Background/Aim: We investigated the impact of the age-adjusted Charlson comorbidity index (ACCI) on esophageal cancer survival and recurrence after curative treatment. Patients and Methods: This study included 122 patients who underwent curative surgery followed by adjuvant chemotherapy for esophageal cancer between 2005 and 2017. The risk factors for the overall survival (OS) and recurrencefree survival (RFS) were identified. Results: An ACCI of 5 was regarded as the optimal critical point of classification considering the survival rates. The OS rates at 3 and 5 years after surgery were 64.2% and 54.4% in the low-ACCI group, respectively, and 42.3% and 29.2% in high-ACCI group, respectively (p=0.035). The RFS rates at 3 and 5 years after surgery were 50.2% and 43.6% in the low-ACCI group, respectively, and 28.5% and 21.3% in high-ACCI group, respectively (p=0.021). A multivariate analysis demonstrated that ACCI was a significant independent risk factor for both the OS and RFS. Conclusion: ACCI is a risk factor for survival in patients who undergo curative treatment for esophageal cancer. An effective plan for the perioperative care and surgical strategy should be developed according to ACCI. Esophageal cancer is the seventh-most common cancer and the sixth leading cause of cancer-related mortality. An 2783 This article is freely accessible online.

Growth-stimulating activities of basic and acidic fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) toward human breast epithelial cells were examined and compared with the mitogenic activity of bovine pituitary extract (BPE) by the use of a serum-free medium which contained epidermal growth factor, insulin, transferrin, hydrocortisone, ethanolamine, phosphoethanolamine, prolactin and prostaglandin. Addition of 1 ng/ml of basic FGF (bFGF) to the serum-free medium significantly enhanced the growth potential of epithelial cells derived from human breast carcinoma, and the number of cells grown for 7 days with bFGF was more than 1 1/2 times higher than that in the serum-free medium containing BPE instead of prolactin and prostaglandin. Growth responsiveness toward bFGF of epithelial cells derived from histologically non-malignant breast tissues was lower than that of carcinoma-derived cells, and the growth-stimulating activity of bFGF was lower than that of BPE, which could significantly enhance the growth potential of the cells. Contrary to bFGF, acidic FGF at 1 ng/ml had no significant effect on the growth potential of breast epithelial cells which had grown out from either carcinoma or non-malignant tissues. The present results suggest that bFGF is a putative growth-stimulating factor for human breast epithelial cells, especially for carcinoma-derived cells, and can substitute at least in part for BPE in serum-free monolayer culture of the cells.

In this study, we aimed to (1) translate the English version of the Kinesthetic and Visual Imagery Questionnaire (KVIQ), which assesses motor imagery ability, into Japanese, and (2) investigate the reliability and validity of the Japanese KVIQ. We enrolled 28 healthy adults in this study. We used Cronbach’s alpha coefficients to assess reliability reflected by the internal consistency. Additionally, we assessed validity reflected by the criterion-related validity between the Japanese KVIQ and the Japanese version of the Movement Imagery Questionnaire-Revised (MIQ-R) with Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for the KVIQ-20 were 0.88 (Visual) and 0.91 (Kinesthetic), which indicates high reliability. There was a significant positive correlation between the Japanese KVIQ-20 (Total) and the Japanese MIQ-R (Total) (r = 0.86, p < 0.01). Our results suggest that the Japanese KVIQ is an assessment that is a reliable and valid index of motor imagery ability.

Five cell lines were established from four undifferentiated carcinomas and one squamous cell carcinoma of the thyroid. The levels of several kinds of cytokines were measured in the conditioned media of these cell lines by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Interleukin-6 (IL-6) was produced by four of the five cell lines, interleukin-1 alpha (IL-1 alpha) by three cell lines, and granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) by two cell lines. The mRNA of IL-1 alpha or IL-6 was detected by Northern blot analysis in all the cell lines which secreted these cytokines into culture medium. These results suggest that undifferentiated carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma of the thyroid frequently produce cytokines. Further studies are needed to clarify the possible clinical effects of these cytokines in patients with thyroid carcinoma.

