Sorou Takeda

A case of blue rubber bleb nevus syndrome with coronary artery fistula to left ventricle

SummaryA 69-year-old female was admitted to the hospital because of tarry stool and dyspnea on exertion. Multiple hemangiomas were noticed on the tongue, right arm and abdomen. Gastrointestinal examination revealed multiple polypoid lesions in the stomach and small intestine. In addition, coronary artery-left ventricular fistula formation and pulmonary arteriovenous malformation were shown by angiography. Compared with other reported cases of blue rubber bleb nevus syndrome, the present case was unique because of the coronary artery-left ventricular fistula, heart failure and the familiar incidence of heart failure.

Improvement in Patient-Reported Outcomes and Forced Vital Capacity during Nintedanib Treatment of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive and incurable disease with limited overall survival. Nintedanib is a multikinase inhibitor, and its efficacy on IPF was demonstrated in phase III trials. However, a discrepancy exists between forced vital capacity (FVC) and patient-reported outcomes during nintedanib treatment. Accordingly, we retrospectively analyzed the effects of nintedanib on FVC and patient-reported outcomes among 25 IPF patients. Patient-reported outcomes were evaluated with modified medical research council (mMRC) grade and COPD assessment test (CAT) score. The changes in mMRC grade, CAT score, and FVC data were obtained 6 months before, at the time of, and 6 and 12 months after nintedanib introduction. Significant difference in the mMRC grade was observed only between the baseline and 6 months after treatment (improvement: p = 0.0429). By contrast, there were significant deterioration (p < 0.001) in the CAT scores between 6 months before and the baseline and significant improvement (p < 0.001) between the baseline and 6 months or 12 months after treatment. Overall, 14 patients were judged as efficient with CAT scores after 6-month treatment. Among these 14 patients, only 4 patients (28.6%) were also judged as efficient with mMRC grade. Thus, the CAT score could be more useful in the subjective assessment of IPF. Moreover, FVC was improved 6 months after nintedanib introduction in 12 out of 24 patients with the complete set of the relevant data. These results indicate that nintedanib exhibits favorable effects in IPF from both subjective and objective evaluations.

Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio after four weeks of nivolumab administration as a predictive marker in patients with pretreated non-small-cell lung cancer: NLR in NSCLC 4 weeks after nivolumab

Although phase III trials have shown improved overall and progression‐free survival (PFS) using nivolumab compared to docetaxel in patients with non‐small‐cell lung cancer, the progressive disease ratio of nivolumab is higher than docetaxel. Furthermore, nonconventional response patterns of nivolumab make it difficult to determine the time point for nivolumab discontinuation. Therefore, a method to detect non‐responders to nivolumab at an early time point is crucial. This retrospective study was conducted to identify immunological and nutritional markers, including neutrophil‐to‐lymphocyte ratios (NLR), which would predict the efficacy of nivolumab treatment. Because the expression of these markers fluctuates dramatically during treatment, repeat evaluation was performed.

Successful management of malignant carinal involvement by “side-by-side” method of self-expandable metallic stents followed by chemotherapy

Bilateral self‐expandable metallic stents may be useful in the management of malignant carinal involvement and may improve the performance status of patients. This strategy may allow patients with poor performance status to receive additional chemotherapy.

Osimertinib administration via nasogastric tube in an EGFR-T790M-positive patient with leptomeningeal metastases.

Patients with an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation are usually administered EGFR‐tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) as standard‐of‐care treatment. However, acquired resistance occurs between 9 and 13 months. The T790M‐resistant mutations are the most common, and osimertinib has been found to be effective in treating EGFR‐T790M‐positive patients. A 73‐year‐old female lung cancer patient with an EGFR‐sensitizing mutation was receiving fourth‐line chemotherapy when she complained of anorexia, headache, and irritability. A lumbar puncture showed adenocarcinoma in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), which led to the diagnosis of leptomeningeal metastasis. Her performance status (PS) deteriorated quickly and she also developed dysphagia. The EGFR mutation testing of the CSF demonstrated L858R+T790M double mutations, and an osimertinib suspension was subsequently administered through a nasogastric tube. The PS improved to 1, oral intake became possible after 20 days, and further improvements were observed by gadolinium‐enhanced magnetic resonance imaging. The patient remains progression‐free for 10 months after osimertinib administration.

“Lazarus response” of nivolumab in a frail patient with non‐small‐cell lung cancer

Lung cancer has aggressive behaviour which often progresses rapidly with disseminated disease and leads to poor performance status (PS) in patients. Because cytotoxic chemotherapy is not recommended under these conditions, there are currently no alternative therapeutic options other than providing supportive care. Immune checkpoint inhibitors have been developed, but their efficacy and tolerability have not been fully investigated in patients with poor PS.

Successful treatment of limited-stage small-cell lung cancer in the right mainstem bronchus by a combination of chemotherapy and argon plasma coagulation

The current standard-of-care treatment for patients with limited-stage small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) is concurrent chemoradiotherapy for local and systemic control. However, standard-of-care treatment strategies have not been established for those with limited-stage SCLC who have a history of thoracic radiotherapy due to concerns with complications associated with radiation overdose. A 37-year-old male developed an aspergilloma in the postoperative left thoracic space after he was treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy for mediastinal type lung adenocarcionoma and subsequent left upper lobectomy for heterochronous dual adenocarcinoma. Fiberoptic bronchoscopy was performed to examine the status of the suspected bronchopleural fistula when a polypoid mass was observed in the right mainstem bronchus. A histological examination showed that the mass was SCLC at a clinical stage of cTisN0M0, stageIA, without local invasion. Since thoracic radiotherapy was not an option due to a previous history of thoracic irradiation, a combination treatment of carboplatin and etoposide was administered for 4 cycles and resulted in good partial response. In addition, argon plasma coagulation (APC) was performed as an alternative to curative radiotherapy on day 22 of the 4th cycle. The 5th cycle was administered 7 days after APC at which the anticancer therapy was completed. The patient remains disease-free 60 months after the completion of treatment, which suggests that this combination therapy may resolve very early-stage SCLC.

Acute Monocytic Leukemia Masquerading Behçet's Disease-Like Illness at Onset in an Elderly Female.

A previously healthy 74-year-old Japanese female was hospitalized with fever and high C-reactive protein. She developed palatal herpangina-like aphthous ulcers, localized intestinal wall thickening, terminal ileum ulcers, and an erythematous acneiform rash; thus Behçets disease-like illness was suspected. Significant peripheral blood acute monocytosis developed during her hospitalization and acute monocytic leukemia (FAB M5b) with normal karyotype was diagnosed. By immunostaining, the infiltrating cells in the skin and the terminal ileum were identified as monocytic leukemic cells. This case exhibited a unique initial presentation of Behçets disease-like illness associated with acute monocytic leukemia.