Publications by authors named "Nobuhiko Seki"

Article Synopsis
  • EGFR-TKIs are crucial for treating advanced non-small-cell lung cancer with EGFR gene mutations, with five variants approved in Japan, including gefitinib, erlotinib, afatinib, dacomitinib, and osimertinib.
  • Osimertinib is the only EGFR-TKI approved for second-line therapy in patients with the T790M mutation after initial treatment, making it essential to choose the right first-line therapy carefully.
  • The article presents clinical data on EGFR-TKIs for first and second-line treatments, highlights the importance of patient and mutation subtype considerations, and shares experiences from transitioning between these therapies.
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  • * A total of 103 patients were analyzed, with results showing that high IL-33 expression, assessed at both gene and protein levels, significantly linked to shorter overall survival times.
  • * The research suggests that IL-33 could serve as an independent prognostic factor and highlights a potential therapeutic strategy combining IL-33 blockade with immune checkpoint inhibitors for better patient outcomes.
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Background: Notwithstanding the rapid developments in precision medicine in recent years, lung cancer still has a low survival rate, especially lung squamous cell cancer (LUSC). The tumor microenvironment (TME) plays an important role in the progression of lung cancer, in which high neutrophil levels are correlated with poor prognosis, potentially due to their interactions with tumor cells via pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines. However, the precise mechanisms of how neutrophils influence lung cancer remain unclear.

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Background: Cancer cachexia affects more than half of all cancer patients, reducing survival rates. Evidence-based approaches are urgently needed to optimize treatment.

Methods: A systematic review and network meta-analysis were conducted to assess the effectiveness and safety of different pharmacotherapies for cancer cachexia.

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Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) no longer are approved for second-line or later treatment of extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC), and have not been studied in combination with chemotherapy. Exploring the efficacy and safety of second-line or later immunotherapy for ES-SCLC is an urgent clinical question that needs to be addressed, and combination therapies are an important research direction. This study intended to investigate the efficacy and safety of the sintilimab in combination with chemotherapy as a second-line and beyond treatment option for ES-SCLC.

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Background: Surgical resection is the main treatment for early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), but recurrence remains a concern. Adjuvant chemotherapy has been shown to have survival benefits for resected stage II and III NSCLC, but debate continues regarding its use in stage I NSCLC. High-risk features, such as tumor size and stage, are considered in deciding whether to administer adjuvant chemotherapy.

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Article Synopsis
  • A study evaluated the combination of nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel, carboplatin, and bevacizumab in Japanese patients with advanced non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer, aiming to find a safer alternative to traditional treatments.
  • *The treatment resulted in a 56.5% overall response rate, with most patients experiencing tumor shrinkage or stable disease over a median follow-up of 42 months, leading to a median overall survival of 18.9 months.
  • *Although there were some manageable severe side effects such as neutropenia and anemia, no patient deaths were attributed to the treatment, indicating it is a well-tolerated option for this patient group.*
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DNA-targeted drugs constitute a specialized category of pharmaceuticals developed for cancer treatment, directly influencing various cellular processes involving DNA. These drugs aim to enhance treatment efficacy and minimize side effects by specifically targeting molecules or pathways crucial to cancer growth. Unlike conventional chemotherapeutic drugs, recent discoveries have yielded DNA-targeted agents with improved effectiveness, and a new generation is anticipated to be even more specific and potent.

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Background: Central venous catheters (CVCs) are sometimes superior to peripheral vascular access for chemotherapy. Central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) are an important complication of CVCs in chemotherapy.

Methods: A retrospective, observational study was conducted to investigate patients with implanted venous access ports (PORTs) from July 2010 to June 2021 in a teaching hospital.

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Background: As revealed by previous studies, the modified lung immune predictive index (mLIPI) can predict outcomes in patients with lung cancer receiving single-agent immunotherapy. However, the application value of the mLIPI for patients treated with combination immunotherapy requires further investigation. In this study, we aimed to explore the relationship between the mLIPI and the efficacy of treatment together with the prognosis of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) receiving first-line immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) combined with platinum-based chemotherapy.

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Introduction: Necitumumab plus gemcitabine and cisplatin (GCN) is a standard therapy for patients with advanced lung squamous cell carcinoma (LSqCC). However, the efficacy and tolerability of GCN in second-line or later treatment for patients previously treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) remain unknown.

Methods: This multicenter, retrospective, cohort study assessed the efficacy and tolerability of GCN initiated between November 1, 2019 and March 31, 2022 as second-line to fourth-line treatment in patients with advanced LSqCC who had been pretreated with ICIs.

