Efficacy and Safety of Durvalumab/Tremelimumab in Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma as Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Rechallenge Following Atezolizumab/Bevacizumab Treatment.

Background: While guidelines recommend immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) rechallenge as second-line therapy for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), data supporting this remain limited, particularly regarding a standard regimen for first- and second-line treatments. Tremelimumab/durvalumab was recently approved but data on ICI rechallenge are lacking.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the early efficacy and safety of tremelimumab/durvalumab for HCC as an ICI rechallenge following initial ICI therapy with atezolizumab/bevacizumab.

Pelvic arterial embolisation with cyanoacrylate during caesarean hysterectomy for placenta accreta.

Purpose: To compare -butyl cyanoacrylate (NBCA) and gelatine sponge (GS) as embolic materials for prophylactic pelvic arterial embolisation during caesarean hysterectomy for placenta accreta spectrum (PAS).

Material And Methods: This retrospective study comprised 12 women (age range, 23-42 years; mean, 34.1 years) who underwent caesarean hysterectomy for PAS.

Incidence of cancer-associated thromboembolism in Japanese gastric and colorectal cancer patients receiving chemotherapy: a single-institutional retrospective cohort analysis (Sapporo CAT study).

Objective: Few data regarding the incidence of cancer-associated thromboembolism (TE) are available for Asian populations. We investigated the incidence of TE (TEi) and its risk factors among gastric and colorectal cancer (GCC) patients received chemotherapy in a daily practice setting.

Design: A retrospective cohort study.

Safety and efficacy of glecaprevir and pibrentasvir in Japanese hemodialysis patients with genotype 2 hepatitis C virus infection.

Background: Until recently, interferon-free anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) therapy for genotype 2 (GT2) HCV-infected hemodialysis patients was an unfulfilled medical need. Recent clinical trials of glecaprevir and pibrentasvir (G/P) for hemodialysis patients showed high efficacy and safety; however, the number of GT2 HCV-infected patients, especially Asian patients, was limited and most of them were treated with a 12-week regimen. In this prospective multicenter study, we aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of G/P in Japanese hemodialysis patients with GT2 HCV infection.

Add-on effects of fluvastatin in simeprevir/pegylated-interferon/ribavirin combination therapy for patients with genotype 1 hepatitis C virus infection: A randomized controlled study.

Background: The Japan Society of Hepatology guidelines indicate that hepatitis C virus (HCV) protease inhibitor combination therapy with simeprevir (SMV), pegylated-interferon (Peg-IFN), and ribavirin (RBV) is a therapeutic option for patients who fail to respond to a direct direct-acting antiviral-containing regimen. However, treatment outcomes have room for improvement. Fluvastatin (FLV) add-on treatment in Peg-IFN and RBV combination therapy for HCV-infected patients significantly improved the sustained virologic response (SVR), but the add-on effect of FLV on SMV combination therapy is not well understood.

A Prospective Observational Study on Effect of Short-Term Periodic Steroid Premedication on Bone Metabolism in Gastrointestinal Cancer (ESPRESSO-01).

Background: A multicenter prospective observational study evaluated the effect of gastrointestinal cancer chemotherapy with short-term periodic steroid premedication on bone metabolism.

Patients And Methods: Seventy-four patients undergoing chemotherapy for gastrointestinal cancer were studied. The primary endpoints were changes in bone mineral densities (BMDs) and metabolic bone turnover 16 weeks after initiation of chemotherapy.

Safety and efficacy of daclatasvir and asunaprevir in hepatitis C virus-infected patients with renal impairment.

Aim: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a risk factor for end-stage renal disease, renal graft failure, and hemodialysis patient mortality. However, the efficacy of direct-acting antiviral therapy for HCV-infected patients with renal impairment is unclear. Additionally, the promising NS5B inhibitor sofosbuvir has not been recommended for patients with severe renal impairment.

Prevalence and characteristics of naturally occurring sofosbuvir resistance-associated variants in patients with hepatitis C virus genotype 1b infection.

Aim: Sofosbuvir (SOF), a nucleotide analog pro-drug, targets hepatitis C virus (HCV) NS5B polymerase and shows potential for treating HCV infection, given its high efficacy and good barrier to resistance. However, in addition to the rare resistant-associated variant (RAV) of non-structural protein NS5B S282T, several new potential RAVs of SOF have been reported, especially related to HCV genotype 1b. However, the prevalence and characteristics of these RAVs have not been clarified.

A pivotal role of Krüppel-like factor 5 in regulation of cancer stem-like cells in hepatocellular carcinoma.

In hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), there exists a highly tumorigenic subset of cells defined by high expression of CD44 and CD133 that has been reported to contain cancer stem-like cells (CSCs). Krüppel-like factor 5 (KLF5) regulates many factors involved in cell cycle, migration, inflammation, angiogenesis and stemness and has cancer-promoting effects in some cancers. While some reports have indicated that KLF5 may have important roles in regulation of CSCs, what role, if any, KLF5 plays in regulation of CSCs in HCC remains to be elucidated.

Intratumoral artery on contrast-enhanced computed tomography imaging: differentiating intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma from poorly differentiated hepatocellular carcinoma.

Aim: Differentiating intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) from poorly differentiated hepatocellular carcinoma (p-HCC) is often difficult, but it is important for providing appropriate treatments. The purpose of this study was to examine the features differentiating ICC from p-HCC on contrast-enhanced dynamic-computed tomography (CT).

Methods: This study examined 42 patients with pathologically confirmed ICC (n = 19) or p-HCC (n = 23) for which contrast-enhanced dynamic CT data were available.

Hepatosplenic gamma-delta T-cell lymphoma associated with Epstein-Barr virus.

Hepatosplenic gamma-delta T-cell lymphoma (HSTCL) is a rare, aggressive subset of peripheral T-cell lymphoma. It has been reported that Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection can cause HSTCL; however, such cases are extremely rare, with only a few cases having been reported to date. We herein report an autopsy case of HSTCL associated with EBV infection.