Induction chemotherapy followed by gefitinib and concurrent thoracic radiotherapy for unresectable locally advanced adenocarcinoma of the lung: a multicenter feasibility study (JCOG 0402).

Background: We conducted a feasibility study of induction chemotherapy followed by gefitinib and thoracic radiotherapy (TRT) for unresectable locally advanced adenocarcinoma of the lung.

Patients And Methods: Patients received induction chemotherapy with cisplatin (80 mg/m(2), days 1 and 22) and vinorelbine (25 mg/m(2), days 1, 8, 22, and 29) followed by gefitinib (250 mg daily, beginning on day 43, for 1 year) and TRT (60 Gy/30 fractions, days 57-98). The primary end point was feasibility, which was defined as the proportion of patients who completed 60 Gy of TRT and received >75% of the planned dose of gefitinib without developing grade 2 or worse pneumonitis.

Type IV pilin is glycosylated in Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci 6605 and is required for surface motility and virulence.

Type IV pilin (PilA) is a major constituent of pilus and is required for bacterial biofilm formation, surface motility and virulence. It is known that mature PilA is produced by cleavage of the short leader sequence of the pilin precursor, followed by methylation of N-terminal phenylalanine. The molecular mass of the PilA mature protein from the tobacco bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv.

Randomized phase II study of first-line carboplatin-paclitaxel with or without bevacizumab in Japanese patients with advanced non-squamous non-small-cell lung cancer.

Purpose: This multicenter, randomized, open-label, phase II study (JO19907) compared the efficacy and safety of first-line carboplatin-paclitaxel (CP) alone with bevacizumab-CP in Japanese patients with advanced non-squamous non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods: Chemonaïve patients with stage IIIB, IV or recurrent non-squamous NSCLC were eligible for participation. Patients were randomly assigned in a 2:1 ratio to receive bevacizumab-CP or CP alone.

[Interstitial pneumonitis].

The risk management of interstitial pneumonitis in cancer chemotherapy not only involves an adverse event by an anticancer drug, but there are four steps with the incidence of interstitial pneumonitis: 1 ) the time before chemotherapy treatment, selection of chemotherapy regimens and patients, 2 ) the time chemotherapy treatment is performed, 3 ) the time during following-up, 4 ) the time when interstitial pneumonitis occurs. It is necessary to decrease the risk of interstitial pneumonitis by several steps, cooperating with an entire medical staff.

Angiomyolipomas of the mediastinum and the lung.

Angiomyolipomas are benign neoplasms composed of various tissues, including components of fat, abnormal blood vessels, and smooth muscle cells. They most commonly occur in the kidney, but on rare occasions they occur in extrarenal sites. We present a case of angiomyolipomas in the mediastinum and lung, possibly associated with lymphangioleiomyomatosis and tuberous sclerosis complex.

S-1 plus cisplatin with concurrent radiotherapy for locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer: a multi-institutional phase II trial (West Japan Thoracic Oncology Group 3706).

Purpose: To evaluate the combination chemotherapy using oral antimetabolite S-1 plus cisplatin (SP) with concurrent thoracic radiotherapy (RT) followed by the consolidation SP for locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

Patients And Methods: Patients with stage III non-small cell lung cancer, 20 to 74 years of age, and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status 0 to 1 were eligible. The concurrent phase consisted of full dose S-1 (orally at 40 mg/m/dose twice daily, on days 1-14) and cisplatin (60 mg/m on day 1) repeated every 4 weeks for two cycles with RT delivered beginning on day 1 (60 Gy/30 fractions over 6 weeks).

Laparoscopic total gastrectomy for multiple sporadic gastric gastrointestinal stromal tumors: report of a case.

A 64-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with hematemesis. Emergency upper gastrointestinal endoscopy revealed bleeding from a submucosal tumor (SMT) in the antrum of the stomach, with two other SMTs at different sites. Based on his family history, we diagnosed familial multiple gastric gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) and performed laparoscopic total gastrectomy.

