A Case of Merkel Cell Carcinoma of Unknown Primary Origin Presenting With High Merkel Cell Polyomavirus DNA Levels in Swabs Obtained From the Normal Skin.

Merkel cell carcinoma is a rare neuroendocrine tumor with high mortality. It is well known that clonal integration of the Merkel cell polyomavirus into the dermal precursor cells is a hypothesized pathway in Merkel cell carcinoma pathogenesis. Here, we demonstrate a case of Merkel cell carcinoma (primary origin unknown) presenting with high Merkel cell polyomavirus DNA levels in swabs obtained from normal skin.

Wound, Pressure Ulcer, and Burn Guidelines-5: Guidelines for the management of lower leg ulcers and varicose veins, second edition.

"Wound, Pressure Ulcer, and Burn Guidelines-5: Guidelines for the management of lower leg ulcers and varicose veins, second edition" is revised from the first edition, which was published in the Japanese Journal of Dermatology in 2011. The guidelines were drafted by the Wound, Pressure Ulcer, and Burn Guidelines Drafting Committee delegated by the Japanese Dermatological Association and intend to facilitate physicians' clinical decisions in preventing, diagnosing and management of lower leg ulcers and varicose veins. We updated all sections by collecting documents published since the publication of the first edition.

Severe Thrombocytopenia from Trastuzumab and Pertuzumab Combination Therapy in a Patient with HER2-Positive Metastatic Rectal Cancer.

Introduction: In recent years, trastuzumab and pertuzumab have been used in treatment protocols for patients with HER2-positive colorectal cancer. Although severe thrombocytopenia is an uncommon side effect of anti-HER2 antibody therapy, we present the first patient with HER2-positive metastatic rectal cancer who developed significant thrombocytopenia after trastuzumab and pertuzumab administration.

Case Presentation: The condition was identified as drug-induced immune thrombocytopenia associated with trastuzumab and pertuzumab.

Efficacy and Safety of Salvage-line Nivolumab Monotherapy for Advanced Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Comparison of 240 mg Versus 480 mg Doses.

Background: Nivolumab monotherapy is the standard second-line treatment for advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) after failure of platinum-based chemotherapy without anti-PD-1 antibody. Fixed dosing with 240 mg every 2 weeks was approved initially, followed by fixed dosing with 480 mg every 4 weeks based on pharmacokinetics data. However, information on the comparative efficacy and safety of the two doses remains limited.

Identification of Respiratory Pauses during Swallowing by Unconstrained Measuring Using Millimeter Wave Radar.

Breathing temporarily pauses during swallowing, and the occurrence of inspiration before and after these pauses may increase the likelihood of aspiration, a serious health problem in older adults. Therefore, the automatic detection of these pauses without constraints is important. We propose methods for measuring respiratory movements during swallowing using millimeter wave radar to detect these pauses.

Impact of immune checkpoint inhibitors on survival outcomes in advanced gastric cancer in Japan: A real-world analysis.

Background: Nivolumab was approved for the treatment of advanced gastric cancer in 2017 in Japan. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of nivolumab in a real-world clinical setting.

Methods: This single-institutional retrospective study included patients with advanced gastric or esophagogastric junction adenocarcinoma and a history of first-line chemotherapy with platinum-based doublet or triplet regimens between 2010 and 2020.

Development of perioperative immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy for locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

The standard preoperative treatment for resectable locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is chemoradiotherapy in western countries (based on the CROSS trial) and triplet chemotherapy in Japan (based on the JCOG1109 trial). Postoperative nivolumab has recently been shown to improve disease-free survival in resectable locally advanced esophageal cancer after preoperative chemoradiotherapy in patients who had residual pathological disease, based on the CheckMate 577 trial. Furthermore, preoperative immune checkpoint inhibitor-containing treatments have also been developed.

Narrative review of malignant ascites: epidemiology, pathophysiology, assessment, and treatment.

Background And Objective: Malignant ascites (MA) is common in patients with advanced cancer, and about 60% of patients with MA experience distressing symptoms. In addition, MA has been identified as a poor prognostic factor, therefore, making the management of MA an important issue. We aimed to review literature describing MA provide a narrative synthesis of relevant studies.

Predictive factors and scoring system for intravascular large B-cell lymphoma among suspected cases: a single-center retrospective analysis.

Background: Although the utility of random skin biopsies in the diagnosis of intravascular large B-cell lymphoma (IVLBCL) has been confirmed, the patients who should undergo random skin biopsies remain unclear.

Objectives: To assess predictive factors for IVLBCL and establish a scoring system for the applicability of random skin biopsies.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective case-control study of IVLBCL-suspected patients who underwent random skin biopsies between April 2010 and March 2022.

Increased Interleukin-36β Expression Promotes Angiogenesis in Japanese Atopic Dermatitis.

While atopic dermatitis (AD) is considered as a T helper 2 (Th2)-centered disease, an increase in other types of inflammatory cytokines is also noted in AD and they may also contribute to the development of the disease. Recently, the efficacy of an anti-IL-36 receptor antibody in AD was demonstrated in a clinical trial. Although there have been several reports on IL-36α and IL-36γ expression and function in AD, IL-36β has been barely studied.

Malignancy-related ascites in palliative care units: prognostic factor analysis.

Objectives: The prognostic factors in patients with malignancy-related ascites (MA) have been poorly investigated. This study aimed to evaluate both the prognostic impact of MA on terminally ill patients with cancer and the prognostic factors in those with MA.

Methods: This was a post hoc analysis of a multicentre, prospective cohort study.

Progression patterns and site-specific responses in advanced gastric cancer patients treated with nivolumab.

Background: While the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) reportedly varies among metastatic sites and progression patterns (classified as systemic progression [SP] or mixed progression [MP]), the clinical efficacy of ICIs against gastric cancer remains unclear. The response to nivolumab depending on metastatic site and clinical outcomes according to progression pattern in patients with advanced gastric cancer was investigated retrospectively.

Methods: Seventy-four advanced gastric cancer patients with measurable lesions who received nivolumab monotherapy between 2015 and 2020 were enrolled.

Reduction of White Spot Defects in CMOS Image Sensors Fabricated Using Epitaxial Silicon Wafer with Proximity Gettering Sinks by CHP Molecular Ion Implantation.

Using a new implantation technique with multielement molecular ions consisting of carbon, hydrogen, and phosphorus, namely, CHP molecular ions, we developed an epitaxial silicon wafer with proximity gettering sinks under the epitaxial silicon layer to improve the gettering capability for metallic impurities. A complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor fabricated with this novel epitaxial silicon wafer has a markedly reduced number of white spot defects, as determined by dark current spectroscopy (DCS). In addition, the amount of nickel impurities gettered in the CHP-molecular-ion-implanted region of this CMOS image sensor is higher than that gettered in the CH-molecular-ion-implanted region; and this implanted region is formed by high-density black pointed defects and deactivated phosphorus after epitaxial growth.

Safety and short-term efficacy of preoperative FOLFOX therapy in patients with resectable esophageal squamous cell carcinoma who are ineligible for cisplatin.

Background: The standard preoperative treatment for resectable locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (LAESCC) in Japan is docetaxel, cisplatin (CDDP), and 5-fluorouracil. However, patients with renal or cardiac dysfunction and elderly patients are ineligible for a CDDP-containing regimen because of toxicities. Oxaliplatin, leucovorin, and 5-fluorouracil (FOLFOX) therapy has less renal toxicity than CDDP-containing regimens and does not require hydration.

Current perspectives of the Japanese Esophageal Oncology Group on the development of immunotherapy for esophageal cancer.

Esophageal cancer is the seventh most common cancer worldwide and continues to have a poor prognosis. Starting with the development of immune checkpoint inhibitors for patients with metastatic melanoma, many clinical trials have been conducted to evaluate the efficacy and safety of immune checkpoint inhibitors against various malignancies. Although few effective drugs are available for patients with advanced esophageal cancer, two immune checkpoint inhibitors, nivolumab and pembrolizumab, have been approved as second-line treatments for advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.