The efficacy of carboplatin plus nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel after cisplatin plus pemetrexed in non-squamous non-small-cell lung cancer patients.

Background: Carboplatin plus nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel (nab-PTX) is one of the available first-line treatments for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. However, the efficacy of carboplatin plus nab-PTX as second-line, remains unknown. We examined the efficacy of carboplatin plus nab-PTX after cisplatin plus pemetrexed in non-squamous NSCLC patients.

A phase I/II study of weekly nab-paclitaxel plus cisplatin in chemotherapy-naïve patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of nab-paclitaxel plus cisplatin in chemotherapy-naïve patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods: Chemotherapy-naïve patients with advanced NSCLC were eligible. In the phase I dose-escalation cohort (3 + 3 design), patients received nab-paclitaxel (80 or 100 mg/m given intravenously on days 1, 8 and 15) plus cisplatin (60 or 75 mg/m given intravenously on day 1) every 4 weeks.

Exploration of germline variants responsible for adverse events of crizotinib in anaplastic lymphoma kinase-positive non-small cell lung cancer by target-gene panel sequencing.

Objectives: Crizotinib is a standard treatment for advanced anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)- or ROS1-fusion-gene-positive non-small cell lung cancer; however, serious adverse events (AEs), including elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT)/aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and interstitial lung disease (ILD), develop occasionally. Here, we evaluated relationships between clinically significant crizotinib-associated AEs and germline variations.

Materials And Methods: DNA obtained from 75 patients allowed selection of 147 genes according to function, exon identification and sequencing, and determination of germline single nucleotide variants (SNVs).

Efficacy of anti-PD-1/PD-L1 antibodies after discontinuation due to adverse events in non-small cell lung cancer patients (HANSHIN 0316).

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have emerged as promising therapeutic agents in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, the duration for which ICIs should be continued remains a clinical problem.

Methods: We examined the efficacy of anti-PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors after the discontinuation of antibodies due to adverse events (AEs) in patients with NSCLC.

Phase II trial of gefitinib plus pemetrexed after relapse using first-line gefitinib in patients with non-small cell lung cancer harboring EGFR gene mutations.

Objectives: Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (i.e., EGFR-TKIs) improve the survival of lung cancer patients harboring EGFR mutations.

Immune-related Colitis Induced by the Long-term Use of Nivolumab in a Patient with Non-small Cell Lung Cancer.

We herein report a case of immune-related colitis induced by the long-term use of nivolumab. A 62-year-old Japanese man was treated with nivolumab at 3 mg/kg every 2 weeks for advanced lung adenocarcinoma. The patient was admitted to our hospital due to non-bloody watery diarrhea after the 70th dose of nivolumab.

The safety and efficacy of carboplatin plus nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer patients with interstitial lung disease.

Background: The optimal chemotherapy regimen for non-small cell lung cancer patients with interstitial lung disease is unclear. We therefore investigated the safety and efficacy of carboplatin plus nab-paclitaxel as a first-line regimen for non-small cell lung cancer in patients with interstitial lung disease.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed advanced non-small cell lung cancer patients with interstitial lung disease who received carboplatin plus nab-paclitaxel as a first-line chemotherapy regimen at Hyogo Cancer Center between February 2013 and August 2016.

Concurrent chemoradiotherapy with cisplatin and S-1 or vinorelbine for patients with stage III unresectable non-small cell lung cancer: A retrospective study.

Background: Concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) is the preferred treatment for stage III unresectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, there have been few reports on combination chemotherapy with radiation for second- and third-generation antitumor drugs, although clinical guidelines have recommended the use of these drugs along with platinum agents.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the efficacy and toxicity of cisplatin and either S-1 or vinorelbine for treating stage III unresectable NSCLC patients who were treated with CCRT.

Randomized Phase III Study Comparing Gefitinib With Erlotinib in Patients With Previously Treated Advanced Lung Adenocarcinoma: WJOG 5108L.

Purpose: The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase has been an important target for non-small-cell lung cancer. Several EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are currently approved, and both gefitinib and erlotinib are the most well-known first-generation EGFR-TKIs. This randomized phase III study was conducted to investigate the difference between these two EGFR-TKIs.

Bevacizumab beyond disease progression after first-line treatment with bevacizumab plus chemotherapy in advanced nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer (West Japan Oncology Group 5910L): An open-label, randomized, phase 2 trial.

Background: Bevacizumab combined with platinum-based chemotherapy has been established as a standard treatment option in the first-line setting for advanced nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, there has been no evidence to support the use of bevacizumab beyond disease progression in such patients.

Methods: West Japan Oncology Group 5910L was designed as a multicenter, open-label, randomized, phase 2 trial of docetaxel versus docetaxel plus bevacizumab every 3 weeks for patients with recurrent or metastatic nonsquamous NSCLC whose disease had progressed after first-line treatment with bevacizumab plus a platinum-based doublet.

