Japanese Journal of Cancer and Chemotherapy最新文献

{"title":"[Perioperative Immunotherapy as a Strategy to Overcome Hepatocellular Carcinoma].","authors":"Masao Nakajima, Yukio Tokumitsu, Yoshitaro Shindo, Hiroto Matsui, Yuta Kimura, Kei Furuya, Ryouichi Tsunedomi, Tatsuya Ioka, Hiroaki Nagano, Hidenori Takahashi","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has a high recurrence rate even after curative resection or local ablation, and early recurrence within 1-2 years is often driven by intrahepatic metastasis and strongly affects prognosis. Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI)-based combination therapy has become a standard approach for unresectable advanced HCC, prompting efforts to extend immunotherapy to earlier-stage disease. Neoadjuvant immunotherapy may induce systemic antitumor immunity while tumor antigens remain abundant. However, definitive phase Ⅲ evidence for neoadjuvant therapy alone is lacking. In the adjuvant setting, large phase Ⅲ trials, including IMbrave050 and KEYNOTE-937, failed to show a sustained reduction in recurrence, highlighting the limitations of postoperative immunotherapy alone. In contrast, the phase Ⅲ CARES-009 trial, which connected neoadjuvant and adjuvant treatment into a perioperative strategy, reported suppression of postoperative recurrence, although longer follow-up is still required for a definitive evaluation. As a vaccine-based perioperative immunotherapy distinct from ICIs, we also demonstrated the safety of perioperative administration in resectable HCC and the potential to enhance intratumoral CD8-positive T-cell infiltration. In this review, we summarize the biological rationale and the principal clinical trial results of perioperative immunotherapy for resectable HCC, and outline its current positioning and future prospects.</p>","PeriodicalId":35588,"journal":{"name":"Japanese Journal of Cancer and Chemotherapy","volume":"53 9","pages":"554-559"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148983717","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"[Regulatory T Cells and Cancer-Focus on Renal Cell Carcinoma].","authors":"Tokiyoshi Tanegashima","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Recent advances in cancer immunology have revealed that tumor progression is profoundly influenced by interactions between tumor cells and the host immune system. Although the immune system can recognize and eliminate malignant cells through immune surveillance, tumors can evade immune-mediated destruction by acquiring various immune escape mechanisms. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) represent one of the key immunosuppressive components that facilitate tumor immune evasion. Tregs, typically characterized as CD4+CD25+FoxP3+ T cells, play an essential role in maintaining immune tolerance and preventing excessive immune responses under physiological conditions. However, within the tumor microenvironment (TME), Tregs suppress antitumor immunity through multiple mechanisms, including inhibition of effector T-cell activation, modulation of antigen-presenting cells, secretion of immunosuppressive cytokines, and metabolic regulation. Accumulation of Tregs in tumor tissues has been associated with poor clinical outcomes in various solid tumors. Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is known as an immunogenic tumor characterized by abundant immune-cell infiltration. Despite the presence of numerous tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, effective antitumor immunity is often impaired in RCC, partly due to immunosuppressive networks within the TME. In particular, Tregs contribute to the establishment of an immunosuppressive environment that limits the activity of cytotoxic T cells and reduces the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), which have become a cornerstone of therapy for advanced RCC. In this review, we summarize the biological characteristics and immunosuppressive mechanisms of Tregs and discuss their roles in shaping the immune landscape of RCC. Furthermore, we highlight emerging therapeutic strategies targeting Tregs, including depletion, functional inhibition, and blockade of Treg recruitment. A deeper understanding of Treg-mediated immune regulation may facilitate the development of more effective immunotherapeutic approaches for RCC and other malignancies.