Publications by authors named "Naoko Maeda"

Fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) is a common and distressing condition among adolescents and young adults (AYAs). This study aims to investigate the efficacy of digital interventions, including distress screening-based information provision and smartphone problem-solving therapy, on common psychological distress, especially FCR, in AYA patients with cancer. Participants will be 224 AYA outpatients with cancer aged 15-39 years who will be randomly assigned to either an 8-week smartphone-based intervention or a waitlist control group.

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This study investigated the potential of the metaverse in providing psychological support for pediatric and AYA cancer patients, with a focus on those with rare cancers. The research involved ten cancer patients and survivors from four distinct regions in Japan, who participated in metaverse sessions using customizable avatars, facilitating interactions across geographical and temporal barriers. Surveys and qualitative feedback were collected to assess the psychosocial impact of the intervention.

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Early T-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ETP-ALL), mixed phenotypic acute leukemia (MPAL), and acute myeloid leukemia with minimal differentiation (AML-M0) all originate from immature hematopoietic progenitor cells and have a poor prognosis. We investigated the clinical characteristics of these immature leukemias in 17 children (ETP-ALL: 8, MPAL: 5, AML-M0: 4) at seven institutions. Clinical and laboratory findings were comparable across disease types.

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An emerging group of spindle cell neoplasms harboring fusions involving NTRK or non-NTRK kinase genes often share characteristic S100 and/or CD34 expression; however, the diagnostic utility of immunohistochemical stains is not well established in this family owing to their lack of specificity. Recently, CD30 expression in spindle cell neoplasms with kinase gene fusions, such as NTRK, BRAF, RAF1, and RET, has been increasingly identified. We herein report a 10-year-old girl with high-grade spindle cell sarcoma of the neck.

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Infertility is a frequent late effect of cancer treatment that significantly affects cancer survivors' quality of life. In recent years, with advances in oncofertility, the number of children with cancer receiving fertility preservation therapy has increased. However, specific challenges exist in pediatric cancer patients.

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  • * The study surveyed physicians with extensive experience in treating adolescent cancer patients to identify challenges related to explaining diseases and obtaining informed consent.
  • * Findings highlighted significant difficulties faced by physicians in communicating with both patients and their parents, which impacts the informed consent process and suggests a need for better assessment tools tailored for adolescents.
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  • Adolescent and young adult cancer patients often face significant psychological distress and unmet needs that can be addressed with appropriate support tools like the Distress Thermometer and Problem List-Japanese version (DTPL-J).
  • A recent study in Japan involving 361 participants found a high screening rate (90.3%) and a significant reduction in distress and supportive care needs one month after implementation of a psychosocial support program based on the DTPL-J.
  • The program was deemed feasible and effective and has been continued in clinical routine across eight institutions as part of ongoing care for AYAs.
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  • Fertility preservation (FP) services for cancer patients, particularly child, adolescent, and young-adult (CAYA) patients, are increasingly utilized in Japan, but data on its usage rates and outcomes were previously lacking.
  • The Japan Society for Fertility Preservation launched the Japan Oncofertility Registry (JOFR) in 2018 to gather detailed information on patients' diseases, FP treatments, and outcomes, with analysis conducted up to 2021.
  • As of 2021, 1,244 patients received FP counseling or treatment, with notable trends showing that most female patients were aged 31-40 and that leukemia and breast cancer were the most common diagnoses among male and female patients, respectively; over 700
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  • Thiotepa, a high-dose chemotherapy, can effectively cross the blood-brain barrier and is evaluated in conjunction with melphalan for treating pediatric solid tumors, particularly in the CNS.
  • A study involving 41 Japanese patients showed that the combination treatment resulted in common adverse effects, mainly diarrhea and febrile neutropenia, but no unexpected safety incidents occurred.
  • The treatment demonstrated a high rate of engraftment and a 100% survival rate at day 100 post-autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT).
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HASPIN is predominantly expressed in spermatids, and plays an important role in cell division in somatic and meiotic cells through histone H3 phosphorylation. The literature published to date has suggested that HASPIN may play multiple roles in cells. Here, 10 gene products from the mouse testis cDNA library that interact with HASPIN were isolated using the two-hybrid system.

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Philadelphia chromosome-like acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph-like ALL) is an intractable disease and most cases harbor genetic alterations that activate JAK or ABL signaling. The commonest subtype of Ph-like ALL exhibits a CRLF2 gene rearrangement that brings about JAK1/2-STAT5 pathway activation. However, JAK1/2 inhibition alone is insufficient as a treatment, so combinatorial therapies targeting multiple signals are needed.

