Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) elicit antitumour effects by activating the host immunity and cause immune-related adverse events (irAes). ici-related interstitial lung disease (ici-iLD) is a fatal irAE that is difficult to treat; moreover, its incidence is relatively higher in patients with lung cancer. therefore, early ici-iLD detection and intervention are important for patient safety. However, a risk assessment method for ici-iLD has not been established and the prediction of ici-iLD occurrence is difficult. The aim of our study was to identify the risk factors associated with ICI-ILD. To this end, we retrospectively analysed 102 patients with lung cancer who first received ICI and completed the treatment between April 2016 and December 2019 at Tokushima University Hospital. Nineteen patients had all grades of ICI-ILD and 10 had grade ≥ 3 ICI-ILD. The 30-day mortality rate of patients with grade ≥ 3 ICI-ILD was the highest among all patients (P < 0.01). The multivariate logistic analysis indicated that the performance status ≥ 2 alone and both performance status ≥ 2 and ≥ 50 pack-year were independent risk factors of ICI-ILD of grade ≥ 3 and all grades, respectively. Overall, our study provides insights to predict ici-iLD occurrence. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are antibodies that inhibit programmed death-1 (PD-1), PD ligand-1 (PD-L1), and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen-4 (CTLA-4), which are called immune checkpoint molecules. These molecules negatively regulate the host immunity; thus, the inhibition of these molecules activates the host immunity and exerts cross-organ antitumour effects 1. In the treatment of lung cancer, some clinical trials have revealed that the administration of ICI alone and in combination with cytotoxic anticancer agents resulted in better clinical outcomes than previous standard treatments; thus, the use of ICI significantly improved lung cancer treatment 2-4. However, the activation of the host immunity by ICI leads to characteristic adverse events, known as immune-related adverse events (irAEs), which exhibit profiles different from those caused by cytotoxic anticancer agents 5,6. Therefore, the management of irAEs is essential for an effective ICI treatment. These irAEs affect various organs, such as the skin, endocrine glands, gastrointestinal tract, and liver, but only a few events are fatal because the majority of them can be controlled by adequate treatment 5,7. Specifically, ICI-related interstitial lung disease (ICI-ILD) has a low incidence (1-5%) and a high severity or mortality rate, according to clinical trials (50-60%) 8,9. Patients with lung cancer are known to have relatively higher ICI-ILD rates than those with other cancers 10. A prospective study of patients with lung cancer reported that the incidence of ICI-ILD was 14.5%, which is higher than that in clinical trials 11. ICI-ILD has also been reported to affect the prognosis of patients with lung cancer 11,12 .

From 2002 to 2018, the number of patients with prostate cancer significantly increased from 679,023 to 1276,106 worldwide. Total prostatectomy (including robot-assisted prostatectomy), radiation therapy, and pharmacological treatment are commonly used to treat prostate cancer. The Chief of the Pharmaceutical Safety Division, that is, the Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers’ Associations of Japan (FPMAJ), recently called for the revision of package inserts for ethical drugs. However, the pathogenesis of interstitial lung disease (ILD), a serious drug-induced adverse effect, remains unclear. Moreover, there have been no large-scale evaluations of potential complications associated with currently used antiandrogens, which are commonly employed to treat prostate cancer. Hence, ILD, as an adverse event, remains poorly understood. Therefore, we conducted a survey of reports in the Japanese Adverse Drug Event Report (JADER) database to investigate the potential association between the reporting of ILD and antiandrogen drug use in clinical practice. The occurrence of ILD was investigated by evaluating the relationship between antiandrogen drug use and ILD. Adverse event signals were detected with reporting odds ratios (RORs), using data from the JADER and FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) databases, for the analysis of post-marketing adverse event reports. The JADER was used to examine the time profile of adverse event occurrence for each drug, whereas the FAERS was used to screen cases of unknown adverse events and analyze their trends of occurrence. The analysis of data from both databases revealed the 95% confidence interval lower limits of ROR for bicalutamide and flutamide to be &gt; 1, and adverse event signals were detected following the use of either drug. While caution should be exercised for drugs that are new to the market, we conclude that drugs with similar therapeutic effects that have been in use for a long period should also be re-examined for potential adverse events.

Nausea, vomiting, and renal injury are the common adverse effects associated with cisplatin.Cisplatin is excreted via the multidrug and toxin release (MATE) transporter, and the involvement of the MATE transporter in cisplatin-induced kidney injury has been reported. The MATE transporter is also involved in the excretion of ondansetron, but the effects of 5-HT 3 receptor antagonists used clinically for cisplatin-induced renal injury have not been elucidated. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of 5-HT 3 receptor antagonists in a mouse model of cisplatin-induced kidney injury and to validate the results using medical big data analysis of more than 1.4 million reports and a survey of 3,000 hospital medical records. The concomitant use of a first-generation 5-HT 3 receptor antagonist (ondansetron, granisetron, or ramosetron) significantly increased cisplatin accumulation in the kidney and worsened renal damage.Conversely, the concomitant use of palonosetron had no effect on renal function compared with the use of cisplatin alone. Furthermore, an analysis of data from the US Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System and retrospective medical records revealed that the combination treatment of cisplatin and a first-generation 5-HT 3 receptor antagonist significantly increased the number of reported renal adverse events compared with the combination treatment of cisplatin and a second-generation 5-HT 3 receptor antagonist. These results suggest that compared with the first-generation antagonists, second-generation 5-HT 3 receptor antagonists do not worsen cisplatin-induced acute kidney injury. The findings should be validated in a prospective controlled trial before implementation in clinical practice.

Background In patients treated with bevacizumab, hypertension may be a biomarker of therapeutic efficacy. However, it is not clear whether drugs that control blood pressure influence bevacizumab's efficacy. In this study, we investigated drugs that may affect hypertension in bevacizumab‐treated patients and examined the impact on the therapeutic effect. Patients and methods We analyzed 3,724,555 reports from the third quarter of 2010 to the second quarter of 2015. All data were obtained from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) analysis. In this retrospective cohort study, we investigated a total of 58 patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer and treated for the first time with bevacizumab containing XELOX or mFOLFOX6 at The University of Tokushima Hospital between January 2010 and December 2015. The effect of the treatment was evaluated according to Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors version 1.0. Thereafter, the effect was confirmed using Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and cultured cells. Results There are few reports in FAERS of hypertension in patients treated with omeprazole on bevacizumab. Based on the chart review, patients who used proton pump inhibitors (PPI) had a lower response to treatment than those who did not (response rate: 25% vs 50%). Furthermore, experiments on GEO and cell lines suggested that induction of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) gene expression by PPIs is the cause of the reduced therapeutic effect. Conclusion PPIs prevent hypertension in bevacizumab‐treated patients but may reduce bevacizumab's anti‐tumoral effects by inducing VEGF expression.

Background Traumatic esophageal injury leads to severe complications such as mediastinitis, pyothorax, and tracheoesophageal fistula. Although prompt diagnosis and treatment are required, there are no established protocols to guide diagnosis or treatment. In particular, thoracic esophageal injury tends to be diagnosed later than cervical esophageal injury because it has few specific symptoms. We report a case of thoracic esophageal injury caused by a cervical stab wound; the patient was stabbed with a sharp blade. Case presentation A 74-year-old woman was attacked with a knife while sleeping at home. The patient was taken to the emergency room with an injury localized to the left section of her neck. She was suspected of a left jugular vein and recurrent laryngeal nerve injury from cervical hematoma and hoarseness. On the day following the injury, computed tomography revealed a thoracic esophageal injury. Emergency surgery was performed for an esophageal perforation and mediastinal abscesses. Although delayed diagnosis resulted in suture failure, the patient was able to resume oral intake of food a month later following enteral feeding with a gastrostomy. Esophageal injuries due to sharp trauma are rare, and most are cervical esophageal injuries. There are very few reports on thoracic esophageal injuries. Conclusions The possibility of thoracic esophageal injury should always be considered when dealing with neck stab wounds, particularly those caused by an attack.

A recent in vitro study reported that the photoinitiator 2-isopropylthioxanthone (2-ITX) is an endocrine-disrupting compound (EDC). However, it is not clear whether other photoinitiators such as 1-hydroxycyclohexyl phenyl ketone (1-HCHPK) and 2-methyl-4'-(methylthio)-2-morpholinopropiophenone (MTMP) produce endocrine-disrupting effects. The purpose of this study was thus to assess the association between estrogenic activity and exposure to photoinitiators. For estimation of the proliferative effect of the photoinitiators, the E-screen assay was used. Six photoinitiators, 2,2-dimethoxy-2-phenylacetophenone (2,2-DMPAP), 2-ethylhexyl 4-(dimethylamino)benzoate (2-EHDAB), 1-HCHPK, 2-ITX, methyl-2-benzoylbenzoate (MBB), and MTMP, significantly increased number of MCF-7 cells, an estrogen-sensitive human breast cancer cell line. In addition, pretreatment with estrogen receptor (ER) antagonists such as clomiphene, tamoxifen, or fulvestrant, significantly reversed the proliferative effect of each photoinitiator. Data demonstrated that the six photoinitiators produced endocrine-disrupting effects and that these photoinitiators interacted with ER as agonists. Evidence indicates that the six photoinitiators demonstrated estrogenic activity via ER as agonists.

Atherosclerosis-related acute aortic syndromes, such as aortic aneurysms or aortic dissection are life-threatening diseases. Since they develop suddenly and progress rapidly, the establishment of preventive strategies is urgently needed. Quercetin, a flavonoid abundant in various vegetables and fruits, is suggested to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Therefore, in this study, the preventive effect of quercetin was evaluated using a mouse model of aortic aneurysm and dissection. The model was established by administering angiotensin II (Ang II) and β-aminopropionitrile (BAPN), a lysyl oxidase inhibitor, to mice to induce hypertension and degeneration of the elastic lamina, which would eventually result in the onset of an aortic aneurysm. Ang II, BAPN, and a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor was administered to induce aortic dissection via endothelial dysfunction. Quercetin (60 mg/kg/day) was administered 2 weeks before inducing aortic diseases by the end of the experiments (8 weeks in the aneurysm model, 6 weeks in the dissection model). It was found to reduce the incidence of aneurysm (from 72 to 45%), dissection (from 17 to 10%), and rupture (from 33 to 15%) in mice. Elastin degradation was ameliorated in the quercetin-treated mice compared to that in the mice without quercetin treatment (degradation score 2.9 ± 0.3 vs 2.2 ± 0.2). Furthermore, quercetin suppressed the expression of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, macrophage infiltration, and pro-matrix metalloproteinase-9 activity. Our results suggest that quercetin might prevent the onset of atherosclerosis-related acute aortic syndromes through its anti-inflammatory and endothelial cell-protective effects.

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