Cytokine dynamics and quality of life: unraveling the impact of cell-free and concentrated ascites reinfusion therapy in ovarian cancer patients.

Background: The quality of life (QOL) of ovarian cancer patients is often impaired by refractory ascites. Cell-free and concentrated ascites reinfusion therapy (CART) is a palliative treatment for refractory ascites, but adverse events, such as fever, are problematic. Several cytokines have been suggested to be responsible for the adverse events, but they have not been investigated in detail.

Impact of adjuvant trastuzumab therapy and its discontinuation on cardiac function and mortality in patients with early-stage breast cancer: An analysis based on the Japanese Receipt Claim Database.

Standard trastuzumab therapy can reduce the risk of early recurrence of HER2-positive breast cancer. However, trastuzumab-induced cardiac dysfunction may force the discontinuation of adjuvant trastuzumab therapy. Incidentally, there are still unclear whether or not trastuzumab treatment should be continued in the setting of reduced cardiac function.

Recent advances in biomarkers for senescence: Bridging basic research to clinic.

In this review, we review the current status of biomarkers for aging and possible perspectives on anti-aging or rejuvenation from the standpoint of biomarkers. Aging is observed in all cells and organs, and we focused on research into senescence in the skin, musculoskeletal system, immune system, and cardiovascular system. Commonly used biomarkers include SA-βgal, cell-cycle markers, senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) factors, damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs), and DNA-damage-related markers.

Impact of correlation structure on sample size requirements of statistical methods for multiple binary outcomes: A simulation study.

Background: In randomized clinical trials, multiple-testing procedures, composite endpoints, and prioritized outcome approaches are increasingly used to analyze multiple binary outcomes. Previous studies have shown that correlations between outcomes influence their sample size requirements. Although sample size is an important factor affecting the choice of statistical methods, the power and required sample sizes of methods for analyzing multiple binary outcomes have yet to be compared under the influence of outcome correlations.

Population Using Tobacco for Pain Relief: A Preliminary Cross-Sectional Study in Japan.

Background: There is a complex relationship between tobacco use and pain. Nicotine provides temporary pain relief but increases the risk of chronic pain. This study aimed to investigate use of tobacco for pain relief and its association with demographic and medical characteristics in Japan.

Nuclear PD-L1 triggers tumour-associated inflammation upon DNA damage.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors against PD-1/PD-L1 are highly effective in immunologically hot tumours such as triple-negative breast cancer, wherein constitutive DNA damage promotes inflammation, while inducing PD-L1 expression to avoid attack by cytotoxic T cells. However, whether and how PD-L1 regulates the DNA damage response and inflammation remains unclear. Here, we show that nuclear PD-L1 activates the ATR-Chk1 pathway and induces proinflammatory chemocytokines upon genotoxic stress.

ATG9A facilitates the closure of mammalian autophagosomes.

Canonical autophagy captures within specialized double-membrane organelles, termed autophagosomes, an array of cytoplasmic components destined for lysosomal degradation. An autophagosome is completed when the growing phagophore undergoes ESCRT-dependent membrane closure, a prerequisite for its subsequent fusion with endolysosomal organelles and degradation of the sequestered cargo. ATG9A, a key integral membrane protein of the autophagy pathway, is best known for its role in the formation and expansion of phagophores.

A Phase II, Open Label, Single-Arm Study on the Efficacy of Cabozantinib in Patients With Advanced/Metastatic Nonsmall Cell Lung Cancer Harboring MET Exon 14 Alterations who Developed Acquired Resistance to Tepotinib or Capmatinib (CAPTURE Trial).

Background: MET gene exon 14 skipping was identified as a potential driver mutation that occurs in approximately 3%-4% of patients with nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC), typically in the absence of other driver mutations. Capmatinib and tepotinib were the first MET- tyrosine kinase inhibitors (MET-TKIs) approved by the FDA and PMDA, specifically for patients with metastatic NSCLC. Several studies have reported acquired resistance after MET-TKI treatment for MET mutation-positive NSCLC.

Adverse reactions to mRNA COVID-19 vaccine in people with allergies in Japan.

mRNA vaccines emerged as a new therapeutic modality during the COVID-19 pandemic. Individuals with allergies often experience anxiety about potential adverse reactions to these vaccines. This study aims to elucidate the relationship between adverse reactions and various allergies, asthma, or atopic disorders.

Immaturity of gut functions and induction of tolerance during early infancy.

Tolerance to foreign molecules is primarily induced through three pathways: anergy, active suppression, and clonal deletion. The immaturity of gut functions, including digestion and barrier protection against foreign molecules during early infancy, is closely linked to the induction of tolerance. A significant number of undigested peptides can pass through leaky gut walls during this period, making it an opportune time to introduce active suppression and clonal deletion in the intestine.

