Publications by authors named "Yoji Kukita"

Nodular fasciitis is a benign, usually self-limiting myofibroblastic proliferation with a predilection for the upper extremities, trunk, and head and neck, and almost all of which harbor the fusion. Since nodular fasciitis is not widely recognized to arise within the joints, it may therefore cause diagnostic confusion in this uncommon setting. We report an unusual tumor of an 11-year-old patient who presented with a 6-month history of right elbow swelling and pain.

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  • Comprehensive genome profiling (CGP) has changed healthcare by paving the way for personalized medicine, but its real-world effectiveness is still uncertain.
  • A study at the Osaka International Cancer Institute analyzed data from 1,096 advanced solid tumor patients to assess how often CGP led to suitable therapies and its impact on patient outcomes.
  • The findings revealed that while CGP provided clinical trial options for 60.9% of patients, only a small fraction (1.1%) could enroll, and the progression-free survival for treatments was generally short, indicating a need for better integration of CGP into trial systems and patient care.
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Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors (IMTs) are rare sarcomas composed of myofibroblastic and fibroblastic cells, accompanied by inflammatory cell infiltration. Many IMTs exhibit clonal rearrangement of anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK). We herein report a 56-year-old woman with uterine IMT harboring a thrombospondin-1::ALK fusion that developed after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT).

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WHO Classification of Skin Tumors, fifth edition (2023) has newly described primary cutaneous NUT carcinoma; however, information on this cancer type remains scarce. Herein, we performed clinicopathologic and genetic analyses of 4 cases. Four elderly women (median age 77 y, range: 68 to 82 y) were included.

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  • The study focused on the genetic changes in extramammary Paget disease (EMPD), specifically looking at CDKN2A and MTAP alterations and their impact on disease progression.
  • Researchers analyzed 24 invasive/metastatic EMPD cases using immunohistochemistry and DNA sequencing, finding that p16 expression was mostly preserved in early-stage tumors but significantly lost in invasive and metastatic stages.
  • The study confirmed CDKN2A deletions in all five metastatic cases tested, suggesting that loss of p16 expression and CDKN2A alterations are common in aggressive forms of EMPD.
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Sweat-gland carcinoma with neuroendocrine differentiation (SCAND) was recently proposed as a new cutaneous adnexal neoplasm with neuroendocrine differentiation; however, its genetics are not well known. Herein, we performed clinicopathologic and genetic analyses of 13 SCAND cases and 5 control cases of endocrine mucin-producing sweat gland carcinoma (EMPSGC). The SCAND group included 11 males and 2 females with a median age of 68 years (range, 50 to 80 y).

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  • * Researchers developed organoid lines from SCNEC patients, focusing on one line that displayed mixed tumor characteristics, showing various differentiation in lab tests and animal models.
  • * Single-cell analysis showed distinct tumor cell clusters, linked to cancer markers and differentiation states; drug treatments affected marker expression, suggesting these mixed tumors share a common origin with flexible cancer cell identities.
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Background: Next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based genomic profiling is becoming widespread in determining treatment policies for patients with tumors. Commercially available gene panels for pan-tumor targets comprise hundreds of tumor-related genes but frequently lack genes of interest in specific tumor types. In this study, we demonstrate a method for extending target regions of genomic profiling by combining a custom probe pool with a commercial targeted panel.

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Recently, rare sarcomas harboring KMT2A rearrangements have been reported. They occur in relatively young individuals, exhibit a sclerosing epithelioid fibrosarcoma-like morphology, and often have an aggressive prognosis. YAP1::KMT2A::YAP1 is the most common fusion gene, followed by VIM::KMT2A.

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Sarcomas with BCOR genetic alterations (BCOR-associated sarcomas) represent a recently recognized family of soft tissue and bone tumors characterized by BCOR fusion, BCOR internal tandem duplication, or YWHAE::NUTM2B fusion. Histologically, the tumors demonstrate oval to spindle cell proliferation in a variably vascular stroma and overexpression of BCOR and SATB2. Herein, we describe 3 soft tissue sarcomas with KDM2B fusions that phenotypically and epigenetically match BCOR-associated sarcomas.

