Eosinophilic pleural effusion due to lung cancer has a better prognosis than non-eosinophilic malignant pleural effusion.

OBJECTIVE: Tumor-related eosinophilia may have extended survival benefits for some cancer patients. However, there has been no report on the prognosis difference between eosinophilic pleural effusion (EPE) and non-EPE in lung cancer patients. Our study aimed to investigate the prognosis difference between EPE and non-EPE due to lung cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed patients diagnosed with lung cancer who presented with malignant pleural effusion (MPE) between May 2007 and September 2020 at the National Hospital Organization Kochi Hospital. EPE is defined as pleural fluid with a nucleated cell count containing 10% or more eosinophils. RESULTS: A total of 152 patients were included: 89 were male (59%). The median age was 74.4 years (range 37-101), and all patients were pathologically shown to have MPE. Most patients (140; 92%) had an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) Performance Status (PS) of 0/1. Twenty patients had EPE. The median overall survival (OS) of all 152 lung cancer patients with MPE was 298 days. The median OS of the patients with EPE was 766 days, and the median OS of the patients with non-EPE was 252 days. Kaplan-Meier univariate analysis showed that lung cancer patients with EPE had a significantly better prognosis than patients with non-EPE (P < 0.05). Cox proportional regression analysis showed that EPE, ECOG PS, sex, and the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio in the serum (sNLR) may be independent prognostic factors affecting survival in patients with MPE. CONCLUSION: Lung cancer patients with EPE have a better prognosis than those with non-EPE.

[A case of a collision tumor comprising mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma and early gastric cancer].

A 60-year-old woman underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy for an abnormality identified during routine examination. The lower gastric corpus showed a type 0-I elevated lesion with a faded mucosa and an area of converging mucosal folds in contact with the lesion. Biopsy indicated the former to be a high-grade adenoma and the latter to be a mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma. At the same time, Helicobacter pylori infection was diagnosed. Eradication therapy was administered to manage the MALT lymphoma; this resulted in improvement after 3 months. Endoscopic submucosal dissection was performed for the elevated lesion, and subsequent histopathology showed contact between the MALT lymphoma and gastric cancer. Therefore, the patient was diagnosed with a collision tumor. Concurrent cancers are increasingly reported and should be considered during examination.

Recent trends among dental residents at Tokyo Dental College.

Trends among dental residents at Tokyo Dental College between 2006, at which time clinical residency became mandatory, and 2011 were analyzed and the following results obtained. Almost all the eligible students from our school participated in the orientation seminar on dental residency programs. Although the number varied slightly by year, approximately 70 to 150 students from other schools also participated in these orientation seminars. Almost all the students from our school and 60 to 80% of those from other schools participating in the orientation seminar each year applied to sit the dental residency entrance examination. The number of candidates was highest in 2006 (318) and lowest in 2010 (205) (average: 248), and the applicant-to-seat ratio for residency was 1.59. The examination pass rate was 59.02%. Approximately 10% of the students from other schools were admitted as dental residents.

Clinical usefulness of "Isolite Plus" for oral environment of Japanese people.

The recent demand for dental devices which are easier to handle and offer higher levels of reliability and safety has led to the development in the US of Isolite Plus, a new oral support device. When placed in the oral cavity, Isolite Plus enables marking of the surgical field, secures the treatment space, ensures a vacuum, protects the cheek and tongue, assists in opening the mouth, prevents accidental ingestion/aspiration, ensures treatment without contamination and enhances comfort and safety during dental treatment. The present study was carried out to verify whether Isolite Plus can fit well in the mouth of Japanese people and to determine whether it performs adequately. Thirty resident dentists were required to wear Isolite Plus in their mouth and perform mutual simulation training using an air turbine handpiece. After the training, both subjects playing the role of surgeon and those playing the role of patient were asked to complete questionnaires. On the basis of the results, we discuss the clinical usefulness of Isolite Plus in Japanese people. In the present investigation, Isolite Plus was rated slightly better by surgeons than by patients. The supportive functions of the device were judged inadequate due to the poor fit of the mouthpiece portion of the device to subjects' mouth. For the distribution of Isolite Plus in the Japanese market, the mouthpiece portion of the device should be improved so that it can fit the mouth of Japanese people.

Comparison of pharmaceutical properties of topical non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug preparations on quality of life.

To compare the effects of different pharmaceutical properties of commercially available topical nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) on the quality of life, we administered a questionnaire to 65 healthy volunteers. We investigated five creams, five gels, and four solutions of topical NSAID preparations in this study. The survey was conducted to clarify the relationship of their answers and pharmaceutical properties of the topical NSAID preparations. Questions addressed spreadability, smell, viscosity, and comfort level of the topical NSAID preparations. Among the five creams, Napageln had lower spreadability, less smell, and greater viscosity than the other preparations. Because of its easy spreadability, weak smell, and low viscosity, the volunteers favored Sector cream among the cream preparations. Among the five gel preparations, Inteban had less spreadability, stronger smell, and higher viscosity than the other preparations. The volunteers favored Epatec over the other gel preparations. All four solutions had the odor of menthol and other artificial ingredients, except for Napageln. These findings indicate that information on the pharmaceutical properties of commercially available topical NSAID preparations will be helpful to physicians and pharmacists in conducting medical treatment and prescribing.