F-FDG-PET/CT Uptake by Noncancerous Lung as a Predictor of Interstitial Lung Disease Induced by Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors.

Rationale And Objectives: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have improved lung cancer prognosis; however, ICI-related interstitial lung disease (ILD) is fatal and difficult to predict. Herein, we hypothesized that pre-existing lung inflammation on radiological imaging can be a potential risk factor for ILD onset. Therefore, we investigated the association between high uptake in noncancerous lung (NCL) on F- FDG-PET/CT and ICI-ILD in lung cancer.

Robotic Warshaw technique with special attention to prevent postoperative splenic infarction preserving splenic blood flow.

Prevention of postoperative splenic infarction in the robotic Warshaw technique requires rigorous evaluation of blood flow to the spleen. Shibuya and colleagues recommend checking: (1) conventional splenic color change, (2) intrasplenic artery waveform by ultrasound Doppler examination, (3) blood flow using indocyanine green, and (4) pulsatile regurgitation from the splenic artery.

Phase II study of nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel monotherapy for relapsed non-small cell lung cancer with patient-reported outcomes (NLCTG1302).

Background: This multicenter, open-label, single-arm phase II study [Niigata Lung Cancer Treatment Group (NLCTG) 1302] was conducted to evaluate the efficacy and safety of nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel (nab-paclitaxel) monotherapy for previously treated patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We also investigated chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) to evaluate the quality of life (QOL).

Methods: Sixty-five patients with advanced NSCLC from 14 participating institutions who had previously undergone one or two cytotoxic chemotherapy regimens were enrolled in this study.

Single-incision laparoscopic enucleation for pancreatic insulinoma with preoperative nasopancreatic stent placement: A case report.

Introduction And Importance: Most insulinomas are benign and solitary, with a tumor diameter less than 2 cm; therefore, laparoscopic enucleation, which is a minimally invasive procedure that can preserve the pancreatic parenchyma, is considered an optimal procedure. The key to enucleation is to avoid injury to the main pancreatic duct (MPD). Herein, we present a case in which single-incision laparoscopic enucleation (SILE) was performed for insulinomas, with preoperative nasopancreatic stent (NPS) placement.

Prognostic significance of procalcitonin in small cell lung cancer.

Background: Procalcitonin (PCT) is a serological marker whose utility has been established in infectious disease areas. Although serum calcitonin is a prognostic predictor in patients with medullary thyroid carcinoma, the clinical usefulness of PCT remains unclear in lung cancer patients.

Methods: As a discovery cohort, we retrospectively analyzed consecutive patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and small cell lung cancer (SCLC) who received first-line chemotherapy at our institution, and PCT blood levels were measured.

PD-1 blockade therapy augments the antitumor effects of lymphodepletion and adoptive T cell transfer.

Lymphodepleting cytotoxic regimens enhance the antitumor effects of adoptively transferred effector and naïve T cells. Although the mechanisms of antitumor immunity augmentation by lymphodepletion have been intensively investigated, the effects of lymphodepletion followed by T cell transfer on immune checkpoints in the tumor microenvironment remain unclear. The current study demonstrated that the expression of immune checkpoint molecules on transferred donor CD4 and CD8 T cells was significantly decreased in lymphodepleted tumor-bearing mice.

Subsequent systemic therapy for non-small cell lung cancer patients with immune checkpoint inhibitor-related interstitial lung disease.

Background: Although immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are effective for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), ICIs may cause interstitial lung disease (ILD), which results in treatment discontinuation and is sometimes fatal. Despite the high incidence of ICI-related ILD, there are few cancer treatment options for patients. This study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of subsequent systemic cancer therapy in NSCLC patients with ICI-related ILD.

Prolyl oligopeptidase participates in the cytosine arabinoside-induced nuclear translocation of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase in a human neuroblastoma cell line.

Previously, we reported that glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) is a binding partner of prolyl oligopeptidase (POP) in neuroblastoma NB-1 cells and that the POP inhibitor, SUAM-14746, inhibits cytosine arabinoside (Ara-C)-induced nuclear translocation of GAPDH and protects against Ara-C cytotoxicity. To carry out a more in-depth analysis of the interaction between POP and GAPDH, we generated POP-KO NB-1 cells and compared the nuclear translocation of GAPDH after Ara-C with or without SUAM-14746 treatment to wild-type NB-1 cells by western blotting and fluorescence immunostaining. Ara-C did not induce the nuclear translocation of GAPDH and SUAM-14746 did not protect against Ara-C cytotoxicity in POP-KO cells.

A case with massive hemobilia long-term after internal drainage surgery for congenital biliary dilation.

Background: Currently, there is an unwavering consensus that the standard surgery for congenital biliary dilation (CBD) is extrahepatic bile duct resection and choledochojejunostomy. However, decades prior, choledochocyst-gastrointestinal anastomosis without extrahepatic bile duct resection (internal drainage surgery, IDS) was preferred for CBD because of its simplicity. Currently, there is almost no chance of a surgeon encountering a patient who has undergone old-fashioned IDS, which has been completely obsolete due to the risk of carcinogenesis from the remaining bile duct.

Perioperative clinical parameters associated with short-term mortality after colorectal perforation.

