Prognostic Factors for Gastric Cancer Patients With One Stage IV Factor who Underwent Conversion Surgery.

Background/aim: To identify prognostic factors for patients with stage IV gastric cancer (GC) and a single stage IV factor before chemotherapy who underwent conversion surgery (R0 resection).

Patients And Methods: This study retrospectively analysed 32 GC patients with a single stage IV factor before chemotherapy and who underwent conversion surgery (R0 resection) between January 2001 and September 2015. The univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify independent prognostic factors.

Possibilities for and limits of upfront surgical strategy with lateral pelvic node dissection for low rectal cancer.

Background: Metastatic lateral pelvic nodes represent an important cause of pelvic recurrence in low rectal cancer patients even after preoperative chemoradiotherapy. This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic benefit of an upfront lateral pelvic nodes dissection strategy.

Methods: A total of 175 consecutive patients with stage II/III low rectal adenocarcinoma who underwent mesorectal excision with lateral pelvic nodes dissection between 1998 and 2013 were identified.

Preoperative Utility of the Glasgow Prognostic Score on Outcomes of Patients with Locally Advanced Gastric Cancer.

Purpose: To assess the utility of the Glasgow Prognostic Score (GPS) obtained before curative resection for predicting outcomes in patients with advanced gastric cancer (GC).

Methods: This study retrospectively analyzed the outcomes of 337 consecutive patients with GC who underwent curative surgery for locally advanced gastric cancer between January 2003 and June 2014. GPS was assessed within 4 days prior to surgery.

Aggressive and frequent resection of recurrences in retroperitoneal sarcoma contributes to long-term survival.

Purpose: Retroperitoneal sarcoma (RPS) is a rare tumor with a poor prognosis and is often undetected until it is significantly enlarged. While surgical resection remains the primary treatment, there is little research on its benefits, especially that concerning the reoperation of recurrent disease. This study investigated the impact of surgical procedures, especially reoperation of recurrent RPS, on prognosis.

The Impact of Pretherapeutic Naples Prognostic Score on Survival in Patients with Locally Advanced Esophageal Cancer.

Background: Naples prognostic score (NPS) is a scoring system based on albumin, cholesterol concentration, lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio, and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio reflecting host systemic inflammation, malnutrition, and survival for several malignancies. This study was designed to assess the prognostic significance of NPS in patients with locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and to compare its prognostic accuracy with that of other systemic inflammatory and nutritional index.

Methods: We retrospectively examined 165 patients with locally advanced ESCC who underwent neoadjuvant therapy followed by curative resection between January 2011 and September 2019.

Effect of Prognostic Nutrition Index in Gastric or Gastro-oesophageal Junction Cancer Patients Undergoing Nivolumab Monotherapy.

Background/aim: We hypothesised that the prognostic nutrition index (PNI) is useful for evaluating host immunity and response to immune checkpoint inhibitors. We investigated the effect of PNI on nivolumab monotherapy efficacy in advanced or recurrent gastric cancer (GC) or gastro-oesophageal junction cancer (GOC) patients.

Patients And Methods: We retrospectively examined 110 patients, divided them into a high-PNI group and a low-PNI group, and compared treatment efficacy, adverse events (AEs), and survival between the groups.

Evaluation of Lymph Node Staging Systems as Independent Prognosticators in Remnant Gastric Cancer Patients with an Insufficient Number of Harvested Lymph Nodes.

Background: The lymph node (LN) ratio (LNR) and the log odds of positive LNs (LODDS) have been proposed as sensitive prognosticators in patients with primary gastric cancer, especially in patients with an insufficient number of harvested LNs. We investigated the association of LNR and LODDS with survival in patients with remnant gastric cancer (RGC) and explored whether these staging methods are prognostic factors in patients with an insufficient number of harvested LNs.

Methods: The present study retrospectively examined 95 patients with RGC who received gastrectomy between January 2000 and December 2018.

Salvage Surgery Post Definitive Chemoradiotherapy and Durvalumab for Lung Cancer.

Although concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CRT) followed by consolidation immunotherapy considerably improves the duration of survival in patients with unresectable stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), few data are available on the management of local relapse after therapy. We present a patient with initially unresectable NSCLC who underwent a right upper lobectomy with reconstruction of the bronchus and pulmonary artery after definitive CRT, followed by consolidation durvalumab. No postoperative complications occurred, and he was recurrence-free at the 10-month follow-up.

