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Biomedical subjects

Takushi Yasuda

Publications and source records attributed to Takushi Yasuda.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed2004

Expression of Toll-like receptors 2 and 4 is downregulated after operation.

BACKGROUND: Toll-like receptors (TLR) that recognize microbial pathogens play a critical role in innate immunity; however, their expression and function after surgery remain unknown. The aim of this study was to examine TLR2 and TLR4 expression on monocytes and their responses to each agonist after surgical insults. METHODS: Blood samples were obtained from 83 patients who underwent gastrointestinal surgery. TLR2, TLR4, and inducible nitric oxide synthase expressions on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were analyzed by flow cytometry. Macrophage-activating lipopeptide-2 or lipopolysaccharide-induced tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-6 production was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: TLR2 and TLR4 decreased and showed the lowest values on the postoperative days 3 and 1, respectively. Macrophage-activating lipopeptide-2-stimulated tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-6 production was decreased immediately after the operation (P<.05), increased to a maximum value on postoperative day 1, and then decreased gradually. Lipopolysaccharide-stimulated tumor necrosis factor-alpha production was also suppressed immediately (P<.05) after operation then showed a gradual increase to maximum values on postoperative day 3. Inducible nitric oxide synthase in cultured PBMC that was obtained immediately after operation was upregulated (P<.05). CONCLUSION: Expressions of TLR2 and TLR4 were downregulated by operation, and agonist-induced cytokine production was suppressed transiently and soon increased through the activation of PBMC. The present study may offer new insights for postoperative modulation of innate immunity under surgical stress.

Aged↗
PubMed2004

Rapid genetic diagnosis with the transcription-reverse transcription concerted reaction system for cancer micrometastasis.

BACKGROUND: Detection of cancer micrometastases is required for improvement of cancer therapy. The aim of this study was to establish a rapid and practical genetic assay to detect micrometastasis in gastric cancer and to assess its clinical significance with respect to prognosis. METHODS: A novel RNA amplification system with transcription-reverse transcription concerted reaction (TRC) was introduced for quantitative detection of cancer-specific carcinoembryonic antigen messenger RNA. The sensitivity and quantitative aspects of the assay were assessed with the full-length carcinoembryonic antigen messenger RNA, a gastric cancer cell line (MKN-45), and metastatic lymph nodes obtained from patients with gastric cancer. Peritoneal lavage fluid specimens that were collected from gastric cancer surgery were subjected to the assay, and the clinical significance of the results was examined for prediction of recurrence and survival. RESULTS: The quantification, sensitivity, and reproducibility of the assay with the TRC reaction were equal to those of quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction with LightCycler. The most important advantages of the assay were its simplicity and rapidity. Molecular diagnosis of peritoneal lavage fluid by the TRC reaction significantly correlated with depth of invasion, peritoneal metastasis, clinical stage, overall survival, and peritoneal recurrence-free survival. CONCLUSIONS: Molecular diagnosis of peritoneal lavage fluid with the TRC reaction could be a useful prognostic indicator for peritoneal recurrence and survival. Because the TRC reaction is more rapid and simpler than reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction as a format for detecting RNA sequences, it may enhance the genetic diagnosis of cancer micrometastasis and may improve cancer therapy.

Biomarkers, Tumor↗
PubMed2004

[Weekly administration of paclitaxel as a second-line chemotherapy for advanced and recurrent gastric cancer].

Chemotherapy with TS-1 has recently become the first-line chemotherapy for recurrent and unresectable gastric cancer in Japan. Therefore, the establishment of a second-line chemotherapy is needed for cases that show resistance and aberrant effect to TS-1. In this study, 7 patients were treated with weekly administrations of paclitaxel after TS-1 treatment. We assessed the therapeutic effect and feasibility of chemotherapy with weekly administration of paclitaxel. Our results showed that weekly administration of paclitaxel could be a promising regimen as a second-line chemotherapy after TS-1.

Aged↗
PubMed2004

[Cases of postoperative hepatic metastasis from gastric cancer in which hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy with 5-FU, adriamycin and cisplatin was performed after TS-1 chemotherapy].

