Publications by authors named "Kenta Masui"

Background: Few studies have examined B cells among patients with anti-myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) antibody-associated disease (MOGAD), including brain pathology.

Objective: To describe cases of tumefactive MOGAD with B-cell dominant central nervous system (CNS) infiltration.

Methods: In this study, we reviewed three cases with clinical and brain histopathological features with tumefactive MOGAD.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Here, we report a case of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated central nervous system (CNS) vasculitis that mimicked a brain tumor. The patient presented with progressive right upper arm weakness. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed large tumor-like lesions in the left frontal and parietal lobes, with patchy and irregular enhancement with gadolinium and edema.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In the fifth edition of the World Health Organization's (WHO) classification of tumors of the central nervous system (CNS), molecular analysis is required for not only determining each tumor type but assessing its prognosis based on malignancy (CNS WHO grade). A notable example is the loss of tumor suppressor gene cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2A (CDKN2A), and CDKN2A homozygous deletion (HD) is a novel CNS WHO grade 4 marker in isocitrate dehydrogenase gene (IDH)-mutant astrocytoma. However, incorporating molecular workup into the "routine diagnostics" of each brain tumor type remains a major challenge, especially in resource-limited settings, including low- and middle-income countries.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

We herein report an autopsy case of a fulminant ( or Welch bacilli) infection in a healthy adult. A 72-year-old, immunocompetent man visited the emergency department with lower back pain, and blood test revealed hemolytic attack. His condition rapidly worsened with severe acidosis and anemia, and he died despite symptomatic treatment.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Herein, we present two cases of isolated suprasellar dissemination of glioblastoma in patients with well-controlled primary lesions. A 22-year-old woman and a 56-year-old woman developed rapid growth of suprasellar glioblastoma dissemination 26 and 17 months after initial surgery, respectively. Both patients presented with acute visual impairment (decreased acuity and visual field disturbances) but lacked severe pituitary dysfunction.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: To clarify the relationships between C-methionine (MET) positron emission tomography (PET) metrics and the histology, genetics, and prognosis of adult-type diffuse glioma (ADG) based on the World Health Organization (WHO) 2021 classification.

Methods: A total of 125 newly diagnosed patients with ADG were enrolled. We compared the maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax), tumor-to-normal background ratio (TNR), metabolic tumor volume (MTV), and total lesion methionine uptake (TLMU) to the histology and genetics of the patients with ADG.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • * In GBM with mutations in receptor tyrosine kinases, the mTORC2 complex suppresses the enzyme DNMT3A, leading to widespread DNA hypomethylation by redistributing EZH2 to the DNMT3A promoter, thus repressing its expression.
  • * This research shows that the hypomethylator phenotype alters glutamate metabolism and enhances GBM cell invasion and survival, highlighting mTORC2 as a promising target for cancer treatment through its role in epigenetic
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Nuclear protein in testis (NUT) carcinoma is a rare but highly aggressive carcinoma, driven by genetic rearrangement of the NUT midline carcinoma family member 1 () gene on chromosome 15q14. Recently, a tight link has been suggested between genetic abnormalities and subsequent metabolic and epigenetic dysregulation to drive the progression of malignant tumors. However, it remains elusive whether such reprogramming could contribute to the pathogenesis of NUT carcinoma.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Juvenile myasthenia gravis (JMG) exhibits a more favorable response to glucocorticoids and has a better prognosis than adult myasthenia gravis. However, no established treatment exists for refractory JMG. Although thymectomy has been performed in several patients with refractory systemic JMG, there are few detailed clinical descriptions of patients who underwent thymectomy.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Extracranial brain tumor metastases are rare and not fully understood, especially in terms of their cause and progression.
  • A case involving a four-year-old girl with aggressive brain cancer showed rapid development of subcutaneous and lymph node metastases, which were hard to control, even with chemotherapy.
  • Despite some initial positive response of the primary brain tumor to treatment, the child ultimately passed away 15 months post-diagnosis, highlighting the unpredictable nature of glioma metastasis and the poor prognosis for such cases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

