Low Serum Albumin Level Is a Risk Factor for Delayed Methotrexate Elimination in High-Dose Methotrexate Treatment.

Background: In high-dose methotrexate (HD-MTX) therapy, delayed elimination of MTX from plasma leads to severe adverse effects. However, the risk factors for the delayed elimination of plasma MTX are still unclear.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors related to the delayed MTX elimination in HD-MTX monotherapy.

Impact of systemic steroid treatment on talc pleurodesis: a report of six cases.

Background: Instillation of sterile graded talc in the pleural space is performed to prevent reaccumulation of malignant pleural effusion after drainage. Talc is thought to encourage pleural adhesions as part of the repair process by provoking inflammation, suggesting that adhesions are less likely to form in patients taking corticosteroids or other drugs with anti-inflammatory effects. However, the relationship between steroid therapy and pleurodesis efficacy remains unclear.

[Comparison of Pegfilgrastim and Filgrastim for the Primary Prophylactic Effect for Preventing Febrile Neutropenia in Patients Undergoing Rituximab with Dose-adjusted EPOCH Chemotherapy].

The combination of dose-adjusted etoposide, prednisone, vincristine, cyclophosphamide and doxorubicin with rituximab (DA-EPOCH-R) is used for non-Hodgkin lymphoma patients. Febrile neutropenia (FN) is a common complication of treatment with myelo-suppressive chemotherapy, so preventing FN is important for maintaining chemotherapy dosage. Recently, pegfilgrastim has been used as the primary prophylaxis of FN in Japan, but there have been few cases reported using pegfilgrastim for the primary prophylaxis in DA-EPOCH-R.

Safety of Y-ibritumomab Tiuxetan Treatment for Japanese Patients in Real-world Clinical Practice.

When undergoing Y-ibritumomab tiuxetan (90Y-IT) treatment, patients are discharged from hospital soon after initiation of treatment and followed up as outpatients. Thus it is important to apprise patients of the safety information regarding 90Y-IT treatment. However, studies investigating the safety of 90Y-IT in real-world clinical practice are lacking.

[Immunization of pharmacy students in Japan].

We conducted a survey on the immunization requirements of the students in the fourth year of the 4-year-course departments of pharmacy in Japan by using a self-administered questionnaire, which was mailed to the directors of the institutes. Of the 61 departments invited, 54 responded. Program of seroprevalence examination or vaccination was not in place against measles, rubella, mumps and varicella, and hepatitis B in 31.