The prognosis of patients with hepatic metastasis of gastric cancer is poor, and standard therapies for patients are not established. Here we present two cases of hepatic metastasis from gastric cancer. In both cases, no other organ metastasis except the liver was confirmed, in which hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy with 5-FU, adriamycin and cisplatin (FAP) were performed because TS-1 chemotherapy was not an effective chemotherapy. Case 1: An 80-year-old man had distal gastrectomy for type 2 gastric cancer (Stage II) in January 2001. A liver S8 metastatic recurrence was discovered in the 18th month post operation. After chemotherapy with TS-1 for 5 courses, a hepatic arterial infusion treatment was performed for 7 courses. The effect was PR, but the treatment was canceled because of a catheter obstruction. The patient is living without recurrence. Case 2: This case was a 73-year-old man who had distal gastrectomy for type 0 IIc gastric cancer (Stage IA) in May 1999. Multiple hepatic metastases recurred in the 32nd month post operation. After chemotherapy with TS-1 for 2 courses, a hepatic arterial infusion treatment was performed for 10 courses. The effect was CR, but a peritoneal recurrence was discovered, and a systemic chemotherapy was performed. The patient is living without recrudescence of hepatic metastasis. The hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy with FAP was effective for gastric cancer patients with liver metastasis because TS-1 chemotherapy was not an effective chemotherapy. It is necessary to consider combined chemotherapy in addition to systemic chemotherapy.

Aged↗
PubMed2004

[Two cases of advanced and recurrent gastric cancer treated with the combination of chemotherapy and radiation].

Recently, new promising anti-tumor agents such as TS-1, taxanes, and CPT-11 have been approved for gastric cancer treatment. These agents showed a better response and may contribute to a patient's survival and quality of life. However, there are cases with advanced and recurrent gastric cancer that are resistive or tolerant to these agents. We report two cases in which the patients had suffered symptomatic local recurrence during the chemotherapy. Consequently, they had been treated with radiotherapy in order to improve their clinical status. We also discuss the significance of radiotherapy in gastric cancer.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols↗
PubMed2003

Reduced MLH1 expression after chemotherapy is an indicator for poor prognosis in esophageal cancers.

PURPOSE: Loss of function or expression of the mismatch repair gene MLH1 has been implicated in experimentally acquired resistance to cisplatin (CDDP) and other anticancer agents. The clinical significance of MLH1 expression was evaluated in advanced thoracic squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus (ESCC) treated by neoadjuvant chemotherapy. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: We investigated MLH1 and P53 expression by immunohistochemistry in the surgical specimens of 107 patients who had undergone preoperative chemotherapy using CDDP along with 5-FU and ADM. These findings were correlated with the clinical outcome for this treatment. Biopsy samples before chemotherapy in 20 of these patients, and another 43 surgical specimens without chemotherapy, were also examined as control samples. RESULTS: In surgical specimens of ESCC, low MLH1 expression was not frequent without chemotherapy, whereas it was commonly observed after chemotherapy (14 versus 37%, P = 0.0057). Comparison between samples before and after chemotherapy revealed that MLH1 expression was unchanged during chemotherapy in 12 of 20 patients (60%) but was from high to low in 8 of 20 patients (40%). In the surgical specimen after neoadjuvant chemotherapy, MLH1 expression was not correlated with any clinicopathological factors, including the response to chemotherapy. However, low MLH1 showed poorer prognosis than high MLH1 (5-year survival 40.6 versus 19.3%, P = 0.0393), and in multivariate analysis, MLH1 was an independent prognostic factor for this multimodal treatment, following lymph node metastasis and clinical response to chemotherapy. Positive p53 expression, which was not affected by chemotherapy, was weakly associated with a poor response and clinical outcome, although this trend was not significant. CONCLUSIONS: In advanced ESCC, expression of MLH1 is reduced during CDDP-based chemotherapy, and this may partly account for poor postoperative survival.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing↗
PubMed2003

Expression level of valosin-containing protein is strongly associated with progression and prognosis of gastric carcinoma.

PURPOSE: Valosin-containing protein (VCP; also known as p97) was shown to be associated with antiapoptotic function and metastasis via activation of nuclear factor kappa-B signaling pathway. In this study, association of VCP expression with recurrence of gastric carcinoma (GC), in which lymphatic vessels are the main route of spread, was examined. PATIENTS AND METHODS: VCP expression in 330 patients with GC (242 males and 88 females) with ages ranging from 26 to 81 years (median, 60 years) was analyzed by immunohistochemistry, in which staining intensity in tumor cells was categorized as weaker (level 1) or equal to or stronger (level 2) than that in endothelial cells. RESULTS: Ninety-four (28.7%) patient cases showed level 1 and 233 patient cases (71.3%) showed level 2 VCP expression. Patients with level 2 expression showed higher rates of large tumor size (P <.0001), undifferentiated histologic subtype (P <.05), presence of vascular and lymphatic invasion (P <.0001 for both), presence of lymph node metastasis (P <.0001), deep tumor invasion (P <.0001), and poorer disease-free and overall survivals (P <.0001 for both) compared with those with level 1 VCP expression. Multivariate analysis revealed VCP expression level as an independent prognosticator for disease-free and overall survival. VCP level was an indicator for disease-free and overall survival in the early (pT1; P <.01 and P <.05, respectively) and advanced (pT2-4; P <.05 for both) group of pathologic tumor-node-metastasis system classification. CONCLUSION: The prognostic significance of VCP expression level in GC was demonstrated.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗
PubMed2003

Totally laparoscopic distal gastrectomy using the hand-sewn Billroth-I anastomotic technique: report of a case.

