Comprehensive epidemiology of melanoma at all sites: insights from Japan's National Cancer Registry, 2016-2017.

Background: Melanoma is a highly malignant cancer responsible for 55 000 deaths worldwide annually. Despite its severity, its epidemiology in Japan remains understudied owing to its rarity among Asians. This study aimed to determine the incidence of melanoma in Japan using data from the National Cancer Registry.

Preoperative Indocyanine Green Tattooing for Robotic-Assisted Surgery in Rectal Cancer.

Introduction: Preoperative identification of the site of rectal cancer surgery is crucial for ensuring accurate tumor localization and resection. Commonly employed methods include contrast-enhanced enterography and endoscopic marking techniques, such as clipping and India ink tattooing. However, India ink tattooing poses challenges, including obstruction of the surgical field, ink leakage into the abdominal cavity, and potential complications such as peritonitis and adhesive bowel obstruction.

Clinical Features and Prognosis of Malignant Cutaneous Adnexal Tumors: A Retrospective Study Using a Japanese Database.

Malignant cutaneous adnexal tumors (MCATs) are rare. Previous population-based studies to determine the clinical features and prognosis of MCATs mainly included Caucasian patients, and the characteristics of Asian patients with MCATs have not yet been investigated. We aimed to investigate the characteristics of Asian patients with MCAT using a Japanese database.

The real-world impact of biologics for NMOSD: A retrospective single-center study compared with natural course and conventional treatments in Japanese.

Background: Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), a central nervous system inflammatory disease associated with aquaporin-4 immunoglobulin G (AQP4-IgG), is conventionally treated with oral steroids and immunosuppressants (IS) in Japan. Several biologics which show great efficacy in the clinical trials have been developed recently. However, studies on their efficacy, especially those comparing them with conventional treatments in real-world situations are lacking.

Boron neutron capture therapy for cutaneous angiosarcoma and malignant melanoma: First in-human phase I clinical trial.

Background And Purpose: Definitive radiotherapy for patients with scalp angiosarcoma has a poor prognosis, often resulting in severe skin adverse events. Additionally, malignant melanoma is known for its radioresistant nature. Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) may address these challenges due to the high uptake capacity of boron drugs in these cancer types.

Acute Respiratory Failure Caused by Lateral Medullary Infarction - An Unknown Condition with Varied Etiology and Requiring Special Vigilance: A Case Series.

Acute respiratory failure (ARF) due to lateral medullary infarction (LMI) can be a fatal condition, although its details remain unclarified. To clarify clinical aspects of ARF due to LMI, we reviewed eight applicable cases treated in a tertiary hospital. Of them, we focused on the detailed clinical course of one case.

Lysophospholipase D activity on oral mucosa cells in whole mixed human saliva involves in production of bioactive lysophosphatidic acid from lysophosphatidylcholine.

We reported that lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) is present at 0.8 μM in mixed human saliva (MS). In this study, we examined the distribution, origin, and enzymatic generation pathways of LPA in MS.

Different Complement Activation Patterns Following C5 Cleavage in MOGAD and AQP4-IgG+NMOSD.

Objectives: In myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein IgG-associated disease (MOGAD) and aquaporin-4 IgG+ neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (AQP4+NMOSD), the autoantibodies are mainly composed of IgG1, and complement-dependent cytotoxicity is a primary pathomechanism in AQP4+NMOSD. We aimed to evaluate the CSF complement activation in MOGAD.

Methods: CSF-C3a, CSF-C4a, CSF-C5a, and CSF-C5b-9 levels during the acute phase before treatment in patients with MOGAD (n = 12), AQP4+NMOSD (n = 11), multiple sclerosis (MS) (n = 5), and noninflammatory neurologic disease (n = 2) were measured.

A review of cutaneous apocrine carcinoma: epidemiology, diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment options.

Cutaneous apocrine carcinoma is a rare skin cancer arising from apocrine sweat glands. Disease-specific treatments are required for cutaneous adnexal carcinomas due to their heterogeneous treatment responsiveness. This review reports on the epidemiology, diagnosis, pathological features, surgical management, and use of systemic therapies for cutaneous apocrine carcinoma.

Synergistic Effect of β-Cryptoxanthin and Epigallocatechin Gallate on Obesity Reduction.

Chronic obesity is an alarmingly growing global public health concern, posing substantial challenges for the prevention of chronic diseases, including hyperinsulinemia, type 2 diabetes, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and coronary artery disease, and there is an urgent need for early mitigation strategies. We previously reported the obesity-reducing effects of green tea and β-cryptoxanthin intake. However, since tea has a complex mixture of compounds, it remained unclear which component contributed the most to this effect.

[Successful Closure of Postpneumonectomy Bronchopleural Fistula with Inserting Technique of Omental Pedicle Flap into the Right Main Bronchus:Report of a Case].

A 67-year-old male was admitted to our hospital for the treatment of pyothorax due to bronchopleural fistula at right main bronchus after pneumonectomy for lung cancer( squamous cell carcinoma, pathological stageⅢB). After tube drainage and fenestration, we performed operation to close large diameter fistula, that was almost fully opened stump of the right main bronchus. Omental flap was sutured roughly to the fistula with four stiches and inserted into the bronchus lumen, and covered with latissimus dorsi muscle flap to fix omental pedicle flap and additionally performed thoracoplasty to close the residual space of the pleural cavity.

