Anoectochilus formosanus, an orchidaceous plant native to Taiwan, is widely used as a folk medicine in Taiwan and other Southeast Asian countries. We attempted to isolate the bioactive principles from A. formosanus and succeeded in purifying the compounds. Two known compounds (N-cis-feruloyl tyramine and N-trans-feruloyl tyramine) were isolated and both significantly inhibited osteoclast formation, which is important in the development of osteoporosis.

Striking advances in systemic therapy for unresectable advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have improved the average prognosis of patients with HCC. As a result, the guidelines for the treatment of HCC have changed significantly. However, various issues have emerged in clinical practice. First, there is no established biomarker that can predict response to systemic therapy. Second, there is no established treatment regimen after primary systemic therapy, including combined immunotherapy. Third, there is no established treatment regimen for intermediate-stage HCC. These points make the current guidelines ambiguous. In this review, we present the Japanese guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of HCC based on the latest evidence; introduce various efforts mainly in Japanese real-life practice to update these guidelines; and present our perspectives on future guidelines.