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Retinoblastoma is a common primary intraocular malignant tumor that affects infants and young children. Radiation therapy for hereditary retinoblastoma increases the risk of secondary malignancy. The present report discusses the case of a retinoblastoma survivor who developed secondary leiomyosarcoma 42 years after receiving radiation therapy.

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Background: The clinicopathologic and genetic features of cutaneous melanoma with a BRAF V600K mutation are not well-known. We aimed to evaluate these characteristics in comparison with those associated with BRAF V600E.

Methods: Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and/or the MassARRAY® system were used to detect BRAF V600K in 16 invasive melanomas and confirm BRAF V600E in another 60 cases.

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Article Synopsis
  • The rise in targeted agents for lung cancer has created a need for testing multiple genes simultaneously, leading to the development of a new high-sensitivity next-generation sequencing (NGS) panel known as the "compact panel."
  • This panel can detect low mutation levels (down to 0.14%) and has strong quantitative capabilities, showing high correlation coefficients for mutation detection.
  • It performs well with routine biopsy samples, demonstrating high accuracy and concordance with approved tests, making it more accessible than conventional NGS panels.
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Cutaneous syncytial myoepithelioma is a tumor type that was initially reported in 2013 as a syncytial variant of cutaneous myoepithelioma characterized by intradermal nodular proliferation of oval to spindle-shaped tumor cells in solid and syncytial patterns. Fusion of genes Ewing sarcoma breakpoint region 1 / EWS RNA binding protein 1 (EWSR1) and pre-B cell leukemia homeobox 3 (PBX3) is found in approximately 90% of the cases. We report a case of cutaneous syncytial myoepithelioma with diagnostic difficulty due to folliculocentric morphology and atypical immunohistochemical results, including diffuse positivity of α-smooth muscle actin and claudin 4 and negative immunoreactions for epithelial membrane antigen and S100 protein.

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  • Comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) tests have been available under Japan's national health insurance since 2018, but their effectiveness for patients with incurable pancreatic cancer was still unclear.
  • A study of 115 patients showed that 6.9% had tumor mutation burden-high (TMB-H) and/or microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H), with 21.7% having homologous recombination deficiency (HRD)-related mutations.
  • Patients with HRD-related mutations had significantly longer median overall survival (749 days) compared to those without (519 days), indicating that CGP tests can help identify important prognostic factors and potential treatment targets.
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An increasing number of patients with cancer are being treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors. Consequently, the incidence of immune checkpoint inhibitor-related myocarditis has been increasing. Nonetheless, the diagnostic criteria for the immune checkpoint inhibitor-related myocarditis have not been sufficiently established.

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Background: The usefulness of comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) panels for thoracic malignancies after completion of the standard treatment is unclear.

Methods: The results of CGP panels for malignant thoracic diseases performed at our hospital between December 2019 and June 2022 were collected. We examined whether CGP panel results led to new treatment, correlated with the effectiveness of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), or revealed secondary findings related to hereditary tumors.

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This study sought to confirm the homogeneity of BRAF V600E mutation status in melanoma. BRAF immunohistochemistry was performed on 102 lesions from 60 patients of melanoma with BRAF V600E mutation and 38 negative-control melanoma lesions from 38 patients, both of which were confirmed by real-time PCR or the MassARRAY System. In the positive-control lesions, 9 lesions from 7 patients with preceding BRAF-inhibitor therapy were included.

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We describe a novel EWSR1-HOXB13-fusion in a fibroblastic tumor from the abdominal wall of a 29-year-old woman. This tumor caused intermittent intense pain and had grown to approximately 5 cm in size over two years. The tumor was located beneath subfascial section of the abdominal wall and was invading the abdominal cavity and pressing on the liver.

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Synopsis of recent research by authors named "Yoji Kukita"

  • - Yoji Kukita's research primarily focuses on the genetic and clinicopathologic characteristics of various tumors, particularly exploring novel gene fusions and mutations in soft tissue sarcomas and other malignancies.
  • - His recent studies emphasize the real-world application of comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) to inform treatment decisions and enhance patient outcomes in various types of cancer, including pancreatic cancer and thoracic malignancies.
  • - Kukita's work contributes to understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying rare tumors and the implications for personalized medicine, as seen in his investigations of specific gene fusions associated with aggressive cancer types.