Selection of anti-cytokine biologics by pretreatment levels of serum leucine-rich alpha-2 glycoprotein in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

Serum leucine-rich alpha-2 glycoprotein (LRG) can monitor disease activities during biologics treatment in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). It is unclear whether the pretreatment serum LRG level can predict clinical effectiveness including serum trough levels of ustekinumab in patients with IBD. This multicenter prospective cohort study included 184 patients (Crohn's disease, 104; ulcerative colitis, 80) who received ustekinumab (n = 119) or anti-tumor necrosis factor (n = 65) between January 2019 and March 2023.

Predictive Factors of Unexpected Hospitalization within Six Months of Undergoing Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in Patients with Chronic Coronary Disease.

Background Recent guidelines recommend dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) for six months following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with chronic coronary disease, as unexpected hospitalization can trigger DAPT discontinuation. This study evaluated the predictive factors for unexpected hospitalization within six months after PCI in patients with chronic coronary disease. Methods This prospective multicenter study included 412 patients who underwent PCI for chronic coronary disease.

A machine learning model for predicting the lymph node metastasis of early gastric cancer not meeting the endoscopic curability criteria.

Background: We developed a machine learning (ML) model to predict the risk of lymph node metastasis (LNM) in patients with early gastric cancer (EGC) who did not meet the existing Japanese endoscopic curability criteria and compared its performance with that of the most common clinical risk scoring system, the eCura system.

Methods: We used data from 4,042 consecutive patients with EGC from 21 institutions who underwent endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) and/or surgery between 2010 and 2021. All resected EGCs were histologically confirmed not to satisfy the current Japanese endoscopic curability criteria.

Usefulness of Gabapentin as an Alternative/Adjunct Therapy for Delirium: A Retrospective Observational Study.

Background: Antipsychotics are commonly used to treat delirium but can adversely affect the extrapyramidal and cardiac conduction systems. Antipsychotic use has also been reported to be associated with increased mortality in older adults. Therefore, alternative and adjunct medications for delirium are necessary.

Efficacy of prophylactic clip closure in reducing the risk of delayed bleeding after colorectal endoscopic submucosal dissection in patients on anticoagulant therapy: Multicenter prospective study.

Objectives: The high rate of delayed bleeding after colorectal endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) in patients undergoing anticoagulant therapy remains a problem. Whether prophylactic clip closure reduces the rate of delayed bleeding in these patients is unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of prophylactic clip closure in patients receiving anticoagulants.

The relationship between observation interval and prognosis in pancreatic cancer concomitant with intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasia.

Background: Intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasia (IPMN) is a risk factor for pancreatic cancer (PC). PC concomitant with IPMN shows rapid progression similar to de novo PC, therefore, the appropriate observation interval (OI) is not yet clear.

Patients And Method: This was a multicenter retrospective observational study, and patients with PC concomitant with IPMN were analyzed.

Magnetic resonance imaging-based risk factors of hepatocellular carcinoma after direct-acting antiviral therapy: A multicenter observational study.

Aim: To determine risk factors associated with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development following direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy.

Methods: We enrolled patients with chronic hepatitis C who underwent direct-acting antiviral therapy and achieved sustained virologic response at 12 weeks between 2012 and 2018. Subsequently, patients were followed up.

Efficacy and associated factors of endoscopic transpapillary drainage for postoperative biliary leakage.

Objective: Adequate biliary decompression is important in treating bile leaks, and endoscopic transpapillary drainage is widely used for this purpose. As an indicator to evaluate the usefulness of endoscopic drainage for postoperative biliary leakage, we focused on external drain removability, which affects quality of life, after endoscopic treatment. Our aim was to clarify the success rate of external tube removal after endoscopic drainage for postoperative biliary leakage and to examine associated factors.

Progressive Spreading of DNA Methylation in the GSTP1 Promoter CpG Island across Transitions from Precursors to Invasive Prostate Cancer.

Unlabelled: Glutathione S-transferase pi 1 (GSTP1) is lowly expressed in normal prostate luminal cells and becomes induced in most proliferative inflammatory atrophy (PIA) lesions. GSTP1 becomes silenced in prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN) and prostate adenocarcinoma (CaP) via cytosine-phospho-guanine (CpG) island promoter hypermethylation. However, GSTP1 methylation patterns in PIA and PIN, and their relationship to patterns in CaP are poorly understood.

Pretreatment with antibiotics is associated with reduced therapeutic response to atezolizumab plus bevacizumab in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

Aim: Alterations in microbial composition of gut microbiota due to antibiotics (ATB) may lead to resistance to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). This study aimed to assess the impact of ATB use on therapeutic response in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) receiving atezolizumab plus bevacizumab.

