Evaluation of combined docetaxel and nedaplatin chemotherapy for recurrent esophageal cancer compared with conventional chemotherapy using cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil: a retrospective study

This retrospective study evaluated the safety and efficacy of combination chemotherapy using docetaxel and nedaplatin in an outpatient setting compared with those of chemotherapy using cisplatin (CDDP) and 5-Fu under hospitalization. Subjects comprised 21 patients who had been diagnosed with recurrent esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), with 10 patients receiving combination chemotherapy comprising CDDP and 5-fluorouracil (5-Fu) under hospitalization (FP group; n = 10), and 11 patients receiving combination chemotherapy comprising docetaxel and nedaplatin in an outpatient setting (Doc/Ned group; n = 11). In the Doc/Ned group, patients received 30 mg/m(2) of docetaxel over a 1-h infusion on day 1, followed by 40 mg/m(2) of nedaplatin over a 2-h infusion on day 1 in an outpatient setting. In the Doc/Ned group, complete response was observed in two patients (18.1%), one with liver metastasis and one with abdominal lymph node metastasis, and two (18.1%) achieved partial response. In contrast, no complete responses were obtained in the FP group, and partial response was observed in only one patient (10.0%) with local recurrence. Response rates were thus 36.3% for the Doc/Ned group and 10.0% for the FP group. With a median follow-up of 234 days in the Doc/Ned group and 279 days in the FP group, median survival time (MST) was 234 days in the Doc/Ned group and 378 days in the FP group. No significant differences in MST were identified between groups. Thus regimen based on docetaxel and nedaplatin allows administration on an outpatient basis and appears feasible for recurrent ESCC as a second-line chemotherapy.

Clinical significance of fibronectin expression in colorectal cancer

We measured the serum and urinary levels of fibronectin (FN) in 113 patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) - 15 with synchronous hepatic metastases, 21 with metachronous hepatic metastases and 77 with no hepatic metastases - as well as in 40 controls, with the aim of determining if FN can be used as a marker of CRC invasion or metastasis and its clinical significance. Urinary FN levels were significantly higher in patients with CRC than in the controls, and both urinary and serum FN levels rose with cancer progression. Patients positive for FN tended to have a more advanced disease. High levels of FN expression in both urine and serum showed a sensitivity of 80%, specificity of 33.3%, accuracy of 66.6% and positive predictive value of 75% for the diagnosis of metachronous hepatic metastases. These results indicate that FN levels increase with the progression of CRC, that FN expression in urine and serum is a useful marker of the degree of disease advancement, and that FN may play a part in cancer growth and development.

Difference in vulnerability of cerebral arterial bifurcation and straight portion for development of endothelial damage

Cerebral atherosclerotic changes develop most commonly on the lateral side of the bifurcation, one of the sites where the wall shear stress is lowest in the cerebral arteries. Endothelial cells exposed to the lower shear stress appear to be more vulnerable to stimuli such as free radicals. We hypothesized that the difference in endothelial vulnerability on cerebral arteries may be involved in the local preference of atherogenesis. To clarify this hypothesis, the present study was carried out by using a laser-dye technique that causes cell damage by heat and free radicals. A helium-neon laser in the presence of circulating Evans blue was used to illuminate three sites of the rat middle cerebral artery; the straight portion, the apex of the bifurcation, and the lateral side of the bifurcation. The magnitude of endothelial damage was morphologically estimated with the electron microscope. After the laser irradiation, the straight portion and the lateral side of the bifurcation developed severe endothelial damage. However, the apex of the bifurcation developed no appreciable damage, showing significantly milder changes compared with other sites. The results suggest that endothelial cells are more vulnerable to stimuli by free radicals at the straight portion and the lateral side of the bifurcation than at the apex. We conclude that the imbalance between the strength of stress stimuli, such as free radicals, and the vulnerability of endothelium is likely to be one of the key requirements for the development of cerebral atherosclerotic changes.