Purpose: Although early prediction of mortality is useful for the management of patients with colorectal perforations, no significant perioperative predictive factors have been identified. The purpose of this study was to identify useful prognostic factors for patients with colorectal perforation.

Methods: This single-center retrospective study included consecutive patients undergoing emergency surgery for colorectal perforation from January 2012 to December 2019.

Impact of Colon Cancer Location on the Prognostic Significance of Nutritional Indexes and Inflammatory Markers.

Background/aim: The prognosis of colorectal cancer is reported to differ depending on the tumor site, and clinical differences depending on the site of occurrence have gained attention. The aim was to compare nutrition index and inflammatory markers according to the site of colon cancer.

Patients And Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 272 cases of stage I-III colon cancer (55% males, 45% females).

Combination therapy of cisplatin with cilastatin enables an increased dose of cisplatin, enhancing its antitumor effect by suppression of nephrotoxicity.

Cisplatin, one of the most active anticancer agents, is widely used in standard chemotherapy for various cancers. Cisplatin is more poorly tolerated than other chemotherapeutic drugs, and the main dose-limiting toxicity of cisplatin is its nephrotoxicity, which is dose-dependent. Although less toxic methods of cisplatin administration have been established, cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity remains an unsolved problem.

Seronegative Oligoarthritis Preceding Psoriasis by 9.5 Years.

We report a case of psoriatic arthritis where oligoarthritis preceded the skin lesions. A 57-year-old man complained of left third-finger pain. Laboratory examinations were negative for anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies and rheumatoid factor; he was treated for suspected rheumatoid arthritis.

Prognostic significance of the radiologic features of pneumonitis induced by anti-PD-1 therapy.

Background: Interstitial lung disease (ILD) induced by anti-programmed-cell death-1 (PD-1) and anti-PD-ligand 1 (PD-L1) is potentially life-threatening and is a common reason of the discontinuation of therapy. In contrast, an enhancement in antitumor effects was reported in patients who developed immune-related adverse events, including ILD. Although recent evidence suggests that radiologic patterns of ILD may reflect the severity of ILD and the antitumor immune responses to anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapies, the association between radiologic features and clinical outcomes remains unclear.

[A Case of Duodenal Perforation during Bevacizumab Combination Chemotherapy in a Patient with Multiple Lung Metastasis after a Sigmoidectomy].

A 73-year-old man underwent laparoscopic sigmoidectomy for sigmoid colon cancer. Two years after the operation, multiple lung metastasis was diagnosed and chemotherapy with bevacizumab, irinotecan, and TS-1®was started in the patient. However, epigastric pain developed 73 days after the initial course of chemotherapy.

Retrospective analysis of antitumor effects and biomarkers for nivolumab in NSCLC patients with EGFR mutations.

Although the blockade of programmed cell death 1 (PD-1)/PD-ligand (L) 1 has demonstrated promising and durable clinical responses for non-small-cell lung cancers (NSCLCs), NSCLC patients with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations responded poorly to PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors. Previous studies have identified several predictive biomarkers, including the expression of PD-L1 on tumor cells, for PD-1/PD-L1 blockade therapies in NSCLC patients; however, the usefulness of these biomarkers in NSCLCs with EGFR mutations has not been elucidated. The present study was conducted to evaluate the predictive biomarkers for PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors in EGFR-mutated NSCLCs.

A Phase II Study of Irinotecan for Patients with Previously Treated Small-Cell Lung Cancer.

Objective: Chemotherapy with irinotecan plus cisplatin has shown promise in chemo-naïve small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) patients. However, irinotecan treatment for relapsed or refractory SCLC has not been adequately evaluated. This phase II study evaluated the appropriate treatment schedule of irinotecan as a single agent.

Transfer of in vitro-expanded naïve T cells after lymphodepletion enhances antitumor immunity through the induction of polyclonal antitumor effector T cells.

The adoptive transfer of effector T cells combined with lymphodepletion has demonstrated promising antitumor effects in mice and humans, although the availability of tumor-specific T cells is limited. We and others have also demonstrated that the transfer of polyclonal naïve T cells induces tumor-specific effector T cells and enhances antitumor immunity after lymphodepletion. Because tumors have been demonstrated to induce immunosuppressive networks and regulate the function of T cells, obtaining a sufficient number of fully functional naïve T cells that are able to differentiate into tumor-specific effector T cells remains difficult.

Nephrotoxicity of cisplatin combination chemotherapy in thoracic malignancy patients with CKD risk factors.

Background: Nephrotoxicity is the major side effect that limits the dose of cisplatin that can be safely administered, and it is a clinical problem in cancer patients who received cisplatin combination chemotherapy. Recent evidence has demonstrated that patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) have an increased risk of developing acute kidney injury (AKI). The present study was conducted to evaluate the prevalence of CKD risk factors in patients who received cisplatin and to assess the correlation between CKD risk factors and cisplatin-induced AKI.

Critical Roles of Chemoresistant Effector and Regulatory T Cells in Antitumor Immunity after Lymphodepleting Chemotherapy.

Antitumor immunity is augmented by cytotoxic lymphodepletion therapies. Adoptively transferred naive and effector T cells proliferate extensively and show enhanced antitumor effects in lymphopenic recipients. Although the impact of lymphodepletion on transferred donor T cells has been well evaluated, its influence on recipient T cells is largely unknown.