Neoadjuvant S-1 With Concurrent Radiotherapy Followed by Surgery for Borderline Resectable Pancreatic Cancer: A Phase II Open-label Multicenter Prospective Trial (JASPAC05).

Objective: This study assessed whether neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) with S-1 increases the R0 resection rate in BRPC.

Summary Of Background Data: Although a multidisciplinary approach that includes neoadjuvant treatment has been shown to be a better strategy for BRPC than upfront resection, a standard treatment for BRPC has not been established.

Methods: A multicenter, single-arm, phase II study was performed.

Pulmonary vascular dysfunction among people aged over 65 years in the community in the Atherosclerosis Risk In Communities (ARIC) Study: A cross-sectional analysis.

Background: Heart failure (HF) risk is highest in late life, and impaired pulmonary vascular function is a risk factor for HF development. However, data regarding the contributors to and prognostic importance of pulmonary vascular dysfunction among HF-free elders in the community are limited and largely restricted to pulmonary hypertension. Our objective was to define the prevalence and correlates of abnormal pulmonary pressure, resistance, and compliance and their association with incident HF and HF phenotype (left ventricular [LV] ejection fraction [LVEF] ≥ or < 50%) independent of LV structure and function.

Alectinib for relapsed or refractory anaplastic lymphoma kinase-positive anaplastic large cell lymphoma: An open-label phase II trial.

Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) inhibition is expected to be a promising therapeutic strategy for ALK-positive malignancies. We aimed to examine the efficacy and safety of alectinib, a second-generation ALK inhibitor, in patients with relapsed or refractory ALK-positive anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL). This open-label, phase II trial included patients (aged 6 years or older) with relapsed or refractory ALK-positive ALCL.

Impact of physical, cognitive, and psychological functions on incident homebound status after discharge among hospitalized older patients: A clinical-based prospective study.

Purpose: Physical and cognitive/psychological functions are risk factors for incident homebound status. However, there are only a few studies exploring the factors related to homebound status in hospitalized older patients. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between physical, and cognitive/psychological function at discharge among hospitalized older patients and the risk of undergoing homebound status after discharge.

Panel-based next-generation sequencing facilitates the characterization of childhood acute myeloid leukemia in clinical settings.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) accounts for ~20% of pediatric leukemia cases. The prognosis of pediatric AML has been improved in recent decades, but it trails that of most other types of pediatric cancer, with mortality rates of 30-40%. Consequently, newer more targeted drugs are required for incorporation into treatment plans.

Expert consensus regarding standardization of sample preparation for clotting time assays.

Accurate clotting time assay results are vital, as the test is employed to indicate the amount of oral anticoagulant to be prescribed, while it is also used for screening the hemorrhagic and thrombotic diseases. The procedure chosen for preparation of a patient blood sample including centrifugation can contribute to significant differences in the results obtained. Thus, for the purpose of proposing a standardized method to appropriately prepare blood samples prior to assay, the Japanese Society of Laboratory Hematology organized the Working Group for Standardization of Sample Preparation for Clotting Time Assays (WG).

Prognostic value of Mini Nutritional Assessment-Short Form with aortic valve stenosis following transcatheter aortic valve implantation.

Aims: Older adults at risk for malnutrition are known to have a high mortality rate. This study aimed to investigate whether the Mini Nutritional Assessment-Short Form (MNA-SF) could predict midterm mortality in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI).

Methods And Results: We applied the MNA-SF in 288 patients who had undergone TAVI from January 2016 to June 2019 at the St.

Correction of serum potassium with sodium zirconium cyclosilicate in Japanese patients with hyperkalemia: a randomized, dose-response, phase 2/3 study.

Background: Sodium zirconium cyclosilicate (SZC) is an oral potassium binder approved to treat hyperkalemia in adults in a number of countries, including Japan.

Methods: This phase 2/3, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-response study (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03127644) was designed to determine the efficacy and safety of SZC in Japanese adults with hyperkalemia.

Mid- to Late-Life Time-Averaged Cumulative Blood Pressure and Late-Life Cardiac Structure, Function, and Heart Failure.

Limited data exist regarding systolic blood pressure (SBP) through mid- to late-life and late-life cardiac function and heart failure (HF) risk. Among 4578 HF-free participants in the ARIC study (Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities) attending the fifth visit (2011-2013; age 75±5 years), time-averaged cumulative SBP was calculated as the sum of averaged SBPs from adjacent consecutive visits (visits 1-5) indexed to total observation time (24±1 years). Calculations were performed using measured SBPs and also incorporating antihypertensive medication specific effect constants (underlying SBP).

