Dynamics and Half-Life of Cell-Free DNA After Exercise: Insights from a Fragment Size-Specific Measurement Approach.

Cell-free DNA (cfDNA) is present in healthy individuals but is elevated in those undergoing physical exertion, trauma, sepsis, and certain cancers. Maintaining cfDNA concentrations is vital for immune homeostasis and preventing inflammatory responses. Understanding cfDNA release and clearance is essential for using cfDNA as a biomarker in clinical diagnostics.

Significance of Pulmonary Artery Dilatation in Lung Cancer Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Who Underwent Pulmonary Resection.

Background: The significance of pulmonary artery (PA) diameter in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who undergo pulmonary resection has not been elucidated.

Methods: Data of 357 patients with NSCLC and COPD who underwent pulmonary resection were retrospectively reviewed. The main PA diameter, determined by preoperative computed tomography, relative to the body surface area (PBR), was used as an index of PA dilatation, and patients were divided into 2 groups using median values.

Knockout or inhibition of DHPS suppresses ovarian tumor growth and metastasis by attenuating the TGFβ pathway.

Deoxyhypusine synthase (DHPS) is an enzyme encoded by the DHPS gene, with high expression in various cancers, including ovarian cancer (OC). DHPS regulates the translation initiation factor EIF5A, and EIF5A2 knockout inhibits OC tumor growth and metastasis by blocking the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and the TGFβ pathway. In this study, we show that DHPS is amplified in OC patients, and its elevated expression correlates with poor survival.

Long-term outcomes of surgical treatment of non-small cell lung cancer with oligometastatic disease involving only the brain in the era of PET/CT.

Background: The prognosis of patients with synchronous oligometastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has been improving owing to advancements in imaging techniques and new treatment approaches such as tyrosine kinase inhibitors. This study aimed to investigate the long-term outcomes, including the clinical course after recurrence, of patients with synchronous oligometastatic NSCLC with only brain metastases, treated with bifocal treatment.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 22 patients with clinical T1-4 and N0-1 NSCLC with synchronous brain metastases who were diagnosed by preoperative PET/CT and brain CT or MRI and underwent pulmonary resection for the primary site and surgery or radiation therapy for brain metastases at our institution from 2005 to 2019.

Cemiplimab monotherapy in Japanese patients with recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer.

Background: In the phase 3 EMPOWER-Cervical 1/GOG-3016/ENGOT-cx9 study, cemiplimab significantly improved overall survival (OS) versus chemotherapy for patients with recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer who progressed after first-line platinum-based chemotherapy. We present a post hoc subgroup analysis of patients enrolled in Japan.

Methods: Patients were enrolled regardless of programmed cell death-ligand 1 status and randomized 1:1 to cemiplimab 350 mg intravenously every 3 weeks or investigator's choice  single-agent chemotherapy for up to 96 weeks.

Niraparib in Japanese patients with platinum-sensitive recurrent ovarian cancer: final results of a multicenter phase 2 study.

Objective: This study evaluated the long-term safety and efficacy of niraparib in Japanese patients with platinum-sensitive recurrent ovarian cancer.

Methods: This was a follow-up analysis of a phase 2, multicenter, open-label, single-arm study in Japanese women with platinum-sensitive, relapsed ovarian cancer. Participants received niraparib (starting dose 300 mg) once daily in continuous 28-day cycles.

Prediction of final pathology depending on preoperative myometrial invasion and grade assessment in low-risk endometrial cancer patients: A Korean Gynecologic Oncology Group ancillary study.

Objectives: Fertility-sparing treatment (FST) might be considered an option for reproductive patients with low-risk endometrial cancer (EC). On the other hand, the matching rates between preoperative assessment and postoperative pathology in low-risk EC patients are not high enough. We aimed to predict the postoperative pathology depending on preoperative myometrial invasion (MI) and grade in low-risk EC patients to help extend the current criteria for FST.

Prognostic impact of the number of resected pelvic nodes in endometrial cancer: Japanese Gynecologic Oncology Group Study JGOG2043 post hoc analysis.

Objective: This study aimed to determine whether the number of resected pelvic lymph nodes (PLNs) affects the prognosis of endometrial cancer (EC) patients at post-operative risk of recurrence.

Methods: JGOG2043 was a randomized controlled trial to assess the efficacy of three chemotherapeutic regimens as adjuvant therapy in EC patients with post-operative recurrent risk. A retrospective analysis was conducted on 250 patients who underwent pelvic lymphadenectomy alone in JGOG2043.

Dopamine-Derived Guanidine Alkaloids from a Didemnidae Tunicate: Isolation, Synthesis, and Biological Activities.

Mellpaladines A-C () and dopargimine () are dopamine-derived guanidine alkaloids isolated from a specimen of Palauan Didemnidae tunicate as possible modulators of neuronal receptors. In this study, we isolated the dopargimine derivative 1-carboxydopargimine (), three additional mellpaladines D-F (), and serotodopalgimine (), along with a dimer of serotonin, 5,5'-dihydroxy-4,4'-bistryptamine (). The structures of these compounds were determined based on spectrometric and spectroscopic analyses.

Development of a multivariable prediction model for prolonged air leak after lung resection.

Objectives: Prolonged air leak (PAL) is a common complication of lung resection. Research on predictors of PAL using a digital drainage system (DDS) remains insufficient. In this study, we investigated the predictive factors of PAL to establish a novel early postoperative prediction model for PAL.

Outcomes and prognostic factors of repeat pulmonary metastasectomy.

