Prognostic factors in patients with high-risk stage II colon cancer after curative resection: a post hoc analysis of the JFMC46-1201 trial.

PURPOSE: The goal of the current study was to identify prognostic factors for disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) in high-risk stage II colon cancer. METHODS: The subjects were patients with histologically confirmed stage II colon cancer undergoing R0 resection who met at least one of the following criteria: T4, perforation/penetration, poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma, mucinous carcinoma, and < 12 examined lymph nodes. Patients self-selected surgery alone or a 6-month oral uracil and tegafur plus leucovorin (UFT/LV) regimen. Serum CEA mRNA at ≥ 24 h after surgery and < 2 weeks after registration was also examined as a potential prognostic factor for stage II colon cancer. This study is registered with UMIN-CTR (protocol ID: UMIN000007783). RESULTS: 1880 were included in the analysis to identify prognostic factors for DFS and OS in patients with high-risk stage II colon cancer. In multivariate analyses, gender, depth of tumor invasion, extent of lymph node dissection, number of examined lymph nodes, and postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy (POAC) emerged as significant independent prognostic factors for DFS. Similarly, multivariate analysis showed that age, gender, depth of tumor invasion, perforation/penetration, extent of lymph node dissection, number of examined lymph nodes, and POAC were significant independent prognostic factors for OS. Univariate analyses showed no significant difference in DFS or OS for CEA mRNA-positive and mRNA-negative cases. CONCLUSION: This study showed that gender, depth of tumor invasion, extent of lymph node dissection, number of examined lymph nodes, and lack of use of POAC were significant independent prognostic factors in stage II colon cancer.

Clinical T2N0 Rectal Cancer Treated with Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy plus Local Excision.

INTRODUCTION: Total mesorectal excision is the standard treatment for clinical T2 (cT2) rectal cancer; however, this procedure can result in postoperative dysfunction, decreased quality of life, and stoma creation in some patients. We investigated neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) plus local excision (LE) as an alternative treatment strategy for patients with cT2N0 rectal cancer. METHOD: Fifty-six patients with cT2N0M0 rectal cancer who exhibited the following characteristics (an anal verge of ≤8 cm, tumor size of <30 mm, well- or moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma on biopsy) underwent LE following nCRT. Chemoradiotherapy was administered at 40 or 45 Gy in 20-25 fractions with concurrent oral UFT (tegafur/uracil; 400 mg/m2) or S-1 (tegafur/gimeracil/oteracil; 80 mg/m2). RESULTS: Fifty-five patients (98%) completed nCRT as planned. Histologically, the excision margin was negative in all patients, and four patients with ypT3 disease underwent total mesorectal excision. Recurrence was observed in 15 patients (27%), local recurrence in 7 (13%), and distant recurrence in 10 (18%). The salvage surgery was possible for the local recurrence group. The 5-year disease-free and overall survival rates were 68.4% and 84.9%, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that only the tumor regression grade (TRG) was an independent risk factor for recurrence (p = 0.025). Although 7 (26%) out of 27 patients with a TRG of 3 or 4 developed local recurrence and 6 (22%) had distant metastasis, 25 patients with a TRG of 1 or 2 did not exhibit local recurrence, and only 1 (4%) experienced distant metastasis. CONCLUSION: nCRT plus LE may be an alternative treatment for patients with cT2N0 rectal cancer who achieved a TRG of 1 or 2. However, additional treatment was required in patients who achieved a TRG of 3 or 4.

Relationship between mental disorders, psychotropic drugs, and constipation in psychiatric outpatients.

