Impact of immune checkpoint inhibitors on survival outcomes in advanced gastric cancer in Japan: A real-world analysis.

Background: Nivolumab was approved for the treatment of advanced gastric cancer in 2017 in Japan. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of nivolumab in a real-world clinical setting.

Methods: This single-institutional retrospective study included patients with advanced gastric or esophagogastric junction adenocarcinoma and a history of first-line chemotherapy with platinum-based doublet or triplet regimens between 2010 and 2020.

Evolution of wheat blast resistance gene Rmg8 accompanied by differentiation of variants recognizing the powdery mildew fungus.

Wheat blast, a devastating disease having spread recently from South America to Asia and Africa, is caused by Pyricularia oryzae (synonym of Magnaporthe oryzae) pathotype Triticum, which first emerged in Brazil in 1985. Rmg8 and Rmg7, genes for resistance to wheat blast found in common wheat and tetraploid wheat, respectively, recognize the same avirulence gene, AVR-Rmg8. Here we show that an ancestral resistance gene, which had obtained an ability to recognize AVR-Rmg8 before the differentiation of Triticum and Aegilops, has expanded its target pathogens.

Time Course of Left Ventricular Strain Assessment via Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Myocardial Feature Tracking in Takotsubo Syndrome.

Although takotsubo syndrome (TTS) is characterized by transient systolic dysfunction of the left ventricle (LV), the time course and mechanism of LV function recovery remain elusive. The aim of this study is to evaluate cardiac functional recovery in TTS via serial cardiac magnetic resonance feature tracking (CMR-FT). In this Japanese multicenter registry, patients with newly diagnosed TTS were prospectively enrolled.

Effect of short foot exercise on lower-limb motor control function during single-leg standing in university students with flatfoot: A randomized controlled trial.

Introduction: Intrinsic foot muscles (IFMs) play an important role in lower-limb motor control, including biomechanics and neuromuscular control function. Short foot exercise (SFE) and toe curl exercise (TC) are methods used to train the IFMs, but their effect on lower-limb motor control has not been reported in previous studies. This study evaluated the effects of SFE and TC on lower-limb motor control function during single-leg standing (SLS).

Doublet chemotherapy, triplet chemotherapy, or doublet chemotherapy combined with radiotherapy as neoadjuvant treatment for locally advanced oesophageal cancer (JCOG1109 NExT): a randomised, controlled, open-label, phase 3 trial.

Background: Neoadjuvant therapy is the standard treatment for patients with locally advanced oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). However, the prognosis remains poor and more intensive neoadjuvant treatment might be needed to improve patient outcomes. We therefore aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of neoadjuvant doublet chemotherapy, triplet chemotherapy, and doublet chemotherapy plus radiotherapy in patients with previously untreated locally advanced OSCC.

V600E-mutant colorectal cancer with CNS metastases treated successfully with encorafenib, binimetinib and cetuximab.

This report describes a case of BRAF V600E-mutated colorectal cancer with CNS metastases in which treatment with encorafenib, binimetinib and cetuximab was effective. There is limited information on the ability of encorafenib, binimetinib and cetuximab to enter the CNS.The patient was a 53-year-old man was diagnosed with ascending colon cancer (cT3N3M1c stage IVc).

[Basic MRI Study in the Imaging Direction of a Diffusion-weighted Whole Body Imaging with Background Body Signal Suppression].

A diffusion-weighted whole body imaging with background body signal suppression (DWIBS) is usually imaged as a whole body with Transverse (Tra). However, Tra has a large number of stations and a larger number than Coronal (Cor), so the scan time is longer. There are also drawbacks, such as signal unevenness between series.

Role of polyvinylpyrrolidone in the polyol synthesis of platinum nanoparticles.

In this work, platinum (Pt) nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared the reduction of Pt salts in an ethylene glycol induced polyol process with an altered polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)/Pt molar ratio. With the systematic elucidation of the hydrodynamic size in a liquid; the solid-state size and morphology, crystal structure, surface chemical state and thermal decomposition behavior of the synthesized Pt NPs; as well as the reducing dynamic of Pt cations, the role of PVP in the polyol synthesis of Pt NPs is clarified for the first time. It was found that the amount of PVP does not affect the reducing dynamic of Pt cations, but the chemical state of PVP capped on Pt NPs and the resultant particle size significantly depend on the initial PVP/Pt molar ratio in the precursor solution.

