Characterization and cluster analyses of elderly asthma in comparison with nonelderly patients with asthma in Japan.

Background: Asthma is a heterogeneous disease with multiple phenotypes that are useful in precision medicine. As the population ages, the elderly asthma (EA, aged ≥ 65 years) population is growing, and EA is now a major health problem worldwide.

Objective: To characterize EA and identify its phenotypes.

Malignant hepatic epithelioid angiomyolipoma with recurrence in the lung 7 years after hepatectomy: a case report and literature review.

Angiomyolipoma (AML) arising in the liver is rare and usually benign, but it occasionally has malignant potential. A 58-year-old man with a liver tumor identified by a previous doctor with features suggestive of hepatocellular carcinoma on computed tomography (CT) underwent anterior segmentectomy of the liver in 2006. Microscopically, the tumor was composed of exclusively epithelioid cells that were scatteredly positive for human melanoma black 45 on immunohistochemistry.

Vinorelbine plus gemcitabine followed by docetaxel versus carboplatin plus paclitaxel in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer: a randomised, open-label, phase III study.

Background: Platinum-containing two-drug combinations improve survival and cancer-related symptoms in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, survival benefit is modest and platinum-containing regimens cause substantial toxic effects. We did a prospective randomised open-label phase III study to compare an experimental platinum-free, triplet, sequential regimen of vinorelbine plus gemcitabine followed by docetaxel with the standard platinum-containing, doublet regimen paclitaxel plus carboplatin in patients with advanced NSCLC.

Characterization of preexisting humoral immunity specific for two cancer-testis antigens overexpressed at the mRNA level in non-small cell lung cancer.

In order to establish a rationale for immunotherapy for lung cancer, we have investigated immunological characteristics of tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) discovered through molecular approaches. Preexisting Abs specific to these predicted TAAs were examined using specimens of lung pleural effusions (LPEs) and sera in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. The novel cancer-testis (CT) antigens L514S and L552S were highly expressed in approximately half of the NSCLC tissues and established cell lines examined.

[Lung toxicity of trimodality chemoradiotherapy with mitomycin C, vindesine, and cisplatin followed by surgery for locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer].

To evaluate lung toxicity of mitomycin C containing chemotherapy regimen combined with thoracic radiotherapy, a retrospective study was carried out in patients with locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer who were enrolled in a randomized trial for chemoradiotherapy. Postoperative complications and pathological pulmonary toxicity were investigated in 7 surgical patients out of 306 enrolled patients who were treated with MVP combination chemotherapy and concurrent or sequential thoracic radiotherapy of 56 Gy. The 7 patients were 45-66 years old (median 50 years old), with 4 of stage IIIA, 3 of stage IIIB, 4 with adenocarcinoma, 2 with squamous cell carcinoma, and 1 with large cell carcinoma.

Phase II study of weekly irinotecan and carboplatin for refractory or relapsed small-cell lung cancer.

We designed a phase II study of weekly irinotecan (CPT-11) and carboplatin for refractory or relapsed small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and assessed the response rate, survival, and toxicity. Twenty-nine patients with refractory or relapsed SCLC were entered onto the trial. The median time off chemotherapy was 3.

A feasibility study of paclitaxel 225 mg/m(2) and carboplatin AUC = 6 in untreated advanced non-small cell lung cancer patients in Japan.

Background: The combination of paclitaxel (225 mg/m(2), 3 h infusion) and carboplatin [area under the curve (AUC) 6 mg/ml x min] is used widely for non-small cell lung cancer in the USA and is one of the standard regimens in the Southwest Oncology Group. In Japan, however, the upper limit of the approved dose for single-use paclitaxel is 210 mg/m(2) and the optimum dose of this agent in combination with carboplatin has not yet been established. This study was designated to determine whether the paclitaxel dose of 225 mg/m(2 ) plus carboplatin (AUC = 6) is tolerable for Japanese patients with untreated advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

A phase II study of continuous concurrent thoracic radiotherapy in combination with mitomycin, vindesine and cisplatin in unresectable stage III non-small cell lung cancer.

The split-course concurrent thoracic radiation therapy (TRT) and full-dose chemotherapy for unresectable stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has produced promising results by comparison with the sequential approach. Instead of split-course radiation, we conducted a phase II study to investigate the feasibility of continuous concurrent TRT and chemotherapy. Twenty-two patients with unresectable NSCLC were enrolled onto a phase II study of continuous concurrent radiotherapy and chemotherapy.