[Comparative Safety Study of Original and Generic Docetaxel without Alcohol in the Treatment of Breast Cancer].

Docetaxel(DTX)is a key drug for breast cancer treatment; however, its formulation contains alcohol, which can cause several problems. We have been preparing original DTX without using its accompanying alcohol-solubilizing solution since 2013 and switched to generic DTX without alcohol in 2015. In this study, we compared adverse events between the original and generic DTX, both of which did not contain alcohol. We retrospectively investigated the occurrence of adverse events in breast cancer patients who were treated with DTX(75 mg/m2)as neoadjuvant or adjuvant chemotherapy from January 2013 to December 2017. 201 patients participated in the study(75/126 in the original/generic groups). The incidence of febrile neutropenia, hypersensitivity reactions, and skin toxicities did not differ between the groups(p=0.620, 0.066, 0.205). The severity of edema and peripheral neuropathy was significantly worse in the patients receiving the generic DTX (p<0.01, <0.01). The findings suggest a difference in the incidence of edema and peripheral neuropathy following treatment with the original and generic DTX, regardless of the inclusion of alcohol.

Taenia solium cysticercosis and taeniasis in urban settings: Epidemiological evidence from a health-center based study among people with epilepsy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

In Africa, urbanization is happening faster than ever before which results in new implications for transmission of infectious diseases. For the zoonotic parasite Taenia solium, a major cause of acquired epilepsy in endemic countries, the prevalence in urban settings is unknown. The present study investigated epidemiological, neurological, and radiological characteristics of T. solium cysticercosis and taeniasis (TSCT) in people with epilepsy (PWE) living in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, one of the fastest growing cities worldwide. A total of 302 PWE were recruited from six health centers in the Kinondoni district of Dar es Salaam. Serological testing for T. solium cysticercosis-antigen (Ag) and -antibodies (Abs) and for T. solium taeniasis-Abs was performed in all PWE. In addition, clinical and radiological examinations that included cranial computed tomography (CT) were performed. With questionnaires, demographic data from study populations were collected, and factors associated with TSCT were assessed. Follow-up examinations were conducted in PWE with TSCT. T. solium cysticercosis-Ag was detected in three (0.99%; 95% CI: 0-2.11%), -Abs in eight (2.65%; 95% CI: 0.84-4.46%), and taeniasis-Abs in five (1.66%; 95% CI: 0.22-3.09%) of 302 PWE. Six PWE (1.99%; 95% CI: 0.41-3.56%) were diagnosed with neurocysticercosis (NCC). This study demonstrates the presence of TSCT in Dar es Salaam, however, NCC was only associated with a few cases of epilepsy. The small fraction of PWE with cysticercosis- and taeniasis-Abs may suggest that active transmission of T. solium plays only a minor role in Dar es Salaam. A sufficiently powered risk analysis was hampered by the small number of PWE with TSCT; therefore, further studies are required to determine the exact routes of infection and risk behavior of affected individuals.

[Effective Use of Combination of Ultrasound-guided Femoral Nerve Block and Lateral Femoral Cutaneous Nerve Block for Harvesting Skin Grafts: Three Case Reports].

The pain of skin graft site after surgery is compara- tively severe. We present three cases of combined of ultrasound-guided femoral nerve block and lateral fem- oral cutaneous nerve block that was effective for har- vesting skin grafts. Case 1 : a 32-year-old man had a split-thickness skin grafting of lateral upper arm harvested from outside of the thigh under general anesthesia, brachial nerve block, femoral nerve block and lateral femoral cutane- ous nerve block. Case 2 : a 39-year-old man had split-thickness skin grafting of lower thigh harvested from outside of the thigh under general anesthesia, femoral nerve block and lateral femoral cutaneous nerve block. Case 3 : a 94-year-old man had split-thickness skin grafting of acrotarsium harvested from outside of the thigh under spinal anesthesia, femoral nerve block, lat- eral femoral cutaneous nerve block and sciatic nerve block. In all cases, there was no pain just after surgery, and postoperative pain was controlled well through the hospitalization with administration of oral analgesic agents.

Comparison of the analgesic effect of intravenous acetaminophen with that of flurbiprofen axetil on post-breast surgery pain: a randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: Acetaminophen is known to be a relatively weak analgesic with fewer side effects than nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). This study aimed to determine whether intravenous (iv) acetaminophen produces comparable analgesic effects to those of flurbiprofen (positive control drug), an intravenously injectable NSAID, after partial mastectomies. The primary outcome assessed was pain intensity during the first 24 h after the operation, and the secondary outcome was the satisfaction rating at discharge. METHODS: After obtaining Institutional Ethics Committee approval, a series of 40 consecutive female patients who were scheduled for partial mastectomies were enrolled. Participants were randomly divided into two groups: an acetaminophen (1000 mg × 3) group (group A) and a flurbiprofen (50 mg × 3) group (group F). Each drug was administered 15 min before the end of surgery, and at 6 and 12 h after the operation. Postoperative pain was evaluated using a 100-mm visual analog scale (VAS) at 3, 6, and 24 h postoperatively. Satisfaction rating was evaluated on a 5-point scale (very good, good, well, bad, and very bad). RESULTS: VAS scores (mm) with movement in groups A and F at 3, 6, and 24 h after the surgery were 22 vs. 28, 14 vs. 24, and 12 vs. 20.5 (median), respectively, with no significant differences between the two groups. Eighteen of 20 patients in group A and 20 of 20 patients in group F expressed a satisfaction rating of greater than good. CONCLUSIONS: Acetaminophen produces an equivalent analgesic effect to flurbiprofen in post-partial mastectomy patients.

Elucidation of the therapeutic enhancer mechanism of poly-S-nitrosated human serum albumin against multidrug-resistant tumor in animal models.

Human serum albumin (HSA) is the most abundant circulating protein and its S-nitrosated form serves as a reservoir of nitric oxide (NO). Previously, we prepared poly-S-nitrosated HSA (Poly-SNO-HSA) by incubation with Traut's Reagent and isopentyl nitrite and evaluated its potential as a novel anticancer agent through apoptosis involving the caspase-3 pathway. Recently, NO donors such as nitroglycerin were reported to revert the resistance to anticancer agents. Therefore, now we have evaluated the effect of the above type of Poly-SNO-HSA on the resistance to doxorubicin (dx) in human myelogenous leukemic cells (K562 cells). P-gp expression and dx accumulation in K562 and dx-resistant K562 cells (K562/dx cells) were quantified using Western blot and FACS analysis, respectively. Compared with parent K562 cells, higher expression of P-gp and lower accumulation of dx were shown in K562/dx cells. Poly-SNO-HSA caused increased dx accumulation in K562/dx cells by decreasing the expressions of P-gp and HIF-1α. Other experiments with the guanylate cyclase inhibitor ODQ and 8-Br-cGMP revealed that also a cGMP signaling pathway is involved in the Poly-SNO-HSA induced increase in dx accumulation. Furthermore, in vivo studies showed that co-treatment with Poly-SNO-HSA enhanced the anticancer effect of dx in K562/dx cells-bearing mice. Thus, in addition to its proapoptotic effect Poly-SNO-HSA can in an efficient manner revert drug resistance both in vitro and in vivo, and two pathways for this effect have been identified.