Staging the tumor and staging the host: A two centre, two country comparison of systemic inflammatory responses of patients undergoing resection of primary operable colorectal cancer

Background: How systemic inflammation-based prognostic scores such as the modified Glasgow Prognostic Score (mGPS) and neutrophil:lymphocyte ratio (NLR) differ across populations of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) remains unknown. The present study examined the mGPS and NLR in patients from United Kingdom (UK) and Japan. Methods: Patients undergoing resection of TNM I-III CRC in two centres in the UK and Japan were included. Differences in clinicopathological characteristics and mGPS (0-CRP≤10 mg/L, 1-CRP>10 mg/L, 2-CRP>10 mg/L, albumin<35 g/L) and NLR (≤5/>5) were examined. Results: Patients from UK (n = 581) were more likely to be female, high ASA and BMI, present as an emergency (all P < 0.01) and have higher T stage compared to those from Japan (n = 559). After controlling for differences in tumor and host characteristics, patients from Japan were less likely to be systemically inflamed (OR: mGPS: 0.37, 95%CI 0.27–0.50, P < 0.001; NLR: 0.53, 95%CI 0.35–0.79, P = 0.002). Conclusion: Systemic inflammatory responses differ between populations with colorectal cancer. Given their prognostic value, reporting of systemic inflammation-based scores should be incorporated into future studies reporting patient outcomes. Summary: Although the systemic inflammatory response is recognised as a prognostic factor in patients with colorectal cancer, it is not clear how these may differ between distinct geographical populations. The present study examines differences in the prevalence of elevated systemic inflammatory responses (modified Glasgow Prognostic Score and neutrophil:lymphocyte ratio) between two populations undergoing resection of colorectal cancer in the United Kingdom and Japan

Prognostic sub-classification of intermediate-stage hepatocellular carcinoma: a multicenter cohort study with propensity score analysis

There is significant heterogeneity in the clini- copathological characteristics of intermediate hepatocellu- lar carcinoma (IHCC). This also translates to treatment as transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) is used as first- line therapy for patients with IHCC; however, in Asia liver resection (LR) is preferred. Prognostic tools are required to help guide clinicians in deciding treatment options. This study evaluates the prognostic impact of the Intermediate Stage Score (ISS) on overall survival (OS) in a large, multicenter cohort study of patients with IHCC treated with TACE or surgery LR. Consecutive patients from centers in Japan, Korea, Italy and the United Kingdom who under- went TACE or LR between 2001 and 2015 were enrolled. Propensity score (PS) adjustment was used to remove residual confounding and applied to LR (n=162) and TACE ( n = 449) to determine the prognostic significance of ISS. Among 611 patients, 75 % were men and 25 % women, with a mean age of 70 years. ISS is a valid prognostic tool in the BCLC-B population with a median OS ISS 1–51, 2–38.3, 3–24.3, 4–15.6, 5–16 months ( p \ 0.0001). ISS was analyzed within each treatment modality, and this was a valid prognostic score among those treated with TACE and LR ( p \ 0.001 vs. p = 0.008). In the PS-adjusted model, ISS retained its prognostic utility in TACE and LR groups (p\0.001 vs.p=0.007). ISS optimizes prognostic prediction in IHCC, reducing clinical heterogeneity, and is a useful tool for patients treated for TACE or LR

Reactive oxygen species induce chondrocyte hypertrophy in endochondral ossification

Chondrocyte hypertrophy during endochondral ossification is a well-controlled process in which proliferating chondrocytes stop proliferating and differentiate into hypertrophic chondrocytes, which then undergo apoptosis. Chondrocyte hypertrophy induces angiogenesis and mineralization. This step is crucial for the longitudinal growth and development of long bones, but what triggers the process is unknown. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) have been implicated in cellular damage; however, the physiological role of ROS in chondrogenesis is not well characterized. We demonstrate that increasing ROS levels induce chondrocyte hypertrophy. Elevated ROS levels are detected in hypertrophic chondrocytes. In vivo and in vitro treatment with N-acetyl cysteine, which enhances endogenous antioxidant levels and protects cells from oxidative stress, inhibits chondrocyte hypertrophy. In ataxia telangiectasia mutated (Atm)–deficient (Atm−/−) mice, ROS levels were elevated in chondrocytes of growth plates, accompanied by a proliferation defect and stimulation of chondrocyte hypertrophy. Decreased proliferation and excessive hypertrophy in Atm−/− mice were also rescued by antioxidant treatment. These findings indicate that ROS levels regulate inhibition of proliferation and modulate initiation of the hypertrophic changes in chondrocytes

