Coffee drinking and colorectal cancer and its subsites: A pooled analysis of 8 cohort studies in Japan

Coffee is a rich source of bioactive compounds that have potential anticarcinogenic effects. However, it remains unclear whether coffee drinking is associated with colorectal cancer. Also, despite different etiological factors involved in gut physiology, few studies have investigated this association by anatomical site of the lesion. To address these issues, this study examined the association between coffee drinking and colorectal cancer in a pooled analysis from 8 cohort studies conducted in Japan. Among 320,322 participants followed up for 4,503,274 person‐years, 6,711 incident colorectal cancer cases were identified. Study‐specific hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using Cox proportional hazards models and then pooled using the random effects model. Coffee drinking was not materially associated with colorectal cancer risk in men or women (pooled HR 0.92, 95% CI 0.82–1.03 in men and pooled HR 0.90, 95% CI 0.76–1.07 in women). Analysis by subsite showed a lower risk of colon cancer among female drinkers of ≥3 cups coffee/day (pooled HR 0.80, 95% CI 0.64–0.99). There was no such association in men. Coffee drinking was not associated with risk of rectal cancer in men or women. Results were virtually the same among never smokers except for an increased risk of rectal cancer associated with frequent coffee consumption. Coffee drinking may be associated with lower risk of colon cancer in Japanese women.     

An overview of translational prostate cancer cohorts for prognostic and predictive studies

The aim of this review is to describe the characteristics of patient cohorts commonly used for translational biomarker research in prostate cancer and to outline the most prominent contemporary cohorts which serve as a source of prognostic and predictive biomarkers. A non‐systematic review of the literature was performed to identify and summarise well‐characterized translational prostate cancer cohorts that provide state‐of‐the‐art characterization of (i) primary and (ii) metastatic and castration‐resistant prostate cancer. The main advantages and features of these cohorts are a substantial number of patients, unique patient groups, comprehensive genetic characterisation of tumours using multi‐omics/next‐generation sequencing approaches, high‐quality control standards and fully or partially open data for the research community. This overview includes the contemporary cohorts which serve as a rich source of new targets for prognostic and predictive biomarkers as well as a reference database for validation of known biomarkers, therefore representing the cohorts whose impact extends over the current state of biomarker research into the near future (5–10 years).     

Precordial Steering Wheel: A Fortunate Accident

Background: Myocardial ischemia has been associated with motor vehicle collisions (MVCs). However, we were unable to find reported cases of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) leading to ventricular tachyarhythmia and subsequent MVC. In such patients, decisions regarding antiplatelet and antithrombotic therapy need to balance the risk of ongoing myocardial ischemia and hemorrhage. Objectives: To describe a case of STEMI and ventricular fibrillation (VF) associated with a head-on MVC, and to describe the management decisions involved in the care of such a patient. Case report: A 47-year-old man presented to the Emergency Department after a single-car head-on collision with a wall at high speed. He had a facial degloving injury as well as right-sided flail chest. An electrocardiogram demonstrated ST-segment elevation in the inferior and anterior leads. Due to the patient's significant traumatic injuries, he underwent a rapid trauma evaluation and was transferred for emergent cardiac catheterization, which demonstrated evidence of plaque rupture in the right coronary artery (RCA). Flow distal to the lesion was preserved, so stent implantation was initially deferred out of concern for hemorrhage secondary to the aggressive antiplatelet and antithrombotic regimen requisite with stent implantation. The patient then went into VF in the cardiac catheterization laboratory, and repeat angiography demonstrated an occluded RCA, and the patient underwent successful stent implantation. Conclusion: The management of STEMI in the setting of trauma is complex. Pharmacologic agents used in STEMI increase the risk of bleeding, and management must balance the risk of prolonged ischemia with the risk of hemorrhage.     

Coat color DNA testing in dogs: Theory meets practice

DNA tests to detect particular dog coat color alleles are in use in several DNA diagnostic laboratories. The original two genes studied were MC1R and TYRP1 and therefore these tests have been used most widely, and for the longest period of time. The original research was conducted to determine the mutation associated with a particular phenotype in one to a few dog breeds, and was subsequently expanded to include more dog breeds. The application of this testing now includes an even wider range of dog breeds, some of which would not have been expected to have some of the alleles detected. This retrospective study demonstrates that a DNA test may be designed for a particular application, but is used by clients for additional applications that were not originally anticipated. A robust protocol with DNA obtained by cheek brushes and interchanges among dog owners via the internet, have likely lead to this expanded use by clients.     

Nonlinear relationship between emotional valence and brain activity: Evidence of separate negative and positive valence dimensions

Emotion plays a significant role in goal‐directed behavior, yet its neural basis is yet poorly understood. In several psychological models the cardinal dimensions that characterize the emotion space are considered to be valence and arousal. Here 3T functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to reveal brain areas that show valence‐ and arousal‐dependent blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signal responses. Seventeen healthy adults viewed pictures from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS) for brief 100 ms periods in a block design paradigm. In many brain regions BOLD signals correlated significantly positively with valence ratings of unpleasant pictures. Interestingly, partly in the same regions but also in several other regions BOLD signals correlated negatively with valence ratings of pleasant pictures. Therefore, there were several areas where the correlation across all pictures was of inverted U‐shape. Such correlations were found bilaterally in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (DMPFC) extending to anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and insula. Self‐rated arousal of those pictures which were evaluated to be unpleasant correlated with BOLD signal in the ACC, whereas for pleasant pictures arousal correlated positively with the BOLD signal strength in the right substantia innominata. We interpret our results to suggest a major division of brain mechanisms underlying affective behavior to those evaluating stimuli to be pleasant or unpleasant. This is consistent with the basic division of behavior to approach and withdrawal, where differentiation of hostile and hospitable stimuli is crucial. Hum Brain Mapp, 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Heterogeneous effects of cytotoxic chemotherapies for platinum-resistant ovarian cancer

Background

Single-agent chemotherapy with or without bevacizumab (Bev) is a standard therapy for platinum-resistant ovarian cancer (PR-OC). However, there is a lack of literature on chemotherapy agent selection in heterogenous PR-OC. Therefore, we aimed to clarify the heterogeneous treatment effects of each chemotherapy agent.

Methods

Patients who underwent single-drug chemotherapy agents or Bev combination therapy for PR-OC between January 2009 and June 2022 were included in this study. We assessed the impact of each chemotherapy agent on the time to treatment failure (TTF) according to histological type, platinum-free interval (PFI), and Bev usage.

Results

A total of 158 patients received 343 different chemotherapy regimens. In patients with clear cell carcinoma/mucinous carcinoma (CC/MC), gemcitabine (GEM) had the strongest effect with a median TTF of 5.3 months, whilst nedaplatin (NDP) had the lowest effect with a median TTF of 1.4 months. In contrast, in the non-CC/MC group, irinotecan (CPT-11) and NDP had a better TTF than GEM and pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD). There were notable differences in the treatment efficacy of NDP according to PFI. Specifically, NDP prolonged the TTF in patients with a PFI ≥ 3 months. Compared with GEM alone, GEM + Bev tended to prolong the TTF more effectively; however, an additive effect was not observed with PLD + Bev.

Conclusions

This study demonstrated that the effect of chemotherapy agents differed according to the tumor and background characteristics of the patient. Our findings will improve selection of effective therapies for patients with PR-OC by considering their background characteristics.