Takuro Saito

Osaka Police Hospital | OPH · Department of Gastroenterological Surgery

While progenitor-exhausted T cells (Tpex) expressing TCF1 and PD-1 are crucial for the therapeutic effect of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs; therapeutic anti–PD-1 antibodies), the dynamics of ICI-bound Tpex are not fully understood. In this study, we investigated ICI-bound T cells in detail using combined sequencing analysis at the single cell...

Background CCR8-expressing regulatory T cells (Tregs) are selectively localized within tumors and have gained attention as potent suppressors of anti-tumor immunity. This study focused on CCR8⁺ Tregs and their interaction with CD8⁺ T cells in the tumor microenvironment of human lung cancer. We evaluated their spatial distribution impact on CD8⁺ T c...

DNA methylation is a pivotal epigenetic modification that defines cellular identity. While cell deconvolution utilizing this information is considered useful for clinical practice, current methods for deconvolution are limited in their accuracy and resolution. In this study, we collected DNA methylation data from 945 human samples derived from vari...

Bacterial flora are present in various parts of the human body, including the intestine, and are thought to be involved in the etiology of various diseases such as multiple sclerosis, intestinal diseases, cancer, and uterine diseases. In recent years, the presence of bacterial 16S rRNA genes has been revealed in blood, which was previously thought...

Objectives Flexible endoscopy does not have a system that can automatically evacuate surgical smoke generated in the gastrointestinal lumen. We aimed to investigate the feasibility and potential usefulness of automatic smoke evacuation systems in flexible endoscopy. Methods [Bench] After surgical smoke generated in the stomach was evacuated by the...

As Japanese society ages, the number of surgeries performed in elderly patients with hiatal hernia (HH) is increasing. In this study, we examined the feasibility, safety, and potential effectiveness of the addition of anterior gastropexy to hiatoplasty with or without mesh repair and/or fundoplication in elderly Japanese HH patients. We retrospecti...

Background CCR8-expressing regulatory T cells (Tregs) are selectively localized within tumors and have gained attention as potent suppressors of anti-tumor immunity. This study focused on CCR8⁺ Tregs and their interaction with CD8⁺ T cells in the tumor microenvironment of human lung cancer. We evaluated their spatial distribution impact on CD8⁺ T c...

Introduction: Surgical site infection (SSI) poses a substantial postoperative challenge, affecting patient recovery and healthcare costs. While surgical wound irrigation is pivotal in SSI reduction, consensus on the optimal method remains elusive. We developed a novel device for surgical wound irrigation and conducted preclinical and clinical eval...

Background No reliable marker has been identified to predict postoperative recurrence of gastric cancer. We designed a clinical trial to investigate the utility of serum NY-ESO-1 antibody responses as a predictive marker for postoperative recurrence in gastric cancer. Methods A multicenter prospective study was conducted between 2012 and 2021. Pat...

Background Multidisciplinary treatment combining chemotherapy, chemo radiation therapy (CRT), and surgery has been utilized for advanced esophageal cancer. However, preoperative treatment could cause postoperative inflammation and complications. We hypothesized that fibrosis surrounding tumor tissue caused by preoperative treatment could induce pos...

Approximately 10% of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) harbor reportedly no KIT and PDGFRA mutations (wild‐type GISTs). The clinicopathological features and oncologic outcomes of wild‐type GISTs based on molecular profiles are unknown. We recruited 35 wild‐type GIST patients from the two registry studies of high‐risk GISTs between 2012 and 20...

Imatinib contributes to improving prognosis of high-risk or unresectable gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs). As therapeutic efficacy is limited by imatinib resistance and toxicity, the exploration of predictive markers of imatinib therapeutic efficacy that enables patients to utilize more effective therapeutic strategies remains urgent. The co...

Background A diaphragmatic hernia is a prolapse of the abdominal organs into the thoracic cavity through a hole in the diaphragm. Traumatic diaphragmatic injuries are rare and usually occur after blunt or penetrating thoracic or abdominal traumas. Blunt diaphragmatic rupture rarely accounts for immediate mortality and may go clinically silent until...

Background: Fogging and staining of a laparoscope lens negatively impact surgical visualization. We hypothesized that the disposable hot pack could not only warm but also clean laparoscopes. Hence, this study verified and developed the disposable hot pack with anti-fogging and cleaning function. Material and methods: The laparoscope was inserted...

