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Hiroshi Araki

Publications and source records attributed to Hiroshi Araki.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Surgical influence of pancreatectomy on the function and count of circulating dendritic cells in patients with pancreatic cancer.

BACKGROUND: Dendritic cells (DCs) are important for an immune surveillance. Myeloid DCs (DC1) are important for an effective antitumor immune system. The function and count of circulating DC1 (cDC1) in hosts with a malignant tumor would be defective. This study focused on analyzing the immunological features of cDC1 in patients with pancreatic cancer during the perioperative period. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-two pancreatic cancer patients who underwent pancreatectomy and 18 age-matched healthy individuals as controls were enrolled in this study. The perioperative cDC count, the stimulatory capacity of cDC1 against allogeneic T cells and TGF-beta1 level in the serum were measured. The cDC count was measured at 12 months after the operation. RESULTS: The preoperative cDC1/cDC2 ratio, cDC1 count, and stimulatory capacity of cDC1 were impaired in patients in comparison to controls (P<0.05). The serum TGF-beta1 level was significantly higher in patients than controls (P<0.001). The stimulatory capacity of cDC1 recovered after pancreatectomy (P<0.05). The serum TGF-beta1 level significantly decreased after the operation (P<0.05); however, they were still significantly higher than controls (P<0.05). Although the cDC1/cDC2 ratio and the cDC1 count did not increase after the pancreatectomy, they recovered as the controls' level at 12 months after the pancreatectomy in disease-free patients (P<0.05) and the serum TGF-beta1 level in those patients at 12 months after the operation significantly decreased compared with those at the postoperative period (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Surgical resection of pancreatic cancer could be associated with improved cDC1 function. When a patient remained disease free, the recovery of cDC1 counts was observed approximately 12 months after pancreatectomy. Further strategy will be needed to improve immune function in patients with pancreatic cancer.

Aged↗
PubMed2005

Synthesis of SiC nanowires with in-situ deposition of carbon coating.

SiC nanowires are effective reinforcement materials in ceramic matrix composites. A compliant coating such as carbon on nanowires is necessary in order to moderate the nanowire/matrix interfacial bounding for taking the most advantages of SiC nanowires. SiC nanowires with an in-situ deposition of carbon shell coating were fabricated by a novel chemical vapor growth process. Highresolution transmission electron microscopy examinations showed that the nanowires consisted of a single crystal beta-SiC core with an amorphous carbon shell 2-5 nm in thickness. The nanowires were straight with a length generally over 10 microm and a diameter 15-150 nm. The growth direction of the core SiC nanowires is (111). A simple three-step growth model for SiC nanowires was proposed based on a vapor-solid growth mechanism. Because the carbon-coated nanowires were grown directly on continuous Tyranno-SA SiC fibers, in-situ application of the present technique on the fabrication of SiC nanowire-reinforced SiC/SiC composites is expected.

Carbon↗
PubMed2005

The latest wire technique for chronic total occlusion.

If patency is restored after chronic total occlusion (CTO), it can be maintained over the long term by implanting drug-eluting stents. The cause of unsuccessful percutaneous coronary intervention is usually failure of the wire to cross the site of CTO. The objective of this article is to describe the latest wire techniques for CTO. As for wire selection, CTO should generally be treated with hard-tipped spring wires, preferably Conquest Pro series (Asahi Intec). According to the penetrating strategy, the course of a blood vessel with CTO is established preoperatively and the wire is advanced based on the imaging data with minimum rotation (a torque of +/- 90 degrees or less). If the operator encounters divergence between the preoperative CTO image and the actual course of the coronary artery, the parallel wire technique should be used. With this method, a wire which enters the subintimal space is left there, and a second wire is inserted along it to find a new channel. When this technique is successful, the following findings are often noted: 1) the second wire crosses over the first one in the CTO; 2) the second wire shows more acute curve than the first wire; 3) the second wire penetrates the lesion from the outer curvature of the coronary artery and then is advanced along the same curvature of the vessel. Indeed, the second wire should be operated intentionally to achieve these findings so that the probability of success increases and the duration of the procedure is shortened.

Blood Vessel Prosthesis Implantation↗
PubMed2005

[Assessment of immunotoxicity of irinotecan determined by the novel method, by which productivity of TNF-alpha from whole blood is stimulated by lipopolysaccharide].

