Metronomic Chemotherapy for Pediatric Refractory Solid Tumors: A Retrospective Single-center Study.

Metronomic chemotherapy (MC) is based on chronic administration of chemotherapeutic agents at minimally toxic doses without prolonged drug-free breaks, that inhibits tumor angiogenesis and induces tumor dormancy. This study aimed to determine the efficacy of MC for pediatric refractory solid tumors. We retrospectively analyzed the data of pediatric patients with relapsed/refractory solid tumors who received treatment, including low-dose continuous administration of anticancer drugs, at our institute.

Relationship between Ca and cAMP as second messengers in ACTH-induced cortisol production in bovine adrenal fasciculata cells.

In adrenal fasciculata cells stimulated by ACTH, Ca and cAMP play indispensable roles as second messengers in cortisol production. However, whether their second messengers cooperatively or independently participate in steroid production remains unclear. We focused on the roles of Ca and cAMP in cortisol production in bovine adrenal fasciculata cells stimulated by ACTH for a relatively short period (1 h).

Aurora B kinase as a therapeutic target in acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Purpose: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is curable with standardized chemotherapy. However, the development of novel therapies is still required, especially for patients with relapsed or refractory disease. By utilizing an in vitro drug screening system, active molecular targeting agents against ALL were explored in this study.

Buchwald-Hartwig Amination of Phosphinines and the Effect of Amine Substituents on Optoelectronic Properties of the Resulting Coupling Products.

The Buchwald-Hartwig amination of a phosphinine bearing a bromophenyl moiety was carried out using a dinuclear Ni catalyst. A variety of monoarylamines, diarylamines, and alkylamine, as well as heterocycles, were successfully converted into novel phosphinines bearing amine units. The photophysical properties of these novel phosphinines were examined, including the substituent-dependent absorption/emission features and intramolecular charge-transfer interactions.

2,5-Diaryltellurophenes: Effect of Electron-Donating and Electron-Withdrawing Groups on their Optoelectronic Properties.

The transformation of 1,2-bis(1-arylvinyl)ditellurides into 2,5-diaryltellurophenes by sequential ditelluride exchange and thermal intramolecular cyclization reactions is presented, and the optoelectronic properties of a series of 2,5-diaryltellurophenes with both electron-donating and electron-withdrawing aryl substituents are disclosed. Furthermore, the multicolored emissive tellurophenes in solution at room temperature have been demonstrated.

The Collagen Gel Droplet-embedded Culture Drug Sensitivity Test in Relapsed Hepatoblastoma.

There are few treatment options for patients with unresectable or refractory hepatoblastoma which has failed to respond to the standard treatment. The rarity of the disease and lack of experimental materials have hampered the development of new treatments. In this study, the collagen gel droplet-embedded culture drug sensitivity test was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the multikinase inhibitors sorafenib and sunitinib, and other drugs, in relapsed hepatoblastoma tumor tissues.

Prenatal and lactational bisphenol A exposure does not alter serotonergic neurons morphologically in the murine dorsal raphe nucleus.

Objective: There is concern that bisphenol A (BPA), an endocrine-disrupting chemical, affects brain development when exposed to a fetus and/or infant. We previously reported that increased serotonin (5-HT) and its metabolite (5-HIAA) in the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) in murine adult brains when they were prenatally exposed to low doses of BPA. This study investigates the morphological alteration of the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) in order to explain the disrupted serotonergic system after prenatal and lactational exposure to bisphenol A (BPA).

Total Calcium and Albumin Are Decreased in the Deeper Epidermis of Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease-Associated Pruritus.

Background/aims: In our earlier studies, we reported high concentrations of intra- and extracellular calcium ions (Ca2+) in the deeper epidermis of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and associated pruritus. To determine the cause of this phenomenon, we measured total calcium (TCa) concentrations in the deeper epidermis and performed immunostaining of epidermal albumin, which binds to Ca2+.

Methods: This study included 45 patients with CKD-stage 5, which was defined as severely reduced kidney function (i.

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for pediatric mature B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia with non-L3 morphology and MLL-AF9 gene fusion: three case reports and review of the literature.

Mature B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) is typically associated with French-American-British (FAB)-L3 morphology and MYC gene rearrangement. However, rare cases of mature B-ALL with non-L3 morphology and MLL-AF9 fusion have been reported, and such cases are characterized by a rapid and aggressive clinical course. We here report three such cases of pediatric mature B-ALL in female patients respectively aged 15 months, 4 years, and 4 months.

The combination effects of bendamustine with antimetabolites against childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells.

Bendamustine combined with other drugs is clinically efficacious for some adult lymphoid malignancies, but to date there are no reports of the use of such combinatorial approaches in pediatric patients. We investigated the in vitro activity of bendamustine combined with other antimetabolite drugs on B cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (BCP-ALL) cell lines established from pediatric patients with refractory or relapsed ALL. We also developed a mathematically drown improved isobologram method to assess the data objectively.