Bioisostere-conjugated fluorescent probes for live-cell protein imaging without non-specific organelle accumulation.

Specific labeling of proteins using membrane-permeable fluorescent probes is a powerful technique for bioimaging. Cationic fluorescent dyes with high fluorescence quantum yield, photostability, and water solubility provide highly useful scaffolds for protein-labeling probes. However, cationic probes generally show undesired accumulation in organelles, which causes a false-positive signal in localization analysis.

Analysis of surgical margins and prognostic factors in dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans after wide local excision: A multicenter study of 116 Japanese patients.

Cutaneous dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP) is a fibrohistiocytic tumor characterized by a high risk of local recurrence but a low risk of metastasis. Wide local excision (WLE) has been an important treatment option, but its clinical outcomes and safety have not been thoroughly evaluated in previous reports. The aim of this study was to determine appropriate surgical margins (deep and lateral) and prognostic factors associated with recurrence-free survival (RFS) of DFSP.

COLUMBUS 7-year update: A randomized, open-label, phase III trial of encorafenib plus binimetinib versus vemurafenib or encorafenib in patients with BRAF V600E/K-mutant melanoma.

Background: Treatment with encorafenib plus binimetinib and encorafenib monotherapy is associated with improved progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) compared with vemurafenib in patients with BRAF V600E/K-mutant metastatic melanoma. We report results from the 7-year analysis of COLUMBUS part 1 (NCT01909453) at 99.7 months (median duration between randomization and data cutoff).

Real-world efficacy and safety of BRAF-targeted therapy for patients with advanced melanoma: A single-center retrospective study in Japan.

Most clinical trials investigating targeted therapies for patients harboring BRAF V600 mutations have included mostly White patients, and data for Asian patients are scarce. Although there are several retrospective studies in Japanese patients, they have investigated only the dabrafenib + trametinib regimen, and have had a short follow-up period. We conducted a single-center retrospective study to update previous studies and compare the outcomes with those in White patients.

Identification of barriers to implementation of precision oncology in patients with rare cancers.

Established treatment options for rare cancers are limited by the small number of patients. The current comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) testing might not fully exploit opportunities for precision oncology in patients with rare cancers. Therefore, we aimed to explore the factors associated with CGP testing utility in rare cancers and identify barriers to implementing precision oncology.

Long-term follow-up results from KEYNOTE-041: Phase 1b study of pembrolizumab in Japanese patients with advanced melanoma.

Pembrolizumab demonstrated an acceptable safety profile and promising antitumor activity in Japanese patients with advanced melanoma in the phase 1b KEYNOTE-041 (Study of Pembrolizumab [MK-3475] in Participants With Advanced Melanoma) trial. To evaluate the long-term efficacy and safety of pembrolizumab in Japanese patients with advanced melanoma in KEYNOTE-041. The current analysis reports results of additional follow-up of approximately 12 months since the initial analysis.

Benefit, recurrence pattern, and toxicity to adjuvant anti-PD-1 monotherapy varies by ethnicity and melanoma subtype: An international multicenter cohort study.

Background: Anti-Program-Death-1 (PD-1) is a standard adjuvant therapy for patients with resected melanoma. We hypothesized that there are discrepancies in survival, recurrence pattern and toxicity to adjuvant PD-1 between different ethnicities and melanoma subtypes.

Objective: We performed a multicenter cohort study incorporating 6 independent institutions in Australia, China, Japan, and the United States.

[The Successful Reduction of Resected Lung Volume for Intralobar Pulmonary Sequestration with Infrared Thoracoscope].

A 59-year-old male patient was referred to our hospital for further examinations and treatment due to an abnormal shadow detected in his left lower lung lobe on computed tomography. The patient was diagnosed with intralobar pulmonary sequestration and scheduled for an operation. During the surgery, after resection of the aberrant artery, indocyanine green was intravenously injected, and the border between normal lung and sequestrated lung was clearly identified by an infrared thoracoscope.

Safety and effectiveness of avelumab in patients with Merkel cell carcinoma in general clinical practice in Japan: Post-marketing surveillance.

Avelumab, a programmed cell death ligand 1 blocking antibody, was approved for its first indication in Japan in September 2017 to treat unresectable Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC). Given that the pivotal JAVELIN Merkel 200 study only included a few Japanese patients, this post-marketing surveillance (PMS) evaluated the safety and effectiveness outcomes of patients with MCC who received avelumab in general clinical practice in Japan. This prospective, non-comparative, multicenter PMS included data from all patients with unresectable MCC who received avelumab between November 22, 2017 (avelumab launch date) and October 31, 2019.

Long-term survival with systemic therapy in the last decade: Can melanoma be cured?

Immune checkpoint inhibitors have been shown to prolong survival of patients with several types of cancer, and the finding was first established in melanoma. Previously, systemic therapy for advanced melanoma aimed only at tumor control and palliation of symptoms. However, in recent years, some patients who received systemic therapy have achieved a complete response and survived without continuous treatment for more than several years.