Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. strain NTM048 ameliorated nasal symptoms in patients with Japan cedar pollinosis: Randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Lactobacillales including L mesenteroides have beneficial effects on human health, including improvement of psychological status and alleviation of allergic rhinitis. In mice, L mesenteroides subsp. strain NTM048 (NTM048) increased intestinal s-IgA. In humans, however, the effects of NTM048 on s-IgA secretion have been unclear. STUDY: This 16-week trial was performed using a double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel group design. We aimed to establish whether Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. strain NTM048 increases the secretion of s-IgA in saliva. Forty healthy adults and forty patients with Japanese cedar pollinosis were recruited. Participants took either 2 test capsules including NTM048 (1010 CFU/day), or 2 placebo capsules per day, for 16 weeks. They were asked to collect their saliva and answered POMS2, a questionnaire about psychological status. The patients also answered questions about nasal symptoms. Blood samples were collected from the patients with Japanese Cedar pollinosis. Stool samples were collected at the start and on the last day of the trial. RESULTS: All subjects completed the trial. It was conducted during the season when Japanese cedar pollen is most scattered. Serum concentration of Japanese cedar pollen-specific IgE was > 2.0 UA/mL in patients with Japanese cedar pollinosis. The amount of s-IgA in saliva was not increased by NTM048 in overall subjects, and Japanese cedar pollen-specific IgE was not changed by NTM048 in patients with Japanese cedar pollinosis. The symptom of nasal blockage was improved by NTM048 12 weeks after the start of trial. post hoc analysis indicated a positive correlation between improving psychological status and the increase in occupation ratio of lactobacillus including NTM048. CONCLUSION: The amount of s-IgA in saliva was not increased by NTM048, but nasal blockage was improved by it. Psychological status might be improved if dosage of NTM048 is raised to the degree that NTM048 might be increased in the intestinal tract.

Improved survival in real-world patients with advanced urothelial carcinoma: A multicenter propensity score-matched cohort study comparing a period before the introduction of pembrolizumab (2003-2011) and a more recent period (2016-2020).

OBJECTIVES: Although the treatment strategy for advanced urothelial carcinoma (aUC) has drastically changed since pembrolizumab was introduced in 2017, studies revealing current survival rates in aUC are lacking. This study aimed to assess (1) the improvement in survival among real-world patients with aUC after the introduction of pembrolizumab and (2) the direct survival-prolonging effect of pembrolizumab. METHODS: This multicenter retrospective study included 531 patients with aUC undergoing salvage chemotherapy, including 200 patients treated in the pre-pembrolizumab era (2003-2011; earlier era) and 331 patients treated in a recent 5-year period (2016-2020; recent era). Using propensity score matching (PSM), cancer-specific survival (CSS) and overall survival (OS) were compared between the earlier and recent eras, in addition to between the recent era, both with and without pembrolizumab use, and the earlier era. RESULTS: After PSM, the recent era cohort had significantly longer CSS (21 months) and OS (19 months) than the earlier era cohort (CSS and OS: 12 months). In secondary analyses using PSM, patients treated with pembrolizumab had significantly longer CSS (25 months) and OS (24 months) than those in the earlier era cohort (CSS and OS: 11 months), whereas patients who did not receive pembrolizumab in the recent era had similar outcomes (CSS and OS: 14 months) as the earlier era cohort (CSS and OS: 12 months). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with aUC treated in the recent era exhibited significantly longer survival than those treated before the introduction of pembrolizumab. The improved survival was primarily attributable to the use of pembrolizumab.

Efficacy, safety, and pharmacokinetics of oral valganciclovir in patients with congenital cytomegalovirus infection.

OBJECTIVES: Valganciclovir (VGCV) has been shown to improve sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) and neurological outcomes in patients with neonatal symptomatic congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) infection. However, reports on the pharmacokinetics, efficacy and safety of oral VGCV are limited. The aim of this study is to evaluate the pharmacokinetics of VGCV for use in the treatment of cCMV. METHODS: This was a single-center, retrospective observational study conducted at Saitama Children's Medical Center in Japan between 2012 and 2017. CMV DNA copy number, maximum plasma VGCV concentration (Cmax), and adverse events (ADEs) during treatment were evaluated. RESULTS: A total of 26 patients with cCMV who received VGCV were included in this study. The median age at VGCV initiation was 9.5 months (range 0-46). Twenty-one patients (81%) had SNHL at baseline. Of these, five patients (19%) presented with improved SNHL, and none experienced worsened SNHL during treatment. The mean VGCV Cmax was 3.5 µg/mL (range 2-5.3), with no significant variation among individual values, and the values were maintained during treatment. Furthermore, there were no correlations between the Cmax values and age, sex, SNHL improvement or ADEs. Neutropenia (<1000/mm3) was observed in six patients (23%); however, no serious ADEs occurred. CONCLUSIONS: VGCV prevented the progression of SNHL without serious ADEs due to its stable pharmacokinetics. This study provides safety and tolerability of VGCV for the treatment of cCMV patients.

Validation of major prognostic models for metastatic urothelial carcinoma using a multi-institutional cohort of the real world.