Constipation has been reported to be more common in patients with mental disorders than in the general population. However, its relationships with psychiatric diagnosis, medication, age, and sex have not been fully identified. A total of 875 patients from the outpatient department were included in the study. As a retrospective observational study, the psychiatric diagnoses and psychotropic medications were examined based on the medical charts. Fecal conditions, including problems with defecation, abdominal pain, sense of incomplete evacuation, use of laxatives, frequency of defecation, and stool characteristics according to the Bristol Scale, were investigated. The study included 368 males and 507 females, with median ages of 48 and 52 years, respectively. The most common psychiatric diagnoses were depressive disorders (33%), followed by anxiety disorders (19%). Females had significantly higher rates of problems with defecation and laxative use than males (P < .001, P < .0001, respectively). The frequency of laxative use increased significantly with age (P < .0001). The multivariate analyses revealed the close relationship between hypnotics and problems of defecation and that between hypnotics, antipsychotics, and laxative use. In psychiatric outpatients, females had significantly higher rates of problems with defecation and laxative use than males. The use of laxatives significantly increased with age. Problems with defecation were significantly more common in patients taking hypnotics and laxative use was significantly more common in patients taking hypnotics and antipsychotics.

Predictors and histological effects of preoperative chemoradiotherapy for rectal cancer and control of lateral lymph node metastasis.

INTRODUCTION: Standard treatment strategy for low rectal cancer in Japan is different from Western countries. Total mesorectum excision (TME) + lateral lymph node dissection (LLND) is mainly carried out in Japan, whereas neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) + TME is selected in Western countries. There is no clear definition of preoperative diagnosis of lateral lymph node metastasis. If we can predict lateral lymph node swelling that can be managed by nCRT from lateral lymph node swelling that require surgical resection, clinical benefit is significant. In the current study we assessed characteristics of the lateral lymph node recurrence (LLNR) and LLND that can be managed by nCRT. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients with low rectal cancer (n = 168) underwent nCRT between 2009 and 2016. We evaluated CEA, neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet/lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and lateral lymph node short axis pre and post nCRT, respectively, and also evaluated tumor shrinkage rate, tumor regression grade (TRG). We evaluated the relationship between each and LLNR. RESULTS: LLND was not carried out all patients. Factors associated with LLNR were PLR and lymph node short axis pre and post nCRT. (p = 0.0269, 0.0278, p < 0.0001, p < 0.0001, respectively). Positive recurrence cut-off values of lateral lymph node short-axis calculated were 11.6 mm pre nCRT and 5.5 mm post nCRT. CONCLUSION: Results suggest that PLR before and after CRT was associated with control of LLNR, and LLND should be performed on lateral lymph nodes with short-axis of 5 mm and 11 mm pre and post nCRT.

Prospective observational study of the efficacy of oral uracil and tegafur plus leucovorin for stage II colon cancer with risk factors for recurrence using propensity score matching (JFMC46-1201).

BACKGROUND: The efficacy of adjuvant chemotherapy for high-risk stage II colon cancer (CC) has not been well established. We compared the effects of surgery with and without oral uracil and tegafur plus leucovorin (UFT/LV) in patients with high-risk stage II CC, adjusting for potential risk factors. METHODS: We enrolled patients with histologically confirmed stage II colon adenocarcinoma with at least one of the following conditions: T4 disease, perforation/penetration, poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma/mucinous carcinoma, or < 12 dissected lymph nodes. Patients chose to be non-randomized or randomized to undergo surgery alone (NR-Group S or R-Group S) or surgery followed by 6 months of UFT/LV (NR-Group U or R-Group U). The primary endpoint was disease-free survival (DFS) after adjusting for previously reported risk factors using propensity score matching (1:2) and inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) in the non-randomized arm. RESULTS: Overall, 1,902 (98%) and 36 (2%) patients were enrolled in the non-randomized and randomized arms, respectively. There were too few patients in the randomized arm and these were therefore excluded from the analysis. Of the 1,902 patients, 402 in NR-Group S and 804 in NR-Group U were propensity score-matched. The 3-year DFS rate (95% confidence interval) was significantly higher in NR-Group U (80.9% [77.9%-83.4%]) than in NR-Group S (74.0% [69.3%-78.0%]) (hazard ratio, 0.64 [0.50-0.83]; P = 0.0006). The 3-year overall survival rate was not significantly different between NR-Group S and NR-Group U. Significantly higher 3-year DFS (P = 0.0013) and overall survival (P = 0.0315) rates were observed in NR-Group U compared with NR-Group S using IPTW. CONCLUSIONS: Adjuvant chemotherapy with UFT/LV showed a significant survival benefit over surgery alone in patients with high-risk stage II CC characterized by at least one of the following conditions: T4 disease, perforation/penetration, poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma/mucinous carcinoma, or < 12 dissected lymph nodes. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Japan Registry of Clinical Trials: jRCTs031180155 (date of registration: 25/02/2019) (UMIN Clinical Trials Registry: UMIN000007783 , date of registration: 18/04/2012).

