A randomized phase II trial of intra-arterial chemotherapy using SM-11355 (Miriplatin) for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background: SM-11355 is a platinum complex developed to treat hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) via administration into the hepatic artery as a sustained-release suspension in iodized oil. We conducted a multicenter phase II trial in patients with HCC to evaluate the efficacy and safety of SM-11355, using a Zinostatin stimalamer suspension in iodized oil as a reference.

Methods: Patients with unresectable HCC were randomized 2:1 to receive administration of the SM-11355 or Zinostatin stimalamer suspension into the hepatic artery.

Clinicopathological study of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in Japan: the risk factors for fibrosis.

Background/aims: We evaluated patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and compared the clinical and pathological features to identify the risk factors for NAFLD with severe fibrosis.

Methods: One hundred and eighty-two patients with biopsy-confirmed NAFLD from various medical centres were recruited into this study.

Results: The variables that were significantly associated with severe steatosis were male gender (mild:severe=36%:53%, P=0.

Present status of hepatitis virus-associated hepatocellular carcinoma in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan: a cross-sectional study of 1019 patients.

The present study was designed to determine the frequency of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. We examined the clinical features of 1019 patients with HCC who visited our hospitals between January and December 1999. The ratio of men to women was 709 : 310, and the peak incidence of HCC was in the seventh decade of life in both men and women.