Publications by authors named "Toru Narusaka"

Esophageal cancer is one of the most aggressive tumors, and the outcome remains poor. One contributing factor is the presence of tumors that are less responsive or have increased malignancy when treated with conventional chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or a combination of these. Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) play an important role in the tumor microenvironment.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) contribute significantly to tumor growth and immunosuppression, largely influenced by interleukin-6 (IL-6), which is linked to a more aggressive tumor environment.
  • - Anti-IL-6 receptor antibodies were investigated as a potential systemic therapy to counteract the effects of IL-6 and CAFs, demonstrating the ability to inhibit tumor progression in mouse models by regulating the activation of HIF1α, a key factor in cell growth and survival.
  • - Clinical findings revealed a strong correlation between IL-6 expression and worse patient outcomes, indicating that targeting IL-6 could potentially enhance cancer treatment by alleviating immune suppression and improving survival rates.
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Article Synopsis
  • Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are crucial for tumor progression, and a new therapy called dual-targeted near-infrared photoimmunotherapy (NIR-PIT) targets both cancer cells and CAFs to improve treatment effectiveness.
  • A study involving 132 esophageal cancer cases found that high levels of markers like epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and fibroblast activation protein (FAP) were linked to poorer patient survival, while HER2 status showed no significant effect.
  • Dual-targeted NIR-PIT demonstrated more effective tumor suppression and improved outcomes in experimental models compared to single-targeted NIR-PIT, suggesting it could be a promising strategy for cancer therapy.
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Introduction: Difficult laparoscopic cholecystectomy (DLC) may increase the risk of complications and extend the duration of hospitalization. The aims of this study were to evaluate the predictive value of C-reactive protein/albumin ratio (CAR) for DLC in patients with acute cholecystitis (AC) diagnosed according to the Tokyo Guidelines 2018 and to develop a preoperative predictive model for DLC.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 205 patients who had laparoscopic cholecystectomy for AC between January 2012 and December 2020.

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Background: The prognostic nutritional index, a marker of nutritional status and systemic inflammation, is a known biomarker for various cancers. However, few studies have evaluated the predictive value of the prognostic nutritional index in patients with biliary tract cancer. Therefore, we investigated the prognostic significance of the prognostic nutritional index, and developed a risk-stratification system to identify prognostic factors in patients with biliary tract cancer.

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Introduction: We evaluated the prognostic significance of the preoperative albumin-to-globulin ratio (AGR) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with various liver etiologies.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 157 patients with HCC between July 2010 and February 2021. The relationship between clinicopathological variables was investigated using univariate and multivariate analyses.

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Background/aim: Inflammation-based prognostic scores are proven prognostic biomarkers in various cancers. This study aimed to identify a useful prognostic score for patients with biliary tract cancer (BTC) after surgical resection.

Patients And Methods: This retrospective study recruited 115 patients with BTC during 2010-2020.

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Esophageal cancer is a disease showing poor prognosis. Although combination chemotherapy using cisplatin (CDDP) and 5-fluorouracil is standard for unresectable esophageal cancer, the response rate is 35%. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) and inflammation are reportedly responsible for the poor prognosis of esophageal cancer.

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Excess iron causes cancer and is thought to be related to carcinogenesis and cancer progression including stemness, but the details remain unclear. Here, we hypothesized that stemness in cancer is related to iron metabolism and that regulating iron metabolism in cancer stem cells (CSCs) may be a novel therapy. In this study, we used murine induced pluripotent stem cells that expressed specific stem cell genes such as , , , , and , and two human cancer cell lines with similar stem cell gene expression.

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We report a rare case of metastatic colon cancer that occurred after gastric cancer surgery. The patient was a 63-year- old man who had received distal gastrectomy for type 2 advanced gastric cancer, which was a moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma, pT4a (SE),pN0, P0, CY0, M0, and Stage IIB. He was treated with S-1 for 1 year after the operation.

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