Factors Associated with Defecation Satisfaction among Japanese Adults with Chronic Constipation.

Constipation causes substantial morbidity worldwide. This survey assessed constipation-related factors in Japan using the Japanese version of the Irritable Bowel Syndrome Quality of Life (IBS-QOL-J) instrument. We also examined the relationship among laxative type, Bristol Stool Form Scale (BSFS) scores, and treatment cost.

A Vonoprazan, Clarithromycin, and Metronidazole Regimen as Helicobacter pylori Eradication Therapy for Patients with Penicillin Allergy in Light of Clarithromycin Resistance.

Objective Vonoprazan (VPZ), clarithromycin (CAM), metronidazole (MNZ) and VPZ, MNZ, and sitafloxacin (STFX) regimen are all established Helicobacter pylori eradication therapies for patients with penicillin allergy in Japan. However, no study has assessed the efficacy of a VPZ, CAM, and MNZ (VCM) regimen in patients with clarithromycin resistance (CAM-R). We therefore assessed the efficacy of a VCM regimen for treating H.

The efficacy of trimodal chemoradiotherapy with gemcitabine and cisplatin as a bladder-preserving strategy for the treatment of muscle-invasive bladder cancer: a single-arm phase II study.

Objective: Radical cystectomy remains the standard treatment for muscle-invasive bladder cancer; however, a substantial number of patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer are not appropriate candidates to radical cystectomy due to co-morbidities or anxiety regarding bladder preservation. Trimodal bladder-sparing therapy is an intelligent and attractive treatment option for such patients. We established a novel treatment strategy using trimodal treatment with gemcitabine and cisplatin.

Gastric Plexiform Fibromyxoma Resected Using Nonexposed Endoscopic Wall-Inversion Surgery: A Case Report.

Gastric plexiform fibromyxoma is extremely rare. In our case, upper gastrointestinal endoscopy of a 41-year-old woman patient revealed a 1-cm submucosal tumor (SMT) in the greater curvature of the lower body of the stomach. On contrast-enhanced computed tomography, the tumor was hypervascular in the arterial phase with continuous enhancement in the post-venous phase.

The Complete Loss of p53 Expression Uniquely Predicts Worse Prognosis in Colorectal Cancer.

p53 immunohistochemistry is considered an accurate surrogate marker reflecting the underlying TP53 mutation status and has utility in tumor diagnostics. In the present study, 269 primary CRCs were immunohistochemically evaluated for p53 expression to assess its utility in diagnostic pathology and prognostication. p53 expression was wild-type in 59 cases (23%), overexpressed in 143 cases (55%), completely lost in 50 cases (19%), and cytoplasmic in 10 cases (4%).

Background factors involved in the epidemiology of functional constipation in the Japanese population: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Functional constipation (FC), a functional bowel disorder with symptoms of constipation, has considerable impact on quality of life. As data regarding its prevalence and epidemiology are lacking, this study aimed to evaluate the prevalence, population composition, lifestyle, quality of life, and clinical characteristics of these individuals by comparing people with and without FC. These parameters were also compared among individuals with strong and weak awareness of constipation.

SPATA18 Expression Predicts Favorable Clinical Outcome in Colorectal Cancer.

Dysregulation of mitochondrial quality control has been reported to be associated with cancer and degenerative diseases. SPATA18 (spermatogenesis-associated 18, also known as Mieap) encodes a p53-inducible protein that can induce lysosome-like organelles within mitochondria that eliminate oxidized mitochondrial proteins and has tumor suppressor functions in mitochondrial quality control. In the present study, 268 primary colorectal cancers (CRCs) were evaluated immunohistochemically for SPATA18 expression to assess its predictive utility and its association with cellular proliferation activity.

Tumor Location Based Segmentation in Upper-Tract Urothelial Carcinoma Impacts on the Urothelial Recurrence-Free Survival: A Multi-Institutional Database Study.

Introduction And Objectives: The predictive impact of primary tumor location for patients with upper-tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) in the presence of concomitant urothelial bladder cancer, along with urothelial recurrence after the curative treatment is still contentious. We evaluated the association between precise tumor location and concomitant presence of urothelial bladder cancer and urothelial recurrence-free survival in patients with UTUC treated by radical nephroureterectomy with a bladder cuff.

Methods: A total of 1,349 patients with localized UTUC (Ta-4N0M0) from a retrospective multi-institutional cohort were studied.

Rapidly Progressing Aseptic Abscesses in a Patient with Ulcerative Colitis.

