Pain Catastrophizing Is Associated With Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients With Hip Osteoarthritis: A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study.

Objective: This study aimed to examine the relationship between pain catastrophizing (PC) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL), while accounting for pain intensity and other factors in patients with hip osteoarthritis (OA).

Methods: This multicenter, cross-sectional study included a total of 160 participants and was conducted at five hospitals in Japan. The primary outcome was the HRQoL status, which was assessed using the Japanese version of the 12-item Short Form.

Comparison of methotrexate dosing protocols for graft-versus-host disease prophylaxis after unrelated hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Background Aims: Methotrexate (MTX) is used as standard graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. However, the optimal dosing regimen among the various MTX regimens available remains unclear.

Methods: We used the registration data of Kyoto Stem Cell Transplantation Group to compare six MTX dosing protocols in a multicenter retrospective analysis of 816 cases of unrelated bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cell transplantation.

Changes in Shoulder and Lumbar Injury Incidence in Swimmers After Physical Examination and Exercise Programs.

Background: Previous injury and physical examination data collected by a physiotherapist were reviewed to investigate the causes of injury among competitive swimmers. Each swimmer received an injury improvement exercise program based on their injury history and physical examination findings.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify trends in the number of shoulder and lumbar injuries and discern the effectiveness of exercise programs in swimmers.

Oxaliplatin and 5-fluorouracil promote epithelial-mesenchymal transition via activation of KRAS/ERK/NF-κB pathway in KRAS-mutated colon cancer cells.

Oxaliplatin (L-OHP) and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) are used to treat colon cancer; however, resistance contributes to poor prognosis. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) has been induced in tumor tissues after administration of anticancer drugs and may be involved in drug resistance. We investigated the mechanism of EMT induction in colon cancer cells treated with 5-FU and L-OHP.

PSMA PET/CT imaging and its application to prostate cancer treatment.

Recognition of the importance of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) PET/CT in the diagnosis of prostate cancer has steadily increased following the publication of extensive data on its diagnostic accuracy and impact on patient management over the past decade. Several recent clinical trials and investigations regarding PSMA PET/CT have been ongoing in our country, and this examination is expected to become increasingly widespread in the future. This review explains the characteristics of PSMA PET/CT, its diagnostic capabilities and superiority over other modalities, the three proposed PSMA PET/CT interpretation criteria (the European Association of Nuclear Medicine [EANM], the Prostate Cancer Molecular Imaging Standardized Evaluation [PROMISE], and the PSMA Reporting and Data System [PSMA-RADS]), and the application of PSMA PET/CT to prostate cancer treatment (improvement of local control, irradiation of oligometastases, and salvage radiotherapy), incorporating actual clinical images and the latest findings.

Daily change of peritoneal ultrafiltration volume in patients with hybrid dialysis.

Introduction: Hybrid dialysis is widely used in Japan. Although previous reports have shown the beneficial effects of hybrid dialysis, little is known about the daily change in peritoneal ultrafiltration volume in hybrid dialysis.

Methods: A multicenter, cross-sectional study was conducted in 25 patients with hybrid dialysis.

Prospective external validation of radiomics-based predictive model of distant metastasis after dynamic tumor tracking stereotactic body radiation therapy in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer: A multi-institutional analysis.

Background And Purpose: This study aims to externally validate a predictive model for distant metastasis (DM) with computed tomography (CT)-based radiomics features in prospectively enrolled non-small-cell lung cancer patients undergoing dynamic tumor-tracking stereotactic body radiation therapy (DTT-SBRT).

Materials And Methods: The study collected retrospective data from 567 patients across 11 institutions as the training dataset and prospectively enrolled 42 patients from four institutions as the external test dataset. Four clinical features were collected, and 944 CT-based radiomic features were extracted from gross tumor volumes.

Narrative review of indication and management of induction therapy for thymic epithelial tumors.

Background And Objective: Thymic epithelial tumors (TETs) are rare and originate from the thymus. Thymomas and thymic carcinomas are the most common types of TETs. Of the two, thymomas tend to have a better prognosis and are typically localized, while thymic carcinomas have a worse prognosis and are more likely to spread.

Re-evaluation and operative indications after induction therapy for thymic epithelial tumors.

Thymic epithelial tumors (TETs), encompassing thymoma and thymic carcinoma, represent a rare and heterogeneous group of thoracic malignancies with varying prognoses and treatment strategies. Surgical resection is the cornerstone of therapy for localized stages, but the management of locally advanced or unresectable TETs often involves induction therapy, including chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy, as a neoadjuvant approach aimed at downstaging the tumor to facilitate subsequent resection. This review synthesizes current knowledge on the re-evaluation process and operative indications following induction therapy for TETs, highlighting the pivotal role of accurate assessment in guiding surgical decisions and optimizing patient outcomes.