</p>","PeriodicalId":35588,"journal":{"name":"Japanese Journal of Cancer and Chemotherapy","volume":"53 9","pages":"545-549"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148983764","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"[Mesenchymal Stem Cells as Anti-Tumor Therapeutics-Current Status and Challenges].","authors":"Nobuhiko Kanaya, Shinji Kuroda, Toshiyoshi Fujiwara","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been extensively investigated as promising vehicles for cell-based drug delivery systems (DDS) due to their inherent tumor homing capability, driven by chemoattractant gradients emitted from the chronic inflammatory tumor microenvironment (TME). Various MSC-based therapies have been developed, including genetically engineered MSCs expressing antitumoral cytokines or suicide genes, drug-loaded MSCs, and oncolytic virus-loaded MSC-designed to evade circulating neutralizing antibodies. While some of these approaches have advanced to early-phase clinical trials, critical challenges have emerged. These include the risk of MSCs differentiating into cancer-associated fibroblast (CAF)-like cells that promote tumor progression within the TME, and the concern that the intrinsic immunosuppressive property of MSCs may foster tumor immune evasion. This review summarizes the paradigms of MSC-based anticancer research conducted globally, and discusses the ongoing challenges and for their clinical translation.</p>","PeriodicalId":35588,"journal":{"name":"Japanese Journal of Cancer and Chemotherapy","volume":"53 9","pages":"566-568"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148983804","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"[Spatial Transcriptome Analysis in Cancer and Technology Development].","authors":"Yasuhiko Haga, Ayako Suzuki, Yutaka Suzuki","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Spatial transcriptomics technologies enable omics analysis while preserving the spatial and histopathological context of cells within tissue sections, and have rapidly become widespread across various research fields, including cancer research. In cancer studies, these technologies are widely employed to elucidate changes in cancer cells and the surrounding tumor microenvironment associated with tumor progression and the emergence of therapeutic resistance. Through the application of spatial transcriptomics, numerous novel insights have been obtained regarding the identification of therapeutic targets and strategies to overcome treatment resistance. Sequencing-based platforms such as Visium capture transcriptome-wide information with spatial coordinates and have been applied to characterize the microenvironmental dynamics during lung adenocarcinoma progression and to identify microenvironmental states contributing to chemotherapy resistance in ovarian clear cell carcinoma. Imaging-based platforms such as Xenium and CosMx enable single-cell-resolution profiling of gene expression across hundreds of thousands of cells within tissue sections without requiring cell dissociation, and can be combined with multiplexed immunofluorescence staining to simultaneously obtain gene expression and protein expression data from the same section. These approaches have facilitated the discovery of novel cell subsets associated with patient prognosis and the detection of micrometastatic cancer cells in lymph nodes. In addition to the expanding range of applications, the technologies themselves have undergone remarkable development. Emerging techniques include spatial full-length transcriptome sequencing for splice isoform and immune receptor repertoire analysis, RNA-based mutation detection, spatial epigenomic profiling of chromatin accessibility and DNA methylation, and 3-dimensional spatial transcriptomics for volumetric tissue analysis. This review provides an overview of the fundamental technologies underlying spatial transcriptomics, presents representative examples of their application in cancer research, and introduces next-generation measurement techniques that are expected to further advance the field.</p>","PeriodicalId":35588,"journal":{"name":"Japanese Journal of Cancer and Chemotherapy","volume":"53 8","pages":"483-488"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148931486","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"[Unresectable Gastric Cancer Achieving pCR Via Conversion Surgery after Chemotherapy-Implications for Optimizing Individualized Treatment].","authors":"Naoi Sato, Tatsuya Tanaka, Fuka Fujimoto, Haruka Kirihara, Ryo Nakajima, Shigeyuki Kosaka, Shinnosuke Harata, Kaori Watanabe, Kazuyoshi Shiga, Tomoya Shamoto, Hiroyuki Sagawa, Yoichi Matsuo, Shuji Takiguch","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>A patient was diagnosed with T4aN+ Stage Ⅲ gastric cancer. After 2 courses of SOX chemotherapy for initially unresectable disease. Additional pathological evaluation revealed tumor PD-L1 (22C3) CPS≥10, HER2 1+, Claudin18 negative status, and MSI negative. Consequently, 2 courses of SOX plus nivolumab were administered. Post-treatment CT revealed resectability, thus leading to robot-assisted distal gastrectomy with D2 lymph node dissection and Billroth-Ⅱ reconstruction was performed. Postoperative pathology showed no residual tumor cells in the primary lesion or lymph nodes, confirming a pCR (ypT0N0). The postoperative course was uneventful and there were no major complications. At 5 months postoperatively, no recurrence was detected and SOX chemotherapy is currently being administered as postoperative adjuvant therapy.