As per the 2021 World Health Organization (WHO) Classification of Tumors of the Central Nervous System, chordoid glioma (CG) is defined as a slow-growing glial neoplasm categorized as grade II tumor. This tumor is primarily located in the anterior part of the third ventricle, often adheres to important surrounding structures, and is hemorrhagic in nature. Therefore, dissecting this tumor is extremely difficult.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Molecular genetic approaches are now mandatory for cancer diagnostics, especially for brain tumors. Genotype-based diagnosis has predominated over the phenotype-based approach, with its prognostic and predictive powers. However, comprehensive genetic testing would be difficult to perform in the clinical setting, and translational research is required to histologically decipher the peculiar biology of cancer.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: This study aimed to clarify the symptoms of pituitary or parasellar tumor onset with cranial nerve palsy (CNP) and to improve our knowledge of this rare symptom and its most appropriate treatment.

Methods: Among 1281 patients with pituitary or parasellar tumors surgically treated from 2003 to 2020, 30 cases (2.34%; 15 men and 15 women; mean age: 55.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Here, we report a case of IgG4-related brain pseudotumor (IgG4-BP) in a 39-year-old woman, mimicking central nervous system (CNS) lymphoma. She presented with headache, fever, and fatigue. Her medical history was notable for appearance of a tumefactive brain lesion seven years before.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Pituicytoma is a rare neoplasm, arising in the posterior pituitary or in the hypophyseal stalk, and its cytological findings have not yet been well-described. We have experienced a case of pituicytoma, which was difficult to diagnose intraoperatively, because of its cellular pleomorphism. A tumor measuring 18 mm in maximum diameter was found at the sella turcica in a Japanese woman in her forties.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Cancer cells depend on metabolic reprogramming for survival, undergoing profound shifts in nutrient sensing, nutrient uptake and flux through anabolic pathways, in order to drive nucleotide, lipid, and protein synthesis and provide key intermediates needed for those pathways. Although metabolic enzymes themselves can be mutated, including to generate oncometabolites, this is a relatively rare event in cancer. Usually, gene amplification, overexpression, and/or downstream signal transduction upregulate rate-limiting metabolic enzymes and limit feedback loops, to drive persistent tumor growth.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Recurrent glioblastoma (GBM) remains one of the most challenging clinical issues, with no standard treatment and effective treatment options. To evaluate the efficacy of talaporfin sodium (TS) mediated photodynamic therapy (PDT) as a new treatment for this condition, we retrospectively analyzed 70 patients who underwent surgery with PDT (PDT group) for recurrent GBM and 38 patients who underwent surgery alone (control group). The median progression-free survival (PFS) in the PDT and control groups after second surgery was 5.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is a multi-organ disorder that rarely involves the hypothalamic-pituitary region (HPR). HPR-LCH presents with severe progressive pituitary dysfunction and its prognosis is poor. The definitive diagnosis of LCH is considerably difficult and complicated owing to the occurrence of several diseases with similar manifestations in the HPR and its location in the deepest portion of the anterior skull base, in close proximity to important normal structures, severely limiting the size of the biopsy specimen.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Metastasis to the breast is rare. We herein report a patient with metastatic medullary thyroid carcinoma to the breast for whom measuring the calcitonin level was an important clue to the correct diagnosis.

Case Presentation: A 54-year-old woman visited our hospital for the treatment of recurrent metastatic medullary thyroid carcinoma due to multiple endocrine neoplasia 2A and breast cancer.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Pituitary adenomas are common, benign brain tumors. Some tumors show aggressive phenotypes including early recurrence, local invasion and distant metastasis, but the underlying mechanism to drive the progression of pituitary tumors has remained to be clarified. Aerobic glycolysis known as the Warburg effect is one of the emerging hallmarks of cancer, which has an impact on the tumor biology partly through epigenetic regulation of the tumor-promoting genes.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The updated 2016 World Health Organization(WHO)classification of tumors of the central nervous system(CNS)has incorporated molecular parameters into the histopathological diagnosis of the tumor in the name of "integrated diagnosis." It has enabled more prognostically precise diagnoses of brain tumor entities; however, its practical application has also raised concerns about whether genotypes predominate over phenotypes in tumor diagnostics. In response, cIMAPCT-NOW(the Consortium to Inform Molecular and Practical Approaches to CNS Tumor Taxonomy-"Not Official WHO")was established to provide a forum for evaluating and recommending proposed changes to future CNS tumor classifications.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF