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The occurrence of fulminant type 1 diabetes mellitus as an adverse event during cancer immunotherapy has been previously reported. However, little is known about the causal relationship between the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination and fulminant type 1 diabetes mellitus. A 60-year-old man with advanced gastric cancer, receiving S-1 + oxaliplatin and nivolumab therapy, followed by nab-paclitaxel + ramucirumab as a second-line treatment, with steroid supplementation for complications of hypopituitarism-induced hypoadrenocorticism, was administered a COVID-19 vaccine after three cycles of nab-paclitaxel + ramucirumab. Two days later, he developed severe malaise and anorexia, which required emergency admission to our hospital for suspected adrenal insufficiency. Despite increasing steroids, his general condition changed suddenly after 12 hours leading to his death. Histopathological analysis of autopsy samples revealed loss of the islets of Langerhans, indicating fulminant type 1 diabetes mellitus. We failed to recognize the onset of fulminant type 1 diabetes mellitus because its symptoms were similar to those of adrenal insufficiency. The number of reports on the onset of fulminant type 1 diabetes mellitus after COVID-19 vaccination has been increasing, and in this case, the onset occurred on the second day after COVID-19 vaccination, suggesting an association between vaccination and fulminant type 1 diabetes mellitus. Clinicians should be aware of the risk of fulminant type 1 diabetes mellitus, although rare, after COVID-19 vaccination.

IntroductionExpression of the NTRK gene is rare in solid tumors but is highly prevalent in salivary gland secretory carcinomas. Here, we report a case of a complete response to entrectinib in a patient with NTRK fusion gene-positive parotid carcinoma.Case descriptionThe patient was a 44-year-old man who underwent total left parotidectomy and left cervical lymph node dissection for a left parotid tumor at 24 years of age. The histopathological diagnosis was mammary analog secretory carcinoma. Postoperatively, the patient received only radiation therapy. Sixteen years after the surgery, the patient became aware of a mass in the left parotid region. A close examination revealed local recurrence and multiple cervical lymph node metastases. S-1 monotherapy was started as chemotherapy but was discontinued 3 years later because of disease progression. As there was no standard treatment, a comprehensive genomic profiling test using a next-generation sequencer was performed, and the ETV6-NTRK3 fusion gene was identified. Entrectinib, an NTRK inhibitor, was immediately administered at a dose of 600 mg/day. The local recurrence rapidly shrank grossly from the beginning of treatment, and a complete response was observed 6 months later. However, creatinine levels exhibited an increase at week 68 of treatment; consequently, entrectinib dosage was lowered to 400 mg/day, leading to an immediate improvement in creatinine levels. Entrectinib was associated with additional side effects, including dysgeusia, fatigue, dizziness, and weight gain, all of which were also alleviated by the reduction in entrectinib dose. Thirty months after treatment initiation, the patient maintained a complete response and continued to receive entrectinib.ConclusionThe NTRK fusion gene should always be checked in the presence of salivary gland secretory carcinoma.

IntroductionReports on the long-term quality of life (QOL) over 3 years after surgery in patients who have undergone surgery for rectal cancer are limited. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the long-term QOL of patients who underwent high anterior resection (HAR), low anterior resection (LAR), internal sphincter resection (ISR), or abdominoperineal resection (APR) for rectal cancer.MethodsA questionnaire regarding QOL was sent to 360 patients with rectal cancer who underwent curative resection by HAR, LAR, ISR, or APR between January 2005 and December 2015. QOL was assessed using the short-form 36 (SF-36) and modified fecal incontinence QOL (mFIQL) questionnaire. QOL between surgical procedures was analyzed using a multivariate model adjusted for age, sex, and postoperative time.ResultsA total of 144 patients responded with a median follow-up period of 94 months (range 38–233 months). According to surgical procedure, HAR was performed in 26 patients, LAR in 80 patients, ISR in 32 patients, and APR in 6 patients. Patients who underwent HAR had significantly better mFIQL scores than those who underwent LAR and ISR (p=0.013 and p=0004, respectively) and significantly better role/social component summary scores on the SF-36 subscales (p=0.007). No difference was observed in the mFIQL scores between patients who underwent ISR and those who underwent APR (p=0.8423). In addition, postoperative anastomotic leakage sutures did not influence the mFIQL and SF-36 scores after surgery.ConclusionThe QOL of patients who underwent anus-preserving surgery was best in the HAR group, with the QOL of other groups similar to the APR group. These results suggest that anus- preserving surgery is acceptable from a QOL standpoint. However, a colostomy may be a more satisfactory procedure in some patients.