Plant viruses and viroids in Japan

An increasing number of plant viruses and viroids have been reported from all over the world due largely to metavirogenomics approaches with technological innovation. Herein, the official changes of virus taxonomy, including the establishment of megataxonomy and amendments of the codes of virus classification and nomenclature, recently made by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses were summarized. The continued efforts of the plant virology community of Japan to index all plant viruses and viroids occurring in Japan, which represent 407 viruses, including 303 virus species and 104 unclassified viruses, and 25 viroids, including 20 species and 5 unclassified viroids, as of October 2021, were also introduced. These viruses and viroids are collectively classified into 81 genera within 26 families of 3 kingdoms (Shotokuvirae, Orthornavirae, Pararnavirae) across 2 realms (Monodnaviria and Riboviria). This review also overviewed how Japan’s plant virus/viroid studies have contributed to advance virus/viroid taxonomy

大腸癌患者における術前血清インターロイキン6 が全身性炎症反応に与える影響についての検討

背景：全身性炎症反応は担癌患者における免疫応答を反映し，予後と関連することが報告されている．目的：血清インターロイキン6（IL-6）と臨床背景因子，とりわけ全身炎症性反応との関連について大腸癌患者を対象として検討すること．方法：大腸癌患者20 人の術前IL-6 濃度を測定し，L 群（低IL-6 群，11 人；IL-6＜10 pg/ml）とH 群（高IL-6 群，9 人；IL-6 ≥ 10 pg/ml）の2 群に分けて臨床背景因子との関連について検討した．結果：血清C-reactive protein（CRP）値＞1.0 mg/dl（P＝0.038），血沈；9±7 versus 31±24（mm/ hr , P＝0.031）が2 群間で有意差を認めたが，血小板数・血清アルブミン値・Glasgow Prognostic Score・好中球リンパ比に2 群間で有意差は認めなかった．2 群間の生存曲線による解析は，H 群はL 群に比べて予後不良の傾向を認めたが，統計学的な有意差は認められなかった．結論：高IL-6 血症は大腸癌術前患者における高CRP 値，血沈の亢進といった全身性炎症反応と相関し，予後との関連を示唆するものであった．Purpose：To investigate the relationship between preoperative serum interleukin-6（IL-6）level and clinical characteristics, including systemic inflammatory response（SIR）related characteristics, in colorectal cancer（CRC）patients undergoing surgery. Patients and methods：Twenty CRC patients who had undergone curative surgery were divided into two groups as follows：Group A（n＝9）；patients with low serum IL-6 level（＜10 pg/ml）and Group B（n＝11）；patients with high serum IL-6 level（≥ 10 pg/ml）. Chi squared test and Mann-Whitney test were performed to compare the clinical characteristics of two groups. Kaplan-Meier analysis and log rank test were used to compare the two groups in relation to overall survival. Results：Among a lot of clinical characteristics, there were significant differences between the two groups in serum C-reactive protein（CRP）level（0.2±0.1 versus 2.9 ±4.9 mg/dl, mean± SD, P＝0.016）and erythrocyte sedimentation rate（ESR）（9±7 versus 31±24 mm/hr, mean ± SD, P＝0.031）. However, there was no significant difference between the two groups in overall survival. Conclusion：There is a close relationship between preoperative serum IL-6 level and SIR related clinical characteristics such as serum CRP level and ESR in CRC patients

Creation and characterization of Japanese standards for myocardial perfusion SPECT: database from the Japanese Society of Nuclear Medicine Working Group

金沢大学大学院医学系研究科がん制御