Objectives: Information on prognostic factors after repeat pulmonary metastasectomy (PM) is limited, and outcomes after a third PM are not well documented.

Methods: A single-institute retrospective study was conducted. Between 2000 and 2020, 68 patients underwent repeat PM for pulmonary metastases from various cancers.

Breast milk concentrations of acetaminophen and diclofenac - unexpectedly high mammary transfer of the general-purpose drug acetaminophen.

Background: Breastfeeding is considered to be the most effective way of ensuring the health and survival of newborns. However, mammary transfer of drugs administered to mothers to breastfeeding infants remains a pressing concern. Acetaminophen and diclofenac sodium are widely prescribed analgesics for postpartum pain relief, but there have been few recent reports on the mammary transfer of these drugs, despite advances in analytic techniques.

Integrated multi-omics analyses and functional validation reveal TTK as a novel EMT activator for endometrial cancer.

Background: Cancer-testis antigens (CTAs) are often expressed in tumor and testicular tissues but not in other normal tissues. To date, there has been no comprehensive study of the expression and clinical significance of CTA genes associated with endometrial cancer (EC) development. Additionally, the clinical relevance, biological role, and molecular mechanisms of the CTA gene TTK protein kinase (TTK) in EC are yet to be fully understood.

Combination therapy with bevacizumab and a CCR2 inhibitor for human ovarian cancer: An in vivo validation study.

Background: Anti-angiogenic therapy with bevacizumab (BEV), an anti-VEGF antibody, plays a critical role in the treatment of ovarian cancer. However, despite an encouraging initial response, most tumors become resistant to BEV over time, and a new strategy that enables sustainable treatment using BEV is therefore needed.

Methods: To overcome the resistance to BEV in patients with ovarian cancer, we performed a validation study of combination therapy with BEV (10 mg/kg) and the CCR2 inhibitor BMS CCR2 22 (20 mg/kg) (BEV/CCR2i) using 3 consecutive patient-derived xenografts (PDXs) of immunodeficient mice.

Relationship between out-of-facility deliveries and distance and travel time to delivery facilities in Hokkaido, Japan: An ecological study.

Aim: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the distance and travel time from each municipality to the nearest delivery facilities in the other municipalities and the frequency of out-of-facility deliveries in Hokkaido.

Methods: Vital statistics from 2016 to 2020 were used. For municipalities without delivery facilities, the distance and travel time from the town office of each municipality to the nearest delivery facility was measured using Google maps.

Distribution of human papilloma virus genotypes and treatment outcomes in definitive radiotherapy for cervical cancer.

Most oncogenic human papilloma virus (HPV) genotypes stratify into two species, α-7 HPV and α-9 HPV. There are several studies that evaluate the relationship between HPV species and treatment outcomes and reports that HPV species is prognostic. The HPV genotyping was conducted using biopsy specimens which had been stored in these studies.

Localized Synchronous Pulmonary Langerhans Cell Sarcoma and Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis.

A synchronous presentation of pulmonary lesions of Langerhans cell sarcoma (LCS) and Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is extremely rare. We report the case of a 57-year-old man with 3 pulmonary nodules, 1 in the left lung and 2 in the right lung. In a 2-stage operation, he first underwent a left segmentectomy, and the nodule was diagnosed as LCS.

Germline Variant rs2185379 in Long-Term Recurrence-Free Survivors of Advanced Ovarian Cancer.

Purpose: To identify the germline genetic characteristics of long-term recurrence-free survivors that can be applied to establishing a new strategy for curing advanced cancer, we investigated the whole-genome single nucleotide variants of ovarian cancer patients.

Patients And Methods: DNA specimens were obtained from rare long-term recurrence-free survivors with FIGO stage III-IV ovarian cancer with no recurrence for 8-23 years after primary treatments for a whole-genome analysis of approximately 660,000 single nucleotide variants. We then established a mouse model with a notable gene alteration by CRISPR/Cas9 to confirm the biological role.

Cryptotanshinone inhibits ovarian tumor growth and metastasis by degrading c-Myc and attenuating the FAK signaling pathway.

Cryptotanshinone (CT), a natural compound derived from Bunge that is also known as the traditional Chinese medicine Danshen, exhibits antitumor activity in various cancers. However, it remains unclear whether CT has a potential therapeutic benefit against ovarian cancers. The aim of this study was to test the efficacy of CT in ovarian cancer cells and using a xenograft model in NSG mice orthotopically implanted with HEY A8 human ovarian cancer cells and to explore the molecular mechanism(s) underlying CT's antitumor effects.

Incidence of gastrointestinal perforation associated with bevacizumab in combination with neoadjuvant chemotherapy as first-line treatment of advanced ovarian, fallopian tube, or peritoneal cancer: analysis of a Japanese healthcare claims database.

Objective: To assess the incidence of bevacizumab-associated gastrointestinal (GI) perforation during first-line treatment of patients with ovarian, fallopian tube, or peritoneal cancer receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) in Japanese real-world clinical practice.

Methods: A retrospective study was conducted using a healthcare claims database owned by Medical Data Vision Co., Ltd.

Association of online activities with obstetrics and gynecology specialty choice: a nationwide online survey.

Objectives: To investigate the association between online activities and the number of new obstetrics and gynecology senior residents.

Methods: A nationwide web-based, self-administered anonymous survey was conducted to investigate recruitment and clerkship activities during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. An online questionnaire was sent to 576 obstetrics and gynecology training institutions in Japan between December 21, 2020, and January 31, 2021.