Efficacy of pembrolizumab in microsatellite-stable, tumor mutational burden-high metastatic colorectal cancer: genomic signatures and clinical outcomes.

Background: Pembrolizumab, an immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI), shows significant survival benefits in patients with microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), but its efficacy in microsatellite-stable (MSS) mCRC is limited. Although ICIs are effective in tumor mutational burden-high (TMB-H) solid tumors, the impact on MSS-TMB-H mCRC, a rare subset within MSS mCRC, remains unclear.

Materials And Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis using clinical and genomic data from the Center for Cancer Genomics and Advanced Therapeutics (C-CAT) repository in Japan.

Development of the Japanese Anticholinergic Risk Scale: English translation of the Japanese article.

Background: Anticholinergic burden, reflecting the cumulative impact of medications with anticholinergic properties, significantly predicts adverse drug reactions and geriatric syndromes in older adults. Although anticholinergic risk scales (ARS) have been developed and validated in various countries, none have been tailored specifically for Japan. The Japanese Anticholinergic Risk Scale (JARS) was developed to adapt the existing ARS frameworks to the Japanese context, considering unique medication profiles and cultural factors.

Two-staged hybrid repair of multiple great vessel and thoracic aneurysms with right vocal fold palsy using retrograde in situ branched stent grafting: a case report.

Background: Repair of multiple thoracic aneurysms with vocal fold palsy represents a surgical challenge. Here, we present a case of multiple cervical and thoracic aortic aneurysms with right vocal fold palsy successfully treated with two-stage hybrid repair using retrograde in situ branched grafting.

Case Presentation: A 52-year-old patient with multiple cervical and thoracic aortic aneurysms and right vocal fold palsy was treated using two-stage hybrid repair.

Housing Adaptations and Long-Term Care Facility Admissions among Older Adults with Care Needs in Japan.

Objectives: Housing adaptations may contribute to aging in place for older adults with care needs by reducing the risk of long-term care facility (LTCF) admissions, but this association remains unclear. We examined the association between housing adaptations and LTCF admissions among older adults with care needs.

Design: Retrospective cohort study using data from a Japanese municipality.

Prognostic significance of LAT1 expression in pleural mesothelioma.

Background: The L-type amino acid transporter (LAT1) exhibits significantly increased expression within tumor cells across various neoplasms. However, the clinical significance of LAT1 expression in patients with pleural mesothelioma (PM) remains unclear.

Methods: Eighty patients diagnosed with PM between June 2007 and August 2022, were eligible for this study.

Characteristics to consider for home pharmaceutical care for older adults who initiate visiting pharmacist services in Japan.

This study aimed to clarify patient characteristics regarding medication-taking behaviors, their understanding of medication instructions and specific medication management for older adults who initiated visiting pharmacist services. By analyzing long-term care certification data, participants using visiting pharmacist services required more medication-taking support and had a poorer understanding of daily schedules.

Preimplantation Genetic Testing of Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 3/Machado-Joseph Disease-Robust Tools for Direct and Indirect Detection of the (CAG) Repeat Expansion.

Spinocerebellar ataxia type 3/Machado-Joseph disease (SCA3/MJD) is a neurodegenerative disorder caused by the CAG repeat expansion. Preimplantation genetic testing for monogenic disorders (PGT-M) of SCA3/MJD should include reliable repeat expansion detection coupled with high-risk allele determination using informative linked markers. One couple underwent SCA3/MJD PGT-M combining (CAG) triplet-primed PCR (TP-PCR) with customized linkage-based risk allele genotyping on whole-genome-amplified trophectoderm cells.

[Emergent Off-pump Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting in a Patient with Situs Inversus Totalis: Report of a Case].

Dextrocardia associated with situs inversus totalis is a rare congenital anomaly. We herein report a patient with this condition and ischemic coronay artery disease who underwent emergency surgical myocardial revascularization. A 76-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with a diagnosis of unstable angina pectoris.

Impact of Genomic Alterations on Efficacy of Trastuzumab Deruxtecan Against Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor-2-Positive Advanced Gastric Cancer.

Purpose: The impact of genomic alterations on response and resistance to trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd) has not been elucidated. Thus, we sought to identify factors predicting sensitivity to T-DXd in gastric or gastroesophageal junction (G/GEJ) cancer.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective study using real-world clinical data and next-generation sequencing-based comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) data from patients with advanced G/GEJ cancers, collected by the nationwide database in Japan.

Clinicopathological Significance and Prognostic Role of High Mobility Group Box 1 (HMGB1), Toll-Like Receptor (TLR) 2 and TLR4 in Breast Cancer.

High-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) functions as damage-associated molecular pattern (DAMPs), released into extracellular space during cellular stress. Extracellular HMGB1 act as signal molecules through Toll-like receptor (TLR) 2 or TLR4, exerting diverse functions in both normal cells and malignant cells including breast cancer. However, their comprehensive examination in breast cancer tissues is lacking.

Pulmonary pleomorphic carcinoma arising in mixed squamous and glandular papilloma: A case report.

