Optimal uric acid reduction to improve vascular endothelial function in patients with chronic heart failure complicated by hyperuricemia.

Although an association of serum uric acid levels with endothelial function has been shown in various clinical settings, the optimal treatment target that would benefit vascular endothelial function has not been established. We, therefore, conducted a post hoc analysis of the Excited-UA study to identify an optimal target. Patients (N = 133) with chronic heart failure and comorbid hyperuricemia who enrolled in the Excited-UA study were divided into three tertiles based on their serum uric acid level 24 weeks after initiating xanthine oxidase inhibitor treatment with topiroxostat or allopurinol (i.

Does Urinary Catheterization Affect the Quality of Death in Patients with Advanced Cancer? A Secondary Analysis of a Multicenter Prospective Cohort Study.

Patients with life-limiting illnesses frequently experience urinary difficulties, and urinary catheterization is one of the interventions for managing them. However, evidence supporting the effects of urinary catheters on the quality of death (QoD) is lacking in this population. To investigate whether urinary catheterization affects QoD in patients with advanced cancer in palliative care units.

Differences among institutions in the prevalence of and indications for urinary catheterization of advanced cancer patients at palliative care units: A multicenter prospective cohort study (EASED).

Background: Studies on the appropriate use of urinary catheters for cancer patients at the end of life are limited.

Aim: To clarify the differences among institutions in the prevalence of and indications for urinary catheterization of advanced cancer patients at palliative care units.

Design: Pre-planned secondary analysis of a multicenter, prospective cohort study; East-Asian collaborative cross-cultural Study to Elucidate the Dying process (EASED).

A Case of Multiple Intratumoral Hemorrhage and Rupture of Hepatocellular Carcinoma after Starting Lenvatinib.

A man in his 80s was administered lenvatinib to treat multiple hepatocellular carcinomas. After starting lenvatinib, he was admitted to our hospital for fever and epigastric tenderness. Conjunctival icterus and conjunctival pallor were observed.

Efficacy and safety of glecaprevir and pibrentasvir combination therapy in old-aged patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection.

Combination therapy with glecaprevir and pibrentasvir (G/P) has been shown to provide a sustained virologic response (SVR) rate of >97% in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in the first published real-world Japanese data. However, a recently published study showed that the treatment was often discontinued in patients ≥75 years old, resulting in low SVR in intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis. Thus, our aim was to evaluate real-world data for G/P therapy in patients ≥75 years of age, the population density of which is high in "rural" regions.

Oxaliplatin-induced increase in splenic volume: experiences from multicenter study in Japan.

Background: Chemotherapy with oxaliplatin is known to induce sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (SOS). In a previous single-center study, we reported that oxaliplatin-induced increase in splenic volume (SV) is strongly indicative of SOS, and that this increase in SV persisted for > 1 year after completing chemotherapy. The aim of this study was to confirm the oxaliplatin-induced SV change in a multicenter study in patients with stage III colon cancer in Japan.

Effects of enteral nutrition and parenteral nutrition on survival in patients with advanced cancer cachexia: Analysis of a multicenter prospective cohort study.

Background & Aims: The benefits of artificial nutrition and hydration in patients with advanced cancer remain unknown. Therefore, we conducted a prospective study to evaluate effects of enteral nutrition (EN) and parenteral nutrition and hydration (PNH) on survival in palliative care units.

Methods: This study involved a secondary analysis of a multicenter cohort study.

Triple-negative pleomorphic lobular carcinoma and expression of androgen receptor: Personal case series and review of the literature.

Pleomorphic lobular carcinoma (PLC) is a histological variant of invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) and is associated with worse prognosis than classical ILC. It exhibits a greater degree of cellular atypia and pleomorphism and is occasionally accompanied with apocrine morphology. We investigated the immunohistochemical characteristics of samples from 31 Japanese patients with PLC to elucidate the clinicopathological characteristics of PLC including androgen receptor (AR) immunoreactivity.

