Changes in surgical versus nonsurgical treatments for gastrointestinal cancers during the COVID-19 pandemic: a nationwide analysis in Japan.

Purpose: To investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the treatment landscape of gastrointestinal cancers in Japan, focusing on the use of nonsurgical treatments.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using a nationwide insurance database and analyzed data for esophageal, gastric, colon, rectal, liver, and pancreatic cancers treated between July, 2019 and December, 2020. We calculated the surgical-to-nonsurgical-treatment ratio (SNR) for each type of cancer during the pandemic and defined April, 2020 as the pandemic onset.

Soymilk yogurt prepared using TOKAI 759m ameliorates cognitive function through gut microbiota modulation in high-fat diet mice.

Recent studies have confirmed that obesity leads to neuroinflammation and cognitive decline. This study aimed to examine whether soymilk yogurt prepared using TOKAI 759m could prevent cognitive decline and neuroinflammation progression in mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD). C57BL/6NJcl male mice were grouped according to the following dietary interventions and monitored for 15 weeks: (1) normal control diet, (2) HFD, (3) HFD with soymilk (SM), (4) HFD with soymilk yogurt (SY), and (5) HFD with bacterial cells of the starter strain (BC).

Patient and Health Care Professional Perspectives on the Burden and Daily Life Impact of Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn's Disease: Results from the Japanese CONFIDE Study.

Introduction: The global Communicating Needs and Features of Inflammatory Bowel Disease Experiences (CONFIDE) study aimed to evaluate the impact of ulcerative colitis (UC)- and Crohn's disease (CD)-related symptoms on patients' lives and elucidate communication gaps between patients and health care professionals (HCPs). We report the findings from the study in patients with UC or CD and HCPs in Japan.

Methods: Online, quantitative, cross-sectional surveys were conducted in Japan for patients with moderate-to-severe UC or CD and HCPs responsible for the care of patients with UC and/or CD.

Extreme surgery using the hypothermic perfusion technique for conventionally unresectable abdominal malignant tumours: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Extreme surgery using the hypothermic perfusion technique is often the only treatment option to achieve R0 resection and long-term prognosis for abdominal tumours that are either conventionally unresectable or contraindicated to allotransplantation. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to delineate the indications and outcomes of extreme surgery.

Materials And Methods: Human studies on extreme resection for abdominal malignant tumours were searched among five databases between January 1988 to March 2023.

Indications and recipient outcomes of adult left lobe living donor liver transplantation.

Adult left lobe living donor liver transplantation has long been practiced nearly exclusively in Japan. To overcome the potential risks of small-for-size syndrome and hepatic venous outflow obstruction associated with the use of left lobe grafts, center-specific countermeasures such as splenectomy, meticulous hepatic venous reconstruction, and inclusion of the caudate lobe have been implemented, resulting in short- and long-term results comparable with those of right lobe graft in high-volume centers. A recent systematic review and meta-analysis confirmed these observations; however, the indications and techniques of adult left lobe living donor liver transplantation have yet to be standardized.