Irinotecan hydrochloride shows much different responses in each patient, and it has severe adverse effects. Therefore, a sensitive marker for the side effect of irinotecan on immunotoxicity may be able to prevent the severe complications by the early detection. We have recently developed a method to assess the immunotoxicity by measuring the productivity of TNF-alpha from whole blood containing monocytes when stimulated by lipopolysaccharide. By using this method, the effects of continuous low-dose irinotecan therapy on immunotoxicity were assessed in 10 patients with advanced gastric or colon cancer. When compared this method with the others such as white blood cell count, lymphocyte blastoid transformation by phytohem agglutinin (PHA), and natural killer cell activity in terms of the sensitivity, immunotoxicity by this method was found earlier than the other methods. Because our original method is easy to perform and sensitive as compared to the conventional methods, it can be widely used as one of the laboratory tests useful for patients treated with immunosuppressive agents.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

[3D-CRT and intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT)].

Three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3D-CRT) conforms a high dose region closer to the target volume than does 2D radiation therapy. IMRT is the advanced form of 3D-CRT. With IMRT technique, using multiple intensity modulated beams, one can deliver a high dose of radiation to the target and a low dose to the surrounding normal structures. IMRT planning provides improved tumor target coverage when compared to 3D-CRT treatment planning. There is significant sparing of critical structures and other normal tissues. IMRT also produces dose distributions capable of delivering different dose prescriptions to multiple targets, providing a new opportunity for differential dose painting to increase the dose selectively to specific image-defined regions. Preliminary findings indicate that IMRT is a new clinically feasible tool in radiation oncology. The initial results of clinical studies demonstrate reduced xerostomia in head and neck cancer and also effectively reduced acute and late occurring toxicities, improving the QOL of patients treated for prostate cancer. According to these studies, IMRT will allow dose escalation, leading to better tumor control without normal tissue damage. On the other hand, there are some problems for IMRT in Japan: There are few medical physicists, which results in radiation technologists playing most clinical technological roles, including some dosimetrical and physical activities. Social recognition and economical and legal support for medical physicists should be established in providing better patient care services.

Humans↗
PubMed2002

Metachronous colon tumors: risk factors and rationale for the surveillance colonoscopy after initial polypectomy.

PURPOSE: We analyzed the possible risk factors for metachronous colon tumors after endoscopic resection of initial tumors. METHODS: Three hundred and twenty-one patients entered the surveillance study after colonoscopic resection of initial tumors between 1985 and 1999. Histology of initial tumors was adenoma in 214 patients and carcinoma in 107 patients. Solitary tumor was observed in 196 patients and multiple tumors in 125 at initial endoscopy. The median surveillance period was 39 (range, 12-112) months, and the median frequency of surveillance colonoscopy was three (range, 2-10) times. RESULTS: Metachronous neoplasms were identified in 114 of 321 surveillance cases (36%). In the 114 cases, the number of patients with metachronous adenoma was 103 (90%) and that of carcinoma was 11 (10%). Clinical characteristics at entry - including age, gender, multiplicity of polyp, histology of polyp, and site of polyp - were not different between patients with metachronous tumors and those without metachronous tumors. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that patients with a histology of carcinoma and those with multiple polyps at entry developed metachronous tumors significantly earlier than did patients with initial adenomas and initial solitary polyp, respectively ( P<0.001, P<0.001). However, other characteristics at entry did not produce significant differences in the rate of the development of metachronous tumors using Kaplan-Meier analysis. Proportional hazards model analysis revealed that histology of the initial tumor as carcinoma (relative risk, 1.690, 95% confidence interval, 1.118-2.555) and multiplicity (1.472, 1011-2.143) were significant risk factors for metachronous colon tumors. The 75%, 50%, and 25% metachronous tumor-free periods after initial polypectomy were 14, 21, and 39 months, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: These results may help optimizing surveillance strategies for metachronous colon tumors and raising the economic benefit of colonoscopy.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed2002

[A new combination therapy with low-dose FP and daily oral administration of low-dose etoposide--a report of 2 cases].

We report 2 patients with advanced gastric cancer treated with a new combination chemotherapy of low-dose FP and daily oral administration of low-dose etoposide. Patient 1 was an 84-year-old man. He was diagnosed with cancer of the remnant stomach with multiple liver metastases. For eight months, he was treated as an outpatient and his performance status (PS) stayed at stage 1. Patient 2 was a 67-year-old man with lymph node metastasis of the lung. For the first 6 weeks, he was treated under hospitalization and for the following 10 months he was treated as an outpatient. His PS remained in stage 1 and blood CEA value fell from 2,420 ng/ml to 46.9 ng/ml. Upper gastrointestinal series showed a recovery of the extension of his lower gastric body. Both cases were so-called prolonged NC. From the viewpoint of patient QOL, this new combination is a possible candidate for a more effective chemotherapy.

Adenocarcinoma↗