Right-sided versus left-sided colorectal cancer in elderly patients: a sub-analysis of a large multicenter case-control study in Japan.

Purpose: This study investigated the impact of sidedness of colorectal cancer (CRC) in elderly patients on the prognosis.

Methods: In a sub-analysis of a multicenter case-control study of CRC patients who underwent surgery at ≥ 80 years old conducted in Japan between 2003 and 2007, both short- and long-term outcomes were compared between right-sided colon cancers (RCCs) and left-sided colorectal cancers (LCCs). RCCs were defined as those located from the cecum to the transverse colon.

Association of abnormal glucose tolerance with liver-related disease and cardiovascular diseases in patients with chronic hepatitis C.

Aim: Hepatitis C complicated by diabetes mellitus (DM) is considered a risk factor for the progression of fibrosis and development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and cardiovascular diseases. However, several studies may have lacked appropriate diagnosis of glucose intolerance. We aimed to examine the risk associated with abnormal glucose intolerance in the development of liver-related diseases, including HCC and complications of liver cirrhosis, such as ascites, esophageal and gastric varices, and hepatic encephalopathy, and cardiovascular diseases in patients with hepatitis C accurately diagnosed with impaired glucose tolerance.

Enhancement of DNA hypomethylation alterations by gastric and bile acids promotes chromosomal instability in Barrett's epithelial cell line.

Gastric and bile acid reflux leads to chronic inflammation, resulting in methylation alterations in Barrett's esophagus (BE) together with chromosomal instability (CIN). We investigated DNA hypomethylation following acid exposure and confirmed its significance in BE-related carcinogenesis by inducing CIN in vitro. OACP4C, an esophageal cancer cell line, and CP-A, a non-dysplastic cell line originating from BE, were exposed to acidic conditions using deoxycholic acid.

Overexpression of satellite RNAs in heterochromatin induces chromosomal instability and reflects drug sensitivity in mouse cancer cells.

Overexpression of satellite RNAs in heterochromatin induces chromosomal instability (CIN) through the DNA damage response and cell cycle checkpoint activation. Although satellite RNAs may be therapeutic targets, the associated mechanisms underlying drug sensitivity are unknown. Here, we determined whether satellite RNAs reflect drug sensitivity to the topoisomerase I inhibitor camptothecin (CPT) via CIN induction.

Genome‑wide DNA hypomethylation drives a more invasive pancreatic cancer phenotype and has predictive occult distant metastasis and prognosis potential.

Genome‑wide DNA hypomethylation is the most common molecular feature in human cancers associated with chromosomal instability (CIN), which is involved in the mechanisms that regulate pancreatic cancer (PC) metastasis. It was investigated whether genome‑wide DNA hypomethylation affects the phenotype in PC via CIN , and its significance on the biological behavior of PC was verified. The relative demethylation level (RDL) of long interspersed nucleotide element‑1 (LINE‑1) in human PC cell lines was used to characterize DNA hypomethylation using methylation‑specific quantitative (q)PCR.

Administration of mucuna beans (Mucuna pruriences (L.) DC. var. utilis) improves cognition and neuropathology of 3 × Tg-AD mice.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the accumulation of extracellular amyloid-beta peptides (Aβ) resulting in senile plaques and intracellular hyperphosphorylated tau protein resulting in neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs). Mucuna beans (Mucuna pruriences (L.) DC.

Optimal value of CA19-9 determined by KRAS-mutated circulating tumor DNA contributes to the prediction of prognosis in pancreatic cancer patients.

Despite the acceptance of carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) as a valuable predictor for the prognosis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), its cutoff value remains controversial. Our previous study showed a significant correlation between CA19-9 levels and the presence of KRAS-mutated ctDNA in the blood of patients with PDAC. Based on this correlation, we investigated the optimal cutoff value of CA19-9 before surgery.

Biliary Peritonitis Caused by Spontaneous Bile Duct Rupture in the Left Triangular Ligament of the Liver after Endoscopic Sphincterotomy for Choledocholithiasis.

Spontaneous bile duct rupture is a rare condition in adults, with only 70 cases reported. Increased bile duct wall pressure may lead to rupture and biliary peritonitis. In this patient, the bile duct ruptured in the hepatic left triangular ligament.

Current Management of Intestinal Stomas and Their Complications.

Inappropriate stoma site, improper management of stoma, and stoma complications lead to diminished quality of life of ostomates. Healthcare professionals involved in stoma creation and/or care should have the fundamental and updated knowledge of the management of stomas and their complications. This review article consists of the following major sections: principles of perioperative patient management, early complications, and late complications.

Longitudinal monitoring of KRAS-mutated circulating tumor DNA enables the prediction of prognosis and therapeutic responses in patients with pancreatic cancer.

Background: Liquid biopsies enable the detection of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA). However, the clinical significance of KRAS-mutated ctDNA for pancreatic cancer has been inconsistent with respect to its prognostic and predictive potential.

Methods And Findings: A total of 422 blood samples were collected from 78 patients undergoing treatments for localized and metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

High relative levels of satellite alpha transcripts predict increased risk of bilateral breast cancer and multiple primary cancer in patients with breast cancer and lacking BRCA‑related clinical features.

Patients with breast cancer who undergo surgery have a risk of developing multiple cancers in the contralateral breast and other organs. We previously reported that overexpression of satellite alpha transcripts (SAT) facilitates chromosomal instability, which is involved in the development of multiple tumors in patients with colorectal and gastric cancer. In this study, we elucidated the significance of SAT in the development of multiple tumors in patients with breast cancer.

