[Questionnaire Survey on Early-Stage Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Patients and Physicians].

We conducted an online questionnaire survey to investigate changes in well-being and anxiety in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma requiring repeated locoregional therapy(hepatectomy/ablation)and the differences between patients' and treating physicians' perceptions of what is important to patients when selecting treatment. Between December 2022 and January 2023, we collected responses from 162 patients and 115 physicians in Japan. Results showed no clinically significant changes in well-being over time. Patients experiencing recurrences and repeated locoregional therapy reported increased anxiety regarding"effectiveness of treatment"and"how to handle the disease."As"factors that patients consider important when receiving locoregional therapy,"many patients and physicians selected suppression of recurrence, prolonged survival, and safety; however, patients placed more importance on"reducing the number of locoregional therapies"as they repeatedly experienced recurrence and therapy. Regarding"information that patients consider important when selecting adjuvant therapy,""effectiveness of treatment"and"adverse effects of treatment"were important to both patients and physicians, while"maintaining a normal daily life"was more important in patients and"length of treatment"was more important in physicians. In conclusion, some factors are perceived by both physicians and patients as important when selecting treatment, but there is a gap in perception for other factors. Physicians and patients should discuss their opinions on what is important in treatment before deciding on a treatment strategy.

Involvement of CaM kinase II in gonadotropin-releasing hormone-induced activation of MAP kinase in cultured hypothalamic neurons.

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) is secreted from hypothalamic GnRH neurons. There is accumulating evidence that GnRH neurons have GnRH receptors and that the autocrine action of GnRH activates MAP kinase. In this study, we found that KN93, an inhibitor of Ca(2+)/calmodulin-dependent protein kinases (CaM kinases), inhibited the GnRH-induced activation of MAP kinase in immortalized GnRH neurons (GT1-7 cells). Immunoblot analysis indicated that the CaM kinase IIdelta2 isoform (CaM kinase IIdelta2) and synapsin I were expressed in GT1-7 cells. GnRH treatment rapidly increased phosphorylation of synapsin I at serine 603, a specific phosphorylation site for CaM kinase II, suggesting that GnRH treatment rapidly activated CaM kinase IIdelta2. In addition, when we stably overexpressed CaM kinase IIdelta2 in GT1-7 cells, the activation of MAP kinase was strongly enhanced. These results suggest that CaM kinase IIdelta2 was involved in the GnRH-induced activation of MAP kinase in GT1-7 cells.