Solitary pulmonary papillomas (SPPs) are rare lung neoplasms. Histologically, SPP is classified into three subtypes, and mixed squamous and glandular papilloma (MP) is the rarest subtype. Although SPPs are considered benign tumors, there have been several reports on the synchronous malignant transformation in SPPs.

Interaction of Cyclodextrins with Amphiphilic Alternating Cooligomers Possessing the Dense Triazole Backbone.

The interaction of cyclodextrins (CDs) with structure-controlled polymers is expected to provide significant insights into macromolecular recognition. However, the interaction of CDs with structure-controlled polymers has been an underexamined issue of investigation. Herein, alternating amphiphilic cooligomers (oligoCAH, where denotes the carbon number of alkyl groups; = 4, 8, and 12) were synthesized by copper(I)-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition polymerization of heterodimers of 4-azido-5-hexynoic acid (AH) derivatives carrying -alkylamide and -butyl (tBu) ester side chains, followed by hydrolysis of the tBu ester, to study the interaction of CDs with oligoCAH by H NMR, nuclear Overhauser effect spectroscopy, and pulse-field-gradient spin-echo NMR.

A mixed-methods study on the pharmacological management of pain in Australian and Japanese nursing homes.

Background: Understanding how analgesics are used in different countries can inform initiatives to improve the pharmacological management of pain in nursing homes.

Aims: To compare patterns of analgesic use among Australian and Japanese nursing home residents; and explore Australian and Japanese healthcare professionals' perspectives on analgesic use.

Methods: Part one involved a cross-sectional comparison among residents from 12 nursing homes in South Australia (N = 550) in 2019 and four nursing homes in Tokyo (N = 333) in 2020.

Kagimminols A and B, Cembrene-Type Diterpenes from an sp. Marine Cyanobacterium.

Kagimminols A () and B (), new cembrene-type diterpenoids, were isolated from an sp. marine cyanobacterium. By combining DP4 analysis with an efficient NMR chemical shift calculation protocol, we clarified the relative configurations of and without consuming precious natural products.

Factors associated with the introduction of visiting-pharmacist services in older adults in Japan: A nested case-control study.

Aim: To investigate the factors associated with introducing visiting-pharmacist services for community-dwelling older adults in Japan.

Methods: We conducted a nested case-control study using claims data in a cohort from a city in Tokyo. Patients aged ≥65 years who received visiting-pharmacist services for the first time between April 2014 and March 2020 were considered case patients.

Literature Review of Studies Using the National Database of the Health Insurance Claims of Japan (NDB): Limitations and Strategies in Using the NDB for Research.

The use of the National Database of Health Insurance Claims and Specific Health Checkups of Japan (NDB) for research has increased over time. Researchers need to understand the characteristics of the data to generate quality-assured evidence from the NDB. In this review, we mapped and characterized the limitations and related strategies using the NDB for research based on the descriptions of published NDB studies.

Integrin-Dependent Transient Density Increase in Detergent-Resistant Membrane Rafts in Platelets Activated by Thrombin.

Platelet lipid rafts are critical membrane domains for adhesion, aggregation, and clot retraction. Lipid rafts are isolated as a detergent-resistant membrane fraction via sucrose density gradient centrifugation. The platelet detergent-resistant membrane shifted to a higher density on the sucrose density gradient upon thrombin stimulation.

Symptomatic and preventive medication use according to age and frailty in Australian and Japanese nursing homes.

Objective: To investigate symptomatic and preventive medication use according to age and frailty in Australian and Japanese nursing homes (NHs).

Methods: Secondary cross-sectional analyses of two prospective cohort studies involving 12 Australian NHs and four Japanese NHs. Frailty was measured using the FRAIL-NH scale (non-frail 0-2; frail 3-6; most-frail 7-14).

Survival outcomes including salvage therapy of adult head and neck para-meningeal rhabdomyosarcoma: a multicenter retrospective study from Japan.

Background: Rhabdomyosarcoma is the most common soft tissue sarcoma in children, but rare in adults. Para-meningeal rhabdomyosarcoma in head and neck (PM-HNRMS) is less applicable for surgery due to the anatomic reason. PM-HNRMS has a poor prognosis in children.

A Th1-like CD4 T-cell Cluster That Predicts Disease-free Survival in Early-stage Lung Cancer.

Unlabelled: Perioperative immune checkpoint inhibitors have been shown to improve prognosis in early-stage lung cancer. However, no biomarkers are known to indicate the requirement for treatment. This study aimed to identify T-cell clusters responsible for antitumor immunity in patients with early-stage lung cancer.

Effects of paddy irrigation-drainage system on water quality and productivity of small rivers in the Himi region of Toyama, Central Japan.

The aim of this study was to clarify the impact of differences between historical and recently introduced irrigation and drainage management systems on water quality in the rivers around paddy fields. We investigated the seasonal variation in nutrients concentration and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) components in single- (used for intake only) and dual-purpose (used for both intake and drainage) channels during a 4-year period in the Himi region of Toyama, Central Japan. The system of dual-purpose channel has traditionally been used in the region of this study.