Nomograms Predicting Survival, Recurrence and Beneficiary Identification of Adjuvant Chemotherapy in Treatment-naïve Patients with Rectal Cancer who Underwent Upfront Curative Resection: A multi-institutional study.

Objective: To create and validate nomograms predicting overall survival and recurrence in treatment-naïve rectal cancer (RC) patients who underwent upfront surgery.

Background: Although multidisciplinary treatment is standard for locally advanced RC, understanding surgical efficacy is important for determining indications for perioperative adjuvant therapy.

Methods: RC patients who underwent upfront surgery at the Japanese Society for Cancer of the Colon and Rectum institutions were analyzed.

Multi-institutional Registry of Large Bowel Cancer in Japan Conducted by the Japanese Society for Cancer of the Colon and Rectum in 2023: Cases Treated in 2015.

Objectives: Colorectal cancer is the most prevalent malignant disease in Japan. This study aimed to publish data on colorectal cancer cases registered in 2023, involving initial treatments in 2015.

Methods: Participating facilities of the Japanese Society for Cancer of the Colon and Rectum (JSCCR) registered cases treated in 2015 according to the 8th edition of the Japanese Classification of Colorectal Carcinoma.

Real-world treatment costs of first-line treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer: a survey of the JCOG colorectal cancer study group.

Background: Although treatment outcomes for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) have dramatically improved over the past few decades, drug costs have also significantly increased. This study aimed to investigate which first-line treatment regimens for mCRC are actually used (frequency) in Japanese practice and at what cost.

Methods: We collected data on patients with mCRC who received first-line treatment at 37 institutions of the Japan Clinical Oncology Group Colorectal Cancer Study Group from July 2021 to June 2022, and calculated the cost of regimens.

Enhanced Clinical Utility of Molecular Budding Signature as a Recurrence Risk Determinant in Stage II and III Colon Cancer Patients.

Background: A molecular budding signature (MBS), which consists of seven tumor budding-related genes, was recently presented as a prominent prognostic indicator in colon cancer (CC) using microarray data acquired from frozen specimens. This study aimed to confirm the predictive power of MBS for recurrence risk based on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) materials.

Methods: This research utilized the same microarray data from a prior multicenter study using FFPE whole tissue sections, which retrospectively reviewed 232 stage II CC patients without adjuvant chemotherapy and 302 stage III CC patients with adjuvant chemotherapy.

Cost-effectiveness of 12 months of capecitabine as adjuvant chemotherapy for stage III colon cancer: preplanned cost-effectiveness analysis of the JFMC37-0801 study.

Objectives: We evaluated the cost-effectiveness of a 12-month regimen of oral capecitabine versus a standard 6-month regimen as postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy for stage III colon cancer.

Methods: We utilized patient-level data from a multi-institutional randomized controlled trial (JFMC37-0801) that investigated prolonged oral fluoropyrimidine monotherapy. The analysis considered three health states: stable disease, post-metastasis, and death.

Evaluation of a 55-gene classifier as a prognostic biomarker for adjuvant chemotherapy in stage III colon cancer patients.

Background: Adjuvant chemotherapy reduces the risk of recurrence of stage III colon cancer (CC). However, more effective prognostic and predictive biomarkers are needed for better treatment stratification of affected patients. Here, we constructed a 55-gene classifier (55GC) and investigated its utility for classifying patients with stage III CC.

Plasma Levels of Decorin Increased in Patients during the Progression of Breast Cancer.

Decorin (DCN), an extracellular matrix proteoglycan found in tumor surrounding tissues, is a natural inhibitor of tumor cell proliferation and invasion. We conducted a cross-sectional observation study to evaluate the association of the pathological stage with the levels of DCN in plasma or tumor surrounding tissue. Among 118 patients who underwent breast surgery, 35 were designated as carcinoma in situ (Stage 0), 39 were Stage I, and 44 were Stage II or III.

[Points for Evaluating Japanese Subgroup in the Multi-Regional Clinical Trial].

While the multi-regional clinical trial may accelerate the worldwide development and contribute to avoiding drug lag, differences in the results of efficacy and safety/tolerability among the regions are observed occasionally. These differences complicate the evaluation of clinical value of the study drug. To be able to evaluate consistency of treatment effects across regions, possible intrinsic and extrinsic ethnic factors should be considered at the planning of the study.