Background Severe scoliosis can cause reflux esophagitis, and is a risk factor for Barrett's adenocarcinoma of the esophagus. Severe scoliosis is associated with respiratory dysfunction, impaired operative tolerance, and anatomical difficulty in surgical manipulation, and is, therefore, considered a high surgical risk. In this report, we describe t...

To investigate the indications for neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) in esophageal cancer patients aged 75 years or older. We analyzed data, retrospectively, from 155 patients over 75 years old, who underwent esophagectomy for esophageal cancer between 2010 and 2020. Forty-one patients underwent upfront surgery (US group) and 114 were treated with NAC...

Body weight loss (BWL) is a serious complication of gastrectomy in patients with gastric cancer (GC). Nutritional intervention alone is inadequate for preventing BWL, and a new approach is needed. Oral frailty among older adults has recently attracted attention. This study aimed to investigate masticatory ability and BWL after gastrectomy. This was...

Background Familial gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are mesenchymal tumors of the digestive tract caused by germline gain-of-function mutations in the KIT gene or platelet-derived growth factor receptor alpha gene ( PDGFRA ). These mutations cause not only multiple GISTs but also diffuse hyperplasia of interstitial cells of Cajal (ICCs), wh...

Introduction Regulatory T cells (Tregs) have attracted attention as a novel therapeutic target to augment the clinical efficacy of immunotherapy. We conducted phase Ia and Ib trials to examine the safety and efficacy of the anti-CCR4 antibody, KW-0761 (mogamulizumab), which may eliminate effector Tregs (eTregs). We herein overviewed the results of...

Cisplatin is one of the most predominant drugs for the chemotherapy of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC); however, the underlying resistance mechanisms are still almost unknown. The present study performed RNA sequencing of human circular RNA (circRNA) in TE11 cells and cisplatin-resistant TE11 cells (TE11R). The expression profiles determi...

This is the first study to determine the clinical importance of circulating bacterial DNA in patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC). We performed 16S rRNA metagenomic analysis of serum extracellular vesicles (EVs) from 88 patients with RCC and 10 healthy donors and identified three abundant bacterial DNA: Bacteroidia, TM7-1, and Sphingomonadales....

Background Esophagectomy has a great impact on patients’ nutritional status. Particularly for the patients with past medical history of gastrectomy, there is a concern that surgical procedure of esophagectomy accommpanying remnant gastrectomy may potentially deteriorate nutritional status more than standard esophagectomy, resulting in excessive bod...

Background The treatment efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) is limited, and biomarkers that identify responders are urgently needed. We investigated whether C-reactive protein (CRP) kinetics are associated with the treatment efficacy of ICIs and prognosis in oesophagogastric cancers. Methods We analysed 76 gastric cancer patients trea...

Background and aims: In our previous study, we visualized and systematically evaluated gas leakage from the forceps plug of the gastrointestinal endoscope system using the Schlieren system. In order to minimize the potential risk of infection from gas leakage from the gastrointestinal endoscope, the development of a new forceps plug was considered...

Background: The optimal treatment strategy for cT4b esophageal cancer has not been established yet. Although curative surgery is sometimes performed after induction treatments, the prognostic factor of cT4b esophageal cancer cases who underwent R0 resection remains unknown. Methods: A total of 200 patients with cT4b esophageal cancer who underwe...

Background: The surgical procedure for esophagogastric junction (EGJ) adenocarcinoma usually depends on the location of its epicenter or proximal margin, but accurate evaluation of these positions is often difficult. The usefulness of positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) for this purpose is unknown. Methods: Between June 200...

Introduction: There is an ongoing concern about the potential infectious risk due to pneumoperitoneal gas leakage from surgical trocars in laparoscopic surgery. We aimed to visually confirm the presence of leakage from trocars and investigate the changes in the leakage scale according to intra-abdominal pressures and trocar types. Material and meth...

Background: Although intramural metastasis (IM) in esophageal cancer is considered a poor prognostic factor, there are only limited reports detailing its clinicopathologic characteristics and prognostic impact. Patients and methods: We retrospectively included patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) with esophagectomy at our inst...

Background: Opportunities for T4b esophageal cancer patients to receive curative surgery are increasing with the development of multidisciplinary treatments. However, the best modality to accurately diagnose infiltration to the organs surrounding T4b esophageal cancer is still unknown. The aim of this study was to determine the performance of CT a...

Background Application of laparoscopic gastrectomy (LG) to advanced gastric cancer is still controversial due to lack of sufficient surgical and oncological outcomes. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the feasibility of LG for advanced gastric cancer by multicenter prospective cohort study. Methods A total of 98 patients with clinical sta...

Background The treatment efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) is limited, and biomarkers that identify responders are urgently needed. We investigated whether C-reactive protein (CRP) kinetics are associated with the treatment efficacy of ICIs and prognosis in upper gastrointestinal cancers. Methods We analysed 76 gastric cancer patient...

Background: Exon 18 D842V, which is a point mutation from aspartic acid to valine at codon 842, is the most frequent mutation in Platelet-Derived Growth Factor Receptor alpha (PDGFRA)-mutated gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST). In the Japanese GIST guidelines, no standard systematic therapy is available for this type of GIST, which is refractor...

Background: Tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs) are ectopic lymphoid aggregates in non-lymphoid tissues, which are associated with improved prognosis in some cancer types. This study aimed to investigate the clinical significance of TLSs in oesophageal cancer (EC). Methods: In a series of 316 EC surgical specimens from two different institutes,...

Background: Imatinib mesylate (IM) is the standard chemotherapy for patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) and has a favorable safety profile. Pharmacokinetics (PK), such as plasma trough concentration (Cmin), varies among patients, requiring the need for therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) during IM administration. Despite some repor...

Background: The efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) correlates with patient survival in oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), but optimal evaluation of the treatment response based on PET-CT parameters has not been established. Methods: We analysed 226 OSCC patients who underwent PET-CT before and after NACT followed by surgery. We...

Despite the effectiveness of imatinib, most gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) develop resistance to the treatment, mainly due to the reactivation of KIT tyrosine kinase activity. Sunitinib, which inhibits the phosphorylation of KIT and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptor, has been established as second‐line therapy for GISTs. T...

PurposeThis study aimed to characterize postoperative blood glucose fluctuation in patients who underwent esophagectomy for esophageal cancer, and to define its impact on complications and prognosis. Methods The subjects of this retrospective study were 284 patients who underwent esophagectomy at Osaka University Hospital between 2015 and 2017. Dat...

Background: During laparoscopic surgery, visualization is fogged due to the influence of temperature. Fogging on the laparoscopic lens heightens the difficulty of the procedure. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyse thermodynamics in laparoscopy. Material and methods: A temperature sensor was attached to the laparoscopic tip and the ab...

Studies have shown that neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) followed by surgical resection improves the survival of patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), and that the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) nay be a prognostic biomarker in various types of cancer. Despite the noTable changes in the tumor and its microenvironment during N...

Surgical treatment of gastric tube cancer after thoracic gastrectomy is highly invasive, especially for gastric tube cancer of the posterior mediastinal tract, and in some cases, a reduction surgery is an option. We have experienced 4 cases of posterior mediastinal reconstructive gastric tube cancer in which local resection by thoracoscopic and end...

An 81-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with a 24-mm peripancreatic aneurysm and occlusion of the celiac artery on abdominal contrast-enhanced CT for preoperative screening of gastric cancer. Angiography showed severe stenosis at the origin of the celiac artery and an aneurysm in the anterior superior pancreaticoduodenal artery for which co...

Background Preoperative risk assessment is important in older patients because they often have comorbidities and impaired organ function. We performed preoperative comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) for older patients with esophageal cancer.Patients and MethodsA total of 217 patients over 75 years old who underwent esophagectomy for thoracic...

Background: Although perioperative treatment has been the standard of care for resectable gastric cancer in the West, postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy is still the standard in Japan. We conducted the first phase 2 trial to investigate the efficacy and safety of neoadjuvant docetaxel, oxaliplatin, and S-1 (DOS) chemotherapy for cStage III gastri...

Background and aimsWith the global epidemic of SARS-CoV-2, there has been a growing concern regarding the risk of aerosol exposure to healthcare workers and patients during medical/surgical interventions. The Schlieren device is capable of visualizing fine gas-flows by using refractive index differences in the medium. We aimed to reveal the existen...

Background Optimal visualization and safety have always been essential in performing any type of endoscopic surgery. However, the safety of automatic gastrointestinal (GI) insufflation has yet to be thoroughly studied, especially when combined with manual insufflation. The current study aimed to verify whether the pressure limiter could lower GI en...

Background Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is one of the most severe cancers and is characterized by chemotherapy resistance and poor prognosis associated with epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). In a previous study, a low mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) copy number was associated with poorer prognosis and induced EMT in ESCC. However, the...

Background The very-low-voltage (VLV) mode in electrosurgery can stably and deeply energize tissues even if the local electrical resistance changes with energization. Therefore, in electrosurgical hemostasis, the VLV mode is more reliable than other coagulation modes. In clinical practice, the appropriate use of combined saline drip and blood sucti...

Background: Surgery for esophageal cancer (EC) causes morphological and functional changes in the upper gastrointestinal tract, resulting in postoperative weight loss (PWL). PWL has been shown to lead to poor nutritional status and immunocompetence, which may worsen the prognosis for several types of cancer. However, few reports have examined the...

Background Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have revolutionized cancer treatment. Since clinical benefits are limited to a subset of patients, we aimed to identify peripheral blood biomarkers that predict the efficacy of the anti-programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) antibody (nivolumab) in patients with gastric cancer. Methods We collected pe...

Carney–Stratakis syndrome (CSS) is a familial syndrome characterized by gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) and paragangliomas, often at multiple sites. A 34‐year‐old woman who had undergone resection of gastric GISTs, liver metastases, and a retroperitoneal paraganglioma in her previous hospital was referred to our hospital due to recurrence a...

Background: A synthetic peptide 'TDM-623' is a promising hemostatic material for endoscopic surgery in the gastrointestinal tract. However, its stability under gastric/pancreatic secretion has yet to be shown. Hence, this study verified the stability of TDM-623 under digestive enzyme. Material and methods: TDM-623 (1 mL) was applied to a dish an...

Background: Perioperative fluid balance is an important indicator in the management of esophageal cancer patients who undergo esophagectomy. However, the association between perioperative fluid balance and postoperative complications after minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) remains unclear. Methods: This study included 115 patients with thor...

Bacterial flora has clinical significance for the host. The metabolic environment created by this flora influences immunotherapy in urothelial carcinoma. However, there are no reports on the clinical significance of bacterial flora in the host bloodstream. We aimed to clarify the correlation between extracellular vesicle (EV)-derived blood microflo...

Purpose: Pancreatic fistula is a severe complication after laparoscopic distal gastrectomy (LDG). We previously evaluated the pancreas-left gastric artery angle (PLA) as a risk indicator for developing a pancreatic fistula after LDG. This study evaluated the incidence of pancreatic fistula with robotic distal gastrectomy (RDG) in comparison to LDG...

Backgrounds: Since the prognosis of patients with adenocarcinoma of the esophagogastric junction (AEG) remains poor, more intensive treatments, including neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC), should be developed. We retrospectively examined whether neoadjuvant docetaxel, oxaliplatin, and S‑1 (DOS) combination chemotherapy resulted in a favorable clinica...

Background: Regorafenib is an oral multi-kinase inhibitor that has been established as third-line treatment for patients after the failure of imatinib and sunitinib. However, since clinical data of regorafenib in the Japanese population are still lacking, the management of regorafenib is mainly based on the clinical experience of each oncologist....

Objectives: Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) has become popular, but complications such as postoperative bleeding remain an issue. Although some methods of closing a mucosal defect with a snare and clips have been reported to be effective and safe, the snare is not a dedicated device, and the procedure is difficult and time-consuming. We aim...

Background Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have revolutionized cancer treatment. Since clinical benefits are limited to a subset of patients, we aimed to identify peripheral blood biomarkers that predict the efficacy of the anti-programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) antibody (nivolumab) in patients with gastric cancer. Methods We collected pe...

Background: Complete surgical resection is the only treatment for resectable gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs). Three-year adjuvant chemotherapy (AC) is recommended for patients with high-risk GISTs. However, there are scarce data on this topic in Japan. We aimed to study the efficacy and safety of AC in Japanese patients with high-risk GIST...

An 82‐year‐old woman underwent laparoscopic partial gastrectomy for fundal gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) in a previous hospital. She visited our hospital for the treatment of recurrence, because two nodules, one each on the gastric suture line and in the peritoneum of the left diaphragm, were pointed out. Imatinib therapy was immediately in...

Introduction Peripherally inserted central venous catheter (PICC) has a risk of causing phlebitis and thrombus occlusion. We coated the surfaces of the PICC with a specialized coating material (SEC-1) which may prevent thrombogenicity and phlebitis. This study aimed to evaluate SEC-1 coating PICCs using big animal. Methods SEC-1 coating was used t...

A male in his forties experiencing epigastric pain visited our hospital and was diagnosed with a large gastric gastrointestinal stromal tumor(GIST)invading pancreatic tail with synchronous multiple liver metastases. We diagnosed as unresectable and started imatinib. Two weeks later, tumor necrosis and penetration were occurred. We performed partial...

Introduction: Ultra-thin (diameter: 3 mm) surgical swabs have not been in practical use as it is difficult to manufacture these using the pre-existing methods; therefore, a new technology has been adopted. This study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficiency of ultra-thin surgical swabs in bench-top and preclinical settings. Material and method...

Juvenile gastric gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are rare and differ from the common variety of GISTs. We present a case of a patient with juvenile gastric GIST with lymph node metastasis. A 25-year-old woman presented for treatment of a gastric tumor (7 cm). Esophagogastroduodenoscopy revealed a main submucosal tumor in the mid-body of the...

Background Third-space endoscopy requires a delicate and accurate insufflation technique to secure the endoscopic visualization and maintain the working space. However, optimal third-space insufflation parameters have yet to be determined. The aim of this study was to assess: (1) the diversity of endoluminal third-space pressure by manual insufflat...

Regulatory T (Treg) cells are important negative regulators of immune homeostasis, but in cancers they tone down the anti-tumor immune response. They are distinguished by high expression levels of the chemokine receptor CCR4, hence their targeting by the anti-CCR4 monoclonal antibody mogamulizumab holds therapeutic promise. Here we show that despit...

Tregs infiltrate tumors and inhibit antitumor immunity. KW-0761 (Mogamulizumab) is a humanized anti-CCR4 monoclonal antibody that could eliminate activated Tregs with high immunosuppressive activity that express CCR4. In this phase Ib trial, KW-0761 was used as a cancer immunotherapeutic reagent to deplete Tregs in patients with advanced or recurre...

PurposeMicrofocus computed tomography (micro-CT) has not been widely used at high radiation intensity (industrial micro-CT) in life science fields. In this preliminary study, we investigated its potential value in the detection of micro-hepatic tumors in a mouse model.Methods The liver with micro-hepatic tumors was surgically resected en-bloc from...

Introduction Animal experiments with large living animals are essential for the development of medical devices and the training of surgical procedures. Swine are frequently used in animal experiments due to their similar size and anatomy compared to humans. However, it is well known that swine has less local bleeding than humans. The aim of the stu...

Mutations in p53, identified in 90% of oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), are associated with unfavourable prognosis and chemo-resistance. APR-246 induces apoptosis by restoring transcriptional ability of mutant p53, and may be a promising therapeutic agent to overcome chemo-resistance in ESCC. In ESCC cell lines differing in p53 status, w...

Despite the effectiveness of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI), gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GIST) develop after the withdrawal of TKI. Based on previous studies, a subpopulation of drug-tolerant cells called “persister cells” may be responsible for the recurrence and have thus, gained attention as a novel target in cancer therapy. The metaboli...

PurposeTo evaluate if nutritional supplements can attenuate postoperative catabolism in esophageal cancer patients after radical esophagectomy.Methods We analyzed data prospectively from 30 patients who underwent curative esophagectomy for esophageal cancer between August and December, 2019. We compared postoperative nitrogen balance and changes in...

Background Self-assembling peptides (TDMs) comprise synthetic amphipathic peptides that immediately react to changes in pH and/or inorganic salts to transform into a gelatinous state. The first generation of these peptides (TDM-621) is currently used as a hemostatic agent in Europe. However, TDM-621 exhibits slow gel-formation and low retention cap...

Background The introduction of molecularly targeted drugs, including imatinib, has greatly improved the prognosis of gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST), and based on the different response image, the methods of response evaluation have been established for GISTs. Furthrmore, the best response evaluation using them has been reported to be associa...

Objectives: Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) have long been recognized as playing an important role in tumor immune microenvironment. Lately, the Immunoscore (IS) has been proposed as a new method of quantifying the number of TILs in association with patient survival in several cancer types. Methods: In 300 preoperatively untreated esophage...

Purpose: Esophageal cancer patients may simultaneously have resectable esophageal cancer and undiagnosable incidental minute solid pulmonary nodules. While the latter is rarely metastatic, only a few studies have reported on the outcomes of such nodules after surgery. In this retrospective study, we assessed the incidence of such nodules, the prob...

Background Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is the deadliest of all human squamous cell carcinomas and is characterized by chemotherapy resistance and poor prognosis associated with the epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT). A subset of ESCC displays loss-of-function mutations in genes encoding Notch receptor family members, including NO...

Background Sarcopenia was previously linked to clinical outcomes for several cancer types, including esophageal cancer (EC), but most studies only measured the quantity of skeletal muscle mass. We aim to assess the clinical significance of evaluating the quantity and quality of skeletal muscle in patients with EC who underwent neoadjuvant chemother...

Background Body weight loss (BWL) after gastrectomy is associated with not only a deteriorated quality of life but also a poor prognosis. Oral nutritional supplements (ONS) may be used to minimize BWL, which is observed in the first 3 months after gastrectomy and becomes stable thereafter, although the results of several randomized trials remain co...

Background The Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), an indicator that objectively quantifies comorbidities, reduces nutritional status; however, the impact of the CCI on the postoperative nutrition indexes of patients with esophageal cancer remains unclear.Methods In total, 336 patients with esophageal cancer who underwent surgery between January 2011...

Introduction: The pancreas often interferes with the surgical field during laparoscopic gastrectomy (LG) and its disorders cause severe postoperative complications. This study aimed to evaluate the association between the anatomical location of the pancreas and surgical outcome and to investigate the optimal surgical position in LG. Methods: We...

Background Despite improvements in gastric cancer treatment, the mortality associated with advanced gastric cancer is still high. The activation of β-adrenergic receptors by stress has been shown to accelerate the progression of several cancers. Accordingly, increasing evidence suggests that the blockade of β-adrenergic signaling can inhibit tumor...

Perioperative systemic inflammation induced by surgical stress elevates the risk of hematogenous cancer metastasis. This study investigated the anti-metastatic effects and mechanisms of methylprednisolone (MP) administration for surgical stress. We examined the effects of MP on the expression of adhesion molecules in human vascular endothelial cell...

Background Esophageal cancer typically has a poor prognosis. While neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) is reported to be effective for esophageal cancer patients, the prognosis of patients for whom NAC is ineffective remains poor.Methods In total, 113 patients with thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma who were treated between January 2006 and Dec...

Background The aggravation of symptoms in female patients with esophageal achalasia has been sporadically reported to be associated with pregnancy. However, the relationship between symptoms recurrence and postoperative pregnancy after radical surgery remains unclear. Case presentation There were 3 female achalasia patients who became pregnant aft...

PurposeTo investigate the relationship between changes in taste due to surgical procedures and other clinical factors, we performed a detailed investigation of taste alteration in patients who underwent gastrectomy.Methods Questionnaires on taste alteration were distributed to patients who visited our outpatient clinic from July 2018 to January 201...

Background Sarcopenia and obesity are associated with outcomes after surgery. However, few studies have investigated which more accurately predicts postoperative complications or prognosis in patients with gastric cancer.MethodsA total of 567 consecutive patients with gastric cancer who underwent gastrectomy between 2010 and 2015 were retrospective...

In flexible gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy, endoscopic insufflation is crucial and directly affects visualization. Optimal visualization enables endoscopists to conduct better examinations and administer optimal treatments. However, endoscopic insufflation is typically performed manually and is subjective. We aimed to measure the GI endoluminal pr...