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BackgroundAlthough survival of patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) has been significantly prolonged over the past decade due to improvement of anti-cancer therapeutics, only a few patients survive for more than 10 years. It has not been determined which patients can have long-term survival with treatment.MethodsTo determine prognostic factors responsible for long-term survival, we retrospectively compared clinicopathologic factors of patients with MBC who survived for 50 months or more after diagnosis with patients who did not. Of 70 patients with MBC who received chemotherapy between November 2005 and September 2011, 23 patients who survived for 50 months or more after diagnosis and 28 patients who died within 50 months after diagnosis were assessed for their clinicopathologic factors and outcomes.ResultsThe proportion of patients with hormone receptor-positive (HR+) tumors was significantly higher and the proportion of patients with triple negative tumors (TN) was lower in long-term survivors than in non-long-term survivors (HR+: 87% versus 28.6%, P = 0.000037; TN: 13.1% versus 53.6%, P = 0.0028). Metastatic site, number of disease sites, prior chemotherapeutic regimens and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2) status did not differ between the two groups. The proportion of patients