Clinicopathological and Molecular Characteristics of Early-Onset Stage III Colon Adenocarcinoma: An Analysis of the ACCENT Database.

BACKGROUND: Colon cancer (CC) incidence in young adults (age 20-49 years), termed early-onset CC (EO-CC), is increasing. METHODS: Individual patient data on 35 713 subjects with stage III colon cancer from 25 randomized studies in the Adjuvant Colon Cancer ENdpoint database were pooled. The distributions of demographics, clinicopathological features, biomarker status, and outcome data were summarized by age group. Overall survival, disease-free survival, time to recurrence, and survival after recurrence were assessed by Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox models stratified by treatment arms within studies, adjusting for sex, race, body mass index, performance status, disease stage, grade, risk group, number of lymph nodes examined, disease sidedness, and molecular markers. All statistical tests were 2-sided. RESULTS: Using a 5% difference between age groups as the clinically meaningful cutoff, patients with stage III EO-CC had similar sex, race, performance status, risk group, tumor sidedness, and T stage compared with patients with late-onset CC (age 50 years and older). EO-CC patients were less likely to be overweight (30.2% vs 36.2%) and more commonly had 12 or more lymph nodes resected (69.5% vs 58.7%). EO-CC tumors were more frequently mismatch repair deficient (16.4% vs 11.5%) and less likely to have BRAFV600E (5.6% vs 14.0%), suggesting a higher rate of Lynch syndrome in EO-CC. Patients with EO-CC had statistically significantly better overall survival (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.81, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.74 to 0.89; P < .001), disease-free survival (HR = 0.91, 95% CI = 0.84 to 0.98; P = .01), and survival after recurrence (HR = 0.88, 95% CI = 0.80 to 0.97; P = .008) in the analysis without molecular markers; however, age at onset of CC lost its prognostic value when outcome was adjusted for molecular markers. CONCLUSION: Tumor biology was found to be a more important prognostic factor than age of onset among stage III colon cancer patients in the Adjuvant Colon Cancer ENdpoint database.

Prediction of Recurrence in Patients with Stage III Colon Cancer Using Conventional Clinicopathological Factors and Peripheral Blood Test Data: A New Analysis with Artificial Intelligence.

BACKGROUND: Survival rate may be predicted by tumor-node-metastasis staging systems in colon cancer. In clinical practice, about 20 to 30 clinicopathological factors and blood test data have been used. Various predictive factors for recurrence have been advocated; however, the interactions are complex and remain to be established. We used artificial intelligence (AI) to examine predictive factors related to recurrence. METHODS: The study group comprised 217 patients who underwent curative surgery for stage III colon cancer. Using a self-organizing map (SOM), an AI-based method, patients with only 23 clinicopathological factors, patients with 23 clinicopathological factors and 34 of preoperative blood test data (pre-data), and those with 23 clinicopathological factors and 31 of postoperative blood test data (post-data) were classified into several clusters with various rates of recurrence. RESULTS: When only clinicopathological factors were used, the percentage of T4b disease, the percentage of N2 disease, and the number of metastatic lymph nodes were significantly higher in a cluster with a higher rate of recurrence. When clinicopathological factors and pre-data were used, three described pathological factors and the serum C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were significantly higher and the serum total protein (TP) levels, serum albumin levels, and the percentage of lymphocytes were significantly lower in a cluster with a higher rate of recurrence. When clinicopathological factors and post-data were used, three described pathological factors, serum CRP levels, and serum carcinoembryonic antigen levels were significantly higher and serum TP levels, serum albumin levels, and the percentage of lymphocytes were significantly lower in a cluster with a higher rate of recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: This AI-based analysis extracted several risk factors for recurrence from more than 50 pathological and blood test factors before and after surgery separately. This analysis may predict the risk of recurrence of a new patient by confirming which clusters this patient belongs to.

Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes in Biopsy Specimens Obtained 7 Days after Starting Chemoradiotherapy for Rectal Cancer Are Predictors of the Response to Chemoradiotherapy.

BACKGROUND: Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) followed by total mesorectal excision surgery is a standard treatment for locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC). Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) have been reported to be associated with tumor response; however, this remains to be established. We previously reported that histological changes on biopsy specimens obtained 7 days after starting nCRT are strong predictors of response to nCRT. METHODS: The subjects were 208 patients with LARC who received nCRT. TILs on hematoxylin-eosin staining together with immunohistochemical staining of lymphocyte surface markers including CD3, CD4, CD8, and FoxP3 were performed both on the biopsy specimens before and 7 days after starting nCRT. RESULTS: The proportions of patients with high densities of CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, and FoxP3+ cells 7 days after starting CRT were significantly lower than the respective values before starting nCRT (p < 0.0001, p < 0.0001, p = 0.0023, and p = 0.0046). In biopsy specimens obtained before treatment, high-density CD4+ cells and FOXP3+ cells were significantly associated with tumor shrinkage rate. High-density FOXP3+ cells were significantly associated with marked tumor regression. In biopsy specimens obtained 7 days after starting treatment, high-density CD4+ cells were significantly associated with marked tumor regression, tumor regression grade 1, and tumor shrinkage rate. High-density FoxP3+ cells were significantly associated with marked tumor regression and tumor shrinkage rate. CONCLUSIONS: In patients who received nCRT for LARC, the evaluations of immunohistochemical staining for CD4+ and FOXP3+ TILs were more intimately related to histological response to CRT and tumor shrinkage rates in biopsy specimens obtained 7 days after starting treatment than in biopsy specimens obtained before CRT.

Tissue-Infiltrating Lymphocytes as a Predictive Factor for Recurrence in Patients with Curatively Resected Colon Cancer: A Propensity Score Matching Analysis.

BACKGROUND: In patients with colorectal cancer, the rate of recurrence increases as the histologic stage progresses. However, the prediction of recurrence in individual patients is difficult. Many studies have reported on the relation between outcomes and tissue-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs). The aim of our study was to clarify the relation between TILs and oncologic outcomes in patients with colon cancer using propensity score matching analysis. METHODS: The study group comprised 513 patients with colon cancer who received curative resection. By using propensity score matching for sex, age, tumor location, T stage, N stage, histologic type, and adjuvant therapy as conventional prognostic factors, 61 patients with recurrence and 61 patients with no recurrence were selected. Hematoxylin-eosin staining and immunohistochemical staining using CD3, CD8, CD4, and FoxP3 were performed for lymphocytes in the primary tissue. The results were evaluated separately in the whole tumor, the central part, and the invasive margin. RESULTS: The median follow-up period was 53 months. Among the 513 patients, 70 had recurrence and 443 had no recurrence. In the comparison of outcomes between the 61 patients with recurrence and the 61 patients with no recurrence, univariate analysis showed that the disease-free survival rate was significantly higher among the patients with positive TILs in the whole tumor and in the invasive margin (p = 0.016 and p = 0.012, respectively) and with CD8+ cells in the central part (p = 0.039) than among those with negative results. A multivariate analysis showed that TILs in the invasive margin (hazard ratio 1.81; 95% confidence interval, 1.03-3.05; p = 0.037) and CD8+ cell density in the central part (hazard ratio 1.76; 95% confidence interval, 1.07-2.93; p = 0.023) were prognostic factors that were independent from conventional prognostic factors. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with curatively resected colon cancer, TILs in the invasive margin and CD8+ cell density in the central part may be prognostic factors suggesting host antitumor immune response.

Oral S-1 with 24-h Infusion of Irinotecan plus Bevacizumab versus FOLFIRI plus Bevacizumab as First-Line Chemotherapy for Metastatic Colorectal Cancer: An Open-Label Randomized Phase II Trial.