BACKGROUND: Several prognostic models predicting survival of patients with metastatic urothelial carcinoma (UC) have been developed; however, of them, the first model by Bajorin in 1999 is still the most representative and widely used, and validations of newer models are lacking. This study aimed to validate three major prognostic models for metastatic UC constructed based on clinical trials. METHODS: We reviewed 200 patients with metastatic UC who received first-line chemotherapy at our five affiliate institutions between 2003 and 2011. Using this multi-institutional cohort, we validated the following models: the "Bajorin model," a model consisting of visceral metastasis and performance status; the "Apolo model," a nomogram including visceral metastasis, performance status, albumin and hemoglobin; and the "Galsky model," a nomogram including leukocyte count, number of sites of visceral metastases, site of primary tumor, performance status and lymph node metastasis. Harrell's c-index was calculated for each model. Cox proportional hazards regression model was used for multivariate analysis. RESULTS: Among 200 patients, 171 (85.5%) died during the follow-up, with a median survival of 12.0 months. Multivariate analysis demonstrated ECOG performance status, visceral metastasis and leukocyte count to be independent predictors of overall survival. C-index results (95% confidence interval) were Bajorin: 0.86 (0.74-0.95); Apolo: 0.89 (0.78-0.98); and Galsky: 0.82 (0.69-0.93). CONCLUSIONS: All models were demonstrated to have high external validities in real-world patients, and of them, the "Apolo model" achieved the highest c-index in the present population. Further studies with larger populations are needed for establishment of the next standard model.

Pretreatment neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio as an independent predictor of survival in patients with metastatic urothelial carcinoma: A multi-institutional study.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the prognostic significance of the pretreatment neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio in patients with metastatic urothelial carcinoma who underwent salvage chemotherapy. METHODS: We reviewed 200 metastatic urothelial carcinoma patients who received salvage chemotherapy at our five affiliate institutions between 2003 and 2011. The associations of pretreatment clinicopathological factors, including neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, with cancer-specific survival and overall survival from the start of chemotherapy were assessed. Cox proportional hazards model was used for multivariate analysis. RESULTS: A total of 15 cases with missing data were excluded. Among the remaining 185 patients, 157 died during follow up, with a median survival of 13.0 months. Multivariate analysis showed that the pretreatment neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio ≥3, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status ≥2 and liver metastasis were independent poor prognostic factors, both for cancer-specific survival and overall survival. A prognostic model predicting overall survival was constructed based on the number of these three variables (0, 1 and ≥ 2). The classified patients showed significantly different overall survival (each P < 0.0001, log-rank test), with Harrell's concordance index as high as 0.81. CONCLUSIONS: Pretreatment neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio elevation was an independent poor prognostic factor for metastatic urothelial carcinoma undergoing salvage chemotherapy. Our newly constructed prognostic model including the pretreatment neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio proved to be an excellent discriminator of overall survival.

Xanthogranulomatous Cystitis Treated by Transurethral Resection.

Xanthogranulomatous cystitis (XC) is a rare benign chronic inflammatory disease of unknown etiology. Curative treatment of XC requires surgical resection, and most of reported cases were treated by partial cystectomy. Here we describe a case with XC that was treated using transurethral resection.

A case of the nutcracker syndrome developed after delivery.

We report a case of nutcracker syndrome that developed after delivery. A 32-year-old woman visited our clinic complaining of gross hematuria 4 months after delivery. Urethrocystoscopic examination failed to show hematuria coming from the ureteral orifice; however, enhanced computed tomography revealed the compression of the left renal vein between the aorta and superior mesenteric artery. Therefore, we diagnosed her with nutcracker syndrome and conservatively observed her. The macrohematuria disappeared by itself after 1 month. This is the first report to describe a case of nutcracker syndrome that developed after delivery.

Management of men with a suspicion of prostate cancer after negative initial prostate biopsy results.

INTRODUCTION: For men with elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA), appropriate management after negative prostate biopsy remains controversial. After determining PSA kinetics, subsequent follow-up was considered. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 115 cases with negative repeat biopsy were followed by evaluating PSA kinetics and ratio of percent free PSA (F/T) and by performing second repeat biopsy. RESULTS: Eighteen cancer cases were diagnosed. Shorter PSA doubling times and faster velocities were found in cancer cases compared with cases without cancer. We observed a clear decrease in F/T among cancer cases. CONCLUSIONS: To avoid unnecessary repeat biopsies, cases with a suspicion of cancer after negative biopsy can be divided into two groups: one that requires additional biopsies and one with an average change in PSA of <1 ng/ml/year and no change in F/T, which is recommended for surveillance as stable disease without biopsy over a specified time period.

[Fragmentation and transurethral removal in saline of an intravesical foreign body: a case report].

A 28-year-old male visited our hospital with complaint of lower abdominal pain, hematuria and urinary urgency. He had inserted a fishing line into the bladder transurethrally for sexual masturbation. The fishing line was made of nylon and was 1.66 mm in diameter. He could not remove it by himself due to pain. Retraction of the line with forceps was impossible ; the intricately entangled line was blocked at the bladder neck. We fragmented the line by a transurethral resection system operated in saline (TURis) and removed it transurethrally. The total length of the fishing line in the bladder reached 464 cm. TURis was useful for fragmentation of this foreign object, which consisted of electro-resistant material and could not be cut by conventional TUR.