In thoracic endovascular aneurysm repair (TEVAR), the common femoral artery is typically used as the standard vascular access. However, in some cases, alternative vascular accesses must be considered, or endovascular treatment may need to be abandoned due to vascular diameter or characteristics. A female in her 70 s presented with saccular aortic aneurysms located at the distal arch and descending aorta, possibly secondary to bacteremia. She had a history of partial arch replacement and ascending aorto-bi-iliac artery bypass for ascending aortic aneurysm, as well as calcified abdominal aortic stenosis, performed five years prior. In this case, we successfully treated the aneurysms with antegrade TEVAR, accessing through the extra-anatomical bypass graft, which was exposed in the epigastric preperitoneal space. This is the first case report of TEVAR using access from an extra-anatomical bypass graft connecting the ascending aorta to the lower extremity.

Objective: To investigate an association between the gut microbiome and efficacy of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors (PARPi) in ovarian cancer. Methods: This study conducted fecal microbiome analysis (16S rRNA gene sequencing) and circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) profiling for ovarian cancer patients who underwent PARPi maintenance therapy. Fecal and blood samples were collected at the baseline and the progressive disease (PD) or last follow-up. The relative abundance of gut microbes and progression-free survival (PFS) were analyzed using linear discriminant analysis of effect size and the Cox proportional hazard model according to BRCA1/2 mutation (BRCA1/2mut) status detected by ctDNA sequencing. Results: Baseline samples were available from 23 BRCA1/2mut-positive patients and 33 BRCA1/2mut-negative patients. The microbes enriched in the baseline samples with long PFS were Bifidobacterium, Roseburia, Dialister, Butyricicoccus, and Bilophila for BRCA1/2mut-positive patients and Phascolarctobacterium for BRCA1/2mut-negative patients. In multivariate analyses dividing patients by the median values of relative abundances, no bacteria were associated with PFS in BRCA1/2mut-positive patients, whereas high Phascolarctobacterium abundances (≥1.11%) was significantly associated with longer PFS in BRCA1/2mut-negative patients (median 14.0 vs. 5.9 months, hazard ratio=0.28; 95% confidence interval=0.11–0.69; p=0.014). In the last samples, the relative abundances of Phascolarctobacterium were significantly higher in patients without PD (n=5) than those with PD (n=15) (median 1.25% vs. 0.06%; p=0.016). Conclusion High fecal composition of Phascolarctobacterium was associated with prolonged PFS in patients with BRCA1/2mut-negative ovarian cancer receiving PARPi therapy. Our results would provide new insights for future research.

Objective: To clarify the frequency of deficient mismatch repair (dMMR) in Japanese ovarian cancer patients, we examined microsatellite instability (MSI) status and immunohistochemistry (IHC) subtypes, including endometrioid carcinoma (EMC), clear cell carcinoma (CCC), or a mixture of both (Mix). Methods: We registered 390 patients who were diagnosed with EMC/CCC/Mix between 2006 and 2015 and treated at seven participating facilities. For 339 patients confirmed eligible by the Central Pathological Review Board, MSI, IHC, and MutL homolog 1 methylation analyses were conducted. The tissues of patients with Lynch syndrome (LS)-related cancer histories, such as colorectal and endometrial cancer, were also investigated. Results: MSI-high (MSI-H) status was observed in 2/217 CCC (0.9%), 10/115 EMC (8.7%), and 1/4 Mix (25%). Additionally, loss of MMR protein expression (LoE-MMR) was observed in 5/219 (2.3%), 16/115 (14.0%), and 1/4 (25%) patients with CCC, EMC, and Mix, respectively. Both MSI-H and LoE-MMR were found significantly more often in EMC (p<0.001). The median (range) ages of patients with MMR expression and LoE-MMR were 54 (30–90) and 46 (22–76) (p=0.002), respectively. In the multivariate analysis, advanced stage and histological type were identified as prognostic factors. Conclusion The dMMR rate for EMC/CCC was similar to that reported in Western countries. In Japan, it is assumed that the dMMR frequency is higher because of the increased proportion of CCC.

BACKGROUND: There is little data on the association between the lower nutrition represented by serum albumin levels and related factors in a general population. The present study aimed to determine whether the albumin level positioned as some kind of biomarker with frailty measures, trace elements, and an inflammation marker. METHODS: In 2018, we performed an epidemiological survey in 1368 subjects who resided in Tanushimaru, Japan, in which we examined the blood chemistry including albumin, trace elements, hormone levels, and carotid ultrasonography. Albumin levels were categorized into 4 groups (G1 [3.2-3.9 mg/dL], G2 [4.0-4.3 mg/dL], G3 [4.4-4.6 mg/dL], and G4 [4.7-5.3 mg/dL]). The participants underwent measurements of handgrip strength and were tested by asking to walk 5 m. Their cognitive functions were evaluated by the mini-mental state examination (MMSE). RESULTS: Multiple stepwise regression analysis demonstrated that albumin levels were significantly and independently associated with age (inversely), systolic blood pressures, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), MMSE score, frailty measures (handgrip strength), an inflammation marker (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein), hormones (growth hormone (inversely) and insulin-like growth factor-1), and trace elements (calcium, magnesium, iron, and zinc), with a linear trend. CONCLUSIONS Lower albumin levels, even in the normal range, were found to be related factors of frailty measures, trace elements, and an inflammation marker in a general population.
Aged ; Albumins/metabolism* ; Biomarkers/blood* ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Frailty/physiopathology* ; Hand Strength/physiology* ; Humans ; Inflammation/blood* ; Japan ; Male ; Trace Elements/blood*

BACKGROUND: Remnant-like particle cholesterol (RLP-C) is highly atherogenic, which is associated with atherosclerosis. However, RLP-C has not been routinely measured in the clinical practice. We estimated RLP-C levels using conventional lipid profiles and examined the association between estimated RLP-C and related factors including nutrient intake. METHODS: This study was performed in Uku town, Nagasaki prefecture, Japan in 2019. A total of 225 subjects were enrolled and directly measured RLP-C levels. Estimated RLP-C levels were defined as the following formula [total cholesterol - (LDL-cholesterol) - (HDL-cholesterol)]. Multivariate analyses were used to assess the relationship between estimated RLP-C and atherogenic factors. We calculated cut-off values on dichotomized RLP-C (< 7.5 mg/dL vs. ≥ 7.5 mg/dL) by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. RESULTS: The mean values of directly measured RLP-C levels and estimated RLP-C were 4.0 mg/dL and 16.4 mg/dL, respectively. In the multiple stepwise linear regression analysis, directly measured and estimated RLP-C levels were independently and commonly associated with apolipoprotein E, triglycerides, and vegetable fat intake (inversely). Using ROC curves, we found the cut-off value of estimated RLP-C was 22.0 mg/dL. CONCLUSION We demonstrated that the estimated RLP-C levels using conventional lipid profiles may substitute for directly measured RLP-C and these levels were independently and inversely associated with vegetable fat intake in the community-dwelling Japanese population.
Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Cholesterol/blood* ; Dietary Fats/blood* ; Female ; Humans ; Japan ; Lipids/blood* ; Lipoproteins/blood* ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Triglycerides/blood* ; Vegetables

OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to examine the effects of front-line chemotherapy on overall survival (OS) and postrecurrence survival (PRS) of patients with recurrent ovarian cancer, when stratifying the histologic type. METHODS: Five hundred and seventy-four patients with recurrent ovarian cancer with sufficient clinical information, including front-line chemotherapy, were analyzed. The pathologic slides were evaluated by central pathologic review. The patients were divided into two groups: group A (n=261), who underwent taxane plus platinum, and group B (n=313), who underwent conventional platinum-based chemotherapy without taxanes. RESULTS: The median age was 54 years (range, 14 to 89 years). Group A had significantly better median OS (45.0 months vs. 30.3 months, p<0.001) and PRS (23.0 months vs. 13.0 months, p<0.001) compared to group B. The OS and PRS were similar between the groups in patients with clear cell or mucinous histology. In contrast, among patients with non-clear cell, non-mucinous histologies, the OS and PRS of group A were significantly better than those of group B (OS, p<0.001; PRS, p<0.001). Multivariable analyses revealed that, among patients with non-clear cell, non-mucinous histologies, chemotherapy including taxane and platinum was an independent predictor of favorable survival outcomes. Conversely, in patients with clear cell or mucinous histology, taxane-including platinum-based combination chemotherapy did not improve the OS and PRS compared to a conventional platinum-based regimen which did not include taxanes. CONCLUSION: Since the emergence of taxane plus platinum, the prognosis of patients with recurrent ovarian cancer has improved. However, we here demonstrate that this improvement is limited to patients with non-clear cell, non-mucinous histologies.
Drug Therapy ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Humans ; Mucins ; Ovarian Neoplasms* ; Platinum* ; Prognosis ; Taxoids