The development of more sophisticated instruments has enabled advanced laparoscopic surgery. We recently devised a totally laparoscopic method of performing Billroth-I hand-sewn anastomosis and established this technique in an animal training model. This report presents the case of a 50-year-old man in whom totally laparoscopic distal gastrectomy was successfully performed for gastric cancer, using the hand-sewn Billroth-I anastomotic technique. The patient was admitted with gastric cancer in the angle of the stomach and underwent laparoscopic distal gastrectomy with radical lymph node dissection. After the resected specimen was extracted through the small incision, a Billroth-I anastomosis was performed laparoscopically by the hand-sewn technique using the Albert-Leinbert method. The patient was discharged on the seventh postoperative day without any intra- or postoperative complications. Laparoscopic hand-sewn anastomosis was performed safely and allowed for quick recovery and good cosmesis in this patient.

Anastomosis, Surgical↗
PubMed2003

Experimental study to evaluate the usefulness of S-1 in a model of peritoneal dissemination of gastric cancer.

BACKGROUND: Favorable results have been reported for the novel oral anticancer agent S-1 (TS-1) in clinical studies of advanced gastric cancer with peritoneal dissemination. In the present study we assessed its pharmacokinetics, inhibitory effects, and effect on survival time in an animal model. METHODS: A model of peritoneal dissemination was created by intraperitoneally implanting 4-week-old female BALBc nu/nu mice with the human gastric cancer cell line MKN-45 after transfection with a fluorescent protein-expressing vector. Pharmacokinetics were investigated by measuring intratumor, peritoneal lining, and blood concentrations after the administration of S-1 and fluorouracil (5-FU). The effect of S-1 on survival time was also assessed, by administration once daily to seven animals per group, starting on day 7 after implantation, and survival time was compared with that of an untreated control group. The inhibitory effect of S-1 on peritoneal dissemination was evaluated by killing mice at the start of administration, and 1 and 3 weeks after the start of administration, and examining them for the presence of peritoneal dissemination under a fluorescence stereomicroscope. RESULTS: Maintenance of high 5-FU concentrations in the intraperitoneal tumors was confirmed in the S-1 group, and survival time was prolonged without any decrease in oral food intake or body weight. CONCLUSION: Assessment in a model of peritoneal dissemination of gastric cancer showed that the novel oral anticancer agent S-1 was effective against peritoneal dissemination, and that it improved the survival rate.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Absence of beta-tubulin gene mutation in gastric carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Effective chemotherapy for advanced gastric cancer is yet to be established. Taxanes, novel anticancer drugs which bind to beta-tubulin and prevent disruption of microtubules, are newly approved and promising agents for advanced and recurrent gastric cancer. To predict the chemoresistance to a taxan in gastric cancer, we examined the genetic mutations of the beta-tubulin gene. METHODS: Fifty pairs of gastric tumor and normal mucosa tissues were obtained from operations and the genomic DNA was extracted from each specimen. The four exons of the beta-tubulin gene were amplified for DNA mutations by single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) methods and sequencing analysis. RESULTS: Nine (18%) of 50 patients with gastric cancer had two kinds of silent variations of the beta-tubulin gene in exon 4. Three kinds of intronic variations were detected in exons 1, 2, and 3. However, no genetic alterations that would change the beta-tubulin protein structure were detected in any of the 50 gastric tumors. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that mutations of the beta-tubulin gene, which might be a contraindication for chemotherapy based on taxans, were very rare events in gastric cancer.

Aged↗
PubMed2003

Prevention of peritoneal metastasis of human gastric cancer cells in nude mice by S-1, a novel oral derivative of 5-Fluorouracil.

