Patterns of prescribing radiotherapy and bevacizumab in nationwide practice – analysis of 101 designated cancer care hospitals in Japan

Radiotherapy and bevacizumab are each effective in treating patients with advanced cancer, but their concurrent use may cause serious adverse events (SAEs). Whereas sequential administration can theoretically reduce the risk of SAEs while maintaining the anticancer effects, this hypothesis remains unconfirmed, leading to variations in practice. To elucidate current practices, the patterns of care received by patients in Japan with regard to these two therapies were assessed in a large database of a hospital-based cancer registry linked with insurance claims. This database contained information on 106 057 patients diagnosed with seven major cancers in 2011 and the care they received up to the end of 2012. In total, 335 patients from 101 hospitals in the database were treated with both radiotherapy and bevacizumab. Of these patients, 50.8% had lung cancer, and 51.3% had Stage IV cancer. Of the 335 patients, 75 (22.4%) received these therapies concurrently. In patients treated sequentially, the time from the last dose of bevacizumab to the start of radiotherapy was most frequently 4–5 weeks (12.4%), whereas the time from the end of radiotherapy to the start of bevacizumab was most frequently 1–2 weeks (10.6%). The cumulative proportions of patients in these two groups receiving sequential therapies within 3 weeks were 19.0% and 26.1%, respectively. Many practices appeared to avoid the concurrent use of bevacizumab and radiation, but some provided concurrent therapy. Additional data are required to determine whether the avoidance of concurrent use should become a standard of care.     

Leiomyoma of the right lower gingiva: A case and a review of the Japanese literature

A case of leiomyoma of the right lower gingiva is reported. The definitive diagnosis was obtained by ultrastructural examination. The cases reported in Japan are also reviewed.     

Root resorption caused by mechanical injury of the periodontal soft tissues in rats

The purpose of the present investigation was to study, histologically, the effect on the root surface of mechanical injury to the periodontal soft tissues in rats. The animals were subjected to mechanical injury with a flat, needle-like instrument only in the gingiva and the cervical periodontal ligament of the first maxillary molar. Odontoclastic root resorption occurred in part of the root surface at the alveolar crest level at 1 day. It extended gradually in the coronal direction over the following days, reaching part of the root surface at the cementoenamel junction at 14 d, and undermining part of the dentin below the enamel just above the cementoenamel junction at 21 d. The result of the present study indicated that mechanical injuries of human gingival soft tissues being sustained accidentally or during dental treatments might cause odontoclastic resorption of the root surface.     

Protection of rats against dental caries by passive immunization with hen-egg-yolk antibody (IgY)

Hen-egg-yolk antibody (IgY) was prepared against Streptococcus mutans MT8148 serotype c that was cultivated in medium containing sucrose, and it was used in passive caries-immunity studies. Specific pathogen-free rats infected with S. mutans MT8148 (c) and fed with a cariogenic diet containing more than 2% immune yolk powder developed significantly lower caries scores than did the ones infected with the same strain and fed with a diet containing only control yolk powder obtained from non-immunized hens. Similar results were obtained in an experiment with rats infected with S. mutans JC-2 (c) strain. Rats provided a diet supplemented with 0.5% immune water-soluble protein fraction containing S. mutans-specific IgY and challenged with S. mutans MT8148 exhibited significantly fewer caries lesions, compared with control rats on the normal diet.     

A novel macrolide antibiotic, notonesomycin A

Fermentation of Streptomyces aminophilus subsp. notonesogenes 647-AV1 produced a mixture of antifungal antibiotics. Notonesomycin A, the main component has been characterized as a new macrolide antibiotic containing a sulfate group, a malonate moiety, two deoxysugars and a 1,3,4-trisubstituted benzene system in the molecule. It was active against some fungi and Gram-positive bacteria in vitro and effective against the sheath blight disease of rice plant in a green house test.