Methods: This study retrospectively analyzed 105 patients with HCC treated with atezolizumab plus bevacizumab as a primary systemic therapy from prospectively-registered, multicenter, cohorts.

Thrombospondin-2 as a Predictive Biomarker for Hepatocellular Carcinoma after Hepatitis C Virus Elimination by Direct-Acting Antiviral.

We evaluated the value of secreted glycoprotein thrombospondin-2 (TSP-2) to predict hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) occurrence in chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients after Hepatitis C virus (HCV) elimination by direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs). A total of 786 CHC patients without an HCC history who achieved a sustained virological response (SVR) with DAAs were randomly assigned 2:1, with 524 patients as the derivation cohort and 262 patients as the validation cohort. Serum TSP-2 levels at the end of treatment were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

The FIB-4 Index Predicts the Development of Liver-Related Events, Extrahepatic Cancers, and Coronary Vascular Disease in Patients with NAFLD.

The prognosis of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) patients depends on liver-related events (LREs), extrahepatic cancers, and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs). The fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) index is one of the most reliable and useful predictors of the degree of liver fibrosis. Recent studies have reported that the FIB-4 index is also useful for predicting LREs and MACEs in NAFLD patients.

Plasmablastic lymphoma occurring in ulcerative colitis during treatment with immunosuppressive therapy.

A 53-year-old man who had a history of ulcerative colitis (UC) for 2 years underwent colonoscopy as regular follow-up. The results showed an elevated lesion in the descending colon, which was diagnosed as plasmablastic lymphoma (PBL) based on pathological findings. In situ hybridization for the Epstein-Barr virus-encoded RNA probe was positive.

[SMALL RENAL CELL CARCINOMA METASTASIS TO THE IPSILATERAL PERIRENAL FAT SYNCHRONOUSLY: A CASE REPORT].

Small renal cell carcinoma with metastases is rare; thus, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of synchronous metastasis to the ipsilateral perirenal fat.A 70-year-old man visited our hospital because of early gastric carcinoma. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography revealed a right renal tumor and two small nodules in the ipsilateral perirenal fat.

Improved Liver Function After Sustained Virologic Response Enhanced Prognosis in Hepatitis C with Compensated Advanced Liver Fibrosis.

Background And Aim: Liver function can be improved in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection who achieved sustained virologic response (SVR) with direct-acting antiviral (DAA) treatment. However, to our knowledge, the impact of liver function improvement after SVR on prognosis has not been investigated.

Methods: A total of 716 patients with chronic HCV infection and compensated advanced liver fibrosis who began receiving DAA treatment between September 2014 and August 2018 in 25 Japanese hospitals and achieved SVR were enrolled.

Local recurrence after endoscopic resection of sessile serrated lesions: A multicenter prospective study by the Osaka Gut Forum.

Background And Aim: Sessile serrated lesions (SSLs) act as precursors to colorectal cancer, sometimes harbor carcinomas, and are sometimes incompletely resected. We aimed to evaluate local recurrence after endoscopic resection of SSL ≥10 mm.

Methods: This prospective, single-arm, observational study was performed at eight Japanese tertiary institutions.

Analysis of the risk factors for osteoporosis and its prevalence after gastrectomy for gastric cancer in older patients: a prospective study.

Purpose: Osteoporosis leads to fragility fractures and is a major public health problem. We conducted this study to analyze the prevalence of and risk factors for osteoporosis after gastrectomy in older patients.

Methods: This multicenter prospective trial comprised older patients without recurrence of gastric cancer for > 3 years after curative surgery.

Risk of hepatocellular carcinoma after sustained virologic response in hepatitis C virus patients without advanced liver fibrosis.

Aim: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after sustained virologic response (SVR) has been observed even in hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients without advanced liver fibrosis. Identifying predictors for HCC incidence in patients without advanced liver fibrosis will enable efficient post-SVR HCC surveillance. This study aimed to develop a scoring system to predict the incidence of HCC after SVR in HCV patients without advanced liver fibrosis.

Multiomics identifies the link between intratumor steatosis and the exhausted tumor immune microenvironment in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background And Aims: Immunotherapy has become the standard-of-care treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but its efficacy remains limited. To identify immunotherapy-susceptible HCC, we profiled the molecular abnormalities and tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) of rapidly increasing nonviral HCC.

Approaches And Results: We performed RNA-seq of tumor tissues in 113 patients with nonviral HCC and cancer genome sequencing of 69 genes with recurrent genetic alterations reported in HCC.