Prognosis and therapeutic response according to the World Health Organization histological classification in advanced thymoma.

Purpose: The clinical efficacy of the World Health Organization (WHO) classification of thymoma has been reported to be a prognostic factor for patients with thymomas. This study focuses on the relationship between the therapeutic response and the WHO histological classification in patients with advanced thymoma.

Methods: A retrospective review was performed on 22 patients with Masaoka stage III and IV thymoma treated from 1975 to 2007.

Concurrent chemoradiotherapy using cisplatin plus S-1, an oral fluoropyrimidine, followed by surgery for selected patients with stage III non-small cell lung cancer: a single-center feasibility study.

Purpose: This single-institutional study was designed to determine whether S-1, an oral fluoropyrimidine, plus cisplatin with concurrent radiotherapy is feasible as an induction treatment for locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods: Eighteen patients were analyzed in this study from July 2005 to March 2008. The patients received 40 mg/m(2) S-1 orally twice per day on days 1 through 14 and 22 through 35, and cisplatin (60 mg/m(2)) was injected intravenously on days 8 and 29.

Phase II study of topotecan with cisplatin in Japanese patients with small cell lung cancer.

Background: We conducted a phase II study of topotecan (Tp) with cisplatin (CDDP) in previously untreated Japanese patients with extensive-disease small cell lung cancer (ED-SCLC).

Patients And Methods: In stage 1, a total of 30 patients were allocated to Tp 0.65 mg/m(2) with CDDP 60 mg/m(2) day 1 or Tp 1.

Epidermal growth factor receptor mutation status in circulating free DNA in serum: from IPASS, a phase III study of gefitinib or carboplatin/paclitaxel in non-small cell lung cancer.

Introduction: In IPASS (IRESSA Pan-Asia Study), clinically selected patients with pulmonary adenocarcinoma received first-line gefitinib or carboplatin/paclitaxel. This preplanned, exploratory analysis was conducted to increase understanding of the use of surrogate samples, such as serum, versus tumor biopsy samples for determining EGFR mutation status in the Japanese cohort (n = 233).

Methods: EGFR mutations were assessed using tumor tissue-derived DNA (n = 91) and circulating free (cf) DNA from pretreatment serum samples (n = 194).

LKB1 mutations frequently detected in mucinous bronchioloalveolar carcinoma.

Objective: LKB1 mutations are common in patients with Peutz-Jeghers syndrome, which is characterized by mucocutaneous pigmentation, intestinal polyps and a high incidence of cancers at variable sites. This study investigated the status of the LKB1 gene in mucinous bronchioloalveolar carcinoma with or without Peutz-Jeghers syndrome.

Methods: Three mucinous bronchioloalveolar carcinoma tumors from two Peutz-Jeghers syndrome patients and seven tumors from sporadic mucinous bronchioloalveolar carcinoma patients were collected by surgery between 2002 and 2008, and high molecular weight genomic DNA was extracted from them.

Degeneration of hrpZ gene in Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci to evade tobacco defence: an arms race between tobacco and its bacterial pathogen.

The HrpZ harpin of Pseudomonas syringae is known to induce a hypersensitive response (HR) in some plants. In P. syringae pv.

Signet ring cell adenocarcinoma of the lung with an EML4-ALK fusion gene mimicking mucinous (colloid) adenocarcinoma: a case report.

We herein report a case of signet ring cell adenocarcinoma of the lung with an EML4-ALK fusion gene mimicking mucinous (colloid) adenocarcinoma. A 79-year-old female presented with a pulmonary tumor located in the right lower lobe measuring 21 mm in size. A right lower lobectomy was performed.

Role of type IV pili in virulence of Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci 6605: correlation of motility, multidrug resistance, and HR-inducing activity on a nonhost plant.

To investigate the role of type IV pili in the virulence of phytopathogenic bacteria, four mutant strains for pilus biogenesis-related genes were generated in Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci 6605. PilA encodes the pilin protein as a major subunit of type IV pili, and the pilO product is reported to be required for pilus assembly.