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  • The EXTRA study is the first research trial to explore predictive biomarkers for the effectiveness of afatinib in patients with specific mutations in nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) using various biological analyses.
  • Conducted in Japan, the prospective study involved 103 untreated patients and measured metrics like progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) while administering afatinib at an initial daily dose of 40 mg.
  • Results showed that after a median follow-up of 35 months, the median PFS was 18.4 months, with a 3-year PFS rate of 23.3%, and a 3-year OS rate of 58.5%, indicating a positive response to afatinib in
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  • The study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of a modified carboplatin/nab-paclitaxel (CBDCA/nab-PTX) treatment regimen for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have a performance status (PS) of 2.
  • The early termination of the study, due to slow patient enrollment, resulted in only 17 participants, revealing a low 6-month progression-free survival (PFS) rate of 20.8% and a median overall survival of 9.5 months.
  • Adverse effects were significant, with 71% of patients experiencing grade 3-4 complications, but the study did find that certain factors, like comorbidities,
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Objectives: This study aimed to determine the inhibitory and bactericidal effects of teicoplanin (TEC) on TEC-susceptible Staphylococcus haemolyticus isolated from a patient with cancer in whom infection persisted despite TEC therapy. We also focused on the biofilm-forming ability of the isolate in vitro.

Methods: S.

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To determine whether the volume of paracentesis for malignant ascites in acute care hospital wards is associated with survival and symptom relief. Patients with malignant ascites caused by digestive system cancer who underwent paracentesis between January 2010 and April 2022 were retrospectively analyzed from medical records. Collected data included the drainage volume per paracentesis procedure, survival time from the first paracentesis procedure, symptoms, and adverse events.

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Purpose: To compare different response criteria using computed tomography (CT) and positron emission tomography (PET) in measuring response and survival in the early phase after programmed death-1 (PD-1) blockade monotherapy in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods: A total of 54 patients with advanced NSCLC who had 2-deoxy-2-[fluorine-18]-fluoro-D-glucose PET or CT at baseline, and 4 and 9 weeks after PD-1 blockade, were registered. Therapeutic response was assessed according to the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST), the immune-modified RECIST (irRECIST), the PET Response Criteria in Solid Tumors (PERCIST), the immune-modified PERCIST (iPERCIST), and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) criteria for dichotomous groups, such as responders vs.

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Background: The standard of care for unresectable, locally advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (LA-NSCLC) is chemoradiotherapy (CRT) followed by durvalumab, based on the PACIFIC study. Although multiple Japanese phase II studies have shown high efficacy and tolerability of CRT with cisplatin plus S-1 (SP), no prospective study using durvalumab after SP-based CRT has been reported.

Objectives: We conducted a multicenter phase II study of this approach, the interim analysis of which showed a high transition rate to durvalumab consolidation therapy.

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Article Synopsis
  • Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have revolutionized cancer treatment but can lead to rare, severe immune-related adverse events (irAEs), such as hematological issues like thrombocytopenia.
  • A case is reported of a 64-year-old man with advanced small cell lung cancer (SCLC) who developed severe ICI-related thrombocytopenia resistant to steroid treatment after receiving chemotherapy and atezolizumab.
  • The case highlights the complexities of diagnosing and managing ICI-induced thrombocytopenia, discussing treatment options and the need for better understanding of these rare but serious side effects.
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  • Researchers studied liquid biomarkers in patients with EGFR mutation-positive non-small-cell lung cancer receiving gefitinib, analyzing plasma samples to find proteins linked to tumor response and survival outcomes.
  • Out of 1769 proteins identified, several were correlated with tumor reduction, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS), with notable involvement of immune response regulators.
  • CD8α and DOK3 emerged as significant markers, indicating that patients with strong T-cell and B-cell immunity may have better responses to gefitinib therapy.
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  • The study investigates the effectiveness and safety of durvalumab following chemoradiotherapy (CRT) using cisplatin and S-1 in patients with unresectable locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (LA-NSCLC), a combination not previously evaluated prospectively.
  • Out of 59 patients treated, 86.4% successfully transitioned to durvalumab, with the most common reasons for not proceeding being disease progression and adverse events, though most issues were manageable.
  • The results show promising outcomes with a 62.7% objective response rate and high disease control rate, alongside low incidences of severe side effects like pneumonitis.
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Anti-programmed death-1 (PD-1) blockade is a standard treatment for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, no appropriate modality exists for monitoring its therapeutic response immediately after initiation. Therefore, we aimed to elucidate the clinical relevance of F-FDG PET/CT versus CT in predicting the response to PD-1 blockade in the early phase.

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Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy is an emerging type of treatment for lung cancer (LC). However, hyperprogressive disease (HPD) has been observed in patients treated with ICIs that lacks a prognostic prediction model. There is an urgent need for a simple and easily implementable predictive model to predict the occurrence of HPD.

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