Bisphenol A exposure disrupts the development of the locus coeruleus-noradrenergic system in mice.

It has been reported that bisphenol A (BPA), a widespread xenoestrogen employed in the production of polycarbonate plastics, affects brain development in both humans and rodents. In the present study employing mice, we examined the effects of exposure to BPA (500 μg/kg/day) during fetal and lactational periods on the development of the locus coeruleus (LC) at the age of embryonic day 18 (E18), postnatal 3 weeks (P3W), P8W and P16W. The number of tyrosine hydroxylase-immunoreactive cells (TH-IR cells) in females exposed to BPA was decreased, compared with the control females at P3W.

Pain management during bone marrow aspiration and biopsy in pediatric cancer patients.

Background: The pain associated with bone marrow aspiration and biopsy (BMAB) has an enormous impact on pediatric cancer patients and their families, but no specific reference standards for sedation and analgesia have been developed in Japan. To determine the problems associated with pain management during BMAB, a cross-sectional investigation was conducted.

Methods: A survey was sent in October 2011 to data managers in institutions belonging to the Tokyo Children's Cancer Study Group, addressing the non-pharmacological and pharmacological pain management for BMAB performed on pediatric cancer inpatients between January 2010 and December 2010.

Influence of pre-hydration and pharmacogenetics on plasma methotrexate concentration and renal dysfunction following high-dose methotrexate therapy.

High-dose methotrexate therapy (HD-MTX) has been well established for the treatment of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The aims of this study were to investigate whether clinical and pharmacogenetic factors influence plasma MTX concentration and renal dysfunction in patients treated with HD-MTX. In a total of 127 courses of HD-MTX in 51 patients with childhood ALL, influence of clinical and pharmacogenetic factors on plasma MTX concentration and HD-MTX-related renal dysfunction was evaluated.

Secondary cancers among children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia treated by the Tokyo Children's Cancer Study Group protocols: a retrospective cohort study.

With improvement in survival, it is important to evaluate the impact of treatment on secondary cancers in acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) survivors. A retrospective cohort study comprising 2918 children diagnosed with ALL and enrolled on Tokyo Children's Cancer Study Group (TCCSG) protocols between 1984 and 2005 was conducted to evaluate the incidence of secondary cancers and associated factors including treatment protocol, cranial irradiation and other characteristics of the primary ALL. Thirty-seven patients developed secondary cancers, including acute myeloid leukaemia (n = 11), myelodysplastic syndrome (n = 5), non-Hodgkin lymphoma (n = 2), brain tumours (n = 13) and other solid carcinomas (n = 6) within a median follow-up duration of 9·5 years.

Methylated chrysin reduced cell proliferation, but antagonized cytotoxicity of other anticancer drugs in acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

The efficacy of 5,7-dimethoxyflavone (DMF), a methylated analog of chrysin, as a therapeutic agent to treat acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) was investigated. Using a panel of ALL cell lines, the IC50 (half-maximal inhibitory concentration) of DMF varied between 2.8 and 7.

Serum sickness with an elevated level of human anti-chimeric antibody following treatment with rituximab in a child with chronic immune thrombocytopenic purpura.

Rituximab, a chimeric murine/human monoclonal anti-CD20 antibody, was licensed for the treatment of B-cell lymphoma and has also shown efficacy against autoimmune diseases such as immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). It is relatively safe; however, about 1-20% of patients were reported to have developed rituximab-induced serum sickness, which is more common among patients with autoimmune conditions than among those with hematologic malignancies. Here we describe a pediatric patient with steroid-dependent chronic ITP who presented with arthralgia and fever ten days after the second infusion of rituximab (on day 10), and presented with malaise and maculopapular rash on day 21.

[A case of primary unknown cancer responding to CDGP/S-1].

A 77-year-old woman visited our hospital with the chief complaint of left supraclavicular lymph node redness and swelling. Needle biopsy revealed metastatic, epithelial, undifferentiated carcinoma. However, the primary tumor remained unknown despite further thorough examinations, FDG-PET showed abnormal FDG accumulation at the lymph nodes of para-aortic and left external iliac artery area in addition to left supraclavicular lymph node.

Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis in very young infants.

We report three cases of hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) in infants within the first 6 weeks of life. Diagnosis of HLH was made early after symptoms started. All three cases were successfully treated with dexamethasone and none relapsed, indicating that not all cases of HLH in very young infants are familial.

Long-term follow-up of busulfan, etoposide, and nimustine hydrochloride (ACNU) or melphalan as conditioning regimens for childhood acute leukemia and lymphoma.

We retrospectively evaluated early and long-term complications of an intensified conditioning regimen consisting of busulfan and etoposide in combination with either nimustine hydrochloride (ACNU) (BVA regimen, n = 18) or melphalan (BVL regimen, n = 34) in 52 children with acute leukemia or non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. With a median follow-up of 13.2 years after the BVA regimen and 8.