Dexamethasone-sparing on days 2-4 with combined palonosetron, neurokinin-1 receptor antagonist, and olanzapine in cisplatin: a randomized phase III trial (SPARED Trial).

Background: This study evaluated the non-inferiority of dexamethasone (DEX) on day 1, with sparing on days 2-4 in cisplatin-based chemotherapy.

Methods: Patients with malignant solid tumors who were treated with cisplatin (≥50 mg/m²) were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive either DEX on days 1-4 (Arm D4) or DEX on day 1 (Arm D1) plus palonosetron, NK-1 RA, and olanzapine (5 mg). The primary endpoint was complete response (CR) during the delayed (24-120 h) phase.

Effect of Mirtazapine for the Prevention of Nausea and Vomiting in Patients With Thoracic Cancer Receiving Platinum-based Chemotherapy.

Background/aim: Mirtazapine, which exerts an antagonistic effect on 5-hydroxytryptamine type 5-HT, 5-HT, 5-HT and H receptors, is considered useful for the prophylaxis of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV). This study investigated the efficacy and safety of mirtazapine for the prevention of CINV in patients with thoracic cancer receiving platinum-based chemotherapy.

Patients And Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted in patients with thoracic cancer receiving platinum-based chemotherapy with 15 mg mirtazapine once daily as a prophylactic antiemetic drug between January 2014 and December 2021.

Peripheral blood flow estimated by laser doppler flowmetry provides additional information about sleep state beyond that provided by pulse rate variability.

Pulse rate variability (PRV), derived from Laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) or photoplethysmography, has recently become widely used for sleep state assessment, although it cannot identify all the sleep stages. Peripheral blood flow (BF), also estimated by LDF, may be modulated by sleep stages; however, few studies have explored its potential for assessing sleep state. Thus, we aimed to investigate whether peripheral BF could provide information about sleep stages, and thus improve sleep state assessment.

Relationship Between Osimertinib Concentration and Clinical Response in Japanese Patients With Non-small Cell Lung Cancer.

Background/aim: Osimertinib is the first-line treatment for patients with advanced epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The present study aimed to determine the previously unclarified association of osimertinib plasma trough concentrations with efficacy, adverse events, and genetic polymorphisms in Japanese patients with NSCLC harboring EGFR mutations.

Patients And Methods: In this prospective study, blood samples of 25 patients who received osimertinib were collected to measure plasma osimertinib concentrations and to genotypically characterize ATP-binding cassette subfamily B member 1 and ATP-binding cassette subfamily G member 2 polymorphisms.

Cancer cachexia as a determinant of efficacy of first-line pembrolizumab in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

Pembrolizumab, either as a type of monotherapy or in combination with cytotoxic anticancer agents, is effective in the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, the development of cancer cachexia may adversely affect anticancer drug therapy. The present study investigated the effect of cancer cachexia on clinical outcomes in patients with advanced NSCLC who received first-line pembrolizumab.

Efficacy of cisplatin plus vinorelbine adjuvant chemotherapy with split-dose administration of cisplatin after complete resection of stage II-IIIA non-small cell lung cancer.

Although co-administration of cisplatin (CDDP) and vinorelbine (VNR) has been established as a standard of care adjuvant chemotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), there is a lack of clinical data on its safety and efficacy in Japanese patients receiving split-dose administration of CDDP. The present study analyzed patients who received CDDP + VNR with split-dose administration of CDDP after undergoing complete resection of NSCLC. Patients received four courses of CDDP (40 mg/m) and VNR (25 mg/m) on days 1 and 8, every 3 weeks.

Evaluation of clinical pharmacist interventions for adverse events in hospitalized patients with thoracic cancer receiving cancer chemotherapy.

Due to the increasing complexity of cancer chemotherapy and its associated supportive care, the role of clinical pharmacists in cancer chemotherapy is becoming increasingly more important. The present study evaluated the clinical interventions of a single pharmacist on the adverse events in hospitalized patients with thoracic cancer receiving cancer chemotherapy. A single-center, retrospective study was conducted at the 614-bed, tertiary care Gifu University Hospital.

Primary Prophylaxis of Febrile Neutropenia With Pegfilgrastim in Small-cell Lung Cancer Patients Receiving Amrubicin as Second-line Therapy.

Background/aim: We evaluated the efficacy of primary prophylaxis with pegfilgrastim (PEG) for febrile neutropenia (FN) in small cell lung cancer (SCLC) patients receiving amrubicin (AMR).

Patients And Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted in patients with SCLC receiving AMR as second-line therapy.

Results: A total of 33 patients were treated with AMR (no PEG group), while 13 patients were treated with AMR plus prophylactic administration of PEG (PEG group).

Effects of pharmacokinetics-related genetic polymorphisms on the side effect profile of afatinib in patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

Objectives: Epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs) represent the first-line treatment for patients with advanced EGFR mutation-positive non-small-cell lung cancer. Afatinib is a second-generation EGFR-TKI with excellent therapeutic effects. However, severe diarrhea and skin disorders are observed at high frequencies, often leading to treatment interruption because of low quality of life (QOL).

Efficacy of Single-dose First-generation 5-HT Receptor Antagonist and Dexamethasone for Preventing Nausea and Vomiting Induced by Low-dose Carboplatin-based Chemotherapy.

Background: Carboplatin (CBDCA) is known to exhibit a high emetic risk among moderate-emetic risk anticancer drugs, and the dose of CBDCA varies in different therapies. In concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the weekly administration of CBDCA (area under the curve (AUC) 2 mg/ml/min) and paclitaxel (PTX: 40 mg/m) is frequently applied as standard therapy. However, the optimal antiemetic measures in the use of such low-dose CBDCA remain unclear.