Effectiveness of Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors in Japanese Patients with Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Harboring Minor Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Mutations: Results from a Multicenter Retrospective Study (HANSHIN Oncology Group 0212).

Aim: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with minor mutations in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene, except for the common 15 base-pair deletions in exon 19 and the L858R mutation in exon 21, is rare, and only few data exist on this patient population. The aim of the present study was to describe the clinical characteristics and to clarify the efficacy of EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in patients with NSCLC harboring minor mutations of the EGFR gene.

Patients And Methods: This was a multicenter, retrospective study that analyzed specimens from patients with NSCLC who had minor EGFR gene mutations and were treated with EGFR-TKIs between June 2002 and March 2012.

A randomized phase II study of bevacizumab in combination with docetaxel or S-1 in patients with non-squamous non-small-cell lung cancer previously treated with platinum based chemotherapy (HANSHIN Oncology Group 0110).

Objectives: This randomized phase II trial investigated the efficacy and safety of docetaxel plus bevacizumab and S-1 plus bevacizumab in the second-line treatment of non-squamous (non-Sq) non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Materials And Methods: Patients with non-Sq NSCLC who experienced disease progression after prior platinum-based chemotherapy with or without bevacizumab were randomly assigned to receive docetaxel plus bevacizumab (DB) once every 3 weeks or S-1 orally twice daily on days 1-14 plus bevacizumab (SB) on day 1 every 3 weeks until disease progression.

Results: Ninety patients were randomized.

A phase II study of pemetrexed monotherapy in chemo-naïve Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status 2 patients with EGFR wild-type or unknown advanced non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (HANSHIN Oncology Group 002).

Purpose: The aim of our study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of pemetrexed monotherapy in chemo-naïve Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status (PS) 2 patients with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) wild-type or unknown advanced non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods: Pemetrexed was administered at 500 mg/m(2) triweekly until progression with supplementations in chemo-naïve ECOG PS 2 patients with EGFR wild-type or unknown advanced non-squamous NSCLC.

Results: Between September 2009 and April 2013, twenty-eight patients were enrolled.

A phase II study of pemetrexed in patients with previously heavily treated non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (HANSHIN Oncology Group 001).

Purpose: Pemetrexed has shown substantial activity in non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and is one of the current standard agents in second-line settings due to its efficacy and favorable tolerability profile. We conducted phase II study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of pemetrexed in Japanese patients with previously heavily treated, advanced non-squamous NSCLC.

Methods: Patients with stage IIIB or IV non-squamous NSCLC, performance status (PS) 0-2, previous two to five regimens of chemotherapy were enrolled and received pemetrexed (500 mg/m(2)) on day 1 every 21 days until disease progression.

Randomized phase II study of two different schedules of gemcitabine and oral S-1 in chemo-naïve patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

Introduction: This study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy and safety and to compare dosing schedules of gemcitabine combined with S-1 in chemo-naïve non-small cell lung cancer patients.

Methods: Patients with chemo-naïve stage IIIB/IV non-small cell lung cancer were randomized into two treatment arms. Patients were given oral S-1 (60 mg/m/d, twice a day) from days 1 to 14 with gemcitabine (1000 mg/m/d) on days 1 and 8 (arm A) or on days 8 and 15 (arm B).

Usefulness of the oximetry test for the diagnosis of sleep apnea syndrome in Japan.

We evaluated the usefulness of oximetry tests that are frequently used as screening tools for sleep apnea syndrome (SAS) by determining the level of agreement between oximetry test results and polysomnography test (PSG) results. We retrospectively examined 135 patients suspected of having SAS. Although the oximetry desaturation index (DSI) seemed better than the oximetry apnea index in the agreement with the polysomnography respiratory disturbance index (RDI), the criteria of DSI greater than or equal to 15 was not sensitive enough to screen for moderate SAS (PSG-RDI >or= 20).

Sphingosine 1-phosphate induces alpha-smooth muscle actin expression in lung fibroblasts via Rho-kinase.

Transformation of fibroblasts into myofibroblasts is an important phenomenon that contributes to airway remodeling in bronchial asthma. Although several articles have recently indicated that a bioactive lysosphingolipid sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) plays roles in the pathogenesis of bronchial asthma, the role of S1P in the remodeling process is poorly understood. In the present study, we examined the effects of S1P on alpha-smooth muscle actin (SMA) expression and the morphology in lung fibroblasts.

[A case of pneumocystis carinii pneumonia associated with low dose methotrexate treatment for rheumatoid arthritis and trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole induced pancytopenia].

A 64-year-old man was admitted to our hospital complaining of dyspnea and fever. He had been treated with low-dose methotrexate for rheumatoid arthritis. Chest radiography showed diffuse ground-glass attenuation in both lung fields, and hypoxia was detected.