Publications by authors named "Kenichi Harada"

Data on the C-reactive protein (CRP) flare response in patients with metastatic and unresectable urothelial carcinoma (mUC) are limited. The present study aimed to clarify the clinical significance of the CRP flare response in patients with mUC who received pembrolizumab. Between March 2018 and December 2022, patients with mUC who received pembrolizumab following chemotherapy were retrospectively reviewed.

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Locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma is a genomically and molecularly heterogeneous disease associated with various clinical outcomes. We aimed to evaluate the association between the status of p53/FGFR3 expression and the efficacy of enfortumab vedotin (EV) in metastatic urothelial carcinoma. We evaluated the association between p53 (abnormal vs.

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Article Synopsis
  • Adenosquamous carcinoma (ASC) with a sarcomatous element is a rare form of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA), and this case focuses on a unique occurrence involving rhabdoid transformation.
  • A 72-year-old male presented with a large neoplastic lesion in the right hepatic duct, and subsequent surgery revealed a tumor composed of both ASC and a sarcomatoid carcinoma component with distinct immunohistochemical profiles.
  • Unfortunately, the patient experienced liver failure and passed away three months post-surgery, highlighting the aggressive nature of this uncommon cancer variant and emphasizing the need for improved diagnostic and treatment strategies.
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Background/aim: In patients with metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer (mCSPC), upfront treatment intensification with the addition of new hormonal agents and/or docetaxel to androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) is recommended. However, this modality is potentially excessive in a subset of these patients. This study aimed to identify patients who may be eligible to omit upfront treatment intensification.

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  • Acute autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) presents suddenly in 22-43% of cases, reflecting a spectrum of severity ranging from mild to acute liver failure.
  • Diagnosis can be tough since classic markers like autoantibodies may not be present, making liver biopsy important for proper identification.
  • Treatment typically involves corticosteroids, but if response is poor, liver transplantation should be considered, especially for severe cases like acute liver failure or advanced liver disease.
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Background: The subtype of urothelial carcinoma (SUC) has been known to possess morphological diversity for histologic subtype or divergent differentiation. However, the efficacy of avelumab against SUC remains unclear. Therefore, the effect of the treatment as well as the survival results of avelumab monotherapy were evaluated as a first-line therapeutic maintenance in patients with advanced SUC.

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Background/aim: This study retrospectively evaluated whether enfortumab vedotin (EV) monotherapy is effective as a late-line treatment according to prior treatment type in patients with advanced urothelial carcinoma (UC).

Patients And Methods: We assessed consecutive patients from the Uro-Oncology Group in the Kyushu study population with lower and upper urinary tract cancer treated with EV monotherapy after platinum-based chemotherapy and immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy failure between December 2021 and March 2024. In particular, patients receiving avelumab maintenance or pembrolizumab therapy before EV for advanced UC were analyzed and compared according to the response rate, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS).

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Background/aim: The efficacy, safety, and liver toxicity of enfortumab vedotin (EV) for elderly advanced urothelial carcinoma (UC) patients and patients with a poor performance status (PS) are unclear.

Patients And Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the efficacy, safety, and liver toxicity of EV in elderly patients and patients with a poor PS between December 2021 and August 2023.

Results: Sixty-two patients (≥75 years old, n=22; PS≥2, n=10) were enrolled.

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Introduction: To evaluate the organ-specific therapeutic effect of enfortumab vedotin (EV) after chemotherapy and immunotherapy failed for advanced urothelial carcinoma.

Materials Methods: At 6 institutions between December 2021 and July 2023, we retrospectively analyzed patients with metastatic upper and lower urinary tract cancer who received EV monotherapy after platinum-based chemotherapy and immune checkpoint blockade therapy. Objective response rate (ORR) and organ-specific response rate (OSRR) were evaluated according to the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors, version 1.

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  • - The study investigates how aging affects the peribiliary gland's (PBG) response to ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) in liver tissue from young and old rats.
  • - Results indicate that old rats experienced significant increases in PBG volume and cell proliferation, as well as more mucus production and oxidative stress compared to young rats following IRI.
  • - Findings suggest that differences in the PBG's response to injury based on age may contribute to the frequency of ischemia-type biliary lesions (ITBLs) in aged donor grafts.
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The peribiliary capillary plexus (PCP) regularly and densely lines the basal side of the lining epithelia of normal bile ducts. To determine the pathology of the PCP in high-grade biliary intraepithelial neoplasms (BilINs) and intraductal papillary neoplasms of the bile duct (IPNBs), a precursor of cholangiocarcinoma (CCA), and CCA. Seventy-six cases of surgically resected high-grade BilIN and 83 cases of IPNB were histopathologically examined using endothelial immunostaining of PCP; all cases of high-grade BilIN and 40 cases of IPNB were associated with invasive CCA.

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Background: Hypofractionated radiotherapy with temozolomide is recommended for older patients with glioblastoma. Nevertheless, a potential complication of treatment is opportunistic infections with immunosuppression.