The global incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) in patients receiving hemodialysis is steadily rising. However, current information on the clinical use of chemotherapy for patients undergoing hemodialysis with CRC is limited. Herein, we describe a clinical course of a 74-year-old patient undergoing hemodialysis with unresectable CRC treated with folinic acid, 5-fluorouracil (5FU), and irinotecan (FOLFIRI) plus bevacizumab whose changes in serum bevacizumab concentration were analyzed. Treatment was initiated with a standard dosage of 5-FU and 80% of the standard dose of irinotecan to avoid any adverse events. However, neutropenia (grade 4) was observed after five treatment cycles, which prompted a dose reduction of 5-FU and irinotecan, after which treatment was safely completed. Progression-free survival of the patient was 7.5 months. Changes in serum bevacizumab concentration were similar to those documented in patients with normal renal function. In addition, no bevacizumab-related adverse events occurred. It was inferred that FOLFIRI plus bevacizumab therapy could be implemented as a safe and efficient treatment for patients undergoing hemodialysis with unresectable CRC. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the analysis of serum bevacizumab concentrations in a patient undergoing hemodialysis with unresectable CRC.

Abstract Background We investigated the correlations between surgery-related factors and the incidence of anastomotic leakage after low anterior resection (LAR) for lower rectal cancer. Methods A total of 630 patients underwent colorectal surgery between 2011 and 2014 in our department. Of these, 97 patients (15%) underwent LAR and were enrolled in this retrospective study. Temporary ileostomy was performed in each patient. Results Anastomotic leakage occurred in 21 patients (21.7%). Univariate analysis showed a significant association between operative duration (p = 0.005), transanal hand-sewn anastomosis (p = 0.014), and operation procedure (p = 0.019) and the occurrence of leakage. Multivariate regression reanalysis showed that underlying disease (p = 0.044), transanal hand-sewn anastomosis (p = 0.019) and drain type (p = 0.025) were significantly associated with the occurrence of leakage. The propensity-score analysis showed that closed drainage were 6.3 times more likely to have anastomotic leakage than open drainage in relation to the amount of postoperative drainage (ml), according to the inverse probability of treatment-weighted analysis. Conclusions Our results indicate that underlying disease, transanal hand-sewn anastomosis, and closed drain may be a risk and predictive factors for anastomotic leakage after LAR for lower rectal cancer. The notable finding was that closed drainage was related to the occurrence of anastomotic leakage and closed drainage was correlated with less volume of postoperative drain discharge than open drain.

