Albumin-Butyrylcholinesterase as a Novel Prognostic Biomarker for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Post-hepatectomy: A Retrospective Cohort Study with the Hiroshima Surgical Study Group of Clinical Oncology.

Background: This study aimed to investigate the association between a new biomarker that incorporates albumin (Alb) and butyrylcholinesterase (BCHE) levels, as well as the prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after hepatectomy.

Methods: The study enrolled 1712 patients who underwent primary hepatectomy for HCC between January 2003 and December 2019 at seven institutions belonging to the Hiroshima Surgical Study Group of Clinical Oncology. The entire dataset was randomly split into discovery and validation cohorts in a 7:3 ratio.

Predictors of tolerability for postoperative adjuvant S1 plus docetaxel chemotherapy for gastric cancer: a multicenter retrospective study.

Background: Adjuvant docetaxel plus S1 (DS) chemotherapy after gastrectomy with D2 lymph node dissection is the standard treatment for stage III gastric cancer in Japan; however, some patients are unable to receive adequate drug administration because of the deterioration of their conditions. This study aimed to investigate the correlation between tolerability for postoperative adjuvant DS chemotherapy and prognosis, and the factors affecting tolerability.

Methods: This retrospective study involved patients with stage III gastric cancer who underwent curative resection between 2018 and 2021 from a multicenter database.

Identification of novel sub-phenotypes of severe ARDS requiring ECMO using latent class analysis.

Background: Sub-phenotyping of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) could be useful for evaluating the severity of ARDS or predicting its responsiveness to given therapeutic strategies, but no studies have yet investigated the heterogeneity of patients with severe ARDS requiring veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (V-V ECMO).

Methods: We conducted this retrospective multicenter observational study in adult patients with severe ARDS treated by V-V ECMO. We performed latent class analysis (LCA) for identifying sub-phenotypes of severe ARDS based on the radiological and clinical findings at the start of ECMO support.

Prediction of Pathologic Complete Response in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Using Preoperative Serum Small Ribonucleic Acid Obtained After Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy.

Background: The authors hypothesized that small ribonucleic acid (sRNA) obtained from blood samples after neoadjuvant therapy from patients treated with neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy (NACRT) could serve as a novel biomarker for predicting pathologic complete response (pCR).

Methods: This study included 99 patients treated with esophagectomy after NACRT between March 2010 and October 2021 whose blood samples were collected between the end of NACRT and surgery. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) was used to analyze sRNAs from the blood samples.

Baseline eosinophil proportion is a useful predictor of immune-related adverse events following immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment for recurrent metastatic head and neck cancer.

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) occasionally cause immune-related adverse events (irAEs) in various organs. However, predictors of irAEs remain unidentified.

Objectives: We evaluated the predictors of irAEs and compared the outcomes of ICIs with and without irAEs in patients with recurrent/metastatic head and neck cancers (R/M HNCs).

Intermediate hepatitis C virus (HCV) endemicity and its genotype distribution in Myanmar: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Comprehensive details on Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in Myanmar are lacking. This study determined the prevalence of HCV antibodies and ribonucleic acid (RNA) and the distribution of HCV genotypes across different populations in Myanmar from 1990 to 2023.

Material And Methods: A systematic search in PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and local journals identified studies reporting on HCV antibodies, RNA, and genotypes, excluding clinical research related to liver disease prognosis.

Clinical significance and biological role of claudin-1 in oral squamous cell carcinoma cells.

Objectives: Claudin (CLD), a major component of tight junctions, is a four-transmembrane protein, and 24 subtypes have been reported in humans. CLD expression is highly tissue-specific; CLD1 has been reported to be expressed in the skin and mucosa. There have been few reports on CLD1 expression and its function in oral cancer.

Mucinous Cystic Neoplasm of the Liver in a Teenager: A Case Report.

Mucinous cystic neoplasms of the liver (MCN-Ls) are rare cystic liver tumors. Herein, we report a case of MCN-L wherein complete surgical resection was successful. A 17-year-old girl initially presented to the referring hospital with a chief complaint of upper abdominal pain.

A multimodal non-pharmacological intervention for persons with dementia in nursing homes: a multicentre randomised controlled trial.

Background: Persons with dementia in nursing homes often experience cognitive decline (e.g., memory and visuospatial/construction problems), behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD), and impaired activities of daily living.

RadImageNet and ImageNet as Datasets for Transfer Learning in the Assessment of Dental Radiographs: A Comparative Study.

Transfer learning (TL) is an alternative approach to the full training of deep learning (DL) models from scratch and can transfer knowledge gained from large-scale data to solve different problems. ImageNet, which is a publicly available large-scale dataset, is a commonly used dataset for TL-based image analysis; many studies have applied pre-trained models from ImageNet to clinical prediction tasks and have reported promising results. However, some have questioned the effectiveness of using ImageNet, which consists solely of natural images, for medical image analysis.

Effects of novel lactoferrin peptides on LPS-induced alveolar bone destruction in a rat model.

To develop novel bovine lactoferrin (bLF) peptides targeting bLF-tumour necrosis factor (TNF) receptor-associated factor 6 (TRAF6) binding sites, we identified two peptides that could target bLF-TRAF6 binding sites using structural analysis. Moreover, another peptide that could bind to the TRAF6 dimerization area was selected from the bLF sequence. The effects of each peptide on cytokine expression in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated osteoblasts (ST2) and on osteoclastogenesis were examined using an LPS-treated co-culture of primary bone marrow cells (BMCs) with ST2 cells and a single culture of osteoclast precursor cells (RAW-D) treated with soluble receptor activator of NF-κB ligand.

Feasibility, safety, and efficacy of intraoperative magnetic resonance imaging-guided hepatectomy for small hepatocellular carcinoma: A retrospective study.

Advancements in diagnostic modalities, such as enhanced magnetic resonance imaging, provide increased opportunities for identifying small hepatocellular carcinoma that is undetectable on preoperative ultrasonography. Whether it is acceptable to leave these lesions untreated is uncertain. This study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of intraoperative magnetic resonance imaging-guided hepatectomy using new navigation systems.

Serum Calcification Propensity T50 Is Associated with Soluble Thrombomodulin in Patients on Hemodialysis.

Levels of circulating soluble thrombomodulin (sTM), an anticoagulant factor, are associated with the severity and progression of arteriosclerotic diseases. However, the role of elevated sTM levels remains to be clarified in patients on dialysis. As the calcification propensity time T50 is a novel marker of arterial calcification, we aimed to determine the association between sTM and T50 in patients on hemodialysis (HD).

Analysis of Oral and Gut Microbiome Composition and Its Impact in Patients with Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

The impact of gut and oral microbiota on the clinical outcomes of patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is unknown. We compared the bacterial composition of dental plaque and feces between patients with OSCC and healthy controls (HCs). Fecal and dental plaque samples were collected from 7 HCs and 18 patients with OSCC before treatment initiation.