Current Status of Sequential Treatment for Castration-resistant Prostate Cancer: A Retrospective Analysis.

Background/aim: Although multiple treatments are available for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, data to determine the optimal treatment sequence are limited. This study aimed to investigate the current status of drug therapy for castration-resistant prostate cancer and clarify the sequential treatment in actual clinical practice.

Patients And Methods: This retrospective study included 425 patients diagnosed with castration-resistant prostate cancer at Showa University Hospital and affiliated hospitals between January 2014 and December 2021, who were treated with any of the following four drugs: novel androgen receptor signal inhibitors (abiraterone acetate and enzalutamide) and anticancer drugs (docetaxel and cabazitaxel).

Use of Direct Oral Anticoagulation for Isolated Distal Deep Vein Thrombosis in Japanese Orthopedic Patients.

Although direct oral anticoagulants (DOAC) have become widely used, little is known about the efficacy of DOAC for isolated distal deep vein thrombosis (DVT). In-hospitalized orthopedic patients with isolated distal DVT who were diagnosed from 2016 to 2018 were enrolled and were followed for 1 year. Embolic events included symptomatic pulmonary embolism (PE) and DVT extension above the knee.

Variations in serum concentrations of sunitinib and its metabolites in patients receiving long-term sunitinib treatment.

Purpose: The blood concentrations of some tyrosine kinase inhibitors are known to decrease with long-term administration. We evaluated the variability in the serum concentrations of sunitinib and its metabolites in patients receiving long-term sunitinib treatment.

Methods: This study prospectively recruited patients who received sunitinib for metastatic renal cell carcinoma at the Showa University Hospital between March 2020 and January 2022.

Oral administration of Bifidobacterium longum and Bifidobacterium infantis ameliorates cefcapene pivoxil-induced attenuation of anti-programmed cell death protein-1 antibody action in mice.

Gut bacteria play pivotal roles in the antitumor effects of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). However, antimicrobial therapy, often necessary for infections in cancer patients, can reduce the efficacy of ICIs. The potential of probiotics to restore ICI efficacy remains uncertain.

Primary classical seminoma of the testis with rhabdoid differentiation.

Rhabdoid differentiation is an indicator of poor prognosis that is often seen in renal cell carcinoma; however, it is also rarely seen in non-renal tumours. Therefore, pathologists should carefully review this finding and report. This report describes the first case of a seminoma of testicular origin that developed rhabdoid differentiation.

Changes in Clinical Features and Severity of COVID-19 with the Emergence of Omicron Variants: A Shift Towards a Common Disease.

Background: The emergence of the Omicron variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 has significantly altered the clinical features and severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Objective: This study aims to evaluate whether the clinical factors that previously predicted COVID-19 remain valid following the emergence of the Omicron variant.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at Showa University Fujigaoka Hospital from April 2022 to March 2023.

A morphology of the distal medial femoral surface that should be considered when performing coronal osteotomy in medial closed wedge distal femoral varus osteotomy.

Aims: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the morphology of the distal medial femoral surface during coronal osteotomy in medial closed wedge distal femoral varus osteotomy (MCWDFO) using plain CT.

Methods: Twenty knees (mean age, 55.3 years) were included.

Successful management of immunotherapy-resistant respiratory failure in anti-mitochondrial M2 antibody-positive myositis by modified lung volume recruitment therapy: A case report.

Rationale: Anti-mitochondrial antibodies (AMA) M2-positive myositis can lead to severe respiratory failure. Traditional immunotherapies sometimes fail to address respiratory failure. Herein, this CARE-compliant case report described a patient with AMA-M2-positive myositis who recovered from ventilation with tracheostomy owing to immunotherapy-resistant respiratory failure to spontaneous breathing after modified lung volume recruitment (mLVR) therapy.

Electroacupuncture Inhibits Cartilage Degeneration in a Rat Knee Osteoarthritis (KOA) Model by Suppressing ADAMTS5 Expression.

Background Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is characterized by cartilage degradation, osteophyte formation, and synovitis. Cartilage degradation in KOA begins with the loss of aggrecan, primarily due to A Disintegrin and Metalloproteinase with Thrombospondin Motif 5 (ADAMTS5), which is produced by chondrocytes and synovial cells and a key target for therapeutic intervention. Current treatments for KOA primarily focus on pain relief, as disease-modifying osteoarthritis drugs (DMOADs) remain unavailable.

Intracholecystic papillary neoplasm associated with an invasive carcinoma with cholecystocolonic fistula: a case report.

Intracholecystic papillary neoplasm and cholecystocolonic fistula are both relatively rare diseases. Here, we report a case of a preoperative intracholecystic papillary neoplasm associated with invasive carcinoma and a transverse colonic fistula of the gallbladder. A 79-year-old female patient presented to our hospital with persistent right upper quadrant pain for several months and was suspected to have intracholecystic papillary neoplasm associated with an invasive carcinoma by computed tomography and endoscopic ultrasound.

Efficiency of gene therapy for sensorineural hearing loss in mouse model: A meta-analysis.

Objectives: Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) is a disorder characterized by the loss or impairment of cochlear hair cells or the auditory nerve. In recent years, gene therapy has emerged as a promising approach for SNHL treatment. The objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of gene therapy on the restoration or improvement of auditory function in mouse model with loss or impairment of hearing.

