Japan Society of Gynecologic Oncology guidelines 2015 for the treatment of vulvar cancer and vaginal cancer

BackgroundVulvar cancer and vaginal cancer are relatively rare tumors, and there had been no established treatment principles or guidelines to treat these rare tumors in Japan. The first version of the Japan Society of Gynecologic Oncology (JSGO) guidelines for the treatment of vulvar cancer and vaginal cancer was published in 2015 in Japanese.ObjectiveThe JSGO committee decided to publish the English version of the JSGO guidelines worldwide, and hope it will be a useful guide to physicians in a similar situation as in Japan.MethodsThe guideline was created according to the basic principles in creating the guidelines of JSGO.ResultsThe guidelines consist of five chapters and five algorithms. Prior to the first chapter, basic items are described including staging classification and history, classification of histology, and definition of the methods of surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy to give the reader a better understanding of the contents of the guidelines for these rare tumors. The first chapter gives an overview of the guidelines, including the basic policy of the guidelines. The second chapter discusses vulvar cancer, the third chapter discusses vaginal cancer, and the fourth chapter discusses vulvar Paget’s disease and malignant melanoma. Each chapter includes clinical questions, recommendations, backgrounds, objectives, explanations, and references. The fifth chapter provides supplemental data for the drugs that are mentioned in the explanation of clinical questions.ConclusionOverall, the objective of these guidelines is to clearly delineate the standard of care for vulvar and vaginal cancer with the goal of ensuring a high standard of care for all women diagnosed with these rare diseases

First Data Release of the Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program

The Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program (HSC-SSP) is a three-layered imaging survey aimed at addressing some of the most outstanding questions in astronomy today, including the nature of dark matter and dark energy. The survey has been awarded 300 nights of observing time at the Subaru Telescope and it started in March 2014. This paper presents the first public data release of HSC-SSP. This release includes data taken in the first 1.7 years of observations (61.5 nights) and each of the Wide, Deep, and UltraDeep layers covers about 108, 26, and 4 square degrees down to depths of i~26.4, ~26.5, and ~27.0 mag, respectively (5sigma for point sources). All the layers are observed in five broad bands (grizy), and the Deep and UltraDeep layers are observed in narrow bands as well. We achieve an impressive image quality of 0.6 arcsec in the i-band in the Wide layer. We show that we achieve 1-2 per cent PSF photometry (rms) both internally and externally (against Pan-STARRS1), and ~10 mas and 40 mas internal and external astrometric accuracy, respectively. Both the calibrated images and catalogs are made available to the community through dedicated user interfaces and database servers. In addition to the pipeline products, we also provide value-added products such as photometric redshifts and a collection of public spectroscopic redshifts. Detailed descriptions of all the data can be found online. The data release website is https://hsc-release.mtk.nao.ac.jp/.Comment: 34 pages, 20 figures, 7 tables, moderate revision, accepted for publication in PAS

Nivolumab Versus Gemcitabine or Pegylated Liposomal Doxorubicin for Patients With Platinum-Resistant Ovarian Cancer: Open-Label, Randomized Trial in Japan (NINJA)

PURPOSE: This phase III, multicenter, randomized, open-label study investigated the efficacy and safety of nivolumab versus chemotherapy (gemcitabine [GEM] or pegylated liposomal doxorubicin [PLD]) in patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eligible patients had platinum-resistant epithelial ovarian cancer, received ≤ 1 regimen after diagnosis of resistance, and had an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance score of ≤ 1. Patients were randomly assigned 1:1 to nivolumab (240 mg once every 2 weeks [as one cycle]) or chemotherapy (GEM 1000 mg/m2 for 30 minutes [once on days 1, 8, and 15] followed by a week's rest [as one cycle], or PLD 50 mg/m2 once every 4 weeks [as one cycle]). The primary outcome was overall survival (OS). Secondary outcomes included progression-free survival (PFS), overall response rate, duration of response, and safety. RESULTS: Patients (n = 316) were randomly assigned to nivolumab (n = 157) or GEM or PLD (n = 159) between October 2015 and December 2017. Median OS was 10.1 (95% CI, 8.3 to 14.1) and 12.1 (95% CI, 9.3 to 15.3) months with nivolumab and GEM or PLD, respectively (hazard ratio, 1.0; 95% CI, 0.8 to 1.3; P = .808). Median PFS was 2.0 (95% CI, 1.9 to 2.2) and 3.8 (95% CI, 3.6 to 4.2) months with nivolumab and GEM or PLD, respectively (hazard ratio, 1.5; 95% CI, 1.2 to 1.9; P = .002). There was no statistical difference in overall response rate between groups (7.6% v 13.2%; odds ratio, 0.6; 95% CI, 0.2 to 1.3; P = .191). Median duration of response was numerically longer with nivolumab than GEM or PLD (18.7 v 7.4 months). Fewer treatment-related adverse events were observed with nivolumab versus GEM or PLD (61.5% v 98.1%), with no additional or new safety risks. CONCLUSION: Although well-tolerated, nivolumab did not improve OS and showed worse PFS compared with GEM or PLD in patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer

The Hyper Suprime-Cam SSP survey: Overview and survey design

Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) is a wide-field imaging camera on the prime focus of the 8.2-m Subaru telescope on the summit of Mauna Kea in Hawaii. A team of scientists from Japan, Taiwan, and Princeton University is using HSC to carry out a 300-night multi-band imaging survey of the high-latitude sky. The survey includes three layers: the Wide layer will cover 1400 deg2 in five broad bands (grizy), with a 5 σ point-source depth of r ≈ 26. The Deep layer covers a total of 26 deg2 in four fields, going roughly a magnitude fainter, while the UltraDeep layer goes almost a magnitude fainter still in two pointings of HSC (a total of 3.5 deg2). Here we describe the instrument, the science goals of the survey, and the survey strategy and data processing. This paper serves as an introduction to a special issue of the Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan, which includes a large number of technical and scientific papers describing results from the early phases of this survey

Endoscopic examination of labial fusion in a postmenopausal woman: a case report

Abstract Background Labial fusion is defined as adhesions of the labia minora or majora. Labial fusion may cause urinary retention. Surgical treatment based on an accurate anatomic assessment may be needed, but the usefulness of endoscopic examination for this disease has not been reported. Case presentation A 76-year-old Japanese woman undergoing chemoradiation treatment for esophageal cancer was referred to our department for evaluation of high accumulation in the vagina on a positron emission tomography scan. On physical examination, her labia were noted to be extensively fused with a pinhole opening at the midline. Endoscopic examination revealed that her vagina was filled with urine and there were no abnormalities in her urethral meatus and cervix. The adhesions were separated under anesthesia and there has been no recurrence during follow-up. Conclusions We present a case of a postmenopausal patient with labial fusion who underwent successful surgical management. An endoscopic examination enabled us to determine the precise anatomic position and adopt a safe surgical procedure

Synthesis of Janus-Like Gold Nanoparticles with Hydrophilic/Hydrophobic Faces by Surface Ligand Exchange and Their Self-Assemblies in Water

This study aims at the synthesis of Janus gold nanoparticles (Janus GNPs) with hydrophilic/hydrophobic faces by a simple ligand exchange reaction in an homogeneous system and at the elucidation of the self-assembled structures of the Janus GNPs in water. As hydrophilic surface ligands, we synthesized hexaethylene glycol (E6)-terminated thiolate ligands with C3, C7, or C11 alkyl chains, referred to as E6<b>C3</b>, E6<b>C7</b>, and E6<b>C11</b>, respectively. As a hydrophobic ligand, a butyl-headed thiolate ligand C4-E6<b>C11</b>, in which a C4 alkyl was introduced on the E6<b>C11</b> terminus, was synthesized. The degree of segregation between the two ligands on the GNPs (5 nm in diameter) was examined by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of fright mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) analysis. We found that the choice of immobilization methods, one-step or two-step addition of the two ligands to the GNP solution, crucially affects the degree of segregation. The two-step addition of a hydrophilic ligand (E6<b>C3</b>) followed by a hydrophobic ligand (C4-E6<b>C11</b>) produced a large degree of segregation on the GNPs, providing Janus-like GNPs. When dispersed in water, these Janus-like GNPs formed assemblies of ∼160 nm in diameter, whereas Domain GNPs, in which the two ligands formed partial domains on the surface, were precipitated even when the molar ratio of the hydrophilic ligand and the hydrophobic ligand on the surface of the NPs was almost 1:1. The assembled structure of the Janus-like GNPs in water was directly observed by pulsed coherent X-ray solution scattering using an X-ray free-electron laser, revealing irregular spherical structures with uneven surfaces