Monitoring circulating tumor DNA revealed dynamic changes in status in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.

mutated circulating tumor DNA (MctDNA) can be monitored in the blood of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), but dynamic changes have not been determined. Four hundred and fifty-seven plasma samples were collected prospectively from 85 mCRC patients who underwent chemotherapy. MctDNA in plasma was detected by droplet digital PCR, and the percentage of MctDNA in total circulating cell-free DNA was calculated.

Discovering novel SNPs that are correlated with patient outcome in a Singaporean cancer patient cohort treated with gemcitabine-based chemotherapy.

Background: Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) can influence patient outcome such as drug response and toxicity after drug intervention. The purpose of this study is to develop a systematic pathway approach to accurately and efficiently predict novel non-synonymous SNPs (nsSNPs) that could be causative to gemcitabine-based chemotherapy treatment outcome in Singaporean non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients.

Methods: Using a pathway approach that incorporates comprehensive protein-protein interaction data to systematically extend the gemcitabine pharmacologic pathway, we identified 77 related nsSNPs, common in the Singaporean population.

Overexpression of satellite alpha transcripts leads to chromosomal instability via segregation errors at specific chromosomes.

The impairment of the stability of the chromosomal structure facilitates the abnormal segregation of chromosomes, thus increasing the risk of carcinogenesis. Chromosomal stability during segregation is managed by appropriate methylation at the centromere of chromosomes. Insufficient methylation, or hypomethylation, results in chromosomal instability.

Morphological response contributes to patient selection for rescue liver resection in chemotherapy patients with initially un-resectable colorectal liver metastasis.

Morphological response is considered an improved surrogate to the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) model with regard to predicting the prognosis for patients with colorectal liver metastases. However, its use as a decision-making tool for surgical intervention has not been examined. The present study assessed the morphological response in 50 patients who underwent chemotherapy with or without bevacizumab for initially un-resectable colorectal liver metastases.

Survival outcomes following laparoscopic versus open D3 dissection for stage II or III colon cancer (JCOG0404): a phase 3, randomised controlled trial.

Background: Although benefits of laparoscopic surgery compared with open surgery have been suggested, the long-term survival of patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery for colon cancer requiring Japanese D3 dissection remains unclear. We did a randomised controlled trial to establish non-inferiority of laparoscopic surgery to open surgery.

Methods: We did an open-label, multi-institutional, randomised, two-arm phase 3 trial in 30 hospitals in Japan.

Heterogeneous expression of zinc-finger E-box-binding homeobox 1 plays a pivotal role in metastasis via regulation of miR-200c in epithelial-mesenchymal transition.

Although epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) has been implicated as the pivotal event in metastasis, there is insufficient evidence related to EMT in clinical settings. Intratumor heterogeneity may lead to underestimation of gene expression representing EMT. In the present study, we investigated the expression of EMT-associated genes and microRNAs in primary colorectal cancer while considering intratumor heterogeneity.

Rectal arterio-venous malformation (AVM) with bleeding of an internal hemorrhoid.

A 38-year-old male with no past history of illnesses visited the out-patient clinic of Nerima Hikarigaoka Hospital complaining of dizziness and persistent anal bleeding. There was a significant anemia on a blood test and colonoscopy showed a thrombus in a markedly swollen internal hemorrhoid. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) showed a poorly demarcated area with early face enhancement on the right side of the rectum and anal canal.

Measurement and comparison of individual external doses of high-school students living in Japan, France, Poland and Belarus-the 'D-shuttle' project.

Twelve high schools in Japan (of which six are in Fukushima Prefecture), four in France, eight in Poland and two in Belarus cooperated in the measurement and comparison of individual external doses in 2014. In total 216 high-school students and teachers participated in the study. Each participant wore an electronic personal dosimeter 'D-shuttle' for two weeks, and kept a journal of his/her whereabouts and activities.

Success rate of informed consent acquisition and factors influencing participation in a multicenter randomized controlled trial of laparoscopic versus open surgery for stage II/III colon cancer in Japan (JCOG0404).

Introduction: Successful completion of randomized controlled trials (RCT) is dependent on informed consent (IC) acquisition from patients. The aim of this study was to prospectively calculate the proportion of participation in a surgical RCT and to identify the reasons for failed IC acquisition.

Methods: A 30-institute RCT was conducted to evaluate oncological outcomes of open and laparoscopic surgery for stage II/III colon cancer (JCOG0404: UMIN-CTR C000000105).

Multiple primary malignancies involving primary sporadic colorectal cancer in Japan: incidence of gastric cancer with colorectal cancer patients may be higher than previously recognized.

Background: Improvement in the prognosis of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients has led to increasing occurrences of multiple primary malignancies (MPMs) alongside CRC but little is known about their characteristics. This study was undertaken to clarify the clinical and pathological features of MPMs, especially those at extra colonic sites, in patients with CRC.

Methods: We reviewed 1,111 patients who underwent operations for primary sporadic CRC in Saitama Medical Center, Jichi Medical University between April 2007 and March 2012.

Natural variation in stomatal responses to environmental changes among Arabidopsis thaliana ecotypes.

Stomata are small pores surrounded by guard cells that regulate gas exchange between plants and the atmosphere. Guard cells integrate multiple environmental signals and control the aperture width to ensure appropriate stomatal function for plant survival. Leaf temperature can be used as an indirect indicator of stomatal conductance to environmental signals.

Molecular biomarkers for the detection of metastatic colorectal cancer cells.

Approximately half of all patients with colorectal cancer develop local recurrence or distant metastasis during the course of their illness. Recently, the molecular detection of metastatic cancer cells in various types of clinical samples, such as lymph nodes, bone marrow, peripheral blood, and peritoneal lavage fluid, has been investigated as a potential prognostic marker. The prognostic value of molecular tumor cell detection was independent of the type of detection method used.