Publications by authors named "Shu Yazaki"
Despite the importance of genetic testing for risk assessment and treatment in breast cancer, the prognostic impact of germline pathogenic variants (PVs), especially in Asian populations, is unclear. We assessed the impact of germline PVs in patients with early-stage breast cancer. This study included 7278 Japanese multihospital registry patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Biomarkers to predict the recurrence risk are required to optimize perioperative treatment. Adjuvant chemotherapy for patients with human epidermal growth factor 2-positive (HER2-positive) early breast cancer is decided by pathological responses of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). However, whether pathological responses are appropriate biomarkers is unclear.
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- This study focused on the effectiveness of eribulin and capecitabine in treating advanced breast cancer patients with HER2-low expression after prior treatments with anthracyclines and taxanes.
- No significant differences were found in overall survival or progression-free survival rates between patients receiving eribulin and those receiving capecitabine, regardless of their HER2 status.
- The response rates varied, with eribulin showing slightly better effectiveness in hormone-positive patients compared to capecitabine, but no responses were observed in hormone-negative patients for either treatment.
Article Synopsis
- Folate receptor α (FRα) is a promising target for treating cervical cancer, with high FRα expression found in 72.4% of studied patients, particularly in non-squamous cell carcinomas (non-SCC).
- The study analyzed samples from 123 cervical cancer patients, assessing FRα and PD-L1 expression, finding a weak correlation between FRα and PD-L1 levels along with CD8-positive cell counts.
- High FRα expression was linked to worse patient outcomes, especially in those with low PD-L1 expression (CPS <10), suggesting that targeting FRα could be an effective treatment strategy for patients with cervical cancer who exhibit low PD-L1 levels.
Objective: Trophoblast Cell Surface Antigen 2 (Trop-2) is a transmembrane glycoprotein that is overexpressed in various cancers, with immunological significance as a target for tumor-reactive T-cells. We aimed to investigate the association between the expression of Trop-2 and the tumor immune microenvironment in cervical cancer.
Methods: The study included 123 patients with cervical cancer who underwent primary surgery between 2000 and 2020 in our hospital.
Importance: The association of tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) abundance in breast cancer tissue with cancer recurrence and death in patients with early-stage triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) who are not treated with adjuvant or neoadjuvant chemotherapy is unclear.
Objective: To study the association of TIL abundance in breast cancer tissue with survival among patients with early-stage TNBC who were treated with locoregional therapy but no chemotherapy.
Design, Setting, And Participants: Retrospective pooled analysis of individual patient-level data from 13 participating centers in North America (Rochester, Minnesota; Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada), Europe (Paris, Lyon, and Villejuif, France; Amsterdam and Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Milan, Padova, and Genova, Italy; Gothenburg, Sweden), and Asia (Tokyo, Japan; Seoul, Korea), including 1966 participants diagnosed with TNBC between 1979 and 2017 (with follow-up until September 27, 2021) who received treatment with surgery with or without radiotherapy but no adjuvant or neoadjuvant chemotherapy.
Article Synopsis
- The study examined skeletal-related events (SREs) in 146 patients with Ewing sarcoma, finding that 23 patients experienced SREs over a median observation period of 2.6 years.
- Risk factors for SREs included bone metastasis at diagnosis, bone marrow invasion, and local progression or recurrence, suggesting those factors significantly increase the likelihood of SREs occurring.
- The results indicate that SREs are common during Ewing sarcoma treatment, particularly malignant spinal cord compression, highlighting the need for careful monitoring in high-risk patients.
Background: Patients with cancer, particularly those undergoing chemotherapy, are at risk from the low immunogenicity of Coronavirus Disease 19 (COVID-19) vaccines.
Methods: This prospective study assessed the seroconversion rate of COVID-19 vaccines among patients with cancer and hospital staff. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike protein-specific IgG (S-IgG) concentrations were evaluated before the first vaccination, and 1-3 and 4-6 months after the second vaccination.
Article Synopsis
- * Results showed high concordance in PD-L1 positivity for primary tumors (κ = 0.80) but only moderate for metastatic tumors (κ = 0.60); however, there was poor agreement between primary and metastatic tumors when using the SP142 assay (κ = -0.03).
- * Many patients who tested negative for PD-L1 in their primary tumors may still have positive results in their metastatic tumors, suggesting they could
Background: Although cervical cancer is often characterized as preventable, its incidence continues to increase in low- and middle-income countries, underscoring the need to develop novel therapeutics for this disease.This study assessed the distribution of fusion genes across cancer types and used an RNA-based classification to divide cervical cancer patients with a poor prognosis into subgroups.
Material And Methods: RNA sequencing of 116 patients with cervical cancer was conducted.
Objective: Folate receptor alpha (FRα), which is expressed in various cancers, is a potential therapeutic target. However, its expression and clinical significance in uterine (UCS) and ovarian carcinosarcoma (OCS) remain to be elucidated.
Methods: This retrospective study included patients with gynecologic carcinosarcoma who underwent primary surgery between 1997 and 2019 at our institution.
Purpose: To determine a recommended dose of liposomal eribulin (E7389-LF) in combination with nivolumab in patients with advanced solid tumors, and to evaluate the safety, efficacy, pharmacokinetics, and biomarker impact of this regimen.