Correction to: Trastuzumab, pertuzumab, and eribulin mesylate versus trastuzumab, pertuzumab, and a taxane as a first-line or second-line treatment for HER2-positive, locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer: study protocol for a randomized controlled, non-inferiority, phase III trial in Japan (JBCRG-M06/EMERALD).

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via the original article.

Association of pulmonary hypertension and right ventricular function with exercise capacity in heart failure.

Aim: Relationships of pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP) and right ventricular (RV) dysfunction with exercise capacity are understudied. To assess the relationship of PASP and RV function with functional capacity and ventilatory efficiency in heart failure (HF) with a wide range of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF).

Methods And Results: Five hundred thirty-two consecutive HF patients referred for cardiopulmonary exercise testing [percent predicted peak VO (ppVO ), V /V slope] and echocardiography [LVEF, PASP, and RV fractional area change (RVFAC)] were studied.

Trastuzumab, pertuzumab, and eribulin mesylate versus trastuzumab, pertuzumab, and a taxane as a first-line or second-line treatment for HER2-positive, locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer: study protocol for a randomized controlled, non-inferiority, phase III trial in Japan (JBCRG-M06/EMERALD).

Background: Trastuzumab (Tmab), pertuzumab (Pmab), and taxane has been a standard first-line treatment for recurrent or metastatic human epidermal growth factor (HER2)-positive breast cancer (HER2 mBC) but has some safety issues due to taxane-induced toxicities. This has led to ongoing efforts to seek less toxic alternatives to taxanes that are equally effective when used in combination with Tmab plus Pmab. This study aims to show the non-inferiority of eribulin, a non-taxane microtubule inhibitor, against taxane, as a partner for dual HER2 blockade.

The influence of the combination of visiting frequency of family caregivers and pre-admission frailty status on dependency after discharge among hospitalized older patients: a clinically-based prospective study.

Purpose: This study aims to determine whether the combination of visiting frequency of the family caregiver and frailty status has an additive effect on the incidence of dependency among hospitalized older patients.

Methods: We analyzed the prospective cohort data of hospitalized older patients (65 years and older) with internal medical problems. The main outcome showed patients' dependency from admission to a month after discharge.

Behavior of Japanese women after being informed about the benefits and disadvantages of breast cancer screening: a questionnaire survey.

Background: The US Preventative Services Task Force assessed the efficacy of breast cancer screening according to the sum of its benefits and disadvantages. We estimate that the balance of the benefits and disadvantages varies among women depending on their demographic background.

Methods: Between March 2016 and March 2017, we conducted a questionnaire survey among Japanese women who underwent population-based or opportunistic breast cancer screening at our multicenter institutions.

Relationship between Serum Vitamin D and Leg Strength in Older Adults with Pre-Dialysis Chronic Kidney Disease: A Preliminary Study.

Active vitamin D (calcitriol, or 1.25 (OH) 2 D) is associated with muscle weakness, falls, and fracture in community-dwelling older people. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between a serum active vitamin D level and lower extremity muscle strength in elderly patients with pre-dialysis chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Phase I study of brentuximab vedotin (SGN-35) in Japanese children with relapsed or refractory CD30-positive Hodgkin's lymphoma or systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma.

Data on the treatment of pediatric patients with brentuximab vedotin are limited. The aims of the present study were to assess the safety and tolerability of brentuximab vedotin in Japanese children with relapsed or refractory Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) or systemic anaplastic large-cell lymphoma (sALCL). Pediatric patients, aged 2-17 years, with relapsed or refractory HL or sALCL were recruited.

The effectiveness of a national early warning score as a triage tool for activating a rapid response system in an outpatient setting: A retrospective cohort study.

Rapid response system (RRS) efficacy and national early warning score (NEWS) performances have largely been reported in inpatient settings, with few such reports undertaken in outpatient settings.This study aimed to investigate NEWS validity in predicting poor clinical outcomes among outpatients who had activated the RRS using single-parameter criteria.A single-center retrospective cohort studyFrom April 1, 2014 to November 30, 2017 in an urban 350-bed referral hospital in JapanWe collected patient characteristics such as activation triggers, interventions, arrival times, dispositions, final diagnoses, and patient outcomes.

Influence of psychiatric or social backgrounds on clinical decision making: a randomized, controlled multi-centre study.

Background: Frequent and repeated visits from patients with mental illness or free medical care recipients may elicit physicians' negative emotions and influence their clinical decision making. This study investigated the impact of the psychiatric or social background of such patients on physicians' decision making about whether to offer recommendations for further examinations and whether they expressed an appropriate disposition toward the patient.

Methods: A randomized, controlled multi-centre study of residents in transitional, internal medicine, or emergency medicine was conducted in five hospitals.