The Tohoku journal of experimental medicine
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Tohoku J. Exp. Med. · Nov 2023
Development of a Novel and Simple Anti-Metastatic Cancer Treatment Targeting Vasohibin-2.
Vasohibin-2 (VASH2), a homologue of vasohibin-1 (VASH1), is overexpressed in various cancer cells and promotes tumor progression. We therefore regard VASH2 as a molecular target for cancer treatment. Here we applied vaccine technology to develop a therapy against VASH2. ⋯ When the LLC cells were injected into the tail vein, the MTG peptide vaccine inhibited lung metastasis. Moreover, the MTG peptide vaccine inhibited the metastasis of pancreatic cancer cells to the liver in an orthotopic mouse model, and there was a significant inverse correlation between the ELISA titer and metastasis inhibition. Therefore, we propose that the MTG peptide vaccine is a novel anti-metastatic cancer treatment that targets VASH2 and can be applied even in the most malignant and highly metastatic pancreatic cancer.
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Tohoku J. Exp. Med. · Nov 2023
Web-Based Post-Bereavement Survey System in Specialized Palliative Care: A Feasibility Pilot Study.
Web-based post-bereavement survey systems for specialized palliative care will enable obtaining timely results on the care quality from more participants at a lower cost. The primary aim of the study was to develop a web-based post-bereavement survey system and to compare response rates for different number of items. The secondary aim was to examine response bias between web-based and mail survey in post-bereavement surveys. ⋯ Compared with a previous nationwide post-bereavement mail survey, more children responded; however, the quality rating scores was unchanged. Despite low response rate, no apparent response bias was observed, indicating its feasibility. This survey method is low-cost, less burdensome to the institution, and allows for ongoing quality assurance.
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Tohoku J. Exp. Med. · Nov 2023
Systemic Immune-Inflammation Index Predicts Tumor Recurrence after Radical Resection for Colorectal Cancer.
The systemic inflammatory response is associated with tumor promotion and suppression. Accumulating evidence shows that peripheral blood markers of inflammatory response predict clinical outcomes in various human cancers. The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic relevance of the inflammation-based biomarkers in colorectal cancer (CRC). ⋯ Our study suggests that SII and lymph node metastasis could be useful indicators in predicting the recurrence of CRC patients. Additionally, SII could accurately stratify CRC patients with tumor recurrence by combining with lymph node metastasis. This result would be beneficial for determining the optimal therapeutic strategies after surgical resection for CRC.
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Tohoku J. Exp. Med. · Nov 2023
ReviewChronic Glucocorticoid Use is a Potential Risk Factor for Delayed Pancreatic Fistula after Laparoscopic Distal Pancreatectomy: A Retrospective Analysis.
Pancreatic fistula is a potentially morbid complication after distal pancreatectomy. Chronic glucocorticoid use is one of the risk factors for pancreatic fistula in pancreaticoduodenectomy, though it has not been reported in distal pancreatectomy. We explored whether chronic glucocorticoid use can be a risk factor for pancreatic fistula in distal pancreatectomy. ⋯ A comparison of patient with and without chronic glucocorticoid use showed that only patients with chronic glucocorticoid use developed delayed pancreatic fistula (0% vs. 16.7%; p < 0.001). In addition, delayed pancreatic fistula occurred in only laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy patients with chronic glucocorticoid use (0% vs. 25.0%; p < 0.001). Although sample size is small, it is reasonable to presume that chronic glucocorticoid use is a potential risk factor for delayed pancreatic fistula in laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy.