Publications by authors named "Sasagawa I"

Prostate cancer (PCa) ranks as the second most common cancer in Japanese males, while bladder cancer (BC) holds the tenth spot. Among double urological cancers, the incidence of synchronous or metachronous BC and PCa is the highest. Reports on upper urinary tract (UUT) urothelial cancer (UC) in PCa patients are limited.

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Introduction: The number of patients with chronic kidney disease is increasing worldwide; previous studies have suggested that advanced practice nurses, including nurse practitioners and clinical nurse specialists, with expert practice skills can provide high-quality care and solve complex healthcare problems. In general, nurse practitioners are generalist nurses who work as autonomous clinicians with whole personal care. Clinical nurse specialists, in contrast, are nurses with advanced nursing knowledge and skills for individuals or specific populations.

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Context: We have previously reported that a specific "AGATC" haplotype in a >34 kb tight linkage disequilibrium (LD) block within ESR1 is strongly associated with cryptorchidism and hypospadias in Japanese boys.

Objective: We aimed to determine the true susceptibility factor for cryptorchidism and hypospadias linked to the "AGATC" haplotype.

Methods: We performed various molecular studies in hitherto unreported 230 Italian boys (80 with cryptorchidism and 150 with normal genitalia) and previously reported and newly recruited 415 Japanese boys (149 with cryptorchidism, 141 with hypospadias, and 125 with normal genitalia).

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Gars and bichirs develop scales and teeth with ancient actinopterygian characteristics. Their scale surface and tooth collar are covered with enamel, also known as ganoin, whereas the tooth cap is equipped with an enamel-like tissue, acrodin. Here, we investigated the formation and mineralization of the ganoin and acrodin matrices in spotted gar, and the evolution of the scpp5, ameloblastin (ambn), and enamelin (enam) genes, which encode matrix proteins of ganoin.

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Androgen deprivation therapy is a standard of care for metastatic prostate cancer. A paradoxical approach utilizing high doses of testosterone in castration-resistant prostate cancer patients demonstrated clinical responses. Here, we report on four heavily pretreated Japanese patients (including one patient on hemodialysis) successfully treated with supra-physiological doses of testosterone.

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We resolve debate over the evolution of vertebrate hypermineralized tissues through analyses of matrix protein-encoding secretory calcium-binding phosphoprotein (SCPP) genes and phylogenetic inference of hypermineralized tissues. Among these genes, and are found in both sarcopterygians and actinopterygians, whereas and are found only in sarcopterygians and actinopterygians, respectively. Actinopterygian , , and are expressed during the formation of hypermineralized tissues on scales and teeth: ganoin, acrodin, and collar enamel in gar, and acrodin and collar enameloid in zebrafish.

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Introduction: Two percent of testicular germ cell tumors occur in family clusters. Here, we report metachronous testicular germ cell tumors in two brothers.

Case Presentation: An elder brother was diagnosed at the age of 30 years old and the pathological diagnosis was mixed testicular germ cell tumor.

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Article Synopsis
  • * A case study details a 71-year-old woman with muscle-invasive urothelial cancer who experienced severe complications post-surgery, including leukemoid reaction and hypercalcemia, alongside elevated tumor markers.
  • * This case is unique as it reports the first instance of urothelial cancer testing positive for four different tumor markers, highlighting the potential for aggressive bladder cancers to secrete multiple proteins that cause diverse symptoms.
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The presence or absence of metastasis has critical implications for therapeutic decision-making in urothelial cancer (UC). Conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) utilizing anatomic T1- and T2-weighted images has modest efficacy in detecting lymph node and distant metastases in UC. However, incorporation of functional techniques including diffusion weighted imaging and dynamic contrast-enhanced imaging, may improve the accuracy of lesion detection and staging.

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Enameloid is a well-mineralized tissue covering the tooth surface in fish and it corresponds to the outer-most layer of dentin. It was reported that both dental epithelial cells and odontoblasts are involved in the formation of enameloid. Nevertheless, the localization and timing of secretion of ectodermal enamel matrix proteins in enameloid are unclear.

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We investigated the effects of targeted functionalized silica nanoparticles on the radiosensitivity of cancer cells. Better control of the local concentration of silica nanoparticles may facilitate their use as an adjuvant in conjunction with ionizing radiation to target cancer cells while preventing damage to normal cells. Hyperbranched polyamidoamine (PAMAM) was grafted onto the surface of amorphous silica nanoparticles to functionalize them.

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Molecular-targeted therapy was recommended for the systemic therapy of renal cell cancer (RCC) in the RCC guidelines, but these guidelines do not address the order of administration of the multiple presently available agents. There are several aspects that remain unknown regarding the optimal administration order and combination of molecular-targeted drugs. Until the optimal treatment sequence is determined by clinical trials, treatment individualization is required for each patient based on patient and disease characteristics.

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In recent years, abiraterone acetate (AA) and enzalutamide (EZL) have become available for the treatment of cancer. Prior clinical trials have demonstrated the benefits of these agents in males with castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). The optimal sequencing of available therapies in the context of efficacy and known cross-resistance remains uncertain.