The occurrence of fulminant type 1 diabetes mellitus as an adverse event during cancer immunotherapy has been previously reported. However, little is known about the causal relationship between the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination and fulminant type 1 diabetes mellitus. A 60-year-old man with advanced gastric cancer, receiving S-1 + oxaliplatin and nivolumab therapy, followed by nab-paclitaxel + ramucirumab as a second-line treatment, with steroid supplementation for complications of hypopituitarism-induced hypoadrenocorticism, was administered a COVID-19 vaccine after three cycles of nab-paclitaxel + ramucirumab. Two days later, he developed severe malaise and anorexia, which required emergency admission to our hospital for suspected adrenal insufficiency. Despite increasing steroids, his general condition changed suddenly after 12 hours leading to his death. Histopathological analysis of autopsy samples revealed loss of the islets of Langerhans, indicating fulminant type 1 diabetes mellitus. We failed to recognize the onset of fulminant type 1 diabetes mellitus because its symptoms were similar to those of adrenal insufficiency. The number of reports on the onset of fulminant type 1 diabetes mellitus after COVID-19 vaccination has been increasing, and in this case, the onset occurred on the second day after COVID-19 vaccination, suggesting an association between vaccination and fulminant type 1 diabetes mellitus. Clinicians should be aware of the risk of fulminant type 1 diabetes mellitus, although rare, after COVID-19 vaccination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because of their rarity, there are no clear guidelines for the treatment of anal carcinomas; such tumors are normally subjected to the same modalities as recommended for rectal cancer. We report a patient with anal canal mucinous adenocarcinoma, with metastases in the pararectal and right inguinal lymph nodes, who was treated with abdominoperineal resection followed by mFOLFOX6 chemotherapy for 6 months (12 cycles). The patient has remained recurrence-free thus far, approximately 2 years since the surgery. As the optimal treatments for anal carcinomas have not been fully elucidated, we present this case to highlight a possible course of action for such patients that appears to be effective and promising.

Anal canal adenocarcinoma is a relatively rare malignancy without established diagnostic and treatment criteria. Case reports of chemotherapy for anal canal adenocarcinoma with distant metastasis are limited, and there is no convincing evidence for treatment effectiveness. A 62-year-old man complained of difficulty in defecation, anal pain, and bleeding during bowel movement. He was diagnosed with moderately differentiated primary anal canal adenocarcinoma. A computed tomography scan revealed multiple metastases in the lung and liver. The patient was treated with abdominoperineal resection to control local tumor growth and then with chemotherapy consisting of mFOLFOX6 + bevacizumab. Because he had an activating KRAS mutation, anti-EGFR therapy was not considered. A reduction in the size of lung and liver metastases was observed after 4 courses of mFOLFOX6 + bevacizumab, and after 22 courses, maximum reduction in the metastatic lesions was achieved. The patient demonstrated tolerable levels of oxaliplatin-related peripheral neurotoxicity (grades 1-2) and was considered as having partial response to treatment. He is currently at the partial response state for 1 year. We plan to continue the treatment unless the patient develops progressive disease or intolerable adverse reactions. This case demonstrates that anal canal adenocarcinoma with distant metastases could be successfully treated with mFOLFOX6 + bevacizumab therapy according to the guidelines for rectal carcinoma. However, as anal canal carcinoma has multiple histological subtypes, it is important to establish subtype-specific treatment strategies.

We aimed to investigate the impact of muscle atrophy and the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), a sub-clinical biomarker of inflammation and nutrition, on the prognosis of patients with unresectable advanced gastric cancer. We retrospectively enrolled 109 patients with stage IV gastric cancer (median age 69 years; female/male 22%/78%; median observational period 261 days). Independent factors and profiles for overall survival (OS) were determined by Cox regression analysis and decision-tree analysis, respectively. OS was calculated using the Kaplan–Meier method. The prevalence of muscle atrophy was 82.6% and the median NLR was 3.15. In Cox regression analysis, none of factors were identified as an independent factor for survival. The decision-tree analysis revealed that the most favorable prognostic profile was non-muscle atrophy (OS rate 36.8%). The most unfavorable prognostic profile was the combination of muscle atrophy and high NLR (OS rate 19.6%). The OS rate was significantly lower in patients with muscle atrophy and high NLR than in patients with non-muscle atrophy (1-year survival rate 28.5% vs. 54.7%; log-rank test p = 0.0014). In conclusion, “muscle atrophy and high NLR” was a prognostic profile for patients with stage IV gastric cancer. Thus, the assessment of muscle mass, subclinical inflammation, and malnutrition may be important for the management of patients with stage IV gastric cancer.