Infrared Spectroscopic Studies on Structure and Dynamics of Organic Functional Thin Films

関西学院大

Geology of the Northwestern Part in Nariwa-machi, Okayama Prefecture, Japan

This district is situated in the central part of the Kibi plateau which is considered as an elevated peneplain, and has been studied by a lot of geologists and palaeontologists because of abundant occurrences of animal and plant fossils and its complicated geologic structures. The stratigraphy of the district is summarized as follows: [Original table is skipped. For more details, please refer to the full text.] The Palaeozoic rocks are composed of calcareous and non-calcareous groups. The latter consists of non-fossiliferous sandstone, shale and chert, and is named the Fuka formation. The former can be subdivided into 2 members by the lithofacies; the lower is the schalstein-bearing Nakamura limestone group, while the upper is called the Uji formation mainly composed of shale and schalstein sometimes with limestone nodules. From the evidence of fusulinids the calcareous formations are assigned to the Pennsylvanian-Middle Permian in age. The "Inkstone" group, which forms a basin structure, can be subdivided into two parts by the presence of limestone conglomerate; i. e. the upper is composed of the thick red tuff beds, while the lower of the thick limestone conglomerate and thin red tuff layers. The limestone conglomerate is limited to occur in the vicinities of the huge limestone bodies. Judging from the lithofacies, the "Inkstone" group in this district might be the sediments mainly of pyroclastic materials and deposited in a small narrow basin which was due to the Ohga thrust movement. The Palaeozoic Nakamura limestone group thrusts over the Norian Nariwa group, and both of them are covered unconformably by the "Inkstone" group and later extruded andesite and rhyolite masses successively. Therefore, the Ohga thrust movement might be happened in pre-"Inkstone" time.今村外治教授退官記念特集

A Case of Psoriasis Complicated by Breast Cancer after Systemic Treatments Including Biologics

Psoriasis is a common chronic inflammatory skin disorder that is characterized by scaly, erythematous, sharply demarcated plaques. The treatment for psoriasis has dramatically changed over the last 10 years with the introduction of biologics. However, the risk of cancer induced by biologics for psoriasis has not been fully analyzed, since these agents have such a short history of use. Here we report the case of a 74-year-old woman with psoriasis vulgaris and psoriatic arthritis complicated by breast cancer after systemic treatments including etretinate, cyclosporine, methotrexate, adalimumab, and ustekinumab

Comparison of Field-in-Field Radiotherapy with Conformal Radiotherapy for Unilateral Cervical Malignant Lymphoma

This study compared field-in-field (FIF) radiotherapy with conformal radiotherapy with physical wedges for the treatment of unilateral cervical malignant lymphoma. Two treatment plans, the FIF technique and conformal RT, were generated for each of 32 patients with unilateral cervical malignant lymphoma. To compare the 2 treatment plans, dose-volume histograms of the planning target volume (PTV), the thyroid, submandibular gland, carotid artery, mucosa, spinal cord, and surrounding normal tissue, and monitor unit (MU) were analyzed. The FIF technique showed significant reduction in the mean dose of thyroid, submandibular gland, carotid artery and mucosa, the maximum dose of the spinal cord and PTV, and the volume receiving＞107% of the prescribed dose of surrounding normal tissue (p＜0.001). In addition, there were gains in the homogeneity index of the PTV for FIF. Furthermore, the total MU was also lower for the FIF technique than for the wedge technique (p＜0.001). Compared with the wedge technique, the FIF technique improved the dose homogeneity of the PTV, reduced the dose to normal structures, and was associated with fewer MUs in the treatment of patients with cervical malignant lymphoma

Radiation therapy for oligometastatic bone disease in breast cancer

Breast cancer (BCa) frequently metastasizes to the bone. BCa patients with oligometastatic bone diseases have much more favorable outcomes than those with metastatic bone disease. Radiation therapy (RT), especially stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT), is advised for the treatment of patients with oligometastatic bone disease in other primary sites. "This line of treatment provided favorable outcomes in patients and resulted in only mild toxicities. A similar strategy has been suggested for treatment of BCa patients with oligometastatic bone disease. BCa, bone-only, or high radiation dose are reported to have been associated with good outcomes in RT for metastatic disease. Furthermore, based on the guidelines provided by the BCa expert panel of the German Society for Radiation Oncology and members of the Working Party of Gynecologic Oncology Breast Committee and in line of the results obtained in other primary sites, our group supports the use of high-dose RT or SBRT for the treatment of BCa patients with oligometastatic bone disease. Additionally, the use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for proper target volume definition and three-dimensional (3D) treatment planning especially for lesions of the trunk are essential for the treatment planning of RT. Of note, several clinical trials have combined RT with immune checkpoint inhibitors for the treatment of BCa patients with metastatic disease. Based on this, we anticipate that combined RT and ICI may serve as a better treatment modality for BCa patients with oligometastatic bone disease

Biochemical outcomes and predictive factors by risk group after permanent iodine-125 seed implantation: Prospective cohort study in 2,316 patients