PHLDA1 expression in ulcerative colitis: A potential role in the management of dysplasia.

Pleckstrin homology-like domain, family A, member 1 (PHLDA1) is a protein involved in cell proliferation, adhesion and migration in colon cancer. In normal large intestinal mucosa, this protein is expressed only in the crypts. By contrast, its expression in adenomas and cancers of the large intestine is spread throughout the glandular ducts, and it has been reported that PHLDA1 may be involved in the process of carcinogenesis.

The effectiveness of plasma miR-33a-5p as a predictive biomarker for the efficacy of colorectal cancer chemotherapy.

Several chemotherapeutic options are available for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), making it important to individualize treatment regimens. Individualization requires the clinical application of biomarkers for regimen selection, which is presently insufficient. miRNAs serve an important role in the control of biological processes in several types of cancer, acting as plasma biomarkers.

Prognostic value of desmoplastic reaction characterisation in stage II colon cancer: prospective validation in a Phase 3 study (SACURA Trial).

Background: The characterisation of desmoplastic reaction (DR) has emerged as a new, independent prognostic determinant in colorectal cancer. Herein, we report the validation of its prognostic value in a randomised controlled study (SACURA trial).

Methods: The study included 991 stage II colon cancer patients.

Optimal Criteria for G3 (Poorly Differentiated) Stage II Colon Cancer: Prospective Validation in a Randomized Controlled Study (SACURA Trial).

Grade 3 (G3, poorly differentiated) is an important treatment-decision factor in stage II colon cancer, but no unified diagnostic criteria are established. According to previous studies, an intratumoural poorly differentiated area with no glandular formation (POR) that fills the microscopic field of a ×40 objective lens was an essential factor that defined G3. We aimed to prospectively validate this in a randomized controlled study of adjuvant chemotherapy (SACURA trial).

A Validation Study for Recurrence Risk Stratification of Stage II Colon Cancer Using the 55-Gene Classifier.

Introduction: DNA microarrays, such as the consensus molecular subtype (CMS) classification using >600 genes, are used to predict cancer patient prognosis. We recently constructed a simple 55-gene classifier (55GC) system to risk stratify colon cancer (CC).

Objective: Here, we validate the 55GC specifically for stage II CC and compare it with CMS categories.

Challenges of improving treatment outcomes for colorectal and anal cancers in Japan: the Colorectal Cancer Study Group (CCSG) of the Japan Clinical Oncology Group (JCOG).

Colorectal cancer is a major public health concern in Japan. While early-stage colorectal adenocarcinoma treatment entails radical resection of the primary tumor, the importance of perioperative treatment is growing as physicians seek to further improve treatment outcomes. For anal squamous cell carcinoma, definitive chemoradiotherapy is superior to radical surgery in terms of improved patient quality of life.

Methylation of bone morphogenetic protein 2 is associated with poor prognosis in colorectal cancer.

The present study investigated aberrant methylation in colorectal cancer (CRC) and its impact on characteristics and prognosis of patients with CRC. Bone morphogenetic protein 2 () was identified as a target gene in oligonucleotide microarray expression profiling in a previous study. Subsequently, the methylation status was assessed in 498 patients with stage I-III CRC using methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction, and the association between methylation status, patient characteristics and prognosis was assessed.

Japanese Society for Cancer of the Colon and Rectum (JSCCR) guidelines 2019 for the treatment of colorectal cancer.

The number of deaths from colorectal cancer in Japan continues to increase. Colorectal cancer deaths exceeded 50,000 in 2016. In the 2019 edition, revision of all aspects of treatments was performed, with corrections and additions made based on knowledge acquired since the 2016 version (drug therapy) and the 2014 version (other treatments).

Prospective Multicenter Study on the Prognostic and Predictive Impact of Tumor Budding in Stage II Colon Cancer: Results From the SACURA Trial.

Purpose: The International Union Against Cancer highlighted tumor budding as a tumor-related prognostic factor. International assessment criteria for tumor budding were recently defined by the 2016 International Tumor Budding Consensus Conference (ITBCC2016). This study aimed to clarify the prognostic and predictive values of tumor budding in a randomized controlled trial evaluating the superiority of adjuvant chemotherapy with oral tegafur-uracil over surgery alone for stage II colon cancer (SACURA trial; ClinicalTrials.