Aseptic abscesses (AAs) are extraintestinal manifestations of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). IBD-associated AAs are rare in Japan. We treated a 45-year-old man with ulcerative colitis (UC)-associated AAs.

Prognostic value of pre-treatment risk stratification and post-treatment neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio change for pembrolizumab in patients with advanced urothelial carcinoma.

Background: Pembrolizumab is effective in a limited number of patients with advanced urothelial carcinoma (UC). Therefore, we evaluated the prognostic value of clinical biomarkers following pembrolizumab treatment in patients with advanced UC.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 121 patients with platinum-refractory advanced UC who received pembrolizumab.

Prognostic value of risk stratification using blood parameters for nivolumab in Japanese patients with metastatic renal-cell carcinoma.

Background: Nivolumab is a standard treatment for previously treated advanced renal-cell carcinoma. However, nivolumab is effective in only a limited number of patients; therefore, we evaluated the prognostic value of several biomarkers, including inflammation-based prognostic scores and changes in these scores following nivolumab treatment in Japanese patients with metastatic renal-cell carcinoma.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 65 patients with previously treated metastatic renal-cell carcinoma and who received nivolumab.

Perivascular Epithelial Cell Tumor of the Pancreas Diagnosed Preoperatively by Endoscopic Ultrasound-guided Fine-needle Aspiration.

We herein report a 49-year-old woman with a perivascular epithelial cell tumor (PEComa) of the pancreas. Imaging studies demonstrated a relatively well-demarcated mass, measuring approximately 40 mm in diameter, located in the pancreatic tail. It was heterogeneously enhanced almost to the same degree as the surrounding pancreatic tissue in both the arterial and portal venous phases.

Risk stratification by means of biological age-related factors better predicts cancer-specific survival than chronological age in patients with upper tract urothelial carcinoma: a multi-institutional database study.

Background: Chronological age is an important factor in determining the treatment options and clinical response of patients with upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC). Much evidence suggests that chronological age alone is an inadequate indicator to predict the clinical response to radical nephroureterectomy (RNU).

Patients And Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the data from 1510 patients with UTUC (Ta-4) treated by surgery.

Fatty acid binding protein 7 may be a marker and therapeutic targets in clear cell renal cell carcinoma.

Background: To identify potential therapeutic target in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC), we performed a transcriptome analysis. Our analysis showed that fatty acid binding protein 7 (FABP7) has the highest mean differential overexpression in ccRCC compared to normal kidney. We aimed to investigate the significance of FABP7 in ccRCC.

Oral 5-aminolevulinic acid-mediated photodynamic diagnosis using fluorescence cystoscopy for non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer: A multicenter phase III study.

Objective: To confirm the reproducibility of the effectiveness and safety in photodynamic diagnosis of non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer using 5-aminolevulinic acid in a prospective multicenter non-randomized phase III trial.

Methods: A total of 61 patients with primary or recurrent non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer were prospectively enrolled from five hospitals between May 2015 and March 2016. 5-Aminolevulinic acid (20 mg/kg) was orally administered 3 h before transurethral resection of bladder tumors using white light or fluorescent light.

Identification of curable high-risk prostate cancer using radical prostatectomy alone: who are the good candidates for undergoing radical prostatectomy among patients with high-risk prostate cancer?

Background: Currently, there is no consensus regarding which patients with high-risk prostate cancer (PCa) would benefit the most by radical prostatectomy (RP). We aimed to identify patients with high-risk PCa who are treatable by RP alone.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed data on 315 patients with D'Amico high-risk PCa who were treated using RP without neoadjuvant or adjuvant therapy at the institutions of the Yamaguchi Uro-Oncology Group between 2009 and 2013.

The systemic inflammation-based Glasgow Prognostic Score as a powerful prognostic factor in patients with upper tract urothelial carcinoma.

Introduction And Objective: The combination of C-reactive protein and albumin, the Glasgow Prognostic Score (GPS), had independent prognostic value in patients with varying cancers, except for upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC). The aim of this study was to describe the relationship between GPS and survival in patients with UTUC after adjustment for other prognostic factors.

Materials And Methods: We queried 2 UTUC databases.

Outcomes of subsequent non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer treated with intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guérin after radical nephroureterectomy for upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma.

Objectives: To describe the clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of subsequent non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) after radical nephroureterectomy (RNU) for upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC), and particularly its response to intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG).

Patients And Methods: An observational study was conducted in 1463 patients with UTUC who had undergone RNU and in 1555 patients with primary NMIBC. Of the 1463 patients with UTUC, 256 (17%) subsequently developed NMIBC (UTUC-NMIBC group) and were available for the analysis.