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Aim: In laparoscopic colectomy with complete mesocolic excision and D3 lymphadenectomy for right‐sided colon cancer, either an inferior approach (IA) or a medial approach (MA) is selected in our institution based on the surgeon's preference. The present study compared the treatment outcomes between IA and MA. Method: This retrospective, single‐centre study using propensity score matching analysed the short‐ and long‐term outcomes of laparoscopic surgery in patients with right‐sided colon cancer from 2010 to 2019 at Cancer Institute Hospital. Results: After patient selection, 1011 patients remained for the analysis, of which 67% underwent IA surgery and 33% underwent MA surgery. After propensity score matching (1:1), 325 patients in each group were analysed. Regarding the short‐term outcomes, there were no significant differences in the operation time, rate of conversion to open surgery or postoperative complication rate (Clavien–Dindo Grade ≥ III) between the two groups, although the intra‐operative median blood loss was significantly less in the IA group than in the MA group (IA, 13 ml vs. MA, 20 ml, P < 0.0001). Regarding the long‐term outcomes, the relapse‐free survival, liver‐relapse‐free survival, cancer‐specific survival and overall survival were all similar between groups. Conclusion: Both the IA and MA in laparoscopic colectomy with complete mesocolic excision and D3 lymphadenectomy for right‐sided colon cancer are safe and feasible approaches; the IA may have an advantage over the MA in terms of reduced intra‐operative blood loss. Based on their similar oncological outcomes, either the IA or MA can be selected, based on one's preference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radially symmetric stationary solutions for a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) type reaction–diffusion equation with fringing field are considered. This equation arises in the study of the MEMS devices. This paper is devoted to the study of the existence of these solutions, information about their shape, and their asymptotic behaviour. These are studied by applying the framework that combines Poincaré type compactification, classical dynamical systems theory, and geometric methods for desingularization of vector fields called the blow-up technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study assessed the efficacy of chemoradiotherapy for squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal (SCCAC). Patients with T1–4N0-3M0 SCCAC received chemoradiotherapy with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU, 800 mg/m2/day, 96-h infusion) and mitomycin-C (MMC, 10 mg/m2 bolus). Patients treated with 3-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT) or intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) were administered 36.0 Gy in 20 fractions or 49.5 Gy in 33 fractions for elective nodal irradiation and 59.4 Gy in 33 fractions for primary tumor and metastatic nodal irradiation. The sample size was considered sufficient to estimate 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the true 2-year disease-free survival (DFS) within a width of +15% when the expected true 2-year DFS was 70%. The primary endpoint was 2-year DFS. The secondary endpoints were 2-year overall survival (OS), locoregional control (LC), colostomy-free survival (CFS) and adverse events. Thirty-one patients were enrolled between January 2014 and July 2019. The median follow-up was 33.3 months (range, 16.2–65.8 months). Among the 31 patients, 13%, 32%, 16% and 39% had stage I, II, IIIA and IIIB disease, respectively. Thirty patients were treated with IMRT. Complete response (CR) was achieved in 27 patients. The 2-year DFS, OS, LC and CFS rates were 77.4% (95% CI, 58.4–88.5%), 93.5% (95% CI, 76.6–98.3%), 83.9% (95% CI, 65.5–92.9%) and 80.6% (95% CI, 61.9–90.8%), respectively. One patient experienced grade 3 late adverse events; however, no grade ≥ 4 late adverse events occurred. Good DFS with a low rate of late adverse events was observed. Chemoradiotherapy with 5-FU and MMC was effective for SCCAC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemoradiotherapy followed by consolidation durvalumab (CCRT+D) improves survival in patients with stage III non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We compared recurrence patterns and survival in the CCRT+D and CCRT cohorts. We conducted a multicenter, retrospective study in Japan. Patients who received CCRT for stage III NSCLC were included in this study. Of 178 eligible patients, 136 were in the CCRT+D and 42 were in the CCRT cohorts. Locoregional recurrence (LR), LR plus distant metastases (DM), and DM were observed in 20.6%, 8.8%, 27.9% of the CCRT+D, and 26.2%, 16.7% and 33.3% of the CCRT cohorts, respectively. In-field recurrence was the most common LR pattern in both cohorts. Squamous cell carcinoma and PD-L1 expression < 1%, and female sex and EGFR mutations were significantly associated with an increased risk of LR and DM. In patients with any risk factors for LR, the incidence of LR was similar in the CCRT+D and CCRT (39.5% vs 45.5%). The 24 month progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 40.3% and 69.4% in the CCRT+D and 24.7% and 61.0% in the CCRT cohorts, respectively. Poor performance status and no consolidation durvalumab were significantly associated with shorter PFS. There was a significant difference in PFS between the CCRT+D and CCRT in the propensity score-matched cohort (HR = 0.51, P  = 0.005). In conclusion, consolidation durvalumab decreased both LR and DM, and significantly improved PFS. However, in-field recurrence was still a major problem, as well as DM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Recently, intracorporeal anastomosis (IA) has been attracting attention. We aimed to compare the short‐term outcomes of IA and extracorporeal anastomosis (EA) in laparoscopic surgery for right‐sided colon cancer, after propensity score matching. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 404 consecutive patients with right‐sided primary colon cancer between January 2019 and July 2021, 359 of whom underwent laparoscopic surgery. We classified them into IA (n = 72) and EA (n = 287) groups. Propensity score matching analysis was performed, and the matched groups were compared. Results: The IA group had a longer operation time and shorter time to first flatus, passage of stool, and oral intake. There were no differences in blood loss, postoperative complications, and postoperative hospital stay between the groups. The IA group had a higher inflammatory response in the laboratory data on postoperative day 1 compared to the EA group; however, there were no differences in the incidence of abdominal or surgical site infection (SSI). The IA group had a longer distal resection margin, and there were no peritoneal recurrences in either group. Conclusion: In the IA group, patients had earlier bowel recovery and a longer distal resection margin; however, other postoperative clinical outcomes were comparable. Although there was a higher postoperative inflammatory response in IA, there was no significant difference in postoperative complications, including SSI and intra‐abdominal infection. Although long‐term outcomes are not yet available, IA could be a useful procedure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The introduction of informatics into the national school curriculum in Japan requires changes to educational policy, curricula, methods, facilities, etc. Although the basic functions of the school--i.e., to transmit the culture and to cultivate competencies that will allow a future society to develop--remain unchanged, new technologies change the methods and content of education. (LAE)