Aprepitant is a new neurokinin‐1 (NK1) receptor antagonist developed as a treatment for chemotherapy‐induced nausea and vomiting (CINV). To evaluate the efficacy and safety of aprepitant used in ...combination with standard therapy (granisetron and dexamethasone), we conducted a multicenter, phase II, placebo‐controlled, double‐blind, randomized study in Japanese cancer patients who received cancer chemotherapy including cisplatin (≥70 mg/m2). Aprepitant was administered for 5 days. A total of 453 patients were enrolled. In the three study groups, (i) standard therapy, (ii) aprepitant 40/25 mg (40 mg on day 1 and 25 mg on days 2–5) and (iii) aprepitant 125/80 mg (125 mg on day 1 and 80 mg on days 2–5), the percentage of patients with complete response (no emesis and no rescue therapy) was 50.3% (75/149 subjects), 66.4% (95/143 subjects) and 70.5% (103/146 subjects), respectively. This shows that efficacy was significantly higher in the aprepitant 40/25 mg and 125/80 mg groups than in the standard therapy group (χ2 test closed testing procedure: P = 0.0053 and P = 0.0004, respectively) and highest in the aprepitant 125/80 mg group. The delayed phase efficacy (days 2–5) was similar to the overall phase efficacy (days 1–5), indicating that aprepitant is effective in the delayed phase when standard therapy is not very effective. In terms of safety, aprepitant was generally well tolerated in Japanese cancer patients. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00212602.) (Cancer Sci 2010; 101: 2455–2461)
Summary Background It is unknown whether combined chemoradiotherapy improves overall survival in elderly patients with locally advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The aim of this study was ...to assess whether radiotherapy plus carboplatin results in longer survival than radiotherapy alone in elderly patients with NSCLC. Methods This was a randomised, controlled, phase 3 trial by the Japan Clinical Oncology Group (JCOG0301). Patients older than 70 years with unresectable stage III NSCLC were randomly assigned to chemoradiotherapy (60 Gy plus concurrent low-dose carboplatin 30 mg/m2 per day, 5 days a week for 20 days) or radiotherapy alone, using a minimisation method with biased-coin assignment balancing on Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status (0 vs 1 vs 2), stage (IIIA vs IIIB), and institution. The primary endpoint was overall survival, which was analysed for the eligible population and stratified by ECOG performance status, stage, and institution. The trial was stopped early as a result of the second planned interim analysis. This study is registered with UMIN Clinical Trials Registry, number C000000060, and ClinicalTrials.gov , number NCT00132665. Findings 200 patients were enrolled from Sept 1, 2003 to May 27, 2010: 100 in the chemoradiotherapy group and 100 in the radiotherapy group. The second planned interim analysis was done 10 months after completion of patient accrual. At this time, median follow-up for censored cases was 19·4 months (IQR 10·3–33·5). In accordance with the prespecified stopping rule, the JCOG data and safety monitoring committee recommended early publication of this trial because the difference in overall survival favoured the chemoradiotherapy group. Median overall survival for the chemoradiotherapy and radiotherapy alone groups were 22·4 months (95% CI 16·5–33·6) and 16·9 months (13·4–20·3), respectively (hazard ratio 0·68, 95·4% CI 0·47–0·98, stratified log-rank test one-sided p value=0·0179). More patients had grade 3–4 haematological toxic effects in the chemoradiotherapy group than in the radiotherapy alone group, including leucopenia (61 63·5% vs none), neutropenia (55 57·3% vs none), and thrombocytopenia (28 29·2% vs two 2·0%). Grade 3 infection was more common with chemoradiotherapy (12 patients 12·5%) than with radiotherapy (four patients 4·1%). Incidences of grade 3–4 pneumonitis and late lung toxicity were similar between groups. There were seven treatment-related deaths: three of 100 patients (3·0%) in the chemoradiotherapy group and four of 100 (4·0%) in the radiotherapy group. Interpretation For a select group of elderly patients with locally advanced NSCLC, combination chemoradiotherapy provides a clinically significant benefit over radiotherapy alone, and should be considered for this population. Funding Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare of Japan.