BACKGROUND: FOLFIRI plus bevacizumab have been widely used as first-line treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics suggested a low dose of irinotecan given as a long-term infusion is expected to enhance antitumor activity. We conducted a randomized phase II study to compare oral S-1 with a 24-h infusion of irinotecan plus bevacizumab versus FOLFIRI plus bevacizumab. METHODS: The subjects comprised 120 chemotherapy-naïve patients with mCRC. The study group received a 24-h infusion of irinotecan at a dose of 125 mg/m2 on days 1 and 15, combined with oral S-1 80 mg/m2 on days 1-14 (24h-SIRI/B). The FOLFIRI/B group received irinotecan at a dose of 150 mg/m2, 5-fluorouracil given at a dose of 400 mg/m2 as a bolus injection and at a dose of 2,400 mg/m2 as a 46-h infusion, and 200 mg/m2 leucovorin on days 1 and 15. Bevacizumab was given at a dose of 5.0 mg/kg on days 1 and 15 in both groups. Treatment was repeated every 4 weeks. The primary endpoint was 1-year progression-free survival (PFS). Secondary endpoints were PFS, response rates (RR), overall survival (OS), and adverse events (AEs). RESULTS: From December 2013 through January 2018, 120 patients were randomly assigned, 61 patients to the 24h-SIRI/B and 59 patients to the FOLFIRI/B. The median follow-up period was 22.8 months. The 1-year PFS rate was 43.14% in the 24h-SIRI/B arm and 19.15% in the FOLFIRI/B arm (HR = 0.312 [95%CI 0.13-0.78], p = 0.01). The median PFS was 10.2 months (95%CI 8.8-14.3) and 10.0 months (95%CI 7.4-11.0), and the median OS was 29.7 months (95%CI 22.9-43.9) and 28.8 months (95%CI 18.4-ND), respectively (p = 0.3758, p = 0.8234). The overall RR was 86.3 and 61.7%, respectively (p = 0.0053). AEs were similar. CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that the 24h-SIRI/B regimen is an effective and reasonably well-tolerated regimen for the first-line treatment of mCRC.

Usefulness of Preoperative Mechanical Bowel Preparation in Patients with Colon Cancer who Undergo Elective Surgery: A Prospective Randomized Trial Using Oral Antibiotics.

BACKGROUND: To prevent surgical site infection (SSI) in colorectal surgery, the combination of mechanical bowel preparation (MBP), oral antibiotic bowel preparation (OABP), and the intravenous antibiotics have been proposed as standard treatment. We conducted an RCT comparing the incidence of SSI between MBP + OABP and OABP alone after receiving a single dose of intravenous antibiotics. METHODS: The study group comprised 254 patients who underwent elective surgery for colon cancer. Patients were randomly assigned to receive MBP + OABP and intravenous antibiotics (MBP + OABP group) or to receive OABP and intravenous antibiotics (OABP alone group). RESULTS: Overall, 125 patients in MBP + OABP group and 126 patients in OABP alone group were eligible. Incisional SSI occurred in 3 patients (2.4%) in MBP + OABP group, and 8 patients (6.3%) in the OABP-alone group. Organ/space SSI developed in 0 patients (0%) and in 4 patients (3.2%) in each group respectively. The OABP-alone group was thus not shown to be noninferior to the MBP + OABP group in the incidences of incisional SSI or organ/space SSI. Other infectious complications developed in 7 patients (5.6%) and in 6 patients (4.8%) in each group, indicating the non-inferiority of OABP alone to MBP + OABP. CONCLUSIONS: MBP combined with oral antibiotics and intravenous antibiotics remains standard in elective colon cancer surgery.

A prospective clinical study assessing the presence of exfoliated cancer cells and rectal washout including tumors in patients who receive neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy for rectal cancer.

PURPOSE: Rectal washout is performed in rectal cancer surgery to eliminate exfoliated cancer cells. Before rectal washout, a cross-clamp should generally be placed distal to the tumor. In some patients with lower rectal cancer, however, the tumor cannot be adequately isolated. We, therefore, hypothesized that neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) can decrease the number of exfoliated cancer cells even after the rectal washout including tumors. METHODS: We prospectively studied 86 patients with rectal cancer who underwent proctectomy after nCRT. A cross-clamp was applied proximal to the tumor, and the rectum was washed with 2000 mL of physiological saline solution. The initial 100 mL used to wash the rectum was collected as a pre-washout sample. After the rectum was washed with the remaining 1900 mL, the solution remaining in the rectum was collected as a post-washout sample. Cells classified as class IV or higher according to the papanicolaou classification were considered to indicate a positive diagnosis. RESULTS: The cytological diagnosis was positive in pre-washout samples in 21 patients (24%) and post-washout samples in two patients (2%). CONCLUSION: In patients with rectal cancer, nCRT may decrease the number of exfoliated cancer cells in the rectum, and rectal washout including the tumor may be oncologically acceptable.

Preventive effects of a synthetic absorbable antiadhesive film (seprafilm) on small bowel obstruction in patients who underwent elective surgery for colon cancer: A randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Seprafilm did not decrease small bowel obstruction (SBO), but significantly decreased reoperation in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. However, the preventive effect in colon cancer remains unclear. METHODS: We conducted a randomized controlled trial in patients with colon cancer. The study group comprised 345 patients with colon cancer. In the seprafilm group (n = 166), two sheets of seprafilm were inserted under a midline incision. Patients who were admitted and required decompression were considered to have SBO. RESULTS: The median follow-up was 61.9 months. Patient characteristics were well balanced. There was no significant difference in the incidence of SBO between the seprafilm group (7.8%) and the control group (10.6%) (P = .46). In patients who underwent reoperation, SBO occurred in a midline incision in one patient and at other sites in four patients in the seprafilm group as compared with two patients and five patients, respectively, in the control group. Multivariate analysis showed that only a history of laparotomy was an independent risk factor for SBO. CONCLUSIONS: Seprafilm did not decrease SBO or reoperation in colon cancer. The incidence of SBO caused by adhesion to the midline incision was relatively low as compared with that caused by adhesion to other sites.

Distribution of Neuroendocrine Marker-Positive Cells in Colorectal Cancer Tissue and Normal Mucosal Tissue: Consideration of Histogenesis of Neuroendocrine Cancer.

BACKGROUND: Colorectal neuroendocrine carcinoma (NEC) is a rare disease, and mixed cases with colorectal adenocarcinoma also exist. The histogenesis of this disease remains unclear. We studied the numbers of neuroendocrine marker-positive cells in adenocarcinoma tissue and in normal -mucosal tissue to investigate the relation between adenocarcinoma and NEC and to discuss the histogenesis of NEC. METHODS: We studied a total of 354 curatively resected cases of stage II or III colon cancer and 36 cases of rectal cancer treated at the Tokai University Hospital between 2007 and 2012. Adenocarcinoma tissue and normal mucosal tissue were immunohistochemically stained with chromogranin A, synaptophysin, and CD56. Cases in which neuroendocrine marker-positive cells were found in cancer tissue were defined as positive. In normal mucosa, the numbers of positive cells per 15 high-power fields (HPF) were counted. RESULTS: Among the 390 cases, 181 cases had right sided colon cancer, 173 cases had left sided colon cancer, and 36 cases had rectal cancer. The rates of positive staining for chromogranin A, synaptophysin, and CD56 were significantly higher in the right sided colon than in the left sided colon, consistent with the preferred sites of NEC as reported previously. Cells positive for chromogranin A and synaptophysin in normal mucosa were significantly more common in the rectum and the left sided colon than in the right sided colon. No site-specific differences were found for CD56. CONCLUSIONS: Neuroendocrine marker-positive cells in colorectal cancer tissue are more common in the right sided colon, whereas neuroendocrine marker-positive cells in normal mucosa are more common in the rectum. These results suggest that NEC may arise from preceding adenocarcinomas.

Induction of CD3+ and FoxP3+ T Cells in Left-sided Colorectal Tumors After UFT/LV Chemotherapy.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Immune checkpoint inhibitors are mainly used for right-sided, microsatellite instability-high colorectal tumors. In this study, the effects of oral uracil-tegafur plus leucovorin (UFT/LV) chemotherapy on the gene expressions of four immunotherapy targets and the amounts of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) were investigated. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Data of 260 patients with stage II or stage III colorectal cancer were analyzed. Gene expression and amount of TILs were evaluated using real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (CRT-PCR) assay and immunohistochemical staining, respectively. RESULTS: Expression of CTLA4 and LAG3 in tumor tissues was significantly increased after UFT/LV chemotherapy, but only in left-sided tumors. The percentage of high-TIL, high-CD3 and high-FoxP3 patients in the UFT/LV group was significantly higher than that in the control group, only in left-sided tumors. CONCLUSION: The increase in TILs count, especially of CD3+ T cells and FoxP3+ regulatory T cells, after UFT/LV chemotherapy were specific to left-sided colorectal cancers.

Phase III randomised trial comparing 6 vs. 12-month of capecitabine as adjuvant chemotherapy for patients with stage III colon cancer: final results of the JFMC37-0801 study.

BACKGROUND: Up to 6-months oxaliplatin-containing regimen is now widely accepted as a standard adjuvant chemotherapy for stage III colorectal cancer (CRC). However, oral fluoropyrimidine monotherapy is used for some part of patients, especially in Asian countries including Japan, and its optimal duration is yet to be fully investigated. METHODS: A total of 1306 patients with curatively-resected stage III CRC were randomly assigned to receive capecitabine (2500 mg/m2/day) for 14 out of 21 days for 6 (n = 654) or 12 (n = 650) months. The primary endpoint was disease-free survival (DFS), and the secondary endpoints were relapse-free survival (RFS), overall survival (OS), and adverse events. RESULTS: The 3- and 5-year DFS were 70.0% and 65.3% in the 6M group and 75.3% and 68.7% in the 12M group, respectively (p = 0.0549, HR = 0.858, 90% CI: 0.732-1.004). The 5-year RFS was 69.3% and 74.1% in the 6M and 12M groups, respectively (p = 0.0143, HR = 0.796, 90% CI: 0.670-0.945). The 5-year OS was 83.2% and 87.6%, respectively (p = 0.0124, HR = 0.727, 90% CI: 0.575-0.919). The incidence of overall grade 3-4 adverse events was almost comparable in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: Although 12-month adjuvant capecitabine did not demonstrate superior DFS to that of 6-month, the observed better RFS and OS in the 12-month treatment period could be of value in selected cases.

Discovery of Inhibitors of Membrane Traffic from a Panel of Clinically Effective Anticancer Drugs.

In addition to their major targets, clinically effective drugs may have unknown off-targets. By identifying such off-targets it may be possible to repurpose approved drugs for new indications. We are interested in the Golgi apparatus as a novel target for cancer therapy, but there is a paucity of candidate Golgi-disrupting drugs. Here, we aimed to identify Golgi-disrupting compounds from a panel of 34 approved anticancer drugs by using HBC-4 human breast cancer cells and immunofluorescence microscopy to visualize the Golgi apparatus. The screen identified five drugs having Golgi-disrupting activity. Four of them were vinca alkaloids (vinorelbine, vindesine, vincristine and vinblastine), and the fifth drug was eribulin. This is the first study to demonstrate that vinorelbine, vindesine and eribulin possess Golgi-disrupting activity. The 5 drugs are known to inhibit tubulin polymerization and to induce microtubule depolymerization. Interestingly, a microtubule-stabilizer paclitaxel did not induce Golgi-disruption, suggesting that the three-dimensionally preserved microtubules are partly responsible for maintaining the Golgi complex. Concerning eribulin, a noteworthy drug because of its high clinical efficacy against advanced breast cancer, we further confirmed its Golgi-disrupting activity in 3 different human breast cancer cell lines, BSY-1, MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7. Golgi-disruption may contribute to anticancer efficacy of eribulin. In conclusion, the present study revealed that 4 vinca alkaloids and eribulin possessed potential Golgi-disrupting activity among a panel of 34 approved anticancer drugs. Other drugs covering various molecular-targeted drugs and classical DNA-damaging drugs showed no Golgi-disrupting effect. These results suggest that tubulin polymerization-inhibitors might be promising candidate drugs with Golgi-disrupting activity.