[Acute pulmonary embolism following lung resection: report of two cases]

We reported 2 cases of acute pulmonary embolism after resection for lung cancer. A 47-year-old male was admitted to our hospital with ground-glass opacity (GGO) on a chest computed tomography (CT). We performed a right upper lobectomy and node dissection (ND) 2a dissection. Two days after the operation, he developed hypotension and hypoxemia. He was diagnosed as acute pulmonary embolism by chest CT and lung scintigram. A 68-year-old women was performed right S6 segmentectomy for lung cancer. The next day, she complained of sudden chest discomfort and dyspnea. She was diagnosed as acute pulmonary embolism by chest CT. Immediately, we started anticoagration therapy with heparin and their condition were improved. It was very important to early diagnose and start anticoagration therapy immediately for acute pulumonary embolism.

Outbreak of human metapneumovirus detected by use of the Vero E6 cell line in isolates collected in Yamagata, Japan, in 2004 and 2005

A number of epidemiological studies have shown human metapneumovirus (hMPV) to be one of the most important viral agents associated with acute respiratory infections in humans. However, due to the difficulty in growing the virus, all epidemiological studies of hMPV infection have been performed on the basis of the molecular method. Thus, the development of a cell line suitable for the isolation of hMPV from clinical specimens is a crucial step for further research. Using the Vero E6 cell line, which could be stably maintained for 1 month without passage or medium change, we succeeded in isolating 79 strains from 4,112 specimens obtained in Yamagata, Japan, in 2004 and 2005. The total isolation rate was 1.9% (79/4,112). The monthly distribution revealed that hMPV infections occurred between February and April in 2004 and throughout most of the year in 2005. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that subgenogroup B2 was predominant in 2004, whereas three subgenogroups, A2, B1, and B2, had cocirculated in 2005. Although multiple subgenogroups cocirculated in 2005, each individual subgenogroup strain was found to predominate at specific sites. An infectivity assay of hMPV strains also indicated that the infection efficiency in Vero E6 cells was better than that in LLC-MK2 cells. Finally, we found that Vero E6 cells are useful for the isolation of hMPVs and that this utility might aid further research into hMPVs beyond the epidemiological data shown in this study.

Hochu-ekki-to inhibits rhinovirus infection in human tracheal epithelial cells

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

A traditional Japanese herbal medicine, hochu-ekki-to, has been used for the symptomatic treatment of the common cold and to reduce the frequency of colds in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. However, the inhibitory effects of hochu-ekki-to on infection by rhinovirus (RV), the major cause of common colds, have not been studied.

EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH

Human tracheal epithelial cells in culture were infected with a major group rhinovirus-RV14. Virus output and viral RNA were measured along with interleukin (IL)-1beta, IL-6, IL-8 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha), mRNA for intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1 and acidic endosomes in cells.

KEY RESULTS

RV14 infection increased virus titers, the content of cytokines in supernatants and RV14 RNA in the cells. Hochu-ekki-to decreased virus output, RV14 RNA in the cells, susceptibility to RV infection and supernatant cytokine concentrations after RV14 infection. Hochu-ekki-to reduced mRNA for ICAM-1, the receptor for RV14, the concentration of the soluble form of ICAM-1 and the number and fluorescence intensity of acidic endosomes in the cells, from which RV RNA enters into the cytoplasm, at RV14 infection. Glycyrrhizin, one of the chemical constituents of hochu-ekki-to, reduced supernatant virus titers dose-dependently.

CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS

Hochu-ekki-to inhibited RV14 infection by decreasing ICAM-1 and by blocking entry of viral RNA into the cytoplasm from the endosomes, in airway epithelial cells. Glycyrrhizin may be partly responsible for inhibition of RV infection by hochu-ekki-to. Hochu-ekki-to could modulate airway inflammation by reducing production of cytokines in RV infections.

Analysis of x-ray polarization to determine the three-dimensionally anisotropic velocity distributions of hot electrons in plasma produced by ultrahigh intensity lasers

A new polarization spectroscopy model has been developed to analyze energetic electrons distributed in a three-dimensional phase space. This model calculates the polarization degrees for a given line of sight. Time-dependent polarization degrees of Healpha line emitted from heliumlike chlorine ions was obtained for two different lines of sight by using three-dimensional electron velocity distributions provided with two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. These results demonstrate that the polarization degrees are sensitively dependent on the profile of the electron velocity distributions which are affected by the polarization of the laser pulse.