A 34-year-old Japanese person with male gender identity who had been taking intramuscular injection of methyltestosterone depot for 11 years after bilateral mastectomy noticed blurred vision 5 days ...after the second vaccination for COVID-19 (Tozinameran; Pfizer-BioNTech) in the interval of 3 weeks following the first vaccination. The patient was diagnosed as granulomatous iritis with mutton-fat keratic precipitates and small iris nodules at the pupillary margin in the right eye and began to have 0.1% betamethasone eye drops with good response. The patient, however, continued to have fever and malaise and showed a high level of serum soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R) even 4 weeks after the second vaccination. Computed tomographic scan disclosed mediastinal and bilateral hilar small lymphadenopathy together with limited granular lesion in the right lung. Gallium-67 scintigraphy demonstrated high uptake not only in mediastinal and hilar lymph nodes but also in bilateral parotid glands. Right parotid gland biopsy revealed noncaseating granulomas and proved pathological diagnosis of sarcoidosis. The systemic symptoms were relieved by oral prednisolone 20 mg daily. Even though the causal relationship remains undetermined, this case is unique at the point that vaccine-associated uveitis led to the detection of pulmonary lesions and lymphadenopathy, resulting in clinical and pathological diagnosis of sarcoidosis. In literature review, 3 patients showed sarcoidosis-like diseases after COVID-19 vaccination: 2 patients were diagnosed clinically as Lofgren syndrome with acute onset of erythema nodosum and ankle swelling, with or without mediastinal and hilar lymphadenopathy, whereas 1 patient with mediastinal lymphadenopathy but no uveitis was diagnosed pathologically by biopsy as sarcoidosis.
This phase III trial of concurrent thoracic radiotherapy (TRT) was conducted to compare third-generation chemotherapy with second-generation chemotherapy in patients with unresectable stage III ...non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
Eligible patients received the following treatments: A (control), four cycles of mitomycin (8 mg/m(2) on day 1)/vindesine (3 mg/m(2) on days 1, 8)/cisplatin (80 mg/m(2) on day 1) plus TRT 60 Gy (treatment break for 1 week); B, weekly irinotecan (20 mg/m(2))/carboplatin (area under the plasma concentration-time curve AUC 2) for 6 weeks plus TRT 60 Gy, followed by two courses of irinotecan (50 mg/m(2) on days 1, 8)/carboplatin (AUC 5 on day 1); C, weekly paclitaxel (40 mg/m(2))/carboplatin (AUC 2) for 6 weeks plus TRT 60 Gy, followed by two courses of paclitaxel (200 mg/m(2) on day 1)/carboplatin (AUC 5 on day 1).
The median survival time and 5-year survival rates were 20.5, 19.8, and 22.0 months and 17.5%, 17.8%, and 19.8% in arms A, B, and C, respectively. Although no significant differences in overall survival were apparent among the treatment arms, noninferiority of the experimental arms was not achieved. The incidences of grade 3 to 4 neutropenia, febrile neutropenia, and gastrointestinal disorder were significantly higher in arm A than in arm B or C (P < .001). Chemotherapy interruptions were more common in arm B than in arm A or C.
Arm C was equally efficacious and exhibited a more favorable toxicity profile among three arms. Arm C should be considered a standard regimen in the management of locally advanced unresectable NSCLC.
In this study, a computer simulation technique is developed for numerically predicting the residual stress relaxation caused by bending-straightening in quenching-induction-hardened axle shafts. Both ...the strength and residual stress distributions inside the shaft before bending-straightening are taken into account in the simulation model. The calculated residual stress distribution is compared with that measured using the contour method to discuss the effectiveness of the developed technique. In addition, the generation of plastic strain due to bending-straightening is considered thorough a theoretical analysis based on material mechanics in addition to the numerical results obtained using the developed simulation technique.
