Randomized Phase II Trial of Amrubicin Plus Irinotecan Versus Cisplatin Plus Irinotecan in Chemo-naïve Patients With Extensive-Disease Small-Cell Lung Cancer: Results of the Japan Multinational Trial Organization (JMTO) LC 08-01.

Background: We conducted a randomize phase II study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of topoisomerase II inhibitor amrubicin plus topoisomerase I inhibitor irinotecan (AI) compared with cisplatin plus irinotecan (PI) as first-line therapy in patients with extensive-disease (ED) small-cell lung cancer (SCLC).

Patients And Methods: Chemo-naïve patients with pathologically proven ED-SCLC (including limited disease (LD) SCLC with malignant effusion) were enrolled. Patients were randomized 1:1 to receive either AI (amrubicin 90mg/m on day 1 and irinotecan 50mg/m on days 1 and 8 of a 21-day cycle) or PI (cisplatin 60mg/m on day 1 and irinotecan 60mg/m on days 1, 8 and 15 of a 28-day cycle).

A randomized phase III study of docetaxel alone versus docetaxel plus S-1 in patients with previously treated non-small cell lung cancer: JMTO LC09-01.

Background: This study evaluated the efficacy and safety of the combination chemotherapy of docetaxel plus S-1 in patients with previously treated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) compared to docetaxel alone.

Methods: Patients with previously treated NSCLC were randomly assigned to docetaxel alone (arm A) or a combination of docetaxel and S-1 (arm B) for a maximum of four cycles. The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS).

Evaluating the Safety of Simultaneous Intracranial Electroencephalography and Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Acquisition Using a 3 Tesla Magnetic Resonance Imaging Scanner.

Background: The unsurpassed sensitivity of intracranial electroencephalography (icEEG) and the growing interest in understanding human brain networks and ongoing activities in health and disease have make the simultaneous icEEG and functional magnetic resonance imaging acquisition (icEEG-fMRI) an attractive investigation tool. However, safety remains a crucial consideration, particularly due to the impact of the specific characteristics of icEEG and MRI technologies that were safe when used separately but may risk health when combined. Using a clinical 3-T scanner with body transmit and head-receive coils, we assessed the safety and feasibility of our icEEG-fMRI protocol.

A randomized phase II study of docetaxel or pemetrexed with or without the continuation of gefitinib after disease progression in elderly patients with non-small cell lung cancer harboring EGFR mutations (JMTO LC12-01).

Background: Gefitinib (G) is a recommended molecular-targeted agent for elderly patients with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Docetaxel (Doc) and pemetrexed (Pem) have similar efficacies, and either is often used as the sole agent during treatment. The efficacy of continuing G after progressive disease (PD) develops has been reported.

COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine-Associated Uveitis Leading to Diagnosis of Sarcoidosis: Case Report and Review of Literature.

A 34-year-old Japanese person with male gender identity who had been taking intramuscular injection of methyltestosterone depot for 11 years after bilateral mastectomy noticed blurred vision 5 days after the second vaccination for COVID-19 (Tozinameran; Pfizer-BioNTech) in the interval of 3 weeks following the first vaccination. The patient was diagnosed as granulomatous iritis with mutton-fat keratic precipitates and small iris nodules at the pupillary margin in the right eye and began to have 0.1% betamethasone eye drops with good response.

Prolonged Inflation Technique Using a Scoring Balloon for Severe Calcified Lesion.

Percutaneous coronary intervention for the treatment of a severe calcified lesion is still one of the most technically challenging areas of interventional cardiology. Calcified lesions are a cause of stent underexpansion, which significantly increases the subsequent risks of in-stent restenosis and thrombosis, even when drug-eluting stents are used. In this report, we describe the usefulness of prolonged inflations using a scoring balloon catheter (Scoreflex) for severe calcified lesions.

A left atrial appendage thrombus that developed during prophylactic low-dose dabigatran treatment resolved after switching to apixaban.

We describe a case of atrial fibrillation in which an intracardiac thrombus that could not be prevented with "low-dose" dabigatran treatment was resolved by switching to apixaban treatment. Thrombolysis using direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) could be a therapeutic option for patients with intracardiac thrombi, although the efficacies of different DOACs seem to differ and need further examination.

