Correction to: A comparison of clinicopathological characteristics and long-term survival outcomes between symptomatic and screen-detected breast cancer in Japanese women.

In the original publication of this article, Table 1 was published incorrectly with rows out of order under "Distant metastasis (n, %)".

Expression of enhancer of zeste homolog 2 correlates with survival outcome in patients with metastatic breast cancer: exploratory study using primary and paired metastatic lesions.

BACKGROUND: In metastatic breast cancer, the status of the estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), as well as the Ki-67 index sometimes change between primary and metastatic lesions. However, the change in expression levels of enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) between primary and metastatic lesions has not been determined in metastatic breast cancer. METHODS: Ninety-six metastatic breast cancer patients had biopsies or resections of metastatic lesions between September 1990 and February 2014 at the Kanagawa Cancer Center. We evaluated ER, PR, HER2, Ki-67, and EZH2 in primary lesions and their corresponding metastatic lesions using immunohistochemistry. We examined the change in expression of EZH2 between primary and metastatic lesions, the correlation between the expression of EZH2 and the expression of other biomarkers, and the relationship between EZH2 expression and patient outcome in metastatic breast cancer. RESULTS: EZH2 expression was significantly higher in metastatic lesions compared with primary lesions. EZH2 expression was highly correlated with Ki-67 expression in primary and metastatic lesions. High-level expression of EZH2 was associated with poorer disease-free survival (DFS) outcomes in patients with primary lesions (P < 0.001); however, high-level expression of EZH2 was not associated with poorer DFS outcomes in patients with metastatic lesions (P = 0.063). High-level expression of EZH2 was associated with poorer overall survival (OS) postoperatively in patients with primary (P = 0.001) or metastatic lesions (P = 0.005). High-level expression of EZH2 was associated with poorer OS outcomes after recurrence in patients with metastatic lesions (P = 0.014); however, high-level expression of EZH2 was not associated with poorer OS outcomes after recurrence in patients with primary lesions (P = 0.096). High-level expression of EZH2 in metastatic lesions was independently associated with poorer OS outcomes after recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: EZH2 expression was significantly increased in metastatic lesions compared with primary lesions. High-level expression of EZH2 in metastatic lesions was associated with poorer OS outcomes after primary surgery and recurrence.

A comparison of clinicopathological characteristics and long-term survival outcomes between symptomatic and screen-detected breast cancer in Japanese women.

BACKGROUND: Several studies from other countries have reported that patients with screen-detected breast cancer have better survival than those with symptomatic breast cancer. However, no such comparison has been performed in Japan. Therefore, we aimed to compare the clinicopathological characteristics and survival rates between symptomatic and screen-detected breast cancer in Japanese women. METHODS: From January 2000 to December 2004, 977 and 182 women with symptomatic or screen-detected breast cancer, respectively, underwent surgery at a single Japanese hospital. We retrospectively reviewed these patients' clinicopathological data. Likelihood of death was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method and the log-rank test. Multivariate analysis including mode of detection, tumor size, lymph node status, hormone receptor status, and adjuvant therapy administration was performed using the Cox proportional hazards model. RESULTS: Screen-detected breast cancer was associated with increased rate of breast-conserving surgery, non-invasive carcinoma, smaller tumor size, decreased lymph node involvement, increased hormone receptor positivity, and decreased adjuvant chemotherapy administration. Compared to women with symptomatic tumors, those with screen-detected tumors had improved overall and breast cancer-specific survival rates. Factors associated with survival in univariate analysis were screen detection, tumor size, lymph node status, progesterone receptor status, and adjuvant chemotherapy administration. CONCLUSIONS: Breast cancer screening in Japanese women has led to increases in the rates of breast-conserving surgery, hormone receptor positivity, and survival rates along with reductions in axillary lymph node dissection and adjuvant chemotherapy administration.

Effect of interventions by an antimicrobial stewardship team on clinical course and economic outcome in patients with bloodstream infection.

BACKGROUND: Bloodstream infections (BSIs) represent one of the most severe and clinically important conditions in the hospital setting. We have organized an interdisciplinary antimicrobial stewardship team (AST) at our hospital and performed consultations focusing on BSI patients since 2013. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of AST interventions on the diagnosis, treatment, and clinical outcomes of BSI patients. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective quasi-experimental study of BSI patients at a single Japanese university hospital. AST provided recommendations to attending physicians regarding appropriate diagnosis, therapy, and management of BSI patients after reviewing medical charts. RESULTS: We identified a total of 308 cases of BSI from January to December, 2012 (pre-intervention group) and 324 cases of BSI from April, 2013 to March, 2014 (post-intervention group). No significant differences in the in-hospital mortality or 30-day mortality rates were observed between both the groups. Inappropriate therapy was initiated in a significantly lower proportion of patients in the post-intervention group (18.5% vs. 11.4%; P = 0.012). Multivariate analysis confirmed that inappropriate therapy was significantly associated with in-hospital mortality (odds ratio, 2.62; 95% confidence interval, 1.42-4.82; P = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: An interdisciplinary AST intervention approach decreases the use of inappropriate therapy and may improve clinical outcomes in BSI patients.

[A case of gastric metastasis and carcinomatous peritonitis of breast cancer with improved QOL by stent implantation and gemcitabine].

A 73-year-old woman had undergone mastectomy for left breast cancer. One year later, bone metastasis was detected. After 7 years, the patient experienced epigastric discomfort, and gastrointestinal endoscopy showed stenosis of the pylorus and enlarged gastric folds. Stomach cancer was suspected at first, but gastric metastasis of breast cancer was diagnosed on the basis of endoscopic reexamination and computed tomography(CT)images. The patient could not drink water, and therefore, gastrointestinal stenting was performed, which facilitated ingestion to some extent. However, at the same time, an elevated serum carcinoembryonic antigen(CEA)level and jaundice were observed. Therefore, biliary tract stenosis due to carcinomatous peritonitis was diagnosed. We attempted to treat the jaundice with endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography( ERCP)or percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography(PTCD), but the treatment was not successful, and an increase in ascites was noted. Accordingly, gemcitabine was administered as systemic therapy. As a result, ascites decreased and jaundice improved. Patients with gastric metastasis of breast cancer have poor quality of life(QOL)because of difficulties in ingestion or vomiting, and poor prognoses, because of frequent concurrent carcinomatous peritonitis. We experienced a case of gastric metastasis and carcinomatous peritonitis, and were able to improve the patient's QOL by gastrointestinal stenting and gemcitabine administration.