Bioelectrochemical detection of histamine release from basophilic leukemia cell line based on histamine dehydrogenase-modified cup-stacked carbon nanofibers.

Histamine released from mast cells plays an important role as not only a physiological active substance for the trigger of allergic reactions but also a neurotransmitter in a nervous system. To detect histamine directly, we immobilized oxygen-independent histamine dehydrogenase (HmDH) onto the surface of cup-stacked carbon nanofibers (CSCNFs), which work both as an electrical nanowire and an enzyme support, and investigated the direct electron transfer reaction from HmDH reduced by histamine to CSCNF. Current responses of histamine oxidation at the HmDH-modified CSCNF electrode showed a linear relationship between 0.

＜Editors' Choice＞ Which is superior, the frozen elephant trunk technique alone or the classical elephant trunk technique followed by second-stage thoracic endovascular aortic repair for extensive aortic arch repair?

Paraplegia is one of the most devastating complications during extensive aortic arch repair. We retrospectively analyzed our results by comparing primary repair using the frozen elephant trunk technique (FET) and the classical elephant trunk technique (CET) followed by second-stage thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR), which has been performed since 2009. Between March 1997 and September 2015, 91 patients (the mean age: 70 ± 8.

Compact integrated optical sensors and electromagnetic actuators for vibration isolation systems in the gravitational-wave detector KAGRA.

This paper reports on the design and characteristics of a compact module integrating an optical displacement sensor and an electromagnetic actuator for use with vibration-isolation systems installed in KAGRA, the 3-km baseline gravitational-wave detector in Japan. In the technical concept, the module belongs to a family tree of similar modules used in other interferometric gravitational-wave detector projects. After the initial test run of KAGRA in 2016, the sensor part, which is a type of slot sensor, was modified by increasing the spacing of the slot from 5 mm to 15 mm to avoid the risk of mechanical interference with the sensor flag.

Is sufficient experience performing open gastrectomies necessary to start laparoscopic distal gastrectomy training?

Introduction: Laparoscopic gastrectomy has become a standard procedure for treatment of gastric cancer, and hence, the opportunity for trainees to perform open gastrectomies may decrease. We investigated whether laparoscopic distal gastrectomy, performed by surgical trainees without sufficient experience performing open gastrectomies, was feasible and safe.

Patients And Methods: We compared short-term outcomes in patients when laparoscopic distal gastrectomies were performed by experienced trainees (ET group; n = 124) and inexperienced trainees (IT group; n = 98) from 2013 to 2019.

Therapeutic effect of allogeneic bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells on aortic aneurysms.

We previously reported the effectiveness of autologous mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) for the treatment of aortic aneurysm (AA), mediated mainly by these cells' anti-inflammatory properties. In this study, we investigate whether the therapeutic effects of allogeneic MSCs on AA are the same as those of autologous MSCs. To examine the immune response to allogeneic MSCs, C57BL/6 lymphocytes were co-cultured with BALB/c MSCs for 5 days in vitro.

The necessity of nighttime appendectomies: Is appendicitis an emergency?

Background: In our institution, we avoid emergency nighttime appendectomies, instead performing the surgery during daylight hours the following day. We examined whether emergency or early appendectomies affect the outcome of patient morbidity.

Materials And Methods: Medical records of children treated for appendicitis between 2010 and 2012 were retrospectively reviewed.

Long-Term Effectiveness of a Drug-Eluting Stent for Femoropopliteal In-Stent Restenosis: Subanalysis of the Zilver PTX Japan Post-Market Surveillance Study.

Purpose: To present a subgroup analysis of patients from a large real-world study evaluating the safety and effectiveness of the Zilver PTX drug-eluting stent (DES) for treating femoropopliteal in-stent restenosis (ISR).

Materials And Methods: This study examined patients enrolled in the Zilver PTX Japan Post-Market Surveillance Study ( identifier NCT02254837), a prospective, multicenter registry of 904 symptomatic patients with 1082 femoropopliteal lesions treated with the DES at 95 institutions in Japan. Five-year outcomes, including mortality, stent radiography, freedom from target lesion revascularization (TLR), and clinical benefit, were evaluated for 177 patients (mean age 74.

Low-density vulnerable thrombus/plaque volume on preoperative computed tomography predicts for spinal cord ischemia after endovascular repair for thoracic aortic aneurysm.