Summary Background Four cycles of etoposide plus cisplatin and accelerated hyperfractionated thoracic radiotherapy (AHTRT) is the standard of care for limited-stage small-cell lung cancer (SCLC). ...Irinotecan plus cisplatin significantly improved overall survival compared with etoposide plus cisplatin for extensive-stage SCLC. We compared these regimens for overall survival of patients with limited-stage SCLC. Methods We did this phase 3 study in 36 institutions in Japan. Eligibility criteria included age 20–70 years, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0–1, and adequate organ functions. Eligible patients with previously untreated limited-stage SCLC received one cycle of etoposide plus cisplatin (intravenous etoposide 100 mg/m2 on days 1–3; intravenous cisplatin 80 mg/m2 on day 1) plus AHTRT (1·5 Gy twice daily, 5 days a week, total 45 Gy over 3 weeks). Patients without progressive disease following induction therapy were randomised (1:1 ratio, using a minimisation method with biased-coin assignment balancing on ECOG performance status 0 vs 1, response to induction chemoradiotherapy complete response plus near complete response vs partial response and stable disease, and institution) to receive either three further cycles of consolidation etoposide plus cisplatin or irinotecan plus cisplatin (intravenous irinotecan 60 mg/m2 on days 1, 8, 15; intravenous cisplatin 60 mg/m2 on day 1). Patients, physicians, and investigators were aware of allocation. The primary endpoint was overall survival after randomisation; primary analysis was by intention to treat. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov , number NCT00144989 , and the UMIN Clinical Trials Registry, number C000000095. Findings 281 patients were enrolled between Sept 1, 2002, and Oct 2, 2006. After induction etoposide plus cisplatin and AHTRT, 258 patients were randomised to consolidation etoposide plus cisplatin (n=129) or irinotecan plus cisplatin (n=129). In the etoposide plus cisplatin group, median overall survival was 3·2 years (95% CI 2·4–4·1). In the irinotecan and cisplatin group, median overall survival was 2·8 years (95% CI 2·4–3·6); overall survival did not differ between the two groups (hazard ratio 1·09 95% CI 0·80–1·46, one-sided stratified log-rank p=0·70). The most common adverse events of grade 3 or 4 were neutropenia (120 95% in the etoposide plus cisplatin group vs 101 78% in the irinotecan plus cisplatin group), anaemia (44 35% vs 50 39%), thrombocytopenia (26 21% vs six 5%), febrile neutropenia (21 17% vs 18 14%), and diarrhoea (two 2% vs 13 10%). There was one treatment-related adverse event leading to death in each group (radiation pneumonitis in the etoposide plus cisplatin group; brain infarction in the irinotecan plus cisplatin group). Interpretation Four cycles of etoposide plus cisplatin and AHTRT should continue to be the standard of care for limited-stage SCLC. Funding National Cancer Center and the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare of Japan.
PURPOSE To explore whether population-related pharmacogenomics contribute to differences in patient outcomes between clinical trials performed in Japan and the United States, given similar study ...designs, eligibility criteria, staging, and treatment regimens. METHODS We prospectively designed and conducted three phase III trials (Four-Arm Cooperative Study, LC00-03, and S0003) in advanced-stage, non-small-cell lung cancer, each with a common arm of paclitaxel plus carboplatin. Genomic DNA was collected from patients in LC00-03 and S0003 who received paclitaxel (225 mg/m(2)) and carboplatin (area under the concentration-time curve, 6). Genotypic variants of CYP3A4, CYP3A5, CYP2C8, NR1I2-206, ABCB1, ERCC1, and ERCC2 were analyzed by pyrosequencing or by PCR restriction fragment length polymorphism. Results were assessed by Cox model for survival and by logistic regression for response and toxicity. Results Clinical results were similar in the two Japanese trials, and were significantly different from the US trial, for survival, neutropenia, febrile neutropenia, and anemia. There was a significant difference between Japanese and US patients in genotypic distribution for CYP3A4*1B (P = .01), CYP3A5*3C (P = .03), ERCC1 118 (P < .0001), ERCC2 K751Q (P < .001), and CYP2C8 R139K (P = .01). Genotypic associations were observed between CYP3A4*1B for progression-free survival (hazard ratio HR, 0.36; 95% CI, 0.14 to 0.94; P = .04) and ERCC2 K751Q for response (HR, 0.33; 95% CI, 0.13 to 0.83; P = .02). For grade 4 neutropenia, the HR for ABCB1 3425C-->T was 1.84 (95% CI, 0.77 to 4.48; P = .19). CONCLUSION Differences in allelic distribution for genes involved in paclitaxel disposition or DNA repair were observed between Japanese and US patients. In an exploratory analysis, genotype-related associations with patient outcomes were observed for CYP3A4*1B and ERCC2 K751Q. This common-arm approach facilitates the prospective study of population-related pharmacogenomics in which ethnic differences in antineoplastic drug disposition are anticipated.
To evaluate the optimal timing for thoracic radiotherapy (TRT) in limited-stage small-cell lung cancer (LS-SCLC), the Lung Cancer Study Group of the Japan Clinical Oncology Group conducted a phase ...III study in which patients were randomized to sequential TRT or concurrent TRT.
We treated 231 patients with LS-SCLC. TRT consisted of 45 Gy over 3 weeks (1.5 Gy twice daily), and the patients were randomly assigned to receive either sequential or concurrent TRT. All patients received four cycles of cisplatin plus etoposide every 3 weeks (sequential arm) or 4 weeks (concurrent arm). TRT was begun on day 2 of the first cycle of chemotherapy in the concurrent arm and after the fourth cycle in the sequential arm.
Concurrent radiotherapy yielded better survival than sequential radiotherapy (P =.097 by log-rank test). The median survival time was 19.7 months in the sequential arm versus 27.2 months in the concurrent arm. The 2-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates for patients who received sequential radiotherapy were 35.1%, 20.2%, and 18.3%, respectively, as opposed to 54.4%, 29.8% and 23.7%, respectively, for the patients who received concurrent radiotherapy. Hematologic toxicity was more severe in the concurrent arm. However, severe esophagitis was infrequent in both arms, occurring in 9% of the patients in the concurrent arm and 4% in the sequential arm.
This study strongly suggests that cisplatin plus etoposide and concurrent radiotherapy is more effective for the treatment of LS-SCLC than cisplatin plus etoposide and sequential radiotherapy.
A new technique using a non-destructive inspection to predict the residual surface fatigue life of power transmission gears has recently attracted interest. This technique is advantageously applied ...to the preventive maintenance of a vehicle transmission, and also useful for developing power transmission gears with high reliability. However, the study of such a prediction has not yet been reported. The authors have carried out an experimental research concerning the subject using the X-ray diffraction method. The full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) was measured on the tooth surfaces of a pair of carburized gears by an X-ray diffractometer during a gear surface fatigue endurance test to investigate the progress of the surface fatigue. The results showed that the FWHM on the tooth surface fell rapidly at the beginning of the running. After that, under the condition of constant driving torque, the FWHM fell gradually in a higher Hertzian pressure area during the endurance running. On the other hand, the FWHM in a lower Hertzian pressure area was approximately stable. When the driving torque was changed during endurance running, the distinctive behavior of the FWHM was observed. Tooth surface damage occurred in a higher Hertzian pressure area when the normalized FWHM, newly developed by the authors, on the tooth surface decreased to a certain value. The authors propose a prediction method of the residual surface fatigue life of power transmission gears using the characteristic curve that expresses the relation between the normalized FWHM and the gear surface fatigue life.
We measured the internal residual stress of quenching induction hardened axle shaft by the contour method, and then constructed a simulation system for the bending correction process by considering ...the existing residual stress. With the constructed simulation system, we quantitatively evaluated the effects of various factors on the residual stress relaxation behavior during bending correction, and proposed a unified parameter that can predict the residual stress relaxation behavior. Finally, we experimentally validated the availability of proposed parameter for controlling the residual stress relaxation behavior induced by bending correction process of the quenching induction hardened axle shaft.
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