Background Most evidence regarding lateral lymph node dissection for rectal cancer is from expert settings. This study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of this procedure in a practice-based cohort. Methods A total of 383 patients who were diagnosed with stage II–III mid-to-low rectal cancer between 2010 and 2019 and underwent primary resection with curative intent at a general surgery unit were retrospectively reviewed. After propensity matching, 144 patients were divided into the following groups for short- and long-term outcome evaluation: mesorectal excision with lateral lymph node dissection (n = 72) and mesorectal excision (n = 72). Results This practice-based cohort was characterized by a high pT4 (41.6%) and R1 resection (10.4%) rate. Although the operative time was longer in the lateral dissection group (349 min vs. 237 min, p < 0.001), postoperative complications (19.4% vs. 16.7%, p = 0.829), and hospital stay (18 days vs. 22 days, p = 0.059) did not significantly differ; 5-year relapse-free survival (62.5% vs. 66.4%, p = 0.378), and cumulative local recurrence (9.7% vs. 15.3%, p = 0.451) were also in the same range in both groups. In the seven locally recurrent cases in the lateral dissection group, four had undergone R1 resection. Conclusions Lateral lymph node dissection was found to be safe in this practice-based cohort; however, the local control effect was not obvious. To maximize the potential merits of lateral lymph node dissection, strategies need to be urgently established to avoid R1 resection in clinical practice.

Background/Aim: This study was designed to investigate gender-related differences in changes in bone metabolism after gastric cancer surgery. Patients and Methods: We prospectively recruited 47 patients (38 males and 9 females) who had early gastric cancer. The bone mineral density (BMD), serum levels of 1,25-dihydroxy vitamin D (1,25(OH) 2 VD), 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25(OH)VD), and estradiol (E2) were measured before and after surgery. Results: BMD significantly decreased 12 months after surgery by median degrees of 3.4% and 3.9% in male and female patients, respectively (p<0.001 and p=0.023). There was no significant difference between both genders in the rate of change in BMD after surgery. The serum E2 level in male patients significantly increased by a median value of 22 pg/ml 12 months after gastrectomy (p=0.030). Both the serum 25(OH)VD and 1,25(OH) 2 VD levels remained nearly within the normal range throughout the observation period in both male and female patients. Conclusion: BMD significantly decreased within 12 months after gastrectomy in both male and female patients with gastric cancer, and there was no significant gender-related difference in the rate of change in BMD.

Aim: Recent studies have reported that the albuminto-globulin ratio (AGR) may be a useful inflammatorynutritional biomarker to predict postoperative complications and poor prognosis in various types of patients with cancer. However, its prognostic value in patients with esophageal cancer is still unclear. We aimed to examine the utility of the AGR for predicting the short-and long-term outcomes in patients with esophageal cancer who underwent curative resection. Patients and Methods: This was a retrospective cohort analysis reviewing the medical records of consecutive patients who underwent esophagectomy for clinical stage I to III esophageal cancer at Yokohama City University. A total of 105 patients were identified between 2005 and 2018. The overall survival (OS), recurrencefree survival (RFS), and postoperative complication rates were compared between patients with high AGR (>1.48) and those with low AGR (≤1.48) group. Results: A total of 57 and 48 patients were classified into the high and low AGR groups, respectively. There was no significant difference between the two groups in the rate of overall postoperative complications of more than p=0.85). The long-term findings showed that 5-year OS and RFS rates were significantly better for the group with a high AGR (67.2% vs. 33.8%, p<0.001 and 51.6% vs. 28.5%, p=0.003, respectively). Conclusion: This study suggests that a low preoperative AGR is a risk factor for poor RFS and OS in patients who are planning to undergo curative surgery for esophageal cancer. AGR may be a useful biomarker for establishing treatment strategies to improve patients' survival.

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