Purpose: To evaluate the biochemical freedom from failure (bFFF) by risk group and treatment modality and the predictive factors of bFFF by risk group in patients with prostate cancer undergoing permanent seed implantation (PI) with or without external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) in a nationwide prospective cohort study (Japanese Prostate Cancer Outcome Study of Permanent Iodine-125 [I-125] Seed Implantation) in Japan during the first 2 years. Methods and materials: The analyses included 2,316 participants in 42 institutions; bFFF was evaluated using the Phoenix definition and calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method, and the Cox proportional hazards model was used to identify the factors associated with bFFF. Results: Median followup period was 60.0 months. The 5-year bFFF rates in all patients, 1,028 low-risk patients, 1,114 intermediate-risk patients, and 133 high-risk patients were 93.6%, 94.9%, 92.7%, and 91.1%, respectively. The 5-year bFFF rates in the PI group and EBRT combination therapy group were 93.7% and 93.3%, respectively. In a multivariate analysis, younger age, higher Gleason score (GS), higher percent positive biopsies (%PB), and lower prostate V100 (p = 0.0012, 0.0030, 0.0026, and 0.0368) in all patients; younger age, higher pretreatment prostate-specific antigen, and lower prostate V100 (p = 0.0002, 0.0048, and 0.0012) in low-risk patients; higher GS, higher %PB, and no hormonal treatment (p = 0.0005, 0.0120, and 0.0022) in intermediate-risk patients; and higher GS and higher %PB (p = 0.0329 and 0.0120) in high-risk patients were significantly associated with bFFF. Conclusions: PI with or without EBRT resulted in excellent short-term biochemical outcomes in all risk groups, especially in high-risk patients. Age, pretreatment prostate-specific antigen, and prostate V100 in low-risk patients; GS, %PB, and hormonal treatment in intermediate-risk patients; and GS and %PB in high-risk patients were independently affected bFFF

Radiation pneumonitis after definitive concurrent chemoradiotherapy with cisplatin/docetaxel for non-small cell lung cancer: Analysis of dose-volume parameters

Background: Radiation pneumonitis (RP) is a major pulmonary adverse event of chest radiotherapy. The PACIFIC trial that identified durvalumab as an effective subsequent-line therapy after concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) found that patients with grade 2 or higher RP may have to be excluded from treatment under certain criteria. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between grade ≥2 RP and the parameters of dose-volume histograms after CCRT with cisplatin/docetaxel for stage III non-small cell lung cancer and conduct a subset analysis of severe RP that can lead to the permanent discontinuation of treatment per the PACIFIC trial criteria to help determine treatment strategy. Methods: We calculated the percentage of the lung volume received at least 5 Gy (V5) and 20 Gy (V20), the mean lung dose (MLD), and the lung volume spared from a 5 Gy dose (VS5) to the total lung volume. Factors affecting the incidence of grade ≥2 RP were identified; severe RP was defined as grade ≥3 as well as grade 2 RP that required ≥10 mg prednisolone for at least 12 weeks. Results: This study included 45 patients. On univariate analysis, all parameters and total lung volume were found to be significant predictors of grade ≥2 RP (P = .001, .003, .03, .004, and .02, respectively). On multivariate analysis, V20 was a significant predictive factor of grade ≥2 RP (P = .007). Severe RP developed in 6 of 37 patients (16.2%) whose V20 values were 35% or lower. On univariate analysis, only V20 was a significant predictor of severe RP in these patients (P = .01). Conclusions: The best approach to reduce the rate of grade ≥2 RP is to maintain the V5, V20, MLD, and VS5 as low as possible during radiotherapy planning in patients receiving definitive CCRT with cisplatin/docetaxel

Evaluation of Setup Errors at the Skin Surface Position for Whole Breast Radiotherapy of Breast Cancer Patients

We used image-processing software to analyze the setup errors at the skin surface position of breast cancer patients (n=66) who underwent post-operative whole breast irradiation at our hospital in 2014-2015. The sixty-six digital reconstructed radiographs (DRR) were created at the treatment planning for each patient. The lineacgraphies (n=377) were taken after the patients’ setup during radiotherapy. The lineacgraphies and DRR were superimposed at the skin surface position for each patient with the image-processing software. We measured the deviations of the isocenters for the nipple-lung (X) direction and craniocaudal (Y) direction and the deviation of the rotation angle of the XY axes between the lineacgraphy and DRR on the superimposed images. The systematic error (μ, Σ) and random error (σ) were calculated from the X and Y deviations and rotation angle deviation. The μ of X, Y, and rotation angle were 0.01 mm, −1.2 mm, and 0.05°, respectively. The Σ of X, Y, and rotation angle were 1.8 mm, 1.5 mm, and 0.9°, respectively. The σ of X, Y, and rotation angle were 2.0 mm, 1.5 mm, and 1.0°, respectively. Our analyses thus revealed that evaluations using image-processing software at the skin surface position in routine breast radiotherapy result in sufficiently small setup errors