Publications by authors named "Yoshihiro Amano"

Background: The underlying pathophysiology of varying physical activity levels in patients with asthma remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the association between physical activity and air trapping, identified via chest computed tomography, in patients with asthma.

Methods: The following computed tomography analyses were used to evaluate air trapping in two cohorts (Cohort 1: 27 patients with asthma, 12 healthy individuals; Cohort 2: 90 patients with asthma, 43 healthy individuals): density analysis, focusing on air trapping characteristics during expiration, and parametric response mapping (PRM), which integrates inspiratory and expiratory computed tomography scans to categorize air trapping into small airway disease (PRM) and low-attenuation areas.

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Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors are effective for treating EGFR mutation-positive non-small cell lung cancer. However, the diversity of EGFR mutations presents a challenge, as treatment strategies for rare variants remain undefined. A 29-year-old nonsmoking man presented to his primary physician in September 2019 with back pain.

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Advanced lung cancer complicated by idiopathic interstitial pneumonia (IIP) is difficult to treat because anticancer agents can worsen IIP. The efficacy and risks of treatment remain unknown and no standard chemotherapy regimen has been established for this condition. The central institutional review board approved this study.

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Background: Increasing physical activity is recommended as a non-pharmacological approach for improving the symptoms, quality of life, and overall health in patients with asthma. However, the systemic effect of physical activity, especially sedentary behavior, in patients with asthma remains unclear.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the association of objectively measured physical activity, including sedentary time, with body composition data and clinical characteristics in patients with asthma.

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Invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) has a high fatality rate; however, its severity varies by pneumococcal serotype. Serotype 1 is often associated with empyema but typically has a low fatality rate, and IPD is rarely reported in such cases. We report the case of a 68-year-old man who developed IPD with systemic abscesses, including empyema, purulent pericardial effusion, and an intramuscular abscess in the right thigh, along with sepsis caused by serotype 1 .

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Background: Despite the poor prognosis of advanced or recurrent thymic carcinoma, the rarity of thymic carcinoma has delayed the development and introduction of novel pharmacotherapy options. Carboplatin plus paclitaxel remains a standard treatment for chemotherapy-naive advanced or recurrent thymic carcinoma. We evaluated the activity and safety of atezolizumab combined with chemotherapy.

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Background: There is an increased risk of acute exacerbation of idiopathic interstitial pneumonia when treating patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer with idiopathic interstitial pneumonia. There is no standard optimal treatment regimen for patients with lung cancer complicated with idiopathic interstitial pneumonia. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of carboplatin (CBDCA), bevacizumab (Bmab) and weekly paclitaxel (PXT) in patients with idiopathic interstitial pneumonia.

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A 61-year-old man presented to our hospital with a chief complaint of chronic cough. He was diagnosed with lung squamous cell carcinoma at clinical stage cT2aN3M1a. He received chemotherapy up to the fourth line, but both the primary tumor and lymph node metastases increased in size.

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Primary lung cancer with pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP) is a rare condition. We present a case of a patient with primary lung cancer with PAP treated with an immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI). A 62-year-old man was diagnosed with autoimmune PAP 8 years prior to current admission.

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Article Synopsis
  • A 71-year-old man with advanced lung adenocarcinoma was treated with chemotherapy and immunotherapy, specifically carboplatin, pemetrexed, and pembrolizumab, starting in June 2020.
  • He continued maintenance therapy with pemetrexed and pembrolizumab until November 2022, but developed fever and severe fatigue in December 2022, with inconclusive tests for the cause of infection.
  • The patient was suspected to have immune-related cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and improved after being treated with prednisolone, highlighting that CRS can occur long after starting immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy.
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  • Older patients (over 75) with severe respiratory failure have a high mortality rate and struggle with daily activities, notably those who are frail.
  • A study at Shimane University Hospital analyzed the outcomes of 32 patients who were intubated and ventilated, comparing frail individuals to self-sufficient ones, finding that 50% of frail patients died compared to 33% of self-sufficient patients.
  • The results highlight the poor prognosis for frail patients, underscoring the need for careful evaluation before initiating intensive care treatments like intubation and ventilation.
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  • Pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP) is a rare lung condition characterized by the buildup of surfactant in the alveoli, and whole lung lavage (WLL) is the standard treatment method.
  • A study utilized indirect calorimetry to measure carbon dioxide elimination and lung water indices before and after WLL in two PAP patients to assess the treatment's effects.
  • Results showed that WLL improved ventilation efficiency by reducing shunt and surfactant buildup, but the lavage fluid can cause an immediate increase in lung water levels post-procedure.
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Emphysema limits airflow and causes irreversible progression of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Strain differences must be considered when selecting mouse models of COPD, owing to disease complexity. We previously reported that a novel C57BL/6JJcl substrain, the Mayumi-Emphysema (ME) mouse, exhibits spontaneous emphysema; however, the other characteristics remain unknown.

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A 59-year-old man presented with esophageal achalasia complicated by lipoid pneumonia. Dysphagia and diffuse ground-glass shadows on computed tomography led to the diagnosis of esophageal achalasia. An analysis of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) revealed yellow BAL fluid, with two distinct layers.

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Purpose: In Japan, both a 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23) and a 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) are available. Although randomized controlled trials have examined the effects of pneumococcal vaccines, few epidemiological studies have investigated the onset of pneumococcal pneumonia in general practice. In Izumo, Shimane Prefecture, Japan, a public subsidy for PPSV23 inoculation began in November 2012.

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Background: Asthma is a highly heterogeneous airway disease, and the clinical characteristics of patients with asthma with preserved and reduced physical activity are poorly understood.

Objective: We aimed to investigate the risk factors and clinical phenotypes associated with reduced physical activity in a wide range of patients with asthma.

Methods: We conducted a prospective observational study of 138 patients with asthma, including patients with asthma without chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (n = 104) and asthma-COPD overlap (n = 34), and 42 healthy controls.

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We performed endocytoscopy (ECS) for the ex vivo evaluation of mesothelioma in specimens biopsied during medical thoracoscopy in three patients. We evaluated 19 biopsy specimens based on the density of nuclei and irregularity in the nuclei shape using ECS and compared them with the histopathological findings. All 10 specimens considered malignant based on ECS were diagnosed as malignant based on histopathology.

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Article Synopsis
  • - EBUS-GS enhances bronchoscopy accuracy by differentiating between benign and malignant lung lesions, which aids in correct diagnoses.
  • - A study used a convolutional neural network (CNN) to predict whether lung lesions were benign or malignant based on EBUS data, analyzing over 2 million images.
  • - The CNN achieved an accuracy of 83.4% for lesion classification, outperforming bronchoscopists, who had an accuracy of 68.4%, indicating the potential of EBUS-computer-aided systems in clinical decision-making.
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Background: Acquired pemetrexed resistance leads to treatment interruption in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). Insulin-like growth factor-I receptor (IGF-1R) inhibitor is a candidate for treating pemetrexed-naïve MPM. However, the efficacy of cytotoxic and targeted drugs in acquired-pemetrexed resistant MPM is unclear.

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  • * Chemoradiotherapy was initiated, but a single dose of radiation worsened her airway obstruction, leading to respiratory failure and the need for urgent tracheal intubation and stenting while on ECMO support.
  • * After treatment, her tumor size decreased, she had no recurrence for 3 months, and her overall health status improved, demonstrating the effectiveness of intubation and stenting for managing severe airway obstruction.
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  • - Nivolumab, an immune checkpoint inhibitor, can lead to serious immune-related interstitial lung diseases, as highlighted by a case involving a 44-year-old woman with lung metastases from breast cancer.
  • - The patient underwent various treatments, including an off-label use of nivolumab, followed by T-DM1 therapy, which led to symptoms like fever and hypoxemia, indicating possible drug-induced pneumonia linked to the treatment.
  • - There is no confirmed evidence supporting the effectiveness of nivolumab in treating breast cancer, and its off-label use raises concerns about negative impacts on future treatment options and potential severe side effects.
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Background : Although platinum-combination chemotherapy is widely used to treat advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), not all elderly patients benefit from this regimen. In this retrospective study, we aimed to evaluate whether the Glasgow Prognostic Score (GPS), an indicator of systemic inflammation and malnutrition, could predict the tolerability and efficacy of platinum-combination chemotherapy among elderly patients with NSCLC. Methods : The eligibility criteria included patients aged ≥ 70 years with NSCLC treated with first-line platinum-combination chemotherapy at Shimane University Hospital between January 2015 and December 2018.

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  • A retrospective study evaluated the effectiveness of a low-dose CT screening program for lung cancer in heavy smokers, covering 25,189 participants over a 10-year period.
  • Lung cancer was found in 82 participants, resulting in a detection rate of 0.33%, with a notable 54.9% of cases occurring in never smokers.
  • The study concluded that while the CT screening program detected lung cancer in both smokers and never smokers, it was not effective for never smokers, indicating a need for further research on its effectiveness in that group.
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Due to the emergence of immune checkpoint inhibitors, the abscopal effect has gained more attention. We report a case of extracranial abscopal effect after whole-brain irradiation therapy due to brain metastasis. After the initial abscopal effect was confirmed, a second abscopal effect was confirmed following radiation therapy for bone metastases.

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Background: Multiple synchronous ground glass nodules (GGNs) are known to be malignant, however, they tend to progress slowly. Multiple synchronous lesions in the same patient which show different characteristics must be treated individually.

Methods: This was a retrospective review of 34 lung adenocarcinoma patients with multiple synchronous GGNs in an Asian population.

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