Identification of Genes Involved in the Glycosylation of Modified Viosamine of Flagellins in Pseudomonas syringae by Mass Spectrometry.

Previously we revealed that flagellin proteins in Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci 6605 (Pta 6605) were glycosylated with a trisaccharide, modified viosamine (mVio)-rhamnose-rhamnose and that glycosylation was required for virulence. We further identified some glycosylation-related genes, including vioA, vioB, vioT, fgt1, and fgt2.

Two flagellar stators and their roles in motility and virulence in Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci 6605.

The motor proteins around the flagellar basal body consist of two cytoplasmic membrane proteins, MotA and MotB, and function as a complex that acts as the stator to generate the torque that drives rotation. Genome analysis of several Pseudomonas syringae pathovars revealed that there are two sets of genes encoding motor proteins: motAB and motCD. Deduced amino acid sequences for MotA/B and MotC/D showed homologies to the H(+)-driven stator from Escherichia coli and Na(+)-driven stator from Vibrio alginolyticus, respectively.

[Advanced breast cancer in a patient achieving long-term SD after letrozole administration for liver metastasis developing during anastrozole therapy].

We report a 69-year-old woman with breast cancer who was effectively treated with letrozole as a second-line therapy after becoming resistant to anastrozole. Her chief complaint at presentation was back pain. Physical examination and imaging studies showed a left breast tumor with skin invasion, multiple intramammary lesions, enlarged left axillary lymph node, and multiple bone metastases.

Long-term administration of second-line chemotherapy with S-1 and gemcitabine for platinum-resistant non-small cell lung cancer: a phase II study.

Background: Standard second-line chemotherapies for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have been established but have limited clinical relevance. S-1 is a recently developed agent with potential activity against NSCLC.

Methods: Patients with confirmed NSCLC recurrence after previous single- or two-regimen chemotherapy with platinum, performance status of 0 to 1, adequate organ functions, and measurable lesions were treated with S-1 (60 mg/m/d, twice a day) on days 1 to 14 and gemcitabine (1000 mg/m) on days 8 and 15, which were repeated every 3 weeks until tumor progression.

Phase I study of topotecan and cisplatin in patients with small cell lung cancer.

Objective: A single-agent topotecan has an indication for the treatment of small cell lung cancer in Japan. Previous studies demonstrated that topotecan combined with a platinum agent could provide additional antitumor efficacy. This study was to find the recommended dose of topotecan in combination with cisplatin and preferred administration sequence in untreated patients with extensive disease small cell lung cancer for Phase II study.

Lung cancer working group report.

Asia needs a guideline for non-small-cell lung cancer because of differences in medical care, medical care insurance, ethnic variation and drug approval lag within Asian countries and compared with Western countries. Due to ethnic differences, drug dosages are often higher in the USA than in Japan. EGFR mutation in non-small-cell lung cancer was detected in 32% of Asians but only 6% of non-Asians, while differences in irinotecan metabolism cause higher frequencies of toxicity (leukopenia, diarrhea) in Asians.

Pooled analysis of S-1 trials in non-small cell lung cancer according to histological type.

Background: The antimetabolic agent S-1 inhibits thymidylate synthase similar to pemetrexed, but through a different mechanism of action. Whether the antitumour activity of S-1 depends on histological type remains unclear. We analysed pooled data from 2 phase II clinical studies of cisplatin and S-1 in patients with previously untreated advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

Vandetanib plus docetaxel versus docetaxel as second-line treatment for patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (ZODIAC): a double-blind, randomised, phase 3 trial.

Background: Vandetanib is a once-daily oral inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), and rearranged during transfection (RET) tyrosine kinases. In a randomised phase 2 study in patients with previously treated non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), adding vandetanib 100 mg to docetaxel significantly improved progression-free survival (PFS) compared with docetaxel alone, including a longer PFS in women. These results supported investigation of the combination in this larger, definitive phase 3 trial (ZODIAC).