A Multicenter Feasibility Study of EBUS-TBNA for Potentially Operable Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: The JMTO LC07-02 Study (UMIN000001280).

Background: Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) is a standard procedure for the pathological evaluation of the mediastinal nodal (N2) status of lung cancer; however, its feasibility in potentially operable patients with suspicion of minimal N2 disease remains unestablished.

Patients And Methods: A prospective multicenter study was conducted to assess the feasibility of EBUS-TBNA in this setting. Patients with clinical stage IIIA-N2 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and mediastinal nodal enlargement on computed tomography (CT) were eligible; patients were ineligible when CT revealed bulky (> 3 cm in the long-axis diameter) N2 or multiple (≥ 3) station N2.

Efficacy of S-1 in non-small cell lung cancer.

Introduction: S-1 is an oral fluoropyrimidine derivative, including three pharmacological compounds: tegafur, gimeracil and oteracil, in a molar ratio of 1: 0.4: 1.

Areas Covered: This review addresses the clinical evidence of S-1 in NSCLC in various clinical settings.

Preoperative T staging of urinary bladder cancer: efficacy of stalk detection and diagnostic performance of diffusion-weighted imaging at 3T.

Purpose: We evaluated the ability of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) at 3 tesla for diagnosing T stage and detecting stalks in bladder cancer.

Methods: In total, 39 consecutive patients with bladder tumors underwent magnetic resonance (MR) imaging that included T2-weighted imaging (T2WI) and DWI using a 3T MR scanner. Two radiologists interpreted T2WI plus DWI and T2WI for diagnosis of T stage and for detection of stalks.

Prospective phase II study of cisplatin plus pemetrexed with maintenance of pemetrexed for advanced non-squamous cell non-small cell lung cancer in Japan.

Background: A previous study showed a survival benefit with maintenance therapy with pemetrexed in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, it remains unclear whether continuation maintenance therapy with pemetrexed is beneficial in Japanese patients. Here, we present our phase II study that assessed the efficacy and safety of cisplatin plus pemetrexed as induction chemotherapy, followed by maintenance therapy with pemetrexed in advanced NSCLC patients in Japan.

Etoposide and cisplatin versus irinotecan and cisplatin in patients with limited-stage small-cell lung cancer treated with etoposide and cisplatin plus concurrent accelerated hyperfractionated thoracic radiotherapy (JCOG0202): a randomised phase 3 study.

Background: Four cycles of etoposide plus cisplatin and accelerated hyperfractionated thoracic radiotherapy (AHTRT) is the standard of care for limited-stage small-cell lung cancer (SCLC). Irinotecan plus cisplatin significantly improved overall survival compared with etoposide plus cisplatin for extensive-stage SCLC. We compared these regimens for overall survival of patients with limited-stage SCLC.

Carboplatin plus either docetaxel or paclitaxel for Japanese patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

Aim: Assessment of the efficacy of docetaxel plus carboplatin vs. paclitaxel plus carboplatin in Japanese patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Patients And Methods: Chemotherapy-naïve patients were randomly assigned at a ratio of 2 to 1 to receive six cycles of either docetaxel (60 mg/m(2)) plus carboplatin [area under the curve (AUC)=6 mg/ml min] or paclitaxel (200 mg/m(2)) plus carboplatin (same dose), on day 1 every 21 days.

Continued treatment with gefitinib beyond progressive disease benefits patients with activating EGFR mutations.

Background: Gefitinib is an effective treatment for patients with non-small cell lung cancer who harbor activating epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations. However, no optimal strategy has been established for these patients after gefitinib fails. The aim of this retrospective study was to assess the survival benefit of continued gefitinib treatment in these cases.

Diagnostic accuracy of ultra-high-b-value 3.0-T diffusion-weighted MR imaging for detection of prostate cancer.

Purpose: To investigate the diagnostic accuracy of 3.0-T diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) for detection of prostate cancer by using different b-values.

Methods: Seventy-three patients underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at 3.

