy (TRT). However, the efficacy and safety of chemoradiotherapy (CRT) in older patients with LD-SCLC has not been fully explored; moreover, the optimal treatment for this patient group remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the feasibility and efficacy of CRT in older patients with LD-SCLC.
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- * A retrospective analysis of 124 LD-SCLC patients revealed that those with favorable GPS scores (0-1) experienced significantly better progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) compared to those with unfavorable scores (GPS 2).
- * The study suggests that the GPS may serve as a useful tool for predicting treatment outcomes in LD-SCLC, with favorable scores correlating with improved survival rates.
Background/aim: Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF)-producing neoplasms are relatively rare; however, little is known on the clinical features of G-CSF-producing lung cancer harboring activating epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations.
Case Report: A 66-year-old female was definitively diagnosed with G-CSF-producing lung cancer that was positive for EGFR mutations. She repeatedly received epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs), such as osimertinib and afatinib.
Article Synopsis
- Immune-related adverse events (irAEs), particularly immune-related myasthenia gravis (irMG), are critical for managing immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in cancer treatment, with irMG being potentially life-threatening.
- Research identified an incidence rate of ICI-induced MG under 1.0%, with notable overlap syndromes occurring in 20-30% of patients; key diagnostic tools include acetylcholine receptor antibodies and elevated creatinine kinase levels.
- Effective treatment for irMG typically involves high-dose steroids and plasmapheresis/immunoglobulins, with early immunosuppressive therapy essential for improving outcomes and quality of life post-treatment.
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- Neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy (NACI) is the recommended treatment for patients with operable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), but finding a reliable predictor for achieving a pathological complete response (pCR) remains a challenge.* -
- A review of 50 relevant studies published between 2018 and 2022 highlighted various potential predictors for pCR, including imaging techniques like F-FDG-PET, tumor microenvironment factors, and clinical markers such as neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and smoking history.* -
- Notably, a full metabolic response on PET scans showed a 71.4% positive predictive value for pCR, while specific patterns in tumor
Selpercatinib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor approved for RET-fusion gene-positive lung cancer, can induce hypersensitivity, potentially exacerbated by prior immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy. We present a case of severe toxicity following selpercatinib treatment in a 58-year-old female with lung adenocarcinoma, refractory to previous treatments including pembrolizumab. Symptoms included fever, rash, and multiorgan failure indicative of grade 4 hypersensitivity.
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- Pembrolizumab combined with platinum and pemetrexed (Pemb-Plt-PEM) is a promising first-line treatment for advanced non-squamous non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), effective regardless of PD-L1 expression.
- A study assessed this treatment's safety and efficacy in elderly patients (75 years and older) who received Pemb-Plt-PEM in Japan, focusing on patient responses and adverse events.
- Results showed a 40% overall response rate and a median overall survival of 24 months, indicating that Pemb-Plt-PEM is both effective and feasible for treating non-squamous NSCLC in older patients.
Background/aim: Spontaneous regression (SR) of cancer, which indicates the natural disappearance of malignant tumors, is rare. Little is known about the mechanisms underlying SR; however, immunological reactions, infections, injuries, and medications have been presumed. Among previously reported cases of SR, lung cancer cases have been extremely limited.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground/aim: Membranous nephropathy (MN) is a nephrotic syndrome with both idiopathic and secondary etiologies. The mechanism of cancer-associated MN is presumed to involve the immunological production of antibodies against a tumor antigen, although little is known about the detailed mechanism. Lung cancer is a major neoplasm associated with cancer-associated MN.
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- - The study examined the safety of re-administering EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in patients who had experienced pneumonitis from osimertinib, particularly focusing on the risk of recurrent pneumonitis.
- - Out of 124 patients treated, 54.8% underwent EGFR-TKI rechallenge, with a 27% recurrence rate of pneumonitis within 12 months, showing that patients on osimertinib had a significantly higher risk of recurrence compared to those on older EGFR-TKIs.
- - Findings indicate that osimertinib leads to higher rates of recurrent pneumonitis upon rechallenge compared to traditional EGFR-TKIs, suggesting more caution is
Article Synopsis
- * A study involving 30 patients found that the median progression-free survival (PFS) was 4.2 months, and median overall survival (OS) was 18.5 months, with better outcomes for those on durvalumab for 6 months or longer.
- * About 10% of patients experienced severe side effects like pneumonitis, dermatitis, and colitis, indicating that while the treatment is effective, it can have adverse effects.
Article Synopsis
- Chemo-immunotherapy using PD-L1 antibodies shows effectiveness in treating extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC), but a reliable biomarker for predicting treatment outcomes is lacking.
- A study involving 46 ES-SCLC patients evaluated F-FDG-PET imaging to assess metabolic activity through metrics like maximum standard uptake value (SUV), metabolic tumor volume (MTV), and total lesion glycolysis (TLG).
- The findings indicate that higher MTV and TLG levels correlate with poorer performance and survival outcomes, suggesting they could serve as valuable predictors for treatment efficacy in ES-SCLC patients.
Article Synopsis
- Opioids, which are commonly used for pain relief, often cause constipation, particularly in older adults—this study focuses on a treatment for that issue called naldemedine for patients over 75 with cancer.* -
- The researchers analyzed medical records from 10 hospitals in Japan, studying 60 cancer patients who were hospitalized for at least a week before and after starting naldemedine.* -
- Results showed a 68.3% response rate in increasing bowel movements, with diarrhea being the most frequent side effect, mostly mild, indicating that naldemedine is both effective and safe for older cancer patients dealing with opioid-induced constipation.*
Article Synopsis
- - The study investigated how tumor metabolism (specifically glycolysis) relates to inflammatory and nutritional status in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients undergoing PD-1 blockade therapy.
- - 186 patients' F-FDG PET imaging results were analyzed, showing that certain metabolic indicators (like MTV and TLG) correlated significantly with various inflammatory and nutritional indexes, impacting overall survival (OS).
- - High metabolic tumor volume (MTV) under conditions of high inflammation (measured by NLR, PLR, and SII) and low nutrition (measured by ALI) was found to be a serious predictor of poorer outcomes after PD-1 treatment, especially in first-line therapy.
Article Synopsis
- The study assesses combination immunotherapy with nivolumab and ipilimumab for stage IV or recurrent non-small cell lung cancer in Japanese patients, revealing potential survival benefits compared to chemotherapy.
- In an analysis of 353 patients over an average follow-up of 7.1 months, safety was monitored with 32.1% of those treated experiencing serious adverse events, mainly in the first month.
- The results indicate a median progression-free survival of approximately 6.0 months for patients receiving immunotherapy with chemotherapy and 5.8 months without, providing important clinical insights for similar patient populations.
Article Synopsis
- - The study examined the timing and effects of durvalumab therapy after concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) in patients with unresectable stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
- - Conducted as a phase II clinical trial, 47 out of 50 treated patients showed a 1-year progression-free survival (PFS) rate of 75.0%, with an objective response rate of 78.7% and a median PFS of 14.2 months.
- - The findings suggest that starting durvalumab immediately after CCRT is both effective and safe, with similar rates of serious side effects like pneumonitis to previous studies.