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Objective: Petrodentine, the core of the lungfish tooth plate, is a well-mineralized tissue similar to mammalian enamel and analogous to enameloid in fish teeth. Petrodentine is formed solely by petroblasts, which are specialized odontoblasts, whereas enameloid is a composite tissue produced by both odontoblasts and dental epithelial cells. To clarify the details of petrodentine formation, petroblasts were investigated using histochemical and immunohistochemical techniques.

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Gar is an actinopterygian that has bone, dentin, enameloid, and ganoin (enamel) in teeth and/or scales. Mineralization of these tissues involves genes encoding various secretory calcium-binding phosphoproteins (SCPPs) in osteichthyans, but no SCPP genes have been identified in chondrichthyans to date. In the gar genome, we identified 38 SCPP genes, seven of which encode "acidic-residue-rich" proteins and 31 encode "Pro/Gln (P/Q) rich" proteins.

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In order to compare its characteristics with those of jaw tooth collar enamel, normally developing and experimentally regenerating ganoine from ganoid scales of Lepisosteus oculatus (spotted gar), an actinopterygian fish species, was examined by Western blotting and immunohistochemistry. Amelogenin, a major enamel matrix protein (EMP), is widely found from sarcopterygian fish to mammals. Therefore, we used antimammalian amelogenin antibodies and antisera: an antibody against bovine amelogenin; antiserum against porcine amelogenin; and region-specific antibodies or antiserum against the C-terminus, middle region, or N-terminus of porcine amelogenin in this study.

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Standard lymphadenectomy for prostate cancer is limited to the obturator lymph nodes (LNs), although the internal and external iliac LNs represent the primary landing zone for prostatic lymphatic drainage. We performed anatomically semi-extended pelvic lymph node dissection (PLND) to assess the incidence of LN metastasis in cases of clinically localized prostate cancer. A total of 730 consecutive patients underwent radical prostatectomy with either semi-extended PLND, comprising 6 selective fields, namely the external iliac, internal iliac and obturator LNs bilaterally, or standard LND (obturator LNs alone).

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We report a case of primary undifferentiated bladder carcinoma, which revealed a remarkable response to methotrexate, vinblastine, adriamycin, and cisplatin (MVAC) therapy. A 46-year-old Japanese woman presented at the hospital with the chief complaints of gross hematuria and pain during urination. Cystoscopy revealed a large smooth-surfaced tumor in the urinary bladder.

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Background: Liposarcoma is one of the most common soft tissue sarcomas found in adults. It has a predilection for retroperitoneal space. Renal cell carcinoma is the most common tumor of the kidney.

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Although most fish have no enamel layer in their teeth, those belonging to Lepisosteus (gars), an extant actinopterygian fish genus, do and so can be used to study amelogenesis. In order to examine the collar enamel matrix in gar teeth, we subjected gar teeth to light and electron microscopic immunohistochemical examinations using an antibody against bovine amelogenin (27 kDa) and antiserum against porcine amelogenin (25 kDa), as well as region-specific antibodies and antiserum against the C-terminus and middle region, and N-terminus of porcine amelogenin, respectively. The enamel matrix exhibited intense immunoreactivity to the anti-bovine amelogenin antibody and the anti-porcine amelogenin antiserum in addition to the C-terminal and middle region-specific antibodies, but not to the N-terminal-specific antiserum.

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The efficacy and safety of degarelix, a luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone(LH-RH)antagonist, in patients with prostate cancer(PCa)were evaluated in a phase II, open-label, multicenter clinical trial. In this trial, a total of 13 patients were accrued at the Yamagata Prefectural Central Hospital from 2007 to 2008. The median age was 80 years(range, 65-85 years), and clinical stages were T1c, T2, T3, and T4 in 1, 4, 6, and 2 patients, respectively.

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Several clinically approved recombinant erythropoietin (rEPO) preparations, such as epoetin-β, epoetin-δ and the epoetin-α derivative, darbepoetin-α, have been commercially produced. Since the expiration of patent protection, a number of novel rEPO biosimilars have been approved on the world market. In 2010, epoetin-κ, which is biosimilar to epoetin-α, was clinically approved.

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Background: We propose a new approach to facilitate sentinel node biopsy examination by multimodality imaging in which radioactive and near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent nanoparticles depict deeply situated sentinel nodes and fluorescent nodes with anatomical resolution in the surgical field. For this purpose, we developed polyamidoamine (PAMAM)-coated silica nanoparticles loaded with technetium-99m (99mTc) and indocyanine green (ICG).

Methods: We conducted animal studies to test the feasibility and utility of this dual-modality imaging probe.

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We describe the effective use of the bipolar vessel-sealing device: LigaSure for the division of the internal spermatic vessels in a laparoscopic varicocelectomy. A total of 52 males with varicocele (left-side n = 49, and bilateral n = 3) were included in this study. Blunt dissection was used to isolate the packet of spermatic vessels.

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This is the first detailed report about the collar enamel of the teeth of Polypterus senegalus. We have examined the fine structure of the collar enamel and enamel organ of Polypterus during amelogenesis by light and transmission electron microscopy. An immunohistochemical analysis with an antibody against bovine amelogenin, an antiserum against porcine amelogenin and region-specific antibodies or antiserum against the C-terminus, middle region and N-terminus of porcine amelogenin has also been performed to examine the collar enamel matrix present in these teeth.

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