Influence of UGT1A1 polymorphism on etoposide plus platinum-induced neutropenia in Japanese patients with small-cell lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: The association between UGT1A1 polymorphism and etoposide-induced toxicities is still not clear. The aim of this study was to assess the association between uridine diphosphate glucuronosyltransferase 1A1 (UGT1A1) gene polymorphism and severe hematologic toxicities in Japanese patients receiving etoposide plus platinum chemotherapy for small-cell lung cancer. METHODS: This retrospective analysis included patients with small-cell lung cancer who had received their first-line chemotherapy with etoposide plus cisplatin or carboplatin, between October 2008 and April 2018, at the University of Fukui Hospital. The relationship between UGT1A1 polymorphisms and first-cycle neutropenia as well as thrombocytopenia was evaluated. RESULTS: A total of 55 patients were enrolled. The incidence of grade 4 neutropenia during the first cycle of etoposide-based chemotherapy was higher in patients with homozygous (hmz) polymorphisms for UGT1A1*28 and *6 (*28/*28, *6/*6, and *6/*28) than in patients with wild-type (wt) (*1/*1) and heterozygous (htz) (*1/*28 and *1/*6) polymorphisms (88% vs 43% P = 0.03). The incidence of febrile neutropenia and grade 4 thrombocytopenia, however, was not significantly different. Multivariate analysis suggested that grade 4 neutropenia associated significantly with an hmz UGT1A1 genotype [odds ratio (OR) 11.3; P = 0.04] and administration of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) before the neutrophil counts dropped to < 500 cells/µL (OR; P = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: UGT1A1*28 and UGT1A1*6 mutations might be regarded as predictors for etoposide-induced grade 4 neutropenia.

Multicenter phase 1/2 study of forodesine in patients with relapsed peripheral T cell lymphoma.

Peripheral T cell lymphomas are an aggressive group of non-Hodgkin lymphomas with poor outcomes for most subtypes and no accepted standard of care for relapsed patients. This study evaluated the efficacy and safety of forodesine, a novel purine nucleoside phosphorylase inhibitor, in patients with relapsed peripheral T cell lymphomas. Patients with histologically confirmed disease, progression after ≥ 1 prior treatment, and an objective response to last treatment received oral forodesine 300 mg twice-daily. The primary endpoint was objective response rate (ORR). Secondary endpoints included duration of response, progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and safety. Forty-eight patients (median age, 69.5 years; median of 2 prior treatments) received forodesine. In phase 1 (n = 3 evaluable), no dose-limiting toxicity was observed during the first 28 days of forodesine treatment. In phase 2 (n = 41 evaluable), the ORR for the primary and final analyses was 22% (90% CI 12-35%) and 25% (90% CI 14-38%), respectively, including four complete responses (10%). Median PFS and OS were 1.9 and 15.6 months, respectively. The most common grade 3/4 adverse events were lymphopenia (96%), leukopenia (42%), and neutropenia (35%). Dose reduction and discontinuation due to adverse events were uncommon. Secondary B cell lymphoma developed in five patients, of whom four were positive for Epstein-Barr virus. In conclusion, forodesine has single-agent activity within the range of approved therapies in relapsed peripheral T cell lymphomas, with a manageable safety profile, and may represent a viable treatment option for this difficult-to-treat population.

Correction to: Multicenter phase 1/2 study of forodesine in patients with relapsed peripheral T cell lymphoma.

The original version of this article contained a mistake in Fig. 4. The horizontal axis should be 36 instead of 60.

Clinical Features of Systemic Metastatic Retinal Lymphoma in Japanese Patients.

