Prognostic significance of oxygen saturation/fraction of inspired oxygen 3 days after initiation of tocilizumab treatment in patients with COVID-19.

Background: Tocilizumab is effective in treating severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, the specific time point it acts as a valid indicator of treatment efficacy remains unclear. This study aimed to determine the optimal day for assessing the prognostic value of the oxygen saturation/fraction of inspired oxygen (SpO/FiO) and ratio of respiratory rate-oxygenation (ROX) index in patients receiving tocilizumab for COVID-19.

Suitability of frozen cell pellets from cytology specimens for the Amoy 9-in-1 assay in patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

Background: The AmoyDx Pan lung cancer PCR panel (AmoyDx PLC panel) has been approved as a companion diagnostic tool for multiple anticancer agents in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, the suitability of cytology specimens as samples for the AmoyDx PLC panel remains unclear. We evaluated the performance of frozen cell pellets from cytology specimens (FCPs) in the Amoy 9-in-1 assay, a preapproval assay of the AmoyDx PLC panel.

Concordance of ALK fusion gene-rearrangement between immunohistochemistry and next-generation sequencing.

Background: Although various companion diagnostic tests of ALK fusion gene-rearrangement are approved, few reports have assessed the concordance of ALK fusion gene-rearrangement in two companion diagnostic tests: next-generation sequencing (NGS) testing and immunohistochemistry (IHC).

Methods: The samples evaluated for gene alterations using NGS testing between May 2019 and November 2021 were included in this study. The inclusion criteria were as follows: samples were diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer; the results of the NGS analysis were informative; and samples had residual specimens for IHC.

Continuous vs. Fixed 2-year Duration Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Treatment of Patients With Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Single Institution Database Analysis.

Introduction/background: The proper duration of immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) treatment for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains unclear. Previously, sponsor-initiated clinical trials have more often used either a maximum 2-year fixed duration of ICI treatment or continuous treatment until documented disease progression. The study aimed to evaluate the association between ICI treatment duration (2-year fixed or continuous) and prognosis in patients with advanced NSCLC.

Retrospective Analysis of the Incidence of Drug-Induced Interstitial Lung Disease by Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors and Survival in Patients Aged 75 Years or Older with Lung Cancer.

Introduction: To date, the appropriate epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs) for patients aged ≥75 years with advanced mutation-positive, nonsmall cell lung cancer remain unknown.

Methods: This study included a total of 89 patients aged ≥75 years who were diagnosed with mutation-positive, nonsmall cell lung cancer and treated with EGFR-TKIs at the Tokyo Metropolitan Geriatric Hospital and Nihon University ITABASHI Hospital from 2009 to 2020. The patients were classified into five groups based on their treatment: gefitinib (n = 23), erlotinib (n = 4), afatinib (n = 3), first-line osimertinib (n = 23), and TKI to TKI (n = 36).

Efficacy and safety of carboplatin and etoposide in older extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer patients with a poor performance status.

Carboplatin plus etoposide is a standard treatment for older extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC) patients with performance status (PS) 2. However, older patients often exhibit poor PS (3, 4), and the treatment effect in them is poorly understood. To determine the therapeutic efficacy and safety of carboplatin plus etoposide therapy for this population, we retrospectively analyzed 63 patients with ES-SCLC with PS ≥2, aged ≥71 years, who had received first-line carboplatin plus etoposide therapy.

Analysis of the impact of non-compulsory measures on human mobility in Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic.

To curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, countries around the world have imposed restrictions on their population. This study quantitatively assessed the impact of non-compulsory measures on human mobility in Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic, through the analysis of large-scale anonymized mobile-phone data. The non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) method was used to analyze mobile statistics data from the Tokyo area.

Successful treatment of refractory brain metastases from ALK-positive lung cancer with lorlatinib.

A 44-year-old woman with ALK-positive advanced adenocarcinoma of the lung was treated with crizotinib, and the lung lesions disappeared. The patient was treated with alectinib and chemotherapy, but brain metastases worsened; therefore, we performed an ALK resistance gene mutation test using plasma samples. Since no ALK resistance gene mutations were detected, we speculated that ALK inhibitors failed to achieve therapeutic effects due to poor transport to the central nervous system.

Incidence and risk factors for hyperkalaemia in patients treated for COVID-19 with nafamostat mesylate.

What Is Known And Objective: Nafamostat mesylate (NM) is used clinically in combination with antiviral drugs to treat coronavirus disease (COVID-19). One of the adverse events of NM is hyperkalaemia due to inhibition of the amiloride-sensitive sodium channels (ENaC). The incidence and risk factors for hyperkalaemia due to NM have been studied in patients with pancreatitis but not in COVID-19.

Long-term outcomes in extensive disease small cell lung cancer patients treated without immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Objective: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) combined with chemotherapy have been approved as first-line treatment for patients with untreated extensive disease-small cell lung cancer (ED-SCLC). However, there are few reports about the long-term outcomes in patients with ED-SCLC treated without ICIs. Thus, we analyzed the long-term outcomes in patients with ED-SCLC.

Genomic analysis between idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and associated lung cancer using laser-assisted microdissection: A case report.

Lung cancer (LC) is the most fatal complication of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). However, the molecular pathogenesis of the development of LC from IPF is still unclear. Here, we report a case of IPF-associated LC for which we investigated the genetic alterations between IPF and LC.

False-positive cases in multiple sleep latency test by accumulated sleep debt.

Purpose: Multiple sleep latency test (MSLT) is performed as objective assessment of sleepiness, on the following day after polysomnography (PSG). In most clinics, patients are required to stay for 2 days. However, if patients have chronic sleep debt before the examination, even if they get adequate nocturnal sleep during the initial PSG, their sleep debt would not be fully resolved, affecting MSLT results.