</p>","PeriodicalId":35588,"journal":{"name":"Japanese Journal of Cancer and Chemotherapy","volume":"53 8","pages":"530-532"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148931433","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"[Survey of Actual Aspirin Use and Deep Vein Thrombosis in Patients with Pomalidomide-Containing Therapy Using a Medical Information Database].","authors":"Yoji Kawase, Yuri Kawase, Hisaki Asano, Hiroaki Sakurada","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Pomalidomide (POM) is an immunomodulatory drug used to treat multiple myeloma, and low-dose aspirin (ASA) is recommended as a preventive measure against its side effect, deep vein thrombosis (DVT). In this study, we utilized a medical information database to clarify the actual use of ASA in patients receiving POM-containing therapy and to investigate the factors affecting ASA use and its association with DVT prevalence. The ASA usage rate in patients receiving POM-containing therapy from September 2023 to September 2024 was 70.6% (497 of 704 patients). Additionally, the use of bortezomib (BOR) affected the ASA usage rate in patients receiving POM-containing therapy; patients using BOR had a significantly lower ASA usage rate compared to non-users. Meanwhile, the use of BOR also affected the DVT prevalence in patients receiving POM-containing therapy, indicating that BOR use may reduce the risk of DVT development associated with POM.</p>","PeriodicalId":35588,"journal":{"name":"Japanese Journal of Cancer and Chemotherapy","volume":"53 8","pages":"512-516"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148931478","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"[Conversion Surgery after Long-Term Chemotherapy for Pancreatic Body Cancer with Peritoneal Metastasis-A Case Report].","authors":"Hitoshi Iwasaki, Hidemasa Kubo, Ryo Morimura, Yusuke Yamamoto, Taisuke Imamura, Rie Shibata, Hiroyuki Inoue, Kento Kurashima, Keiji Nishibeppu, Kenji Nanishi, Jun Kiuchi, Hiroki Shimizu, Tomohiro Arita, Toshiyuki Kosuga, Hirotaka Konishi, Hitoshi Fujiwara, Atsushi Shiozaki","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>An 82-year-old man was diagnosed with pancreatic body cancer after worsening of his diabetes mellitus. Computed tomography and staging laparoscopy revealed an unresectable pancreatic cancer with peritoneal metastasis, and systemic chemotherapy was initiated. After 76 months of chemotherapy, including up to third-line treatment, continuation of chemotherapy was difficult because of adverse events. Repeat staging laparoscopy revealed the absence of visible peritoneal metastases and negative peritoneal lavage cytology results. Therefore, distal pancreatectomy was performed as a conversion surgery. The patient has been alive 22 months postoperatively. Here, we report a case of conversion surgery after long-term chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer with peritoneal metastasis.</p>","PeriodicalId":35588,"journal":{"name":"Japanese Journal of Cancer and Chemotherapy","volume":"53 8","pages":"526-529"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148931437","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"[Three Cases of Encorafenib Treatment for Recurrent BRAF-Mutated Colorectal Cancer].","authors":"Haruka Ozasa, Kenji Nanishi, Tomohiro Arita, Hiroki Shimizu, Jun Kiuchi, Kento Kurashima, Hiroyuki Inoue, Keiji Nishibeppu, Hidemasa Kubo, Taisuke Imamura, Toshiyuki Kosuga, Yusuke Yamamoto, Hirotaka Konishi, Ryo Morimura, Hitoshi Fujiwara, Atsushi Shiozaki","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Recently, favorable outcomes from encorafenib treatment have been reported in patients with BRAF-mutated colorectal cancer, which has a poor prognosis.</p><p><strong>Cases: </strong>Encorafenib was administered to three patients with recurrence after surgery for BRAF-mutated colorectal cancer. Encorafenib and cetuximab were administered to 2 patients, and encorafenib, binimetinib, and cetuximab were administered to one patient. In all cases, tumor markers decreased, and the metastatic tumors shrank. No severe adverse effects were observed.