Does self-reported physical activity relate to physical function and walking ability in female patients with hip osteoarthritis? A cross-sectional multicenter study.

Background: The effectiveness of a high level of physical activity in maintaining physical function in patients with hip osteoarthritis has not been adequately examined.

Objective: This study aimed to determine whether self-reported physical activity is associated with physical function and walking ability in female patients with hip osteoarthritis.

Methods: This was a multicenter cross-sectional study.

Retrospective Observational Study of Patients With Subdural Hematoma Treated With Idarucizumab.

Use of anticoagulants is increasing with the aging of societies. The safe first-line drug is likely to be a direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC), but outcomes of treatment of traumatic brain injury (TBI) with anticoagulants are uncertain. Therefore, we examined the clinical effect of idarucizumab as reversal therapy in elderly patients with TBI who were treated with dabigatran.

Waterhouse-Friderichsen Syndrome and Central Diabetes Insipidus Due to Meningitis.

Waterhouse-Friderichsen syndrome and central diabetes insipidus are uncommon but potentially fatal endocrine and metabolic diseases. Waterhouse-Friderichsen syndrome is defined as adrenal insufficiency caused by adrenal hemorrhage, which is typically bilateral and most frequently due to meningococcal infection. It is usually diagnosed by necropsy.

Population-based asymmetric margins for moving targets in real-time tumor tracking.

Background: Both geometric and dosimetric components are commonly considered when determining the margin for planning target volume (PTV). As dose distribution is shaped by controlling beam aperture in peripheral dose prescription and dose-escalated simultaneously integrated boost techniques, adjusting the margin by incorporating the variable dosimetric component into the PTV margin is inappropriate; therefore, geometric components should be accurately estimated for margin calculations.

Purpose: We introduced an asymmetric margin-calculation theory using the guide to the expression of uncertainty in measurement (GUM) and intra-fractional motion.

Prognostic value of pretreatment FDG PET/CT in uterine cervical cancer according to two major histologic types: squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the prognostic value of pretreatment Positron emission tomography / computed tomography using F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG-PET/CT) in cervical cancer according to two major histologic types.

Methods: Eighty-three squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) patients and 35 adenocarcinoma (AC) patients who underwent pretreatment FDG-PET/CT were retrospectively analyzed. Maximum standardized uptake value (SUV), mean standardized uptake value (SUV), metabolic tumor volume (MTV), and total lesion glycolysis (TLG) of the primary tumor were calculated.

Statins enhances antitumor effect of oxaliplatin in KRAS-mutated colorectal cancer cells and inhibits oxaliplatin-induced neuropathy.

Background: KRAS mutations are fraught with the progression of colorectal cancer and resistance to chemotherapy. There are pathways such as extracellular regulated protein kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) and Akt downstream and farnesylation and geranylgeranylation upstream that are activated upon mutated KRAS. Previous studies have shown that statins, 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors, are effective to treat KRAS mutated colorectal cancer cells.

Dynamic tumor-tracking stereotactic body radiotherapy with real-time monitoring of liver tumors using a gimbal-mounted linac: A multi-institutional phase II study.

Background And Purpose: This prospective multicenter phase II study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of dynamic tumor tracking (DTT) stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) with real-time monitoring of liver tumors using a gimbal-mounted system.

Materials And Methods: Patients with < 4 primary or metastatic liver tumors with diameters ≤ 50 mm and expected to have a respiratory motion of ≥ 10 mm were eligible. The prescribed dose was 40 Gy in five fractions.

Focal Segmental Sclerosis Associated with the Novel Multi-tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor Ponatinib.

Ponatinib is a novel multi-tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) with potent inhibitory activity against refractory chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Despite its high clinical efficacy, ponatinib induces various adverse events due to its multi-target characteristic. However, renal complications associated with ponatinib are rare.

Hypoxia-inducible factor 1α inhibitor induces cell death via suppression of BCR-ABL1 and Met expression in BCR-ABL1 tyrosine kinase inhibitor sensitive and resistant chronic myeloid leukemia cells.

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) has a markedly improved prognosis with the use of breakpoint cluster region-abelson 1 (BCR-ABL1) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (BCR-ABL1 TKIs). However, approximately 40% of patients are resistant or intolerant to BCR-ABL1 TKIs. Hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) is a hypoxia response factor that has been reported to be highly expressed in CML patients, making it a therapeutic target for BCR-ABL1 TKI-sensitive CML and BCR-ABL1 TKI-resistant CML.

Combination treatment with statins and bezafibrate induces myotoxicity via inhibition of geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate biosynthesis and Rho activation in L6 myoblasts and myotube cells.

Statins and fibrates are frequently used to treat hyperlipidemia; however, these drugs may have adverse effects such as rhabdomyolysis. The incidence of rhabdomyolysis due to fibrates and statins is low (0.0028-0.