We examined associations between nutritional and other lifestyle factors and the prevalence of prostate cancer in a case-control study of Japanese men. Two hundred patients and 200 age-matched ...controls (+/-5 y) were selected from 3 geographic areas of Japan. BMI, physical activity, occupation, family history of prostate cancer, and medical history were not associated with prostate cancer risk. Isoflavones and their aglycones (genistein and daidzein) were significantly associated with decreased risk. The odds ratio for the highest category (> or = 89.9 mg/d) compared with the lowest category (<30.5 mg/d) of isoflavone intake was 0.42 (95% CI = 0.24-0.72) and the linear trend was significant (P < 0.01). PUFA, (n-6) fatty acids, and magnesium were significantly associated with decreased risk but not after adjustment for isoflavone intake. Isoflavone intake was correlated with the intake of PUFA (r = 0.68, P < 0.001), (n-6) fatty acids (r = 0.69, P < 0.001), and magnesium (r = 0.56, P < 0.001), because soy products contain high levels of these nutrients. On the other hand, isoflavone significantly decreased the risk of prostate cancer regardless of adjustment by PUFA, (n-6) fatty acids or magnesium. In conclusion, our findings indicate that isoflavones might be an effective dietary protective factor against prostate cancer in Japanese men.
Abstract.Purpose Isolated finger flexion associated with function of the flexor digitorum superficialis has been qualitatively assessed using standard and modified tests. The purpose of this study ...was to quantify isolated finger flexion in healthy participants. Participants and Methods We assessed 100 volunteers (mean age: 44.6 years) without upper limb dysfunction using the standard and modified flexor digitorum superficialis tests. The sum of the isolated active flexion angles of the metacarpophalangeal and proximal interphalangeal joints of the test finger was also calculated, with the other three fingers held in an extended position with our original jig. Results The mean isolated flexion angles were, respectively, 152.4° and 154.8° for the right and left index fingers, 161.1° and 160.4° for the middle fingers, 160.6° and 158.2° for the ring fingers, 129.4° and 134.6° for the independent flexor digitorum superficialis function, 85.8° and 74.7° for the common flexor digitorum superficialis function, and 75.8° and 71.2° for absent flexor digitorum superficialis function in the small finger. The functional variations of the flexor digitorum superficialis of the small fingers showed symmetry in 65.0% of the fingers but asymmetry in 35.0%. Conclusion The data obtained in this study provide normal reference values for the examination of independent movement disorders of the fingers.
The most important prognostic factor in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is neck metastasis, which is treated by neck dissection. Although selective neck dissection (SND) is a useful tool for ...clinically node-negative OSCC, its efficacy for neck node-positive OSCC has not been established. Sixty-eight OSCC patients with pN1⁻3 disease who were treated with curative surgery using SND and/or modified-radical/radical neck dissection (MRND/RND) were retrospectively reviewed. The neck control rate was 94% for pN1⁻3 patients who underwent SND. The five-year overall survival (OS) and disease-specific survival (DSS) in pN1-3 OSCC patients were 62% and 71%, respectively. The multivariate analysis of clinical and pathological variables identified the number of positive nodes as an independent predictor of SND outcome (OS, hazard ratio (HR) = 4.98, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.48⁻16.72,
< 0.01; DSS, HR = 6.44, 95% CI: 1.76⁻23.50,
< 0.01). The results of this retrospective study showed that only SND for neck node-positive OSCC was appropriate for those with up to 2 lymph nodes that had a largest diameter ≤3 cm without extranodal extension (ENE) of the neck and adjuvant radiotherapy. However, the availability of postoperative therapeutic options for high-risk OSCC, including ENE and/or multiple positive lymph nodes, needs to be further investigated.
AIM:To investigate the effectiveness of phenol for the relief of cancer pain by endoscopic ultrasound-guided celiac plexus neurolysis(EUS-CPN).METHODS:Twenty-two patients referred to our hospital ...with cancer pain from August 2009 to July 2011for EUS-CPN were enrolled in this study.Phenol was used for 6 patients with alcohol intolerance and ethanol was used for 16 patients without alcohol intolerance.The primary endpoint was the positive response rate(pain score decreased to≤3)on postoperative day 7.Secondary endpoints included the time to onset of pain relief,duration of pain relief,and complication rates.RESULTS:There was no significant difference in the positive response rate on day 7.The rates were 83%and 69%in the phenol and ethanol groups,respectively.Regarding the time to onset of pain relief,in the phenol group,the median pre-treatment pain score was 5,whereas the post-treatment scores decreased to 1.5,1.5,and 1.5 at 2,8,and 24 h,respectively(P<0.05).In the ethanol group,the median pre-treatment pain score was 5.5,whereas the post-treatment scores significantly decreased to 2.5,2.5,and 2.5 at 2,8,and24 h,respectively(P<0.01).There was no significant difference in the duration of pain relief between the phenol and ethanol groups.No significant difference was found in the rate of complications between the 2groups;however,burning pain and inebriation occurred only in the ethanol group.CONCLUSION:Phenol had similar pain-relieving effects to ethanol in EUS-CPN.Comparing the incidences of inebriation and burning pain,phenol may be superior to ethanol in EUS-CPN procedures.
Background The purpose of this study was to evaluate postoperative pain levels after arthroscopic elbow surgery under general anesthesia and to determine whether an axillary nerve block provides ...additional pain management benefits compared with a portal site injection of local anesthetic. Methods Thirty-six patients undergoing arthroscopic elbow surgery under general anesthesia were randomized to either a study group receiving axillary nerve block (Ax group) or a control group receiving portal site injections of local anesthetic (Lo group). During the first 48 hours after surgery, pain visual analog scale (VAS) scores (0-100), total amount of oral analgesics required, and patient satisfaction were assessed. Results Among all 36 patients, mean pain VAS scores at rest were 37, 18, and 9 for the first 12-hour period and at 24 and 48 hours after surgery, respectively. The mean pain VAS scores during physiotherapy were 47 and 33 at 24 and 48 hours postoperatively, respectively. No intergroup differences were observed between the Ax and Lo groups at any time point after surgery ( P value range, .41 to .87). The mean number of loxoprofen tablets required during the 48-hour study period was 5.1 in the Ax group and 4.5 in the Lo group ( P = .90). The Ax and Lo groups had mean overall patient satisfaction scores of 91 and 91, respectively ( P = .98). Conclusions Postoperative pain levels after arthroscopic elbow surgery could be well managed with oral analgesics and local anesthetic. An axillary nerve block was not found to provide any postoperative pain control benefits.
The medical emergency team enables the limitation of patients' progression to critical illness in the general ward. The early warning scoring system (EWS) is one of the criteria for medical emergency ...team activation; however, it is not a valid criterion to predict the prognosis of patients with MET activation.
In this study, the National Early Warning Score (NEWS) and Rapid Emergency Medicine Score (REMS) was compared with that of the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) score in predicting the prognosis of patients who had been treated a medical emergency team.
In this single-centre retrospective cohort study, patients treated by a medical emergency team between April 2013 and March 2019 and the 28-day prognosis of MET-activated patients were assessed using APACHE II, NEWS, and REMS.
Of the 196 patients enrolled, 152 (77.5%) were men, and 44 (22.5%) were women. Their median age was 68 years (interquartile range: 57-76 years). The most common cause of medical emergency team activation was respiratory failure (43.4%). Univariate analysis showed that APACHE II score, NEWS, and REMS were associated with 28-day prognostic mortality. There was no significant difference in the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of APACHE II (0.76), NEWS (0.67), and REMS (0.70); however, the sensitivity of NEWS (0.70) was superior to that of REMS (0.47).
NEWS is a more sensitive screening tool like APACHE II than REMS for predicting the prognosis of patients with medical emergency team activation. However, because the accuracy of NEWS was not sufficient compared with that of APACHE II score, it is necessary to develop a screening tool with higher sensitivity and accuracy that can be easily calculated at the bedside in the general ward.
Although graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is a life-threatening complication of hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT), its current diagnosis depends mainly on clinical manifestations and ...invasive biopsies. Specific biomarkers for GVHD would facilitate early and accurate recognition of this grave condition. Using proteomics, we screened for plasma proteins specific for GVHD in a mouse model. One peak with 8972-Da molecular mass (m/z) retained a discriminatory value in 2 diagnostic groups (GVHD and normal controls) with increased expression in the disease and decreased expression during cyclosporin A treatment, and was barely detectable in syngeneic transplantation. Purification and mass analysis identified this molecule as CCL8, a member of a large chemokine family. In human samples, the serum concentration of CCL8 correlated closely with GVHD severity. All non-GVHD samples contained less than 48 pg/mL (mean ± SE: 22.5 ± 5.5 pg/mL, range: 12.6-48.0 pg/mL, n = 7). In sharp contrast, CCL8 was highly up-regulated in GVHD sera ranging from 52.0 to 333.6 pg/mL (mean ± SE: 165.0 ± 39.8 pg/mL, n = 7). Strikingly, 2 patients with severe fatal GVHD had extremely high levels of CCL8 (333.6 and 290.4 pg/mL. CCL8 is a promising specific serum marker for the early and accurate diagnosis of GVHD.
The purpose of this study was to examine the methylation profile of various oral squamous cell carcinomas and to correlate
the methylation of particular chromosomal loci with the clinicopathological ...features of the tumors.
A semiquantitative analysis of the methylation status of 12 loci in 96 primary tumors and 13 cell lines was carried out. Methylation
frequency was calculated as the percentage of methylated alleles detected by bisulfate-PCR.
Of the 12 loci examined, 9 ( p16INK4A , p15INK4B , p14ARF , DCC , DAP kinase , MINT1 , MINT2 , MINT27 , and MINT31 ) exhibited aberrant methylation at various frequencies, whereas 3 ( hMLH1 , HRK , and CACNA1G ) showed no methylation. Dense methylation of the 5′ CpG island of DAP kinase and MINT1 was well correlated with loss of gene expression. In addition, methylation of DCC was correlated with bone invasion by gingival tumors ( P = 0.036), with aggressive invasiveness of tumors of the tongue ( P = 0.046), and with reduced survival ( P = 0.050). Methylation of MINT1 and MINT31 also correlated with poor prognoses ( P = 0.058 and 0.041), whereas methylation of p14ARF correlated with a good prognosis ( P = 0.021). Cox regression analysis showed methylation of MINT31 to be an independent predictor of outcome (hazard ratio, 3.79; 95% confidence interval, 1.58–9.10) and to be associated with
the T4 disease group (hazard ratio, 5.71; 95% confidence interval, 1.25–26.07).
Analysis of DNA methylation is a useful approach to evaluation of the biological characteristics of oral cancers and may be
a useful diagnostic indicator of patient prognosis.
Background. Lymph node metastasis (LNM) is a relatively rare event in soft tissue sarcoma. An association between the timing of LNM detection and patient prognosis is presently unknown. Patients and ...Methods. We retrospectively analyzed the clinicopathological features of 33 patients with LNM between 2001 and 2015. Analysis of the timing of LNM diagnosis was grouped according to patients presenting LNM in either <8 months (the median time from primary tumor diagnosis to LNM) or ≥8 months after primary tumor diagnosis. Results. A relationship between the primary tumor size and the timing of the LNM was not significantly found (Rs = 0.0088, p=0.96). Sixteen patients had an LNM detection duration of <8 months, and 17 patients had a duration of ≥8 months. The 5-year survival for patients with an LNM detection duration of <8 months and ≥8 months was 19% and 71%, respectively (p=0.0016). There were 19 patients with pulmonary metastases. Among them, there were 13 patients with a duration of primary tumor diagnosis to LNM of <8 months and 6 with a duration of ≥8 months (p=0.01). Conclusion. Early LNM (<8 months) may predict poor prognosis in soft tissue sarcoma.
Purpose A recent anatomical study has suggested that considerable contact between the undersurface of the extensor carpi radialis brevis (ECRB) and the lateral edge of the capitellum is the cause of ...tendon injury in lateral epicondylosis. We hypothesized that this contact might concurrently induce cartilage injuries of the capitellum. The purpose of the present study was to determine the prevalence, location, and severity of cartilage lesions of the radiocapitellar joint accompanying lateral epicondylosis and to identify their correlation with ECRB status. Methods Arthroscopic assessment of the articular cartilage was performed for 31 elbows in 31 patients with lateral epicondylosis who had surgery. The study group consisted of 18 women and 13 men with a mean age of 50 years (range, 35 to 67 y). The relationship between the presence of the cartilage lesions and patient demographics, preoperative pain visual analog scale score, number of cortisone injections, and surgical findings including ECRB tears were investigated. Results Cartilage injuries of the capitellum were found in 20 (65%) and cartilage injuries of the radial head were found in 25 (81%) of 31 elbows. Most of the lesions were located on the lateral aspect of the capitellum and radial head. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that the absence of ECRB tears was independently associated with a higher risk of cartilage injuries of the capitellum. Conclusions Cartilage injury was frequently found in the lateral edge of the capitellum and radial head. Lesions of the capitellum were related to the absence of ECRB tears. Type of study/level of evidence Prognostic IV.
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