Effects of new dietary fiber from Japanese Apricot (Prunus mume Sieb. et Zucc.) on gut function and intestinal microflora in adult mice.

Much attention has been focused recently on functional foods. Ume, the Japanese name for the apricot of Prunus mume Sieb. et Zucc., is an example of a Japanese traditional functional food. There are, however, few reports on the effects of fiber from this fruit on bowel function. With this objective, we prepared ume fiber to test the hypothesis that it can change gut function and intestinal flora in mice. Mice were fed an ume fiber (UF) or cellulose (CF) diet (control) for 40 days. The fecal weight, fecal lipids, plasma lipids and cecal composition of the microflora were analyzed. The amount of feces was significantly greater in the UF group than in the CF group (p < 0.01). The fecal lipids content (% DW) of the feces sampled on the final day of the experiment were significantly greater in the UF group than in the CF group (p < 0.01). Plasma non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) concentrations tended to be lower in the UF compared to the CF group (p = 0.058). Occupation ratios of Bacteroides and Clostridium cluster IV were significantly greater in the cecal flora of the UF group. Our results suggest that ume fiber possesses the fecal lipid excretion effects and feces bulking effects.

Docetaxel and cyclophosphamide as neoadjuvant chemotherapy in HER2-negative primary breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: Docetaxel plus cyclophosphamide (TC) has recently been established as a standard adjuvant chemotherapy regimen for HER2-negative (HER2-) operable breast cancer. However, the efficacy and tolerability of TC as neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) remain unclear. We, therefore, conducted a prospective study to evaluate the efficacy of TC NAC in HER2- primary breast cancer. METHODS: Patients who were diagnosed with HER2-, N0-N1, invasive breast cancer between July 2011 and February 2014 and had tumors measuring 1-7 cm were eligible. The subtypes were classified using a core-needle or vacuum-assisted breast biopsy. The efficacy and safety of NAC comprising TC (75 mg/m2 docetaxel and 600 mg/m2 cyclophosphamide, four cycles every 3 weeks) were investigated in a prospective study in patients with HER2- breast cancer. RESULTS: Fifty-two patients were enrolled. Of these, 94.2 % (49/52) completed four cycles of TC. The overall pCR rate was 16.3 % (8/49). The pCR rates for patients with luminal A-like breast cancer [estrogen receptor-positive (ER+), Ki67 index of <20 %, and HER2-], luminal B-like breast cancer (ER+, Ki67 index of >20 %, and HER2-), and triple-negative breast cancer [ER-negative (ER-) and HER2-] were 0 % (0/12), 4.3 % (1/23), and 50.0 % (7/14), respectively. Almost all pCRs occurred in triple-negative breast cancer patients. CONCLUSIONS: The pCR rate of TC NAC was not very high despite the high completion rate. TC NAC was effective against the triple-negative subtype, resulting in a higher pCR rate. Therefore, our results indicated that TC NAC showed limited efficacy in luminal subtype breast cancer with the exception of the triple-negative subtype.

Docetaxel, cyclophosphamide, and trastuzumab as neoadjuvant chemotherapy for HER2-positive primary breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: The standard primary systemic therapy for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive (HER2+) breast cancer is anthracyclines and/or taxanes combined with trastuzumab, which demonstrates a high pathological complete response (pCR). A pCR is a predictive marker of prognosis. However, results slightly differ, depending on the hormone receptor status. The efficacy and tolerability of docetaxel, cyclophosphamide, and trastuzumab (HER-TC) as neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) remain unclear. We performed a prospective multicenter study of HER-TC NAC for HER2+ primary breast cancer. METHODS: Eligible patients had a clinical diagnosis of HER2+ invasive breast cancer greater than 1 cm but less than 7 cm and a tumor stage of N0 or N1. T hey were diagnosed between July 2011 and February 2014. For NAC, four cycles of HER-TC (6 mg/kg loading dose, 8 mg/kg, 75, and 600 mg/m2) were administered intravenously every 3 weeks. We investigated the pCR of the primary breast tumors. A pCR was defined as no histological evidence of invasive carcinoma or the appearance of only ductal carcinoma in situ. RESULTS: We enrolled 42 patients. The completion rate for four cycles of HER-TC was 97.6 % (41/42 patients). The overall pCR rate was 43.9 % (18/41 patients). The pCR rate for patients with the luminal HER2 subtype [estrogen receptor (ER)-positive+, HER2+] and the HER2-enriched subtype (ER-, HER2+) was 40.0 % (8/20 patients) and 47.6 % (10/21 patients), respectively. A pCR was achieved with nearly the same probability for each subtype. CONCLUSIONS: Four cycles of HER-TC may be a NAC option for HER2-positive breast cancer.

Noncontrast and contrast enhanced computed tomography for diagnosing acute appendicitis: A retrospective study for the usefulness.

Abdominal computed tomography (CT) provides great benefits for the differential diagnosis in patients complaining of acute abdominal pain. However, the use of diagnostic X-rays is associated with the cumulative risk of cancer development. In order to determine the relative usefulness of noncontrast and enhanced CT with intravenous contrast material for diagnosing acute appendicitis, the retrospective analysis was performed using 247 patients (46 children and 201 adults) with clinically suspected appendicitis, who were admitted to our hospital from 2002 to 2006 and underwent noncontrast or combined noncontrast and enhanced CT examination. Of 185 patients who were diagnosed to have acute appendicitis with appendiceal thickening (167 cases) or normal-sized appendix (18 cases), 73 cases underwent noncontrast CT alone and these 73 cases could be retrospectively diagnosed to have appendicitis on noncontrast CT. On the other hand, 112 cases of these 185 patients underwent noncontrast CT followed by enhanced CT, and vermiform appendix was detected in 86 cases of them (86/112, 76.8%) on noncontrast CT. These 86 cases could be retrospectively diagnosed to have acute appendicitis on noncontrast CT, whereas enhanced CT was required to detect vermiform appendix and to obtain the final diagnosis of appendicitis in the remaining 26 cases (26/112, 23.2%). Enhanced CT was superior to noncontrast CT in diagnosing appendicitis in all age and any gender groups. We suggest that enhanced, but not noncontrast, CT should be primarily performed for diagnosing acute appendicitis in all patients to minimize the radiation exposure unless intravenous administration of contrast material is contraindicated.

Secondary torsion of vermiform appendix with mucinous cystadenoma.

Torsion of the vermiform appendix is a rare disorder, which causes abdominal symptoms indistinguishable from acute appendicitis. We report a case (a 34-year-old male) of secondary torsion of the vermiform appendix with mucinous cystadenoma. This case was characterized by mild inflammatory responses, pentazocine-resistant abdominal pain, and appendiceal tumor, which was not enhanced by the contrast medium on computed tomography presumably because of reduced blood flow by the torsion. These findings may be helpful for the preoperative diagnosis of secondary appendiceal torsion.