OBJECTIVE: Recent clinical trials have suggested that oral administration of a new anti-cancer agent, S-1, seems a promising therapy for advanced gastric cancer. In this study, we assessed the efficacy of S-1 against peritoneal dissemination of gastric cancer in a newly developed animal model and investigated the efficacy of S-1 from a pharmacokinetic angle. METHODS: Human gastric cancer cells (MKN-45) were injected into the peritoneal cavity of nude mice. The cancer cells were transduced using an enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP)-expressing plasmid vector, enabling micrometastatic foci to be accurately assessed with a high level of detection sensitivity. To investigate pharmacokinetics, the concentration of 5-FU was determined in tumor, peritoneum and plasma. RESULTS: Fourteen and 21 days after intraperitoneal injection, a significant difference in the number of fluorescent foci was observed between the control group and the S-1 group (p = 0.02 and p = 0.0024, respectively. The therapeutic effect of S-1 was significantly greater than that of 5-FU. Furthermore, S-1 treatment greatly improved the survival time and cachexia. The area under the curve of 5-FU in tumor was higher than in the peritoneum and plasma. CONCLUSION: Oral S-1 is a promising chemotherapy for peritoneal dissemination of gastric cancer.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed2003

Quantitative molecular diagnosis of peritoneal lavage fluid for prediction of peritoneal recurrence in gastric cancer.

We developed a quantitative multiple-marker RT-PCR assay for sensitive detection of free cancer cells in the peritoneal cavity and examined the significance of this molecular diagnostic technique for detection and prediction of peritoneal dissemination in patients with gastric cancer. Preoperative peritoneal lavage fluid samples obtained from 129 patients with gastric cancer were subjected to RT-PCR assay with primers specific for carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and cytokeratin-20 (CK-20), and conventional cytological examination with Papanicolaou staining. The multi-marker RT-PCR assay was positive in 59 of 129 (46%) gastric cancer patients, whereas conventional cytology was positive in only 9 of 129 (7%) patients. Thirty-two of 129 (22%) patients suffered disease recurrence after surgery. Twenty-one of these patients were confirmed to have had peritoneal recurrence. Although conventional cytology was positive on peritoneal washes in only 9 patients, the RT-PCR assay was positive in 20 of these 21 patients. Furthermore, in cases with negative cytology, patients with PCR-positive findings in peritoneal lavage fluid had a significantly poorer prognosis than those with negative PCR, mainly because of peritoneal recurrence. Our results suggest that the multiplex RT-PCR assay for CEA and CK-20 was highly sensitive for detection and might be useful for prediction of peritoneal dissemination in gastric cancer.

Ascitic Fluid↗
PubMed2003

[Two advanced gastric cancer patients who showed malignant ileus soon after administration of combination therapy of preoperative intra-peritoneal chemotherapy and gastrectomy].

Forty-eight patients with serosa-invaded advanced gastric cancer were administered to pre-operative intra-peritoneal chemotherapy to prevent peritoneal recurrence. There were no severe adverse effects from the intra-peritoneal chemotherapy. Of these patients, 2 showed malignant ileus shortly after intra-peritoneal chemotherapy and gastrectomy, and needed laparotomy because of dilatation of duodenum stump and liver dysfunction. The intestines and mesothelium showed diffuse thickness and hardness. We report the clinicopathological features of these cases and therapeutic limitation of intra-peritoneal chemotherapy.

Adenocarcinoma, Scirrhous↗
PubMed2003

[A case of multiple advanced esophageal carcinomas with abdominal LN metastases showing complete response after chemoradiotherapy with concurrent cisplatin, 5-FU and adriamycin chemotherapy].

We report the response of our new regimen of chemoradiotherapy for advanced esophageal carcinoma. The patient was a 66-year-old man who had double primary esophageal carcinomas: type o-IIc tumor of the cervical esophagus from the esophageal inlet to 23 cm from incisors and a 9 cm length type 3 tumor of the middle to lower thoracic esophagus with a 2 cm diameter cardiac lymph node metastasis. Since he completely rejected surgical treatment, new definitive chemoradiotherapy with 2 courses of FAP chemotherapy (cisplatin 50 mg/m2 and adriamycin 20 mg/m2 on day 1 and 5-FU 700 mg/day from day 1 to 5 continuously) concurrent with a split course of radiotherapy to a total dose of 60 Gy in 30 fractions was devised and administered. The treatment was completed and there was no severe toxicity except grade 3 leukocytopenia. Just after treatment, cervical tumor and cardiac lymph node reached complete response but stenosis and wall thickness remained in the thoracic tumor. Soon after, however, these findings improved and, at present 1 year later, complete response has continued. Our new regimen of chemoradiotherapy concurrent with FAP chemotherapy seems to be effective and promising for advanced esophageal carcinoma.

Aged↗
PubMed2002

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by salvage surgery: effect on survival of patients with primary noncurative gastric cancer.