Background: Similar to open surgical repair, thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) carries a risk of spinal cord ischemia (SCI). However, the generally lower incidence of SCI after TEVAR compared with that after open surgical repair, despite the inability to preserve the intercostal arteries, indicates different pathophysiologic mechanisms with the two procedures. We hypothesized that a microembolism from an aortic mural thrombus is the main cause of SCI.

[A case of swallow syncope with transient congestive liver caused by esophageal dilatation associated with huge hiatal hernia].

A 76-year-old woman suffered from repeated postprandial syncope of unknown cause. Computed tomography scanning revealed an enlarged hiatal hernia sac with food residues that compressed both the left atrium and inferior vena cava. As soon as the hernia cavity expanded during an upper gastrointestinal X-ray examination, she experienced a deterioration of her level of consciousness.

Prospects for observing and localizing gravitational-wave transients with Advanced LIGO, Advanced Virgo and KAGRA.

We present our current best estimate of the plausible observing scenarios for the Advanced LIGO, Advanced Virgo and KAGRA gravitational-wave detectors over the next several years, with the intention of providing information to facilitate planning for multi-messenger astronomy with gravitational waves. We estimate the sensitivity of the network to transient gravitational-wave signals for the third (O3), fourth (O4) and fifth observing (O5) runs, including the planned upgrades of the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. We study the capability of the network to determine the sky location of the source for gravitational-wave signals from the inspiral of binary systems of compact objects, that is binary neutron star, neutron star-black hole, and binary black hole systems.

Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Synovial Fluid Increase in Knees with Degenerative Meniscus Injury after Arthroscopic Procedures through the Endogenous Effects of CGRP and HGF.

Background: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in synovial fluid increase after traumatic meniscus injuries. However, MSC kinetics in synovial fluid may differ for knees with degenerative meniscus injuries. Furthermore, the combination of surgical repair and synovial MSC transplantation has been found to improve clinical symptoms in patients with degenerative meniscus injury, and in this treatment, only the operation procedure without MSC transplantation might increase MSCs in synovial fluid; if so, soluble factors in synovial fluid will be involved.

Therapeutic angiogenesis using autologous adipose-derived regenerative cells in patients with critical limb ischaemia in Japan: a clinical pilot study.

Adipose-derived regenerative cell (ADRC) is a promising alternative source of autologous somatic stem cells for the repair of damaged tissue. This study aimed to assess the safety and feasibility of autologous ADRC implantation for therapeutic angiogenesis in patients with critical limb ischaemia (CLI). A clinical pilot study-Therapeutic Angiogenesis by Cell Transplantation using ADRCs (TACT-ADRC) study-was initiated in Japan.

Submucosal Tunnel Formation as a Complication Caused by Long Intestinal Tube Insertion: A Case Report.

We present a case of a 76-year-old man with submucosal tunnel formation caused by long intestinal tube (LIT) insertion. The patient had undergone an LIT insertion to treat bowel obstruction caused by ascending colon cancer. Although intestinal decompression was achieved successfully, a procedural pre-scheduled endoscopy incidentally revealed that the LIT had penetrated the abdominal esophageal mucosa and re-entered the gastric lumen, passing through the submucosal layer at the gastroesophageal junction.

Efficacy of endoscopic ultrasound with artificial intelligence for the diagnosis of gastrointestinal stromal tumors.

Background: Although endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) is reported to be suitable for determining the layer from which subepithelial lesions (SELs) originate, it is difficult to distinguish gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) from non-GIST using only EUS images. If artificial intelligence (AI) can be used for the diagnosis of SELs, it should provide several benefits, including objectivity, simplicity, and quickness. In this pilot study, we propose an AI diagnostic system for SELs and evaluate its efficacy.

The Short- and Long-term Outcomes of Gastrectomy in Elderly Patients With Gastric Cancer.

Background: The short- and long-term outcomes of gastrectomy in elderly patients with gastric cancer have not been fully evaluated.

Patients And Methods: Patients who underwent gastrectomy were classified into two groups: Non-elderly patients (<80 years old) and elderly patients (≥80 years old). The surgical morbidity, overall and cancer-specific survival in the two groups were compared.

Five-year results of the INSPIRATION study for the INCRAFT low-profile endovascular aortic stent graft system.

Objective: We present the 5-year results of a prospective regulatory study of the INCRAFT device, a low-profile endovascular stent graft system for repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms.

Methods: This was an open-label prospective nonrandomized single-arm study enrolling in centers in the United States and Japan. The primary effectiveness outcome was successful aneurysm treatment and the primary safety outcome was the incidence of major adverse events at 30 days after the procedure.