Experimental Design: Japanese patients with advanced, nonresectable, or recurrent solid tumors and no existing alternative standard/effective therapy (except nivolumab monotherapy) were assigned to either E7389-LF 1.7 mg/m plus nivolumab 360 mg every 3 weeks, E7389-LF 2.
Prognostic value of hematologic indices and their association with the tumor microenvironment (TME) remain unclear in advanced soft tissue sarcoma (STS). We aimed to evaluate their prognostic value and correlation with the TME status in advanced STS treated with first-line doxorubicin (DXR) therapy. Clinical data and three hematological indices, including lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio, and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, were collected from 149 patients with advanced STS.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlthough circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA)-based next-generation sequencing (NGS) is a less invasive method for assessing mutations that are essential mechanisms of endocrine therapy resistance in patients with oestrogen receptor-positive breast cancer, adequate amounts of DNA are required to assess polyclonal mutations. By combining a peptide nucleic acid and locked nucleic acid polymerase chain reaction (PNA-LNA PCR) clamping assay, we have developed a novel detection system to screen for polyclonal mutations in ctDNA. A validation assay was prospectively performed on clinical samples and compared with the NGS results.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Given the rarity of cutaneous/subcutaneous Ewing sarcoma, their clinical characteristics remain poorly understood. In this study, we aimed to analyse the clinical characteristics of patients with cutaneous/subcutaneous Ewing sarcoma and review the treatment strategy.
Methods: We reviewed the clinical data of 154 patients with Ewing sarcoma who were treated at our hospital between 2005 and 2019.
Article Synopsis
- Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) lacks hormone receptors and HER2, with limited clinical trial data on stage I cases; recent studies suggest differing prognoses between HER2-low and HER2-0 subtypes.
- A retrospective analysis of 42 stage I TNBC patients revealed that 11 were HER2-low and 31 were HER2-0, with median follow-up of over 10 years.
- Results showed HER2-low cases had significantly worse disease-free survival and a tendency for poorer overall survival compared to HER2-0 cases, confirming HER2 as a prognostic factor in early-stage TNBC.
Background: Human epidermal growth factor receptor-3 (HER3) is a member of the epidermal growth factor receptor family of receptor tyrosine kinases, and its overexpression is associated with inferior prognosis in several cancers. However, it is unclear whether HER3 expression status changes in tumor tissue at recurrence. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the changes in HER3 expression between primary and recurrent status in gynecological cancers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Chemotherapy and radiotherapy were postulated to induce an inflamed tumour microenvironment. We aimed to evaluate the effects of adjuvant chemotherapy/radiotherapy on tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression in metastatic breast cancer.
Methods: We identified paired primary and metastatic tumours in 85 patients with breast cancer.
Article Synopsis
- Mesothelin (MSLN) is a protein found in many types of tumors, including cervical cancer, and researchers wanted to see how it relates to cancer survival.
- The study looked at 123 patients who had cervical cancer and found that 98.4% of their tumors expressed MSLN, with high levels more common in non-squamous cell carcinoma (non-SCC) types.
- Patients with high MSLN levels had a shorter survival time compared to those with low levels, suggesting that MSLN could be important for understanding and treating cervical cancer.
Article Synopsis
- Stromal tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) are important independent prognostic factors for untreated early-stage triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), alongside other immune markers like CD8, PD-L1, and tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS).
- A study of 125 TNBC patients found that including CD8 and PD-L1 in prognostic models significantly improved predictions for patient outcomes compared to using TILs alone.
- High levels of CD8 were linked to better prognosis, while PD-L1 positivity indicated worse outcomes, suggesting that these biomarkers could refine prognostic assessments and guide future clinical trials in TNBC treatment.
Objective: Folate receptor α (FRα) is a membrane protein expressed in various solid tumors but has limited expression in normal cells. Therefore, FRα is an attractive target for cancer treatment. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between FRα expression and the clinicopathological characteristics and survivals of cervical cancer.
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- Routine measurement of tumor markers isn't typically recommended for patients with cancer of unknown primary (CUP), but this study aimed to assess their diagnostic usefulness in grouping patients into favorable or unfavorable categories.
- A review of medical records from patients diagnosed with CUP revealed that among the 199 patients analyzed, 90 were confirmed as having CUP, with only 12 classified in the favorable subset.
- Notably, while no tumor markers achieved 100% sensitivity for unfavorable subsets, ST439 and STN exhibited 100% specificity for identifying these unfavorable cases, suggesting tailored treatment strategies for those with elevated levels.
Introduction: Synovial sarcoma (SS) predominantly affects adolescents and young adults. Doxorubicin with or without ifosfamide therapy is the standard first-line treatment for unresectable or metastatic SS. However, there is no standard second-line chemotherapy regimen.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Eribulin or capecitabine monotherapy is the next cytotoxic chemotherapy option for patients with metastatic or recurrent breast cancer who have previously received an anthracycline or a taxane. However, it is unclear what factors can guide the selection of eribulin or capecitabine in this setting, and prognostic factors are needed to guide appropriate treatment selection. The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is a prognostic factor for eribulin-treated patients, although it is unclear whether it is a prognostic factor for capecitabine-treated patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImportance: Patients with cancer and health care workers (HCWs) are at high risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Assessing the antibody status of patients with cancer and HCWs can help understand the spread of COVID-19 in cancer care.
Objective: To evaluate serum SARS-CoV-2 antibody status in patients with cancer and HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan.