Multi-institutional feasibility study of intensity-modulated radiotherapy with chemotherapy for locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer

International Journal of Clinical Oncology - This multi-institutional clinical trial evaluated the feasibility of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) for patients with locally advanced...     

Laparoscopic surgery for familial multiple gastrointestinal stromal tumors with germ line c-kit gene mutation

Familial gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) is an exceedingly rare disease characterized by mutations in the c-kit and platelet-derived growth factor receptor alpha genes. We report the case of a 73-year-old woman with multiple submucosal tumors (SMTs) in the stomach and small intestine. Her elder sister had previously presented with multiple SMTs on examination and underwent surgery to remove the tumors because they showed a tendency to increase in size during follow-up. The sister's tumors were pathologically diagnosed as GISTs, and a germ line mutation was recognized in exon 17 of c-kit. Subsequently, the patient presented with multiple SMTs and the same germ line mutation as her sister. After 9 years of follow-up, a single tumor was found to have grown in size, and SILS was performed for this SMT, which was also pathologically diagnosed as a GIST. To our knowledge, this is the first report of laparoscopic surgery for a case of familial GIST.     

Regional prevalence of health worker absenteeism in Tanzania

Absenteeism of health workers in developing countries is common and can severely undermine the reliability of the health system. Therefore, it is important to understand where the prevalence of absenteeism is high. We develop a simple imputation method that combines a Service Delivery Indicators survey and a Service Provision Assessment survey to estimate the prevalence of absenteeism of health workers at the level of regions in Tanzania. The resulting estimates allow one to identify the regions in which the prevalence of absenteeism is significantly higher or lower than the national average and help policymakers determine priority areas for intervention.     

Oncolytic Virus Therapy with HSV-1 for Hematological Malignancies

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Anti‐MDA‐5 antibody‐positive clinically amyopathic dermatomyositis with rapidly progressive interstitial lung disease treated with therapeutic plasma exchange: A case series

We present six cases of antimelanoma differentiation‐associated gene 5 antibody (anti‐MDA5‐Ab)‐positive clinically amyopathic dermatomyositis (CADM) with rapidly progressive interstitial lung disease (RP‐ILD), which is known to have a poor prognosis. The outcomes of these cases are described after treatment with therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE). Clinical and therapeutic data for patients with CADM with RP‐ILD were collected retrospectively from medical records. All six patients received early intensive care including high‐dose corticosteroids, intravenous cyclophosphamide, and a calcineurin inhibitor, but lung disease and hypoxia became more severe. TPE was performed over a median of 9.5 sessions (range 3‐14) per patient, and the median duration from admission to TPE was 23 days. Three patients received combined direct hemoperfusion using a polymyxin B‐immobilized fiber column (PMX‐DHP) therapy on successive days to manage acute respiratory failure. Four patients survived and two died due to respiratory failure. In the survival cases, ferritin decreased, and ferritin and KL‐6 were lower at diagnosis. The patients who died had a higher alveolar‐arterial oxygen difference and more severe lung lesions at the time of initiation of TPE. These findings indicate that a combination of conventional therapy and TPE may be useful for improvement of the prognosis of CADM with RP‐ILD at the early stage of onset.