The prognosis for gastric cancer patients who undergo noncurative resection is extremely poor. This study evaluated the effects of neoadjuvant chemotherapy for primary noncurative gastric cancer. Thirty-four patients with biopsy-proven noncurative gastric cancer were treated with either of two neoadjuvant chemotherapies: FEMTXP (5-fluorouracil, epirubicin, methotrexate, cisplatin) or THP-FLPM (pirarubicin, 5-fluorouracil, leucovorin, cisplatin, mitomycin C). Noncurability was determined by conventional staging procedures, staging laparoscopy, and exploratory laparotomy. After chemotherapy the resectability of the tumors was reassessed. Patients who were judged to be candidates for curative resection underwent salvage surgery. Of the final 33 patients, 8 (24.2%) showed a major response [0 complete response (CR), 8 partial response (PR)]. In three patients the second laparoscopy revealed disappearance of the peritoneal metastasis. Of the 33 patients, 14 (42.4%) underwent salvage surgery, including 8 curative resections (2 curability A, 6 curability B). Pathologic examinations revealed a grade 2 response in eight patients but no grade 3 response. Univariate analysis showed the following to be significant prognostic factors: histology type (differentiated type vs. undifferentiated type; p = 0.035), T4 as a noncurative factor (T4 vs. T3 or less; p = 0.025), clinical response (PR + no change vs. progressive disease; p = 0.002), and salvage surgery (resected vs. unresected; p = 0.001). Among these factors, salvage surgery was found to be the only independent prognostic factor by multivariate analysis, with a relative risk of 0.253 and a 95% confidence interval of 0.066 to 0.974. The treatment was well tolerated. Major toxicities of WHO grade 3 or more were leukopenia in 20 (60.6%), gastrointestinal toxicities in 5 (15.2%), renal toxicities in 2 (6.1%), and alopecia in 1 (3.0%). In conclusion, neoadjuvant chemotherapy is effective for primary noncurative gastric cancer when salvage surgery can be performed. A chemotherapy regimen with a higher complete response rate would improve the prognosis of this dismal disease even more.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Real-time rapid reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction for intraoperative diagnosis of lymph node micrometastasis: clinical application for cervical lymph node dissection in esophageal cancers.

BACKGROUND: New molecular techniques have been designed to detect cancer micrometastases that are otherwise missed by conventional histologic examination. The aim of this study was to establish a sensitive and rapid genetic assay to detect lymph node micrometastasis and to assess its usefulness clinically for cervical lymphadenectomy in esophageal cancer. We have recently shown that metastasis in the lymph node chain along the recurrent laryngeal nerves (rec LNs) is a predictor of cervical node metastasis in esophageal cancer. In our retrospective study, the positive rate of cervical lymph node metastasis with rec LNs metastasis was 51.6%, and the rate without rec LNs metastasis was 11.6%. There was a significant difference in both positive rates (P =.0002). METHODS: Rec LNs obtained from 50 patients with esophageal cancer were assessed prospectively by intraoperative histopathologic examination (HE) and genetic analysis. The latter involved a real-time quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) system with multiple markers, carcinoembryonic antigen, squamous cell carcinoma, and melanoma antigen-3, whose messenger RNAs are highly and frequently expressed in esophageal cancers. Cervical lymphadenectomy was subsequently performed in a subset of these patients. RESULTS: Ten of 50 patients (20%) were scored as node positive by HE, and 24 patients (48%) were scored positive by genetic diagnosis, including 9 HE-positive cases. Genetic diagnosis of rec LNs accurately predicted all 9 cases with cervical lymph node metastasis and 2 cases with cervical lymph node recurrence, whereas HE missed 2 cases with cervical lymph node metastasis and 2 cases with cervical lymph node recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: Our real-time rapid RT-PCR assay can improve the sensitivity of HE for detection of lymph node metastasis and might be potentially useful for intraoperative genetic diagnosis for subsequent cervical lymphadenectomy in esophageal cancer surgery.

Aged↗
PubMed2002

[The introduction of preoperative staging laparoscopy and molecular diagnosis of peritoneal lavages for the treatment of advanced gastric cancer].

In this study, intra-peritoneal chemotherapy was performed for advanced gastric cancer with serosal invasion. We assessed the efficacy of the chemotherapy using quantitative genetic diagnosis with peritoneal lavages collected before and after chemotherapy at staging laparoscopy and/or gastrectomy. Cases in which genetic diagnosis of peritoneal lavages showed negative results, or changed from positive to negative after chemotherapy, had a good prognosis. On the other hand, cases in which genetic diagnosis showed positive results after chemotherapy had worse prognosis. Intra-peritoneal chemotherapy may be indicated for patients with a positive genetic diagnosis only and cases becoming negative as a result of this therapy may have a better prognosis.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols↗