Use of Ibrutinib in 10 Patients with Treatment-Naïve or Relapsed/Refractory Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia/Small Lymphocytic Lymphoma in Real-World Clinical Practice -A Report from a Single Medical Institution.

Unlabelled: In Japan, ibrutinib has been approved as both a front-line and later-line treatment for chronic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma(CLL/SLL). However, little is known about the actual outcomes and adverse events(AEs)associated with the use of ibrutinib in Japanese patients.

Objective: The outcomes and AEs of patients treated with ibrutinib in a real-world setting were investigated.

Low‒Risk Essential Thrombocythemia Who Presented with Recurrent Episodes of Cerebral Hemorrhage during Pregnancy and Developed Cerebral Infarction during Puerperium.

A 42‒year‒old woman. At week 27 of pregnancy, she developed subcortical hemorrhage and underwent open cranial surgery for hematoma evacuation. The platelet(Plt)count was 297,000/μL.

The Current Status of Screening for Essential Thrombocythemia and Polycythemia Vera in Clinical Practice-Report from a Single Institution.

Objective: We investigate the current status of screening for essential thrombocythemia(ET)and polycythemia vera(PV), at our hospital.

Methods: According to the World Health Organization(WHO)diagnostic criteria.

Patients: All patients who visited Juntendo University Urayasu Hospital between May 1984(when the hospital opened)and January 2019.

Threshold for optimal administration of plerixafor in autologous peripheral blood stem cell collections through CD34+ cell monitoring based on the experience from two Japanese university hospitals.

Plerixafor was introduced to Japan in 2017 as a stem cell mobilization enhancement reagent, but the threshold for its use remains unclear. In this study, we assessed 57 patients treated with plerixafor (33 patients with multiple myeloma (MM) and 24 with malignant lymphoma (ML) and 152 patients without plerixafor administration. When CD34+ cell pre-counts were between 5.

Risk of secondary osteoporosis due to lobular cholestasis in non-cirrhotic primary biliary cholangitis.

Background And Aim: It remains unclear whether primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) represents a risk factor for secondary osteoporosis.

Methods: A case-control study was conducted to examine bone mineral density and bone turnover markers in middle-aged postmenopausal PBC patients without liver cirrhosis. We compared the incidence of low bone mineral density between propensity-score matched subgroups of PBC patients and healthy controls and investigated the mechanisms underlying unbalanced bone turnover in terms of the associations between bone turnover markers and PBC-specific histological findings.

[Congenital haptoglobin deficiency discovered on the occasion of anaphylaxis induced by platelet concentrate transfusion].

A 77-year-old man with myelodysplastic syndrome suffered from duodenal perforation after undergoing endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) for treatment of duodenal cancer. He presented with hemorrhagic shock, peritonitis and disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), and received transfusions of red blood cells (RBC), fresh frozen plasma (FFP), γ-globulin and albumin (Alb). One month after the last RBC transfusion, prolonged thrombocytopenia was observed, and platelet concentrate (PC) was transfused.

Alpha-fetoprotein before and after pegylated interferon therapy for predicting hepatocellular carcinoma development.

Aim: To investigate factors that accurately predict hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development after antiviral therapy in chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients.

Methods: CHC patients who received pegylated interferon and ribavirin were enrolled in this cohort study that investigated the ability of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) to predict HCC development after interferon (IFN) therapy.

Results: Of 1255 patients enrolled, 665 developed sustained virological response (SVR) during mean follow-up period of 5.

Prevalence and outcomes of acute hepatitis B in Okayama, Japan, 2006-2010.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is one of the major viruses causing acute hepatitis. Recently, the incidence of acute hepatitis with genotype A has been increasing in Japan. The aim of this study was to investigate acute hepatitis B (AHB) in Okayama prefecture, with special attention to HBV genotype A.

Effect of vitamin K2 on the recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Unlabelled: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is characterized by frequent recurrence, even after curative treatment. Vitamin K2, which has been reported to reduce HCC development, may be effective in preventing HCC recurrence. Patients who underwent curative ablation or resection of HCC were randomly assigned to receive placebo, 45 mg/day, or 90 mg/day vitamin K2 in double-blind fashion.

Additive improvement induced by bezafibrate in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis showing refractory response to ursodeoxycholic acid.

