Publications by authors named "Kuniyasu Irie"

Amoebic colitis is a parasitic gastrointestinal disease caused by Entamoeba histolytica (E. histolytica). In Japan, metronidazole (MNZ) monotherapy is often used and most cases are effective.

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  • * Twenty patients who had failed previous eradication therapies participated in the study, and the treatment lasted for 14 days, which was adjusted by removing any resistant drugs identified in prior tests.
  • * The resulting eradication rates were 63.2% in overall analysis and 70.6% when strictly adhering to the protocol, suggesting this modified therapy could be an effective option after other treatments have failed, with no serious side effects reported.
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  • The study evaluates the effectiveness of dual-energy computed tomography (DECT) for detecting pancreatic cancer by comparing low-KeV and conventional CT images during different phases of imaging.
  • Twenty-five patients with pancreatic cancer were analyzed, producing images at 50 KeV and 70 KeV to assess differences in tumor-to-pancreas contrast.
  • Results showed that low-KeV images had significantly better contrast in the pancreatic parenchymal phase, especially for small tumors, indicating DECT's potential for improving early pancreatic cancer detection.
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  • Cold snare polypectomy (CSP) is a commonly used, safe procedure for removing colorectal polyps, but it often results in unclear margins, which can complicate diagnosis and treatment decisions.
  • A study analyzed 572 polyps from 237 patients, finding that 41.4% had unclear margins, particularly at anatomical challenging areas (straddling folds, flexure points) and when performed by trainees.
  • The findings suggest that as trainees gain more experience, the rate of unclear margins may decrease, improving the safety and efficacy of CSP over time.
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In the absence of Helicobacter pylori (HP) infection, a characteristic gastric mucus adhesion may appear during the use of vonoprazan. We named this novel characteristic mucus "web-like mucus" (WLM). This study aimed to determine the incidence and risk factors for WLM.

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Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has a high mortality rate; therefore, the development of effective treatments is a priority. The stimulator of interferon genes (STING) pathway enhances tumor immunity by inducing the production of type 1 interferon (IFN) and proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines and promoting the infiltration of cytotoxic T cells. To assess the function of STING on pancreatic tumorigenesis, Ptf1a LSL-Kras p53 mice (KPC mice) and Ptf1a LSL-Kras p53/STING mice (KPCS mice) were generated.

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Rescue eradication can be challenging. Rifabutin (RBT) demonstrates high activity against and is incorporated into various rescue eradication regimens. This exploratory study was performed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a rescue regimen comprising RBT, metronidazole (MNZ), and vonoprazan (VPZ).

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Aim: This study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of lenvatinib radiofrequency ablation (RFA) sequential therapy for certain hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients.

Methods: One hundred and nineteen patients with unresectable HCC in the intermediate stage with Child-Pugh A were retrospectively recruited in a multicenter setting. Those in the lenvatinib RFA sequential therapy group received lenvatinib initially, followed by RFA and the retreatment with lenvatinib.

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  • - This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of two first-line treatments for Helicobacter pylori eradication: a triple therapy featuring vonoprazan, amoxicillin, and metronidazole (VAM) versus another using vonoprazan, amoxicillin, and clarithromycin (VAC).
  • - Conducted in Japan with 124 participants, the trial showed that both treatments yielded similar success rates for eradication, around 91% for VAM and 89% for VAC, without significant differences between them.
  • - The results indicate that VAM can be considered an effective first-line treatment and suggests its classification as a grade B regimen, indicating a good potential for national insurance approval in Japan.
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In clinical cases of pancreas divisum, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography often necessitates cannulation of the pancreatic duct through the minor papilla. Nevertheless, this procedure can be challenging because of the small size of the minor papilla and the difficulty in visualizing the ductal orifice. A new image-enhanced endoscopy technique called texture and color enhancement imaging (TXI) has been developed, which enhances texture, brightness, and color compared with white-light imaging, resulting in subtle differences in the surface mucosa.

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Background/purpose: Endoscopic treatment of common bile duct (CBD) stones involves the use of basket or balloon catheters; however, what is the appropriate device remains controversial. In this study we aimed to prospectively evaluate the usefulness of a novel 8-wire helical basket (8WB) catheter made of Nitinol for the removal of CBD stones ≤10 mm.

Methods: We conducted a multicenter prospective trial.