Observations: An 86-year-old man presented with hemiparesis, prompting an investigation that revealed a right frontotemporal glioblastoma, isocitrate dehydrogenase wildtype.

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Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA) exhibits different blood imaging features and prognosis depending on histology. To clarity histopathological growth patterns (HGPs) and vascularization processes of iCCA, we collected 145 surgical specimens and histologically classified them into large bile duct (LBD) (20 cases), small bile duct (SBD) (54), cholangiolocarcinoma (CLC) (35), combined SBD-CLC (cSBD-CLC) (26), and ductal plate malformation (DPM) (10) (sub)types. According to the invasive pattern at the interface between tumor and adjacent background liver, HGPs were classified into desmoplastic, pushing, and replacing HGPs.

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Background/aim: The efficacy of melatonin and its biological significance in human bladder cancer remain poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate the functional role of melatonin in urothelial carcinogenesis.

Materials And Methods: In human normal urothelial SVHUC cells with exposure to the chemical carcinogen 3-methylcholanthrene, we assessed the effects of melatonin on the neoplastic/malignant transformation.

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Background/aim: In recent years, switch maintenance after platinum-based chemotherapy has been a standard of care. However, the appropriate number of systemic chemotherapy cycles against advanced-stage urothelial carcinoma (UC) remains unclear. This study assessed the survival outcomes of first-line platinum-based chemotherapy according to treatment cycles in patients with metastatic disease.

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Background/aim: The clinical outcomes associated with cutaneous toxicity and changes in the renal function of patients receiving enfortumab vedotin (EV) for advanced urothelial carcinoma (UC) is unclear.

Patients And Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the relationship between clinical outcomes and EV-related cutaneous toxicity, and the influence on the renal function in 58 patients with advanced UC who received EV after the failure of platinum-based chemotherapy and immune checkpoint inhibitors from December 2021 to July 2023.

Results: There were no differences in the overall response and disease control rates between patients with any grade of EV-related cutaneous toxicity and without (p=0.

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Hepatobiliary mucoepidermoid carcinoma is a rare malignant tumor comprising mucous, intermediate, and epidermoid cells. Herein, we presented a case of primary liver mucoepidermoid carcinoma preoperatively misdiagnosed as conventional intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. A 67-year-old male was admitted to our hospital.

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Article Synopsis
  • The use of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) has led to increased incidents of ICI-induced liver injury, making it a significant concern for healthcare providers. !* -
  • Severe liver injuries often require corticosteroid treatment, necessitating thorough evaluations including clinical assessments, blood tests, imaging, and sometimes liver biopsies for accurate diagnosis. !* -
  • Distinguishing between types of liver injury, such as acute hepatitis-like effects and cholangitis, is crucial for effective treatment, with non-hepatocellular injuries often responding poorly to corticosteroids, highlighting the need for interdisciplinary cooperation in diagnosis and management. !*
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Leukocyte cell-derived chemotaxin 2 (LECT2) is a protein initially isolated as a neutrophil chemotactic factor. We previously found that LECT2 is an obesity-associated hepatokine that senses liver fat and induces skeletal muscle insulin resistance. In addition, hepatocyte-derived LECT2 activates macrophage proinflammatory activity by reinforcing the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced c-Jun N-terminal kinase signaling.

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  • The study introduces RECAM-J 2023, a modified version of the Roussel Uclaf Causality Assessment Method aimed at improving the diagnosis of drug-induced liver injury (DILI) in Japan.
  • It involved translating and adapting the original RECAM for Japanese clinical practices, and the researchers collected data from 538 DILI cases and 128 non-DILI cases to validate the new scoring system.
  • Results showed that when omitting deductions for missing hepatitis virus markers, RECAM-J 2023 significantly improved identification rates for DILI, indicating its potential effectiveness in routine medical settings in Japan.
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We propose and experimentally demonstrate the generation of enhanced optical springs using the optical Kerr effect. A nonlinear optical crystal is inserted into a Fabry-Perot cavity with a movable mirror, and a chain of second-order nonlinear optical effects in the phase-mismatched condition induces the Kerr effect. The optical spring constant is enhanced by a factor of 1.

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Background: Recent reports have unveiled the potential utility of l-carnitine to alleviate metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) by enhancing mitochondrial metabolic function. However, its efficacy at preventing the development of HCC has not been assessed fully.

Methods: l-carnitine (2 g/d) was administered to 11 patients with MASH for 10 weeks, and blood liver function tests were performed.

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Cholangiolocarcinoma (CLC) is an extremely rare tumor classified as a subtype of small duct-type intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA). There are few detailed reports on CLC and the prognostic impact of tumor heterogeneity is not clear. Between April 2006 and June 2022, of the 774 primary liver cancer resection cases who presented at Kanazawa University Hospital, 14 patients were pathologically diagnosed with CLC through immunohistochemical analysis of their molecular and biological features.

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