Background And Aim: Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) has been widely used in the treatment of patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). However, some patients are refractory to UDCA. The aim of this study is to clarify the additive improvement induced by bezafibrate in patients refractory to UDCA.

Application of radiofrequency ablation for the treatment of metastatic liver cancers.

Background/aims: The aim of this study is to elucidate the effectiveness of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for the treatment of metastatic liver cancers.

Methodology: From 74 patients with metastatic liver cancers treated by RFA, 40 patients including 23 colon cancer who had received curative resection of the primary tumor were analyzed.

Results: Recurrence of the tumor was observed in 29 (72.

Two cases of development of entecavir resistance during entecavir treatment for nucleoside-naive chronic hepatitis B.

Background: Entecavir (ETV) is a potent nucleoside analogue against hepatitis B virus (HBV), and emergence of drug resistance is rare in nucleoside-naive patients because development of ETV resistance (ETVr) requires at least three amino acid substitutions in HBV reverse transcriptase. We observed two cases of genotypic ETVr with viral rebound and biochemical breakthrough during ETV treatment of nucleoside-naive patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB).

Results: Case 1: A 44-year-old HBeAg-positive man received ETV 0.

Clinical characteristics of drug-induced liver injury in the elderly.

Aim: The average age of Japanese patients with drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is expected to rise as the population ages. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical characteristics of DILI in elderly Japanese subjects.

Methods: A total of 142 hospitalized patients with DILI were divided into three groups by age (Group A, < 65 years; Group B, 65-74 years; Group C, >/= 75 years).

Factors associated with adherence to combination therapy of interferon and ribavirin for patients with chronic hepatitis C: importance of patient's motivation and physician's treatment experience.

Background/aims: Adherence to combination therapy with interferon (IFN) or pegylated IFN plus ribavirin for chronic hepatitis C patients is important for a better virological response. However, the impact of the patient's treatment experience and treatment centre on adherence to combination therapy has not been fully analysed. In this prospective study, we analysed the factors that might have an effect on adherence to therapy in patients who had initial or retreatment IFN therapy.

Risk factors for local and distant recurrence of hepatocellular carcinomas after local ablation therapies.

Background And Aim: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) recurs frequently after local ablation therapies. Recurrence following the therapies may be of two types: local recurrence and distant recurrence. The aim of the current study is to separately elucidate the predisposing factors for each recurrence.

Limitation of combination therapy of interferon and ribavirin for older patients with chronic hepatitis C.

In contrast to the United States, Japanese patients with chronic hepatitis C currently treated with interferon are generally 10 to 15 years older. Older patients, however, tend to experience more frequent adverse events. This study was conducted to clarify the effect of patient age on the efficacy and safety of combination therapy.

Recovery from idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) following right hemicolectomy for mucocele of appendix.

A 61-year-old woman with a 2-year medication-free history of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura was referred to our hospital complaining of right lower abdominal pain. The platelet count was about 3-4x10(4)/mm3. This patient was diagnosed with mucocele of the appendix on computed tomography and colonoscopy.

Arachidonic acid in mononuclear cells and its clinical significance in HCV cirrhotic patients.

Objectives: An abnormal fatty acid pattern in patients with advanced liver cirrhosis (LC) has been reported in plasma phospholipids and some other tissues. To elucidate the significance of arachidonic acid deficiency on the clinical pathophysiology of LC and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), we analyzed the fatty acid compositions of mononuclear cell phospholipids, plasma alpha-tocopherol, and thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances and serum tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) in cirrhotic patients infected with the hepatitis C virus with and without HCC.

Methods: Twelve cirrhotic patients without HCC (LC patients) and 11 with HCC (HCC patients) were enrolled.

Reduced expression and promoter methylation of p16 gene in Epstein-Barr virus-associated gastric carcinoma.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-associated gastric carcinoma (EBVaGC) is a unique type of gastric carcinoma (GC), which is considered to develop in a different pathway from EBV-negative GC. To evaluate a possible role of p16, an inhibitor of G1/S transition of the cell cycle, in the carcinogenesis of EBVaGC, p16-immunohistochemistry and methylation-specific PCR analysis (MSP) were applied to surgically resected gastric carcinomas. When the percentage of p16-positive cells in more than 1000 carcinoma cells was expressed as p16 labeling index (p16-LI), it ranged from 2.