PURPOSE: Systemic metastatic retinal lymphoma (SMRL) originates in systemic organs. It has been reported to exhibit clinical features similar to those of primary vitreoretinal lymphoma (PVRL). We report six cases of SMRL in a single-center survey in Japan. METHODS: The clinical and pathologic features in SMRL at the Kyushu University Hospital were retrospectively studied. RESULTS: The mean patient age at the onset of ocular involvement was 75.3 years. Four patients had brain involvement. The primary sites were: breast (2); chest (1); testis (1); intestinal tract (1); and nasal sinus (1). In all patients, the cytology of vitreous samples indicated diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). CONCLUSIONS: DLBCL is the most common subtype in our study. The prevalence of CNS involvement in patients with SMRL is similar to that with PVRL. The testis and breast may be common sites of origin for SMRL.

Rab5a regulates surface expression of FcεRI and functional activation in mast cells.

Surface expression levels of high-affinity immunoglobulin E (IgE) receptors (FcεRI) on mast cells are regulated by constitutive internalization from the plasma membrane, which is thought to be an important determinant of FcεRI-mediated signaling potential. However, molecular mechanism of FcεRI trafficking has remained poorly understood. Rab proteins are small guanosine 5'-triphosphatases (GTPases) involved in the regulation of membrane traffic. In particular, Rab5 has been shown to regulate transport in the early endocytic pathway, whereas it is not known whether the FcεRI surface expression levels are regulated by Rab5. In this study, we investigated the role of individual Rab5 isoforms in mast cells by small interfering RNA knockdown method. Our results demonstrate that Rab5a knockdown enhanced FcεRI-dependent mast cell activation and upregulated FcεRI surface expression in its steady state. In contrast, Rab5c knockdown caused suppression of the activation. These findings revealed modulatory and individual roles of Rab5 isoforms in mast cell functions.

Pentagalloylglucose down-regulates mast cell surface FcepsilonRI expression in vitro and in vivo.

Mast cell activation by immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated stimuli is a central event in the pathogenesis of allergic disorders. The present report shows that treatment with pentagalloylglucose (PGG) resulted in a down-regulation of FcepsilonRI surface expression on mucosal-type murine bone marrow-derived mast cells (mBMMCs), which correlated with a reduction in IgE-mediated activation of mBMMCs. Furthermore, PGG prevented development of allergic diarrhea in a food-allergy mouse model and suppressed the up-regulated FcepsilonRI surface expression on mast cells derived from the food-allergy mouse colon. These findings on PGG suggest its therapeutic potential for allergic diseases through suppressing the FcepsilonRI surface expression.

IgE-induced degranulation of mucosal mast cells is negatively regulated via nicotinic acetylcholine receptors.

The autonomic nervous system is known to mediate mast cell activation. We investigated expression of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) in mucosal-type mast cells and their contribution to the regulation of mast cell activation. Expression of mRNA of nAChR alpha4, alpha7, and beta2 subunits were detected in specially differentiated mucosal-type murine bone marrow-derived mast cells (mBMMCs). Pretreatment with non-specific nAChRs agonists, acetylcholine, nicotine and epibatidine and a specific alpha7 subunit agonist GTS-21 significantly inhibited antigen-induced degranulation of mBMMCs in a dose-dependent manner and GTS-21-induced inhibition was significantly blocked by alpha7 subunit antagonist, alpha-bungarotoxin. Furthermore, confocal microscopy also demonstrated surface binding of alpha-bungarotoxin on mBMMCs. Our findings indicate that mucosal mast cell activation may be negatively regulated mainly through nAChR alpha7 subunit, suggesting that nAChRs are involved in neuronal-mucosal mast cell interactions.

Non-transmissible Sendai virus encoding granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor is a novel and potent vector system for producing autologous tumor vaccines.