Development of perioperative immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy for locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

The standard preoperative treatment for resectable locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is chemoradiotherapy in western countries (based on the CROSS trial) and triplet chemotherapy in Japan (based on the JCOG1109 trial). Postoperative nivolumab has recently been shown to improve disease-free survival in resectable locally advanced esophageal cancer after preoperative chemoradiotherapy in patients who had residual pathological disease, based on the CheckMate 577 trial. Furthermore, preoperative immune checkpoint inhibitor-containing treatments have also been developed.

Progress in second-line antibody therapies for advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Introduction: The prognosis of advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is poor. Although cytotoxic drugs have been widely used in advanced ESCC, several antibody agents have recently been reported to be effective.

Areas Covered: Nivolumab and pembrolizumab are anti-PD-1 antibodies that improve immunosuppression by binding to programmed death-1 (PD-1), leading to an antitumor effect.

Foot Tapping Test as a Simple Quantitative Index of Motor Function for Lumbosacral Radiculopathy.

Study Design: We conducted a retrospective review of data from patients who underwent surgical treatment for lumbosacral radiculopathy.

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of the foot tapping test (FTT) in evaluating lower limb motor function in patients with lumbosacral radiculopathy pre and postsurgery.

Background: Lumbosacral radiculopathy is becoming increasingly common in aging populations.

Integrating Community Care for the Prevention and Treatment of Diabetes.

Introduction: This paper describes 'Project 8', a campaign that aims to reduce glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) to 8% or more among patients with diabetes mellitus, utilising healthcare professionals and local community residents and focusing on education and support. The study is based in Uonuma-a small rural city in Japan with a declining population and an increased number of older people.

Description: 'Project 8' began in Uonuma's Koide Hospital in 2008.

Procalcitonin elevation in febrile recipients during pre-transplant conditioning with anti-thymocyte globulin.

Infection is a major contributor to non-relapse mortality in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). Detecting infectious diseases in febrile patients during pretransplant conditioning is crucial for subsequent transplant success. Procalcitonin (PCT) is an auxiliary diagnostic marker of severe bacterial infections and has been proposed as a useful predictor of infection in patients undergoing allo-HSCT.

[Examination of Optimal Frequency Processing in X-ray Images for Occult Femoral Neck Fractures].

Purpose: Osteosclerotic images are known as an image appearance of occult femoral neck fractures in X-ray images. The aim of this study is to investigate frequency enhancement processing that improves the visibility of the osteosclerotic image.

Methods: We acquired three sclerotic bone images with different thicknesses, and self-made bone equivalent phantoms were set up on a pelvic phantom.

Synthetic retinoid-mediated preconditioning of cancer-associated fibroblasts and macrophages improves cancer response to immune checkpoint blockade.

Background: The proliferation of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) hampers drug delivery and anti-tumor immunity, inducing tumor resistance to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy. However, it has remained a challenge to develop therapeutics that specifically target or modulate CAFs.

Methods: We investigated the involvement of Meflin cancer-restraining CAFs (rCAFs) in ICB efficacy in patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) and urothelial carcinoma (UC).

Oligodendrocyte Cell Line OLP6 Successfully Differentiates on Decellularized Brain Tissue.

Objectives: The mechanisms of mental and neurological diseases have been proposed to be related not only to disorders of the neurons but also to the environment surrounding neurons, such as glial cells and the extracellular matrix (ECM). The chondroitin sulfate (CS) chain, which comprises CS proteoglycans (CSPGs), is one of the major sulfated glycosaminoglycans in the brain. CSPGs play an important role in the development, aging, and pathological conditions of the central nervous system.

(5-Fluoro-2,6-dioxo-1,2,3,6-tetra-hydro-pyrimidin-1-ido-κ )(1,4,8,11-tetra-aza-cyclo-tetra-decane-κ )zinc(II) perchlorate.

In the structure of the title complex, [Zn(CHFNO)(CHN)]ClO, the zinc(II) ion forms coordination bonds with the four nitro-gen atoms of cyclam (1,4,8,11-tetra-aza-cyclo-tetra-decane or [14]aneN4) as well as with the nitro-gen atom of a deprotonated 5-fluoro-uracil ion (FU). Cyclam adopts a -I type conformation within this structure. The coordination structure of the zinc(II) ion is a square pyramid with a distorted base plane formed by the four nitro-gen atoms of the cyclam.