Cytoplasmic expression of epithelial cell transforming sequence 2 in lung adenocarcinoma and its implications for malignant progression.

Epithelial cell transforming sequence 2 (ECT2), a guanine nucleotide exchange factor, is predominantly localized in the nucleus of non-transformed cells and functions to regulate cytokinesis. ECT2 is also localized in the cytoplasm of cancer cells. Aberrant cytoplasmic expression of ECT2 is thought to drive tumor growth and invasion.

Heterotopic production of ceruloplasmin by lung adenocarcinoma is significantly correlated with prognosis.

Objectives: Ceruloplasmin (CP) is a well-known copper binding protein synthesized mainly in the liver, but its expression is known to be elevated in the serum of cancer patients and in malignant tumor cells. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide, and adenocarcinoma is the main histological type of lung cancer. However, the role of CP in lung adenocarcinoma is still unclear.

Efficiency of the Lung Flute for sputum induction in patients with presumed pulmonary tuberculosis.

Introduction: High quality sputum helps increase the sensitivity of the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis.

Objectives: To evaluate the efficiency of the acoustic device (Lung Flute; LF) in sputum induction compared with the conventional method, hypertonic saline inhalation (HSI).

Methods: In this crossover study, patients with presumed pulmonary tuberculosis submitted 3 consecutive sputa: the first sputum without induction and the second and third ones using LF and HSI.

Evaluation of QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus for Detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in Japan.

Performance of interferon-γ (IFN-γ) release assays still needs to be improved. The data on the performance of QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus (QFT-Plus), a new-generation of QFT assay are limited. This study evaluated the diagnostic performance of QFT-Plus, and compared to that of QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube (QFT-GIT).

S-1-containing chemotherapy for patients with non-small-cell lung cancer: A population-based observational study by the Ibaraki thoracic integrative (POSITIVE) research group.

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of S-1 monotherapy, S-1-containing combined chemotherapy and S-1 containing chemoradiotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), a population-based observational study was performed. The efficacy and safety of the chemotherapies were evaluated at 13 institutes in a prefecture of Japan between April 2011 and March 2015. Datasets were obtained from 282 patients with NSCLC.

Efficacy of first-line erlotinib in non-small cell lung cancer patients undergoing dose reduction and those with a low body surface area: A population-based observational study by the Ibaraki Thoracic Integrative (POSITIVE) Research Group.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of erlotinib, one of the epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs), in patients undergoing dose reduction and in those with a low body surface area (BSA). The association between dose reduction, low BSA and efficacy, including response rate, disease control rate, time to treatment failure and overall survival, were evaluated in patients prescribed first-line erlotinib for EGFR mutated non-small cell lung cancer patients between April 2012 and March 2015. A total of 22 patients received first-line erlotinib during the study period.

Effects of the endothelin receptor antagonist bosentan on hemodynamics and exercise capacity in Japanese patients with mildly symptomatic pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) trial has mostly enrolled patients with World Health Organization functional class (WHO FC) III or IV. However, PAH is rapidly progressive in nature even in patients with less severe forms at diagnosis. Following the recent studies in Western population, here we assessed the efficacy of bosentan in Japanese patients with WHO FCII PAH.

The effects of a Gly16Arg ADRB2 polymorphism on responses to salmeterol or montelukast in Japanese patients with mild persistent asthma.

Background: Long-acting β2-agonists and leukotriene receptor antagonists are two principal agents that can be added to inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) for patients with asthma that is not adequately controlled by ICS alone. The Gly16Arg genotype of the β2-adrenergic receptor (ADRB2) gene may influence the bronchodilator effects of β2-agonists. We hypothesized that differential responses to long-acting β2-agonists or leukotriene receptor antagonists might be determined partly by the Gly16Arg polymorphism in Japanese asthma patients.

Erlotinib for elderly patients with non-small-cell lung cancer: Subset analysis from a population-based observational study by the Ibaraki Thoracic Integrative (POSITIVE) Research Group.

The incidence and mortality of lung cancer have increased worldwide over the last decades, with an observed increased incidence particularly among elderly populations. It has not yet been determined whether erlotinib therapy exhibits the same efficacy and safety in elderly and younger patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The aim of this retrospective subgroup analysis of data from a population-based observational study was to assess the efficacy and safety of erlotinib in an elderly (≥75 years, n=74) and a younger group of patients (<75 years, n=233) who received treatment for NSCLC.

Pharmacokinetics of a new fentanyl tape with a novel delivery system of transdermal matrix patches in patients with cancer pain.

Objectives: A novel delivery system for transdermal matrix patches of fentanyl has been developed. The new fentanyl tape consists of a backing layer, a drug-containing layer and a release liner that is originally made of rubber adhesive. This open-label prospective study investigated the pharmacokinetics and safety of the fentanyl tape in patients with cancer pain.

Efficacy and safety of voriconazole in the treatment of chronic pulmonary aspergillosis: experience in Japan.

Background: Though various clinical conditions of aspergillosis can occur, depending essentially on the host's immunological status, the focus of research in North American and European countries has mainly been on invasive pulmonary aspergillosis in immunocompromised patients. There are, however, also many problems to overcome in chronic forms of aspergillosis. One of those problems is that there are no codified treatment guidelines for chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA).

Two cases of tuberculosis with multiple drug hypersensitivity after drug-induced hypersensitivity syndrome.

Here, we report 2 cases of drug-induced hypersensitivity syndrome (DIHS) caused by salazosulfapyridine and allopurinol during tuberculosis treatment. Both patients also developed multiple drug hypersensitivity (MDH) to several antituberculosis drugs that were used at around the period of DIHS onset, and thus, the treatment could not be successfully completed. Our cases show that MDH can easily occur after development of DIHS.

A case of familial pulmonary mycobacterium avium complex disease.

We report one Japanese familial line in which there were three pulmonary MAC patients and one suspected patient over two generations, most of whom were diagnosed with the nodular/bronchiectatic type. In all patients, life circumstances and bacterial strains differed at the time of diagnosis. This suggests that the genes thought to affect patient susceptibility to pulmonary MAC disease may be involved in this family line.