Real-World Nivolumab Wastage and Leftover Drug Stability Assessment to Facilitate Drug Vial Optimization for Cost Savings.

Purpose: Nivolumab dosage was initially selected on the basis of body weight, often resulting in leftover drug after sterile compounding. This study sought to investigate the real-world wastage of nivolumab and assess the long-term stability of leftover nivolumab within vials to facilitate drug vial optimization (DVO).

Methods: We collected all discarded vials after preparation from 17 regional hospitals in Japan over a 6-month period preceding the adoption of a fixed dose of 240 mg per administration.

Time Course of Calcium Concentrations and Risk Factors for Hypocalcemia in Patients Receiving Denosumab for the Treatment of Bone Metastases From Cancer.

Background: Severe hypocalcemia sometimes develops during denosumab treatment for bone metastases from cancer and is, therefore, an important issue. However, limited information is available on the risk factors for hypocalcemia and the appropriate interval for monitoring serum calcium concentration.

Objective: The present study aimed to identify the risk factors for grade ≥2 hypocalcemia and to investigate the time course of serum calcium concentrations in patients receiving denosumab for bone metastases from cancer.

Risk factors for predicting severe neutropenia induced by amrubicin in patients with advanced lung cancer.

Background: Neutropenia is one of the most frequent and dose-limiting toxicities in amrubicin (AMR) therapy. However, the predictive factors for the development of severe neutropenia in AMR therapy remain unknown.

Methods: The subjects were 61 advanced lung cancer patients treated with AMR monotherapy.

Involvement of substance P in peripheral neuropathy induced by paclitaxel but not oxaliplatin.

The painful peripheral neuropathy occurring frequently during chemotherapy with paclitaxel or oxaliplatin is one of their dose-limiting factors. We reported previously that substance P is involved in the pathogenesis of pulmonary hypersensitivity reaction to paclitaxel in rats, and an antiallergic agent pemirolast reverses this reaction via the blockade of release of substance P. In the present study, we investigated the involvement of substance P in paclitaxel-induced peripheral neuropathy compared with that by oxaliplatin.

Prediction method for decreases in blood pressure during hemocatharsis therapy by arteriolar blood flow measurement.

In clinical practice, the prediction of changes in blood pressure during hemocatharsis therapy depends on invasive monitoring, the physician's experience, or blood pressure measurement when patients ask for it. It is extremely difficult to predict blood pressure variation in patients under general anesthesia or with disturbance of consciousness. Therefore, the prediction of blood pressure variation during hemocatharsis therapy is an important issue.

Protection by a radical scavenger edaravone against cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity in rats.

Acute renal failure is a dose-limiting factor of cisplatin chemotherapy. Here, we show the protective effect of edaravone, a recently developed radical scavenger for clinical use, against cisplatin-induced renal dysfunction in rats. A marked increase in blood urea nitrogen and creatinine in serum, and histological changes including vacuolation, necrosis and protein casts were observed in proximal renal tubules at the fourth day after cisplatin injection (5-10 mg/kg).