Analysis of Early Gastric Cancer Cases Collected from Major Hospitals and Intitutes in Japan

An analysis of 17,212 lesions from 15,933 patients with earlygastric cancer collected from 110 major hospitals and institutesin Japan is presented. The percentage of patients with early gastric cancer was highamong persons in their 60s and 50s. The sex ratio (F/M) was0.5 but it was higher for younger people than for old people.Regarding distribution of the types of early gastric cancer,the depressed group (Types IIe, III) accounted for 73.9% andthe elevated group (Types I, IIa) accounted for 15.3%. The elevated group was more frequent in the older age group.In regard to the type and invasion, slight invasion was prominentin types lIb and IIa, while deep invasion was prominent in IIa+ IIc. The metastatic rate was 18.4% for IIa + IIc, 11.8% forI and 11% for IIe. The frequency of lymph node metastasis was+4% in intramucosal cancer, 18.9% in submucosal cancer and 11.4%in total. The type in which multiple cancers were most frequentwas lIb, followed by IIa. The percentage of differentiated adenocarcinoma was 91.9% inthe elevated group and was found more often among the aged. Undifferentiated adenocarcinoma occurred more often among theyoung. The relationship between site and histology, locationand invasion, location and lymph node metastasis etc. were alsoinvestigated. We believe that these results should be very usefulfor detection and treatment of early gastric cancer. The rate of detection of small cancer is increasing year byyear. This increase can be explained by the progress and widespreadapplication of endo-scopy, which will continue to play a largerole in diagnosis and treatment of gastric cancer.     

Species Difference in Developmental Toxicity of an N-Phenylimide Herbicide between Rats and Rabbits and Sensitive Period of the Toxicity to Rat Embryos

An N-phenylimide herbicide, S-53482, exhibited developmental toxicity in rats in the absence of maternal toxicity at a dose of 30 mg/kg. The developmental toxicities noted were embryolethality, teratogenicity (mainly ventricular septal defect [VSD] and wavy ribs) and growth retardation. In contrast to rats, the herbicide showed no developmental toxicity in rabbits even at a maternal toxic dose of 3,000 mg/kg. There was a remarkable species difference between rats and rabbits. A single dose of S-53482 was administered to pregnant rats on one of gestation days 11 through 15 (detection of plug = day 0). Day 12 of gestation was the most sensitive day for embryonic death, VSD, and decreased fetal body weight. It is likely that there is a common mechanism for the three types of developmental toxicity and that S-53482 does not produce VSD by its direct damage to embryonic heart tissue.     

Increase in serum vascular endothelial growth factor levels during altitude training

The present study was performed to evaluate the effects of physical exercise at altitudes on serum vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels. Eight subjects underwent intensive swimming training for 21 days at 1886 m. After altitude training commenced, red blood cell (RBC) counts and erythropoietin levels increased, but both haemoglobin and haematocrit levels did not change significantly. The serum level of VEGF, measured by means of a highly sensitive chemiluminescence (ELISA), showed a transient decrease 10 days after start of the altitude training, thereafter increasing significantly to reach a peak level 19 days later, rising from 23.0 ± 5.3 to 46.0 ± 14.6 pg mL^?1 (P < 0.05 vs. before). On return to low altitude in Japan, the level of VEGF decreased, and 1 month later had returned to initial levels. Endurance training at altitudes increases serum VEGF levels; this could be an adaptive reaction to hypoxic conditions. This result suggests that VEGF may provide a new physiological parameter for hypoxic stress imposed by high altitude training.     

Effect of work-related events on depressive symptoms in Japanese employees: a web-based longitudinal study

While a number of work-related events have been proposed as risk factors for depression, a majority of studies have focused only on a few events in a single study. Therefore, we conducted a web-based longitudinal study to comprehensively investigate the impact of various work-related events on depressive symptoms. Ten thousand Japanese workers representing the Japanese working population were recruited online and questioned on their experiences of 36 work-related events in the past year. Their depressive symptoms were also assessed based on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Two years later, 3,098 participants responded to a follow-up study. By excluding 1,030 participants who were classified as being depressed in the baseline survey, data of 2,068 participants were analyzed. Odds ratios (OR) were calculated using multivariate logistic regression to assess the effect of work-related events on depressive symptoms. Sixteen events were found to be risk factors and were sorted into four types as follows: experience of an accident or disaster (OR: 4.78–7.67), excessive responsibility (OR: 3.01–3.62), drastic change in workstyle or workload (OR: 2.38–3.08), and interpersonal conflict (OR: 2.41–11.16). The current results, including magnitude relationship of ORs, should be utilized for promoting psychosocially healthy work environment.