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>BRAF-mutated colorectal cancer often occurs in the right colon. It is also common in older patients, women, and patients with poorly differentiated tumors; our cases exhibited similar characteristics. As previously reported, both doublet and triplet encorafenib treatments are safe and effective.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Combination therapy with encorafenib was effective for the treatment of recurrent BRAF-mutated colorectal cancer, showing good tumor control with few adverse effects. Therefore, this may be a useful treatment option.</p>","PeriodicalId":35588,"journal":{"name":"Japanese Journal of Cancer and Chemotherapy","volume":"53 8","pages":"536-538"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148931463","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"[Resection of Borderline Resectable Pancreatic Cancer with Arterial Involvement Following a Marked Response to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy-A Case Report].","authors":"Goshi Takayama, Hidemasa Kubo, Rie Shibata, Taisuke Imamura, Yusuke Yamamoto, Ryo Morimura, Hiroyuki Inoue, Kento Kurashima, Keiji Nishibeppu, Jun Kiuchi, Kenji Nanishi, Hiroki Shimizu, Tomohiro Arita, Toshiyuki Kosuga, Hirotaka Konishi, Hitoshi Fujiwara, Atsushi Shiozaki","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Borderline resectable (BR) pancreatic cancer is associated with a high risk of residual tumors even after upfront surgical resection, which may limit the survival benefit of surgery. Accordingly, the current clinical guidelines recommend neoadjuvant therapy for BR pancreatic cancer, followed by reassessment for surgical resection. Here, we report a case of BR pancreatic head cancer involving the superior mesenteric artery that showed a marked response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy with gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel. After tumor shrinkage, surgical resection was performed. The patient achieved a remarkable therapeutic response and remained recurrence-free for 7 years after surgery.</p>","PeriodicalId":35588,"journal":{"name":"Japanese Journal of Cancer and Chemotherapy","volume":"53 8","pages":"523-525"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148931476","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"[Perioperative Treatment for Gastric Cancer Using Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors].","authors":"Kei Muro","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Perioperative and adjuvant treatment for resectable gastric cancer was historically fragmented across regions. In East Asia, high-quality D2 gastrectomy followed by postoperative chemotherapy became the standard, whereas postoperative chemoradiotherapy was established in North America and perioperative chemotherapy was developed in Europe. Over the past 2 decades, surgical quality in Western countries has improved, particularly through wider adoption of D2 lymphadenectomy, and perioperative chemotherapy has evolved from ECF/ECX to FLOT. The global phase Ⅲ MATTERHORN trial marked a major turning point. Perioperative durvalumab plus FLOT followed by adjuvant durvalumab significantly improved event-free survival compared with FLOT alone, establishing the D-FLOT strategy as a new global standard. In Japan, this regimen was approved in June 2026 and has become an important treatment option. Nevertheless, several issues remain when applying the trial results to Japanese practice. Gastric cancer incidence is decreasing, while the patient population is rapidly aging. Clinical staging remains imperfect, and routine use of D-FLOT in all patients with clinical stage Ⅱ disease may result in overtreatment. Safe delivery of FLOT requires multidisciplinary expertise, proactive supportive care, nutritional management, and close collaboration between surgeons and medical oncologists. For MSI-high or mismatch repair-deficient gastric cancer, neoadjuvant immune checkpoint blockade has produced high pathological complete response rates, raising the possibility of chemotherapy-free treatment and future non-operative management. However, response rates in gastric cancer are less uniformly high than those observed in rectal cancer, and accurate confirmation of complete response in both the primary tumor and regional lymph nodes remains challenging. Thus, organ preservation in gastric cancer should still be investigated in prospective clinical trials. This review summarizes the historical evolution, evidence from MATTERHORN, practical challenges in Japan, and future directions for biomarker-driven de-escalation.</p>","PeriodicalId":35588,"journal":{"name":"Japanese Journal of Cancer and Chemotherapy","volume":"53 8","pages":"494-501"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148931435","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}