Nanomedicine allows achievement of tumor-selective drug delivery because of the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect of solid tumors. We report here the first clinical application of a new agent-HPMA copolymer-conjugated pirarubicin (P-THP)-with a molecular size of about 8 nm, or 38.5 kDa. A patient had advanced prostate cancer with multiple metastases in the lung, pelvis, femur, and perhaps the sacrum. In April 2013, this 60-year-old patient started treatment with leuprorelin and estradiol, which continued until July 2014, but the patient became refractory to this treatment. So the patient underwent proton beam radiotherapy targeted to the primary prostate cancer, and P-THP was administered for numerous metastatic tumor nodules concomitantly with radiotherapy. This combination therapy had remarkable results, with complete remission of multiple metastases in the lung and bone. The prostate-specific antigen (PSA) value was decreased from about 1000 ng/mL on April 30, 2013, to about 100 ng/mL on June 24, 2013, with hormone therapy, but rose again to 964.2 ng/mL and then to 1472 ng/mL in July 2013, during leuprorelin administration. P-THP treatment administered concomitantly with proton beam irradiation was started in August 2013. The PSA value was decreased to 102 ng/mL on August 26, 2013, and then to 0.971 ng/mL on October 8, 2013, and 0.277 ng/mL on January 15, 2015. The P-THP doses ranged from 30 to 75 mg of free THP equivalent/patient every 2-3 weeks without signs of serious toxicity, such as cardiovascular side effects or a reduction in quality of life. No evidence of relapse was found more than 20 months after P-THP administration. This case demonstrates the value of hydrazone-bonded polymeric drugs in multimodal therapy.

The American Academy of Dermatology published a new guideline regarding topical therapy in atopic dermatitis in May 2014. Although topical steroid addiction or red burning skin syndrome had been mentioned as possible side effects of topical steroids in a 2006 review article in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, no statement was made regarding this illness in the new guidelines. This suggests that there are still controversies regarding this illness. Here, we describe the clinical features of topical steroid addiction or red burning skin syndrome, based on the treatment of many cases of the illness. Because there have been few articles in the medical literature regarding this illness, the description in this article will be of some benefit to better understand the illness and to spur discussion regarding topical steroid addiction or red burning skin syndrome.

Hypercalcemia developed in a 34‐year‐old woman with a clear cell carcinoma of the ovary. Osseous involvement with the tumor cells was not present. Primary hyperpara‐thyroidism was absent. Operative partial resection of the metastatic supraclavicular lymph node, followed by radiation therapy, decreased her serum calcium concentrations. This case belongs to the category of humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy (HHM). Detection of a significant quantity of immunoreactive parathyroid hormone‐related protein (PTH‐rP) in the metastatic lymph node suggested that the HHM of the patient was induced by PTH‐rP produced by the tumor. From a review of 17 cases of ovarian tumors showing HHM‐like morbidity, it was found that clear cell carcinoma and cystadenocar‐cinoma were the major types of ovarian tumors associated with HHM.

Topical corticosteroids (TCS) are regarded as the mainstay treatment for atopic dermatitis (AD). As AD has a tendency to heal naturally, the long-term efficacy of TCS in AD management should be compared with the outcomes seen in patients with AD not using TCS. However, there are few long-term studies that consider patients with AD not using TCS. We designed a prospective multicenter cohort study to assess the clinical outcomes in patients with AD who did not use TCS for 6 months and then compared our results with an earlier study by Furue et al which considered AD patients using TCS over 6 months. Our patients’ clinical improvement was comparable with the patients described in Furue’s research. In light of this, it is reasonable for physicians to manage AD patients who decline TCS, as the expected long-term prognosis is similar whether they use TCS or not.

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