The recent clinical application of granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF)-transduced autologous tumor vaccines revealed substantial antitumor activity and valuable clinical results. However, for these vaccines to be optimally effective, the antitumor efficacies must be improved. Recently, Sendai virus (SeV) vectors, which are cytoplasmic RNA vectors, have emerged as safe vectors with high gene transduction. In the current study, the in vivo therapeutic antitumor efficacies of irradiated GM-CSF-transduced mouse renal cell carcinoma (RENCA) vaccine cells mediated by either fusion gene-deleted non-transmissible SeV encoding mouse GM-CSF (SeV/dF/G) or adenovirus (E1, E3 deleted serotype 5 adenovirus) encoding mouse GM-CSF (AdV/G) (respectively described as irRC/SeV/GM or irRC/AdV/GM) were compared in RENCA-bearing mice. The results showed that the antitumor effect was equivalent between irRC/SeV/GM and irRC/AdV/GM cells, even though the former produced less GM-CSF in vitro. The cell numbers of activated (CD80(+), CD86(+), CD80( (+) )CD86(+)) dendritic cells in lymph nodes from mice treated with irRC/AdV/GM or irRC/SeV/GM cells were increased significantly compared with those of mice treated with the respective controls, at both the earlier and later phases. In an in vitro cytotoxicity assay, splenocytes harvested from mice treated with both irRC/SeV/GM and irRC/AdV/GM cells showed tumor-specific responses against RENCA cells. The restimulated splenocytes harvested from mice treated with irRC/SeV/GM or irRC/AdV/GM cells produced significantly higher levels of interleukin-2, interleukin-4, and interferon-gamma compared with their respective controls (P < 0.05). Furthermore, vaccination with irRC/AdV/GM or irRC/SeV/GM cells induced significantly enhanced recruitment of the cytolytic effectors of CD107a(+)CD8(+) T cells and CD107a(+) natural killer cells into tumors compared with those induced by their respective controls (P < 0.05). Taken together, our results suggest that the SeV/dF/G vector is a potential candidate for the production of effective autologous GM-CSF-transduced tumor vaccines in clinical cancer immune gene therapy.

Cronkhite-Canada syndrome associated with schizophrenia.

Here, we report a case of Cronkhite-Canada syndrome in a patient with schizophrenia. A 64-year-old man, who had been diagnosed as having a schizophrenic disorder at the age of 30, presented with alopecia, atrophic nail changes, hyperpigmentation of the skin, and inflammatory polyposis of the stomach and colon. Endoscopic ultrasonography of the stomach and colon revealed diffuse mucosal thickening with small hypoechoic areas, corresponding to edema of the lamina propria. After treatment with parenteral hyperalimentation and tranexamic acid, his physical findings and polyposis gradually improved. This is the first report of Cronkhite-Canada syndrome in a patient with schizophrenia.

Combined modality treatment of aromatherapy, footsoak, and reflexology relieves fatigue in patients with cancer.

BACKGROUND: Fatigue is one of the most distressful symptoms experienced by patients with advanced cancer. Aromatherapy, footsoak, and reflexology are popular health care modality treatments in Japan, however, the effectiveness of each treatment for cancer-related fatigue has not been fully established. DESIGN AND SUBJECTS: To investigate the effectiveness of combined modality treatment consisting of aromatherapy, footsoak, and reflexology against fatigue, an open study was performed in 20 terminally ill patients with cancer. After a patch test was performed, patients received aromatherapy that was accompanied with footsoak in warm water containing lavender essential oil for 3 minutes, followed by reflexology treatment with jojoba oil containing lavender for 10 min. Fatigue was evaluated using the Cancer Fatigue Scale (CFS) before, 1 hour after, and 4 hours after treatment. RESULTS: Total CFS scores improved significantly after this treatment (from 25.6 +/- 11.0 to 18.1 +/- 10.0, p < 0.001). Among three CFS subscales, physical and cognitive subscale scores were reduced significantly (11.3 +/- 6.1 to 6.7 +/- 6.1, p < 0.001; 4.5 +/- 3.2 to 2.4 +/- 2.4, p < 0.001). No adverse effects were experienced. Because all patients desired to continue this treatment, they received treatment eight times on average. CONCLUSIONS: Combined modality treatment consisting of aromatherapy, footsoak, and reflexology appears to be effective for alleviating fatigue in terminally ill cancer patients. To confirm safety and effectiveness of this combined modality treatment, further investigation including randomized treatment assignment is warranted.