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Background And Aim: The incidence of metachronous gastric cancer (MGC) after endoscopic treatment for early gastric cancer (EGC) is high, but a method of risk assessment for MGC based on endoscopic findings has not been established. In this study, we focused on endoscopic intestinal metaplasia (IM) and investigated the risk for MGC after endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) for EGC.

Methods: This retrospective observational study involved patients who underwent curative ESD for EGC from April 2015 to January 2021.

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Aim: This was a prospective, multicenter, single-arm intervention, against historical controls, study of the efficacy of a vonoprazan-based 7-day triple regimen with metronidazole (VPZ-AMPC-MNZ) as a first-line therapy for eradicating clarithromycin-resistant ().

Methods: We enrolled 35 patients positive for clarithromycin-resistant , as assessed by culture, without a history of eradication. These 35 patients were prospectively eradicated with VPZ-AMPC-MNZ.

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Background: To date, no interventional trial has assessed the efficacy and safety of vonoprazan and high-dose (500 mg four times daily, 2000 mg/day) amoxicillin dual therapy in terms of eradication. We explored whether this was an appropriate first-line treatment.

Methods: This prospective, dual-center, single-arm interventional study was performed in Japan.

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Introduction: Helicobacter pylori (HP) infection causes chronic inflammation and atrophy of the gastric mucosa and thus a high risk of gastric cancer (GC). With the increasing success of HP infection treatment, a larger number of GCs that develop after eradication can be assessed. Several studies have shown that epithelium with low-grade atypia (ELA) is a frequent characteristic of these GCs, but the origin of this condition is unknown.

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  • The study looked at severe allergic reactions called anaphylaxis that can happen with chemotherapy drugs given through IV.
  • Researchers studied the medical records of over 5,500 cancer patients from 2013 to 2020 and found 27 cases of severe anaphylaxis.
  • The most common drug causing these reactions was carboplatin, and many patients had these severe reactions shortly after their treatment began.
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Background And Aim: To assess the efficacy and safety of 7-day rescue treatment consisting of a vonoprazan (VPZ), metronidazole (MNZ), and sitafloxacin (STFX) regimen (VPZ-MNZ-STFX therapy) in patients with penicillin allergy.

Methods: This was a registered prospective intervention study. Patients with penicillin allergy who were diagnosed with infection and had a history of eradication were eligible for inclusion.

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Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is an increasingly common condition, affecting up to 25% of the population worldwide. NAFLD has been linked to several conditions, including hepatic inflammation, fibrosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), however the role of NAFLD in cholangitis and the development of cholangiocellular carcinoma (CCC) remains poorly understood. This study investigated whether a high-fat diet (HFD) promotes cholangitis and the development of CCC in mice.

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Purpose: To assess the safety, efficacy and prognostic impact of clinical factors related to lenvatinib treatment in Child-Pugh class A (CP-A) and class B (CP-B) patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (u-HCC).

Methods: Patients with u-HCC who were treated with lenvatinib at multiple centers in Japan were retrospectively analyzed for treatment outcomes according to their respective CP status. Radiological objective response (OR) was assessed using modified response evaluation criteria in solid tumors (mRECIST) guidelines.

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Background And Aim: Endoscopic duodenal stenting for patients with malignant gastric outlet obstruction (GOO) has been widespread; however, clinical trials evaluating the structures of duodenal stents are lacking. Thus, we aimed to investigate the clinical outcomes of a highly flexible duodenal stent for GOO patients.

Methods: A prospective study of duodenal stenting for GOO patients from five hospitals between August 2017 and August 2018 was performed.

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A 50-year-old woman with stage IV lung adenocarcinoma received seven cycles of pembrolizumab as third-line chemotherapy. Following the failure of pembrolizumab, she commenced fourth-line chemotherapy of docetaxel and ramucirumab. The patient complained of epigastric pain and a computed tomography (CT) scan revealed oedema-like thickening of the gallbladder wall, dilation of the bile ducts from the common to the intrahepatic bile ducts, and thickening of the common bile duct wall without any visible obstructions.

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According to cancer genome sequences, more than 90% of cases of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) harbor active KRAS mutations. Digital PCR (dPCR) enables accurate detection and quantification of rare mutations. We assessed the dynamics of circulating tumor DNA (ct-DNA) in patients with advanced PDAC undergoing chemotherapy using dPCR.

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