Prevalence of Urinary Incontinence and Its Association With Neurodevelopmental Disorders Among Children in Japan.

Aim: To investigate urinary incontinence prevalence and its association with neurodevelopmental disorders among children in Japan.

Methods: A web-based survey was conducted on children aged 5-15 years in Japan. Information on daytime and nocturnal incontinence and neurodevelopmental disorders, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, and intellectual disability, was collected.

Repeated pancreatic juice cytology via endoscopic nasopancreatic drainage catheter combined with clinical findings improves diagnostic ability for malignant cases of suspected pancreatic cancer with non-identifiable tumors.

Background/objectives: The detection of pancreatic cancer (PC) often depends on indirect indicators such as parenchyma atrophy (PPA), main pancreatic duct stenosis, and low echoic areas, particularly when no mass is evident on imaging. While pathological evaluation is the gold standard for differentiating malignant from benign conditions, endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration/biopsy is not always feasible in such cases. Serial pancreatic juice aspiration cytologic examination (SPACE) via endoscopic nasopancreatic drainage (NPD) has emerged as an alternative diagnostic method, though its accuracy remains underevaluated.

Indications for treatment of incidental obturator hernia encountered during transabdominal preperitoneal repair (TAPP).

Purpose: To clarify indications for treating incidental obturator hernia (IOH) detected during laparoscopic groin hernia repair by comparing features of IOH with obturator hernia (OH) complicated by incarceration.

Methods: Twenty patients who underwent laparoscopic OH repair between January 2017 and July 2024 were included in this retrospective study. They were divided into groups with incarceration or a past history of incarceration (the OH group) or without incarceration (the IOH group).

Transpancreatic precut sphincterotomy: Can nonexperts match the outcomes of experts?

Background: Nonexpert endoscopists cannot achieve high-quality performance during difficult biliary cannulation, representing a significant challenge; precutting is an effective approach for managing these cases. Transpancreatic biliary sphincterotomy (TPBS) is considered more effective than needle-knife precutting owing to its wire-guided technique, which may be suitable for nonexpert endoscopists; however, comparisons between nonexpert and expert endoscopists performing TPBS are not well documented.

Methods: Consecutive patients who underwent TPBS between January 2010 and April 2024 were evaluated.

Modified FOLFOXIRI plus cetuximab versus bevacizumab in RAS wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer: a randomized phase II DEEPER trial.

The clinical significance of FOLFOXIRI (5-FU, leucovorin, oxaliplatin, and irinotecan) plus anti-EGFR monoclonal antibody using cetuximab for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) remains controversial. We report results from a randomized phase 2 DEEPER trial (UMIN000018217, jRCTs061180022) to test the superiority of modified (m)-FOLFOXIRI plus weekly cetuximab over bevacizumab in patients with RAS wild-type (wt) mCRC. Primary endpoint was depth of response (DpR).

Endoscopic ultrasound-guided tissue acquisition for focal liver lesions can be safely performed in patients with ascites.

In patients with ascites, percutaneous liver biopsy is generally contraindicated. Because endoscopic ultrasound-guided tissue acquisition (EUS-TA) allows tissue sample obtention from the digestive tract lumen, a biopsy without the intervention of ascites may prevent adverse events (AEs). This study aimed to evaluate the safety of EUS-TA for focal liver lesions in the presence of ascites.

Aging, not Parkinson's disease, decreases a recalibration of body ownership caused by vision-respiratory interaction.

Introduction: Recalibration of body ownership perception occurs through an integration among multiple modalities. A recent study has shown that respiratory rhythm also causes the recalibration of ownership perception. However, the risk factors influencing the recalibration of ownership perception caused by vision-respiratory interaction remain unclear.

Wave speed mapping visualizes the cavotricuspid isthmus reconnection area: A case report.

Key Clinical Message: In addition to the reentrant map, the wave speed map can be helpful in accurately identifying the CTI gap during radiofrequency application for atrial flutter(AFL). However, in complex cases involving extensive scarring and multiple low-velocity local areas, this technique may not be useful.

Abstract: A 73-year-old male patient with a history of pulmonary vein isolation and cavotricuspid isthmus ablation underwent a second catheter ablation owing to recurrent atrial flutter (AFL).

Relationship between scapular internal rotation and upper-trunk movements during right and left hand-behind-back movements.

[Purpose] This study aimed to clarify the relationship between scapular internal rotation and upper-trunk movement during hand-behind-back movements of the right and left hands. [Participants and Methods] We included 20 healthy right-handed men and measured their hand-behind-back movements while sitting, using a three-dimensional motion capture system. We examined the relationship between scapular internal rotation and upper-trunk movements during hand-behind-back movements with the right and left hands.

Type I-conventional dendritic cells support the progression of multiple myeloma in the bone marrow.

Purpose: Type I conventional dendritic cells (cDC1s) play a key role in priming anti-tumor cytotoxic T cells and inducing immune tolerance for self-antigens and tumor antigens. However, it remains unclear whether cDC1 has a protective or pathogenic role in multiple myeloma. We investigated a role of cDC1 in myeloma progression.