Thoracic radiotherapy with or without daily low-dose carboplatin in elderly patients with non-small-cell lung cancer: a randomised, controlled, phase 3 trial by the Japan Clinical Oncology Group (JCOG0301).

Background: It is unknown whether combined chemoradiotherapy improves overall survival in elderly patients with locally advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The aim of this study was to assess whether radiotherapy plus carboplatin results in longer survival than radiotherapy alone in elderly patients with NSCLC.

Methods: This was a randomised, controlled, phase 3 trial by the Japan Clinical Oncology Group (JCOG0301).

A weekly combination of carboplatin and irinotecan for previously untreated extensive disease small-cell lung cancer, results of a minimum follow-up of 3 years: a multi-center Phase II trial JMTO LC02-02.

Objective: We conducted a Phase II study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a weekly combination of carboplatin and irinotecan regimen for patients with extensive disease small-cell lung cancer.

Methods: Patients with previously untreated extensive disease small-cell lung cancer, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status 0, 1 or 2, were enrolled in this trial. Carboplatin area under the curve of two and irinotecan (50 mg/m(2)) were administered on days 1 and 8 every 3 weeks.

Randomized phase II study of first-line carboplatin-paclitaxel with or without bevacizumab in Japanese patients with advanced non-squamous non-small-cell lung cancer.

Purpose: This multicenter, randomized, open-label, phase II study (JO19907) compared the efficacy and safety of first-line carboplatin-paclitaxel (CP) alone with bevacizumab-CP in Japanese patients with advanced non-squamous non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods: Chemonaïve patients with stage IIIB, IV or recurrent non-squamous NSCLC were eligible for participation. Patients were randomly assigned in a 2:1 ratio to receive bevacizumab-CP or CP alone.

A phase I study of amrubicin and fixed dose of irinotecan (CPT-11) in relapsed small cell lung cancer: Japan multinational trial organization LC0303.

Purpose: To determine the maximum tolerated dose of amrubicin (AMR) with a fixed dose of irinotecan (CPT-11).

Methods: Patients having pathologically proven small cell lung cancer (SCLC) relapsed after one or two chemotherapies, and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0 to 2 were eligible for the study. CPT-11 was delivered as 50 mg/m2 on days 1 and 8, every 21 days.

Quality-of-life evaluation for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer: a comparison between vinorelbine plus gemcitabine followed by docetaxel versus paclitaxel plus carboplatin regimens in a randomized trial: Japan Multinational Trial Organization LC00-03 (BRI LC03-01).

Background: A randomized trial of vinorelbine plus gemcitabine followed by docetaxel (VGD) versus paclitaxel plus carboplatin (PC) in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer showed no difference in overall survival (median survival time: 13.6 versus 14.1 months) between the two treatment groups.

Gefitinib as first-line treatment in elderly epidermal growth factor receptor-mutated patients with advanced lung adenocarcinoma: results of a Nagano Lung Cancer Research Group study.

Unlabelled: Efficacy of first-line gefitinib for elderly epidermal growth factor receptor mutated patients with lung adenocarcinoma is uncertain. This study was aimed to investigate efficacy of gefitinib for such population. The primary endpoint was response rate (RR) and at least 12 cases were needed.

Duration of prior gefitinib treatment predicts survival potential in patients with lung adenocarcinoma receiving subsequent erlotinib.

Purpose: We investigated survival potential in patients receiving erlotinib after failure of gefitinib, focusing on response and time to progression (TTP) with gefitinib.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed lung adenocarcinoma patients who received erlotinib after experiencing progression with gefitinib. Our primary objective was to evaluate the prognostic significance of erlotinib therapy.

Clinical implication of the antidiuretic hormone (ADH) receptor antagonist mozavaptan hydrochloride in patients with ectopic ADH syndrome.

Ectopic antidiuretic hormone syndrome is a medical emergency characterized by dilutional hyponatremia. Clinical effectiveness of the vasopressin V2 receptor antagonist mozavaptan was evaluated in 16 patients. In short-term (7-day) treatment with the drug, serum sodium concentration (mean ± standard deviation) significantly (P = 0.