How many cases do young pediatric surgeons need to experience to achieve autonomy in performing pediatric endoscopic surgery? A nationwide survey to establish an ideal curriculum for pediatric endoscopic surgery in Japan.

Purpose: To ensure the safe prevalence of pediatric endoscopic surgery in Japan, a training curriculum should be established. In addition, the number of pediatric surgical cases is decreasing due to the decreasing birth rate in Japan, and it is necessary to clarify the number of surgical cases required for young pediatric surgeons to achieve autonomy in pediatric endoscopic surgery.

Methods: An online nationwide survey was conducted among young pediatric surgeons with 3-15 years of clinical experience in Japan.

Characterization of breast cancer tumors in older patients who show de novo resistance to endocrine therapy.

The standard treatment for hormone receptor-positive breast cancer in good general condition is curative surgery followed by endocrine therapy. However, for older patients, endocrine therapy alone is sometimes chosen instead of curative surgery due to health conditions or personal preference, though this is not yet a standard approach. It is crucial to develop elderly-specific treatment strategies, potentially establishing endocrine therapy alone as a standard option.

NS1 binding protein regulates stress granule dynamics and clearance by inhibiting p62 ubiquitination.

The NS1 binding protein, known for interacting with the influenza A virus protein, is involved in RNA processing, cancer, and nerve cell growth regulation. However, its role in stress response independent of viral infections remains unclear. This study investigates NS1 binding protein's function in regulating stress granules during oxidative stress through interactions with GABARAP subfamily proteins.

Treatment of Unruptured Large and Giant Carotid Cavernous Aneurysms in Japan at the Time of Flow Diverter Introduction: A Nationwide, Multicenter Survey by the Japanese Society on Surgery for Cerebral Stroke.

Background: Flow diverters (FDs) have been introduced for the management of large or giant cavernous carotid aneurysms (CCAs) in addition to conventional modalities, dramatically changing treatment strategies. The aim of this study was to examine the management of unruptured large/giant CCAs in Japan when FDs were being introduced using a nationwide survey.

Methods: 540 unruptured large/giant CCAs treated at neurosurgical teaching departments in Japan between 2012 and 2016 were retrospectively studied.

Consumption of Sodium and Its Ratio to Potassium in Relation to All-Cause, Cause-Specific, and Premature Noncommunicable Disease Mortality in Middle-Aged Japanese Adults: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Background: Reducing premature noncommunicable disease (NCD) mortality is a global challenge. Sodium is thought to increase risk of NCDs via an effect of salt per se or high-salt foods on hypertension-induced cardiovascular disease (CVD) and gastrointestinal cancer. Further, relative risk of CVD is reportedly more closely associated with sodium-to-potassium ratio than that with sodium alone.

Palmitic acid induces insulin resistance and oxidative stress-mediated cell injury through accumulation of lipid rafts in murine hepatocytes.

Lipid rafts are subdomains of the cell membrane that are rich in cholesterol and glycolipids, and they are involved in various cellular processes and pathophysiological mechanisms. However, the specific role of lipid rafts in hepatocyte dysfunction during the pathogenesis of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is not fully understood. In this study, we investigated the impact of lipid rafts on insulin sensitivity and hepatocyte injury induced by saturated free fatty acids (sFFAs) using primary-cultured mouse hepatocytes.

Prognostic role of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T in patients with cardiac sarcoidosis: insights from ILLUMINATE-CS.

Aims: The prognostic role of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) as a biomarker in patients with cardiac sarcoidosis (CS) has yet to be fully determined, especially when compared with B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP).

Methods And Results: In this post-hoc analysis of the ILLUMINATE-CS (ILLUstration of the Management and prognosIs of JapaNese pATiEnts with Cardiac Sarcoidosis), which is a multicentre retrospective observational study, we analysed 103 patients (62.2 ± 10.

Immune Stress-induced Tumor Mutation Burden and Neoantigen Expression in 4T1 Mammary Cancer Cells: A Potential Mechanism for Long-term Survival in Patients Treated With Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors.

Background/aim: The Kaplan-Meier curves for patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) display a small group of potentially-cured patients with long-term survival, creating a 'kangaroo-tail' shape of the survival curve. However, the mechanistic basis of this phenomenon and what occurs in patients whose cancer is resistant to ICIs remain unclear. The present study aimed to answer these questions.

Health Utility of Pain Response Versus Nonresponse to Palliative Radiation Therapy for Symptomatic Bone Metastases: Analyses Based on Real-World Data from 26 Centers.

Utility values of responders and nonresponders are essential inputs in cost-effectiveness studies of radiation therapy for painful bone metastases but, to our knowledge, they have not been reported separately. We sought to determine the utility values of responders and nonresponders using data from a prospective observational study on bone metastases. The original prospective observational study was conducted at 26 centers in Japan.