Barriers to inpatient palliative care consultation among patients with newly diagnosed cancer after emergency admission.

Background: Many patients with advanced cancer diagnosed following emergency presentation will likely benefit from palliative care (PC) interventions. This study assessed the potential patient-related barriers to inpatient PC consultation among patients who were newly diagnosed with cancer after emergency admission (EA) and received only supportive care.

Methods: This observational study retrospectively obtained data on all patients who were admitted to our hospital after emergency transfer between January 2012 and November 2016.

Relationship between brachial flow-mediated dilation and carotid intima-media thickness in patients with coronary artery disease.

Background: Although flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD) of brachial artery and carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) are important surrogate markers in the process of atherosclerosis, information about relationship between both markers is insufficient. In the present study, we assessed extensively the relationship in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD).

Methods: The values of brachial FMD and carotid ultrasonography findings in 159 patients (67±8 years, 130 males) with angiographically verified CAD were retrospectively analyzed.

A Japanese multicenter phase II study of adjuvant chemotherapy with mFOLFOX6/CAPOX for stage III colon cancer treatment after D2/D3 lymphadenectomy.

Purpose: A phase II trial was conducted to investigate the benefit of oxaliplatin-based adjuvant chemotherapy in Japanese stage III colon cancer patients.

Methods: Eligible patients were scheduled to receive 12 cycles of mFOLFOX6 or 8 cycles of CAPOX in adjuvant settings. The primary endpoint was the 3-year disease-free survival (DFS).

The effects of xanthine oxidase inhibitor in patients with chronic heart failure complicated with hyperuricemia: a prospective randomized controlled clinical trial of topiroxostat vs allopurinol-study protocol.

Background: Hyperuricemia has a close relationship with cardiovascular diseases including heart failure. However, it is controversial whether xanthine oxidase inhibition has benefits for patients with chronic heart failure. We designed the Effect of Xanthine Oxidase Inhibitor in Chronic Heart Failure Patients Complicated with Hyperuricemia study (Excited-UA study) to compare the beneficial effects between a novel xanthine oxidoreductase inhibitor, topiroxostat, and a conventional agent, allopurinol, in patients with chronic heart failure and hyperuricemia.

Significance of sarcopenia as a prognostic factor for metastatic urothelial carcinoma patients treated with systemic chemotherapy.

Background: Recently, numerous studies have reported an association between sarcopenia and poor outcomes in various kinds of malignancies. We investigated whether sarcopenia predicts the survival of patients with metastatic urothelial carcinoma who underwent systemic chemotherapy.

Methods: We reviewed 87 metastatic urothelial carcinoma patients who underwent chemotherapy (gemcitabine plus cisplatin or gemcitabine plus carboplatin for cisplatin-unfit patients) between 2007 and 2015.

Squamous cell carcinoma in a duplicated renal pelvis.

We report an extremely rare case of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the renal pelvis associated with an incompletely duplicated renal pelvis and ureter. A 71-year-old woman presented with left lower back pain and gross hematuria. Urinary cytology showed atypical squamous cells.

Langerhans cell histiocytosis of the urinary bladder in a patient with bladder cancer previously treated with intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guérin therapy.

We report an extremely rare case of Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) of the urinary bladder. A 68-year-old man presented with gross hematuria. Cystoscopy showed multiple papillary tumors in the urinary bladder, and transurethral resection was performed.

[A case of pyloric or antral malignant stenosis treated with arterial infusion chemotherapy and palliative therapy--self-expandable metal stents through gastrostomy].

The patient is a 62-year-old woman. She had type 3 advanced stomach cancer that was judged to have caused complete stricture of the pylorus, and to be inoperable. She received percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) for decompression.

[Ruptured cerebral aneurysm in childhood--report of two cases].

We report two pediatric patients with rupture of cerebral aneurysm developing subarachnoid hemorrhage. These two patients complained of headache and vomiting. Patient 1 was a 15-year-old girl.