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Childhood vaccine-associated immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) has a mostly favorable prognosis. To identify factors associated with prognosis, a retrospective survey was conducted with children with ITP who were registered in the Japanese Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology registry from 2008 to 2011. A total of 477 patients were categorized into four groups by event preceding ITP onset: vaccine-precedence (VP; n = 43), vaccine/infection-precedence (VIP; n = 34), infection-precedence (IP; n = 162), and no vaccine/infection-precedence (NVI; n = 238).

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Background: Patients with Ewing's sarcoma family of tumors (ESFT) who experience relapse or progression have a poor prognosis.

Aim: This study aimed to identify the prognostic and therapeutic factors affecting overall survival (OS) of patients with recurrent or refractory localized ESFT.

Methods And Results: Thirty-eight patients with localized ESFT who experienced first relapse or progression between 2000 and 2018 were retrospectively reviewed.

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Background: The prognosis of patients with metastatic Ewing sarcoma family of tumors (ESFT) remains poor.

Procedure: We retrospectively analyzed 57 patients diagnosed with metastatic ESFT between 2000 and 2018 to identify prognostic and therapeutic factors affecting the clinical outcome.

Results: The 3-year overall survival (OS) rate of the entire cohort was 46.

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Background: Cow's milk allergy (CMA) and egg allergy (EA) are common and can reduce quality of life in children. Infantile eczema is a well-established risk factor for the onset of food allergy via transdermal sensitization; however, various types of infantile eczema have not yet been evaluated. Therefore, we assessed the association between CMA and EA and the sites and the severity of infantile eczema.

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The clinical utility of a recently developed bioabsorbable polyglycolic acid (PGA) spacer has not yet been established in pediatric patients; therefore, we aimed to investigate its utility during chemo-proton therapy for pediatric cancer. Proton depth-dose curves were obtained in a water phantom with or without the spacer. Computed tomography (CT) scans were performed for the PGA spacer immersed in saline for 2 weeks to measure CT numbers and estimate the relative stopping power (RSP) for the proton beams.

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Background: Female carriers of a balanced X; autosome translocation generally undergo selective inactivation of the normal X chromosome. This is because inactivation of critical genes within the autosomal region of the derivative translocation chromosome would compromise cellular function. We here report a female patient with bilateral retinoblastoma and a severe intellectual disability who carries a reciprocal X-autosomal translocation.

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  • Thiotepa is a chemotherapy drug used in high doses before stem cell transplants to treat solid tumors and blood cancers, and this study focused on its pharmacokinetics in a Japanese population.
  • The study involved nine pediatric patients and ten adult patients, analyzing how thiotepa is distributed and cleared in their bodies, with findings showing lower distribution volume in children as expected.
  • Despite two serious side effects reported, the treatment was generally well tolerated, and survival rates at 100 days post-transplant were 77.8% for kids and 100% for adults.
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Outcomes of children treated for relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) remain poor. Bortezomib (BZM), a proteasome inhibitor, has shown promising activity against lymphoid malignancies. We conducted a phase I study to evaluate the safety and tolerability of multidrug chemotherapy including BZM in Japanese children with relapsed ALL.

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Wide-field single photon voltage-sensitive dye (VSD) imaging of brain slice preparations is a useful tool to assess the functional connectivity in neural circuits. Due to the fractional change in the light signal, it has been difficult to use this method as a quantitative assay. This article describes special optics and slice handling systems, which render this technique stable and reliable.

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This trial enrolls patients with untreated Hodgkin's lymphoma aged<20 years at diagnosis and examines the effects of omitting radiation therapy if the FDG-positron emission tomography (PET) findings after two completed cycles of combination chemotherapy are negative. It thereby aims to determine whether patients who truly require radiation therapy can be identified by FDG-PET. If so, this modality could be used to omit radiation therapy for all other patients, decreasing the risk of serious long-term complications without affecting survival rates.

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  • Myeloid sarcoma (MS) is a rare cancer often linked to acute myeloid leukemia (AML), with little focus on its occurrence in Japanese children.
  • A study analyzed cases of MS in children under 20 in Japan from 2000 to 2013, revealing a male predominance and a median age of diagnosis at 4 years; most sites of involvement were varied, including skin and head/neck.
  • The study found that while some patients developed bone marrow involvement later, most responded well to initial chemotherapy for AML, with seven out of ten surviving for a median of 93 months without disease.
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Complete tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2) deficiency has been previously described in patients with primary immunodeficiency diseases. The patients were infected with various pathogens, including mycobacteria and/or viruses, and one of the patients developed hyper-IgE syndrome. A detailed immunological investigation of these patients revealed impaired responses to type I IFN, IL-10, IL-12 and IL-23, which are associated with increased susceptibility to mycobacterial and/or viral infections.

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