Retrospective study of regorafenib and trifluridine/tipiracil efficacy as a third-line or later chemotherapy regimen for refractory metastatic colorectal cancer.

Regorafenib and trifluridine/tipiracil (TAS-102) are novel antitumor agents for patients with refractory metastatic colorectal cancer. However, it is unclear which patients may derive a survival benefit from these drugs in real-life clinical practice. We evaluated retrospectively the efficacy and safety of regorafenib and TAS-102 at a single institution between June 2013 and November 2015. Cox regression analysis was carried out to obtain predictive scores (the nearest integers of hazard ratio) for survival benefit. Forty-four patients treated with regorafenib or TAS-102 were included in the analysis; among them, 17 received crossover treatment. The median overall survival (OS) was 9.1 months for regorafenib and 9.3 months for TAS-102, and the corresponding values after crossover were 7.1 and 5.3 months, respectively. OS was not correlated to relative dose intensity, but was proportional to the total administered dose of each drug. Adverse events were tolerable even after crossover. We identified three variables as significant for prediction of OS with good discrimination (C-statistic=0.70): Poor Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status, time since diagnosis of metastatic disease ≤18 months, and previous chemotherapy continued ≥2 months beyond progression were all predictors of poor OS. Regorafenib and TAS-102 can be recommended for patients with better performance status and slow progression of metastatic disease. Optimal survival benefit was provided by prompt administration of either drug after failure of previous chemotherapy, with flexible titration to the optimal dose for each individual patient.

Chemoradiotherapy-induced Changes in Mucinous Components in Rectal Cancer Tissue: Evaluation on High Iron Diamine-alcian Blue and Mucin 1 Staining.

BACKGROUND/AIM: The standard treatment for rectal cancer is neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) followed by surgery. Mucinous carcinoma responds poorly to nCRT. In some patients, mucin lakes (MLs) are induced by nCRT. Identifying whether MLs are induced or originally present would be of great importance. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We studied 20 patients with MLs (CRT-MC group) among 205 patients who received nCRT. Among 88 patients who did not receive nCRT, we studied 9 patients with mucinous carcinoma (non-CRT-MC group) and 18 patients with MLs in differentiated adenocarcinoma (non-CRT-AC group). Tumors were stained with high iron diamine-Alcian blue (HID-AB) and MUC1 staining. RESULTS: Rate of AB>HID staining of cancer cells was significantly higher in the CRT-MC group than in non-CRT-MC group (p=0.0004). Rate of MUC1 staining in MLs was significantly higher in the CRT-MC group (p=0.0254). CONCLUSION: nCRT can induce qualitative changes in mucinous components, however, other methods are required to distinguish induced components from originally existing components.

The Number of Natural Killer Cells in the Largest Diameter Lymph Nodes Is Associated with the Number of Retrieved Lymph Nodes and Lymph Node Size, and Is an Independent Prognostic Factor in Patients with Stage II Colon Cancer.

OBJECTIVE: We previously reported that the largest diameter of retrieved lymph nodes (LNs) correlates with the number of LNs and is a prognostic factor in stage II colon cancer. We examine whether T, B, and natural killer (NK) cells in LNs are related to the number of LNs and survival. METHODS: The subjects comprised 320 patients with stage II colon cancer. An LN with the largest diameter was selected in each patient. The positive area ratios of cells that stained for CD3 and CD20, and the numbers of CD56-positive cells were measured. RESULTS: The CD3-positive area ratio was 0.39 ± 0.08 and CD20-positive area ratio was 0.42 ± 0.10. The mean number of CD56-positive cells was 19.3 ± 22.7. The area ratios of B cells and T cells and the number of NK cells were significantly related to the sizes of the largest diameter LNs. The number of NK cells significantly correlated with the number of LNs and was an independent prognostic factor. On multivariate analysis, pathological T stage (T4 or T3; HR 4.71; p < 0.001) and the number of CD56-positive cells (high or low; HR 0.22; p < 0.001) were found to be independent prognostic factors. CONCLUSIONS: The number of NK cells in the largest diameter LNs can most likely be used as a predictor of recurrence.