Pharmacokinetics of consecutive oral moxifloxacin (400 mg/day) in patients with respiratory tract infection.

A population pharmacokinetic analysis was performed to investigate the pharmacokinetics of moxifloxacin (400 mg) following a once-daily oral administration in 28 patients with respiratory tract infection disease. The maximum plasma concentration and the area under the plasma concentration-time curve were 3.97 µg/ml and 51.

Prevention of radiation esophagitis by polaprezinc (zinc L-carnosine) in patients with non-small cell lung cancer who received chemoradiotherapy.

Background: Concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) plays an important role in multimodality therapy for non-small cell lung cancer. However, esophagitis often develops as a complication of CCRT, causing treatment delays and reducing the patient's quality of life. We examined the efficacy of polaprezinc (PZ), zinc L-carnosine used for the therapy of gastric ulcer, against the onset of esophagitis caused by CCRT for lung cancer.

Noninvasive Tissue Characterization of Lung Tumors Using Integrated Backscatter Intravascular Ultrasound: An Ex Vivo Comparative Study With Pathological Diagnosis.

Background: Endobronchial ultrasonography (EBUS) facilitates a lung cancer diagnosis. However, qualitative tissue characterization of lung tumors is difficult using EBUS. Integrated backscatter (IBS) is an ultrasound technique that calculates the power of the ultrasound signal to characterize tissue components in coronary arteries.

Acupuncture Treatment for Dyspnea due to Combined Pulmonary Fibrosis and Emphysema: A Case Report.

Objective: Combined idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis with pulmonary emphysema (CPFE) is a syndrome with a characteristic presentation of upper lobe emphysema and lower lobe fibrosis. Dyspnea on exertion (DOE) is a major symptom of CPFE. We report a patient with DOE due to CPFE who was successfully treated with acupuncture.

[Analysis of Pemetrexed Monotherapy in Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients with Impaired Renal Function].

Toxicity and efficacy of pemetrexed monotherapy in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer patients with impaired renal function treated between May 2009 and May 2012 at Gifu University Hospital were retrospectively analyzed. A total of 10 and 17 patients had a creatinine clearance rate (Ccr) of <45 mL/min and ≥45 mL/min, respectively. The median age was higher in the Ccr<45 mL/min group (78.

Paraneoplastic neurological syndrome in a patient with squamous cell lung cancer.

A 78-year-old man presented with urinary retention and difficulty walking. Both legs showed muscle weakness, and he was experiencing lower body hypoesthesia. T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging revealed lesions with high signal intensity and enhancement in the spinal cord and cerebrum.

A randomized controlled non-inferiority study comparing the antiemetic effect between intravenous granisetron and oral azasetron based on estimated 5-HT3 receptor occupancy.

Background: The acute antiemetic effect was compared between oral azasetron and intravenous granisetron based on the 5-hydroxytryptamine(3) (5-HT(3)) receptor occupancy theory.

Patients And Methods: Receptor occupancy was estimated from reported data on plasma concentrations and affinity constants to 5-HT(3) receptor. A randomized non-inferiority study comparing acute antiemetic effects between oral azasetron and intravenous granisetron was performed in 105 patients receiving the first course of carboplatin-based chemotherapy for lung cancer.

Tetomilast attenuates elastase-induced pulmonary emphysema through inhibition of oxidative stress in rabbits.

Tetomilast was originally identified as a potent inhibitor of superoxide production in human neutrophils, and is of interest because it may relieve oxidative stress related to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Our objective was to determine whether tetomilast effectively protects against the development of porcine pancreatic elastase (PPE)-induced emphysema in rabbits. Rabbits were divided into three groups (sham n=19, PPE n=19, PPE/Tetomilast n=18).

Cerebral air embolism as a complication of computed tomography-guided marking of the lung: depiction of air inflow route from a pulmonary vein to the left atrium.

Air embolism in the arterial system is a very rare but potentially fatal complication of percutaneous transthoracic needle biopsy or marking. We report a case of a patient with interstitial pneumonia associated with Sjögren syndrome, who presented with systemic arterial air embolism as a complication of computed tomography-guided marking of the lung. The air inflow route was depicted clearly on computed tomography from the peripheral pulmonary vein that crossed the needle pathway to the left atrium.

Polymerase chain reaction positivity of Pneumocystis jirovecii during primary lung cancer treatment.

Objective: When treating lung cancer, pneumocystic pneumonia is a life-threatening complication seen during chemotherapy. Polymerase chain reaction is used to detect its cause, Pneumocystis jirovecii, but polymerase chain reaction positives without pneumocystic pneumonia are sometimes seen. The purpose of this study was to assess the frequency of pneumocystic pneumonia during cancer treatment.

[Sarcoidosis-lymphoma syndrome with vertebral bone destruction].

We report a rare case of sarcoidosis-lymphoma syndrome with vertebral bone destruction. A 63-year-old woman was previously diagnosed as sarcoidosis by supraclavicular lymph node biopsy, and came to our hospital complaining of back pain. Both serum angiotensin-converting enzyme and lysozyme level had been continuously elevated.

Massive hematuria from the bilateral upper urinary tract in a patient treated for advanced lung cancer with gefitinib.

We report a case of gefitinib-induced bilateral upper urinary tract bleeding in an 82-year-old woman administered the drug daily for advanced non-small cell adenocarcinoma of the lung (T4N3M0). Hematuria is an uncommon adverse effect of gefitinib, and in most cases, the bleeding site is unknown. On the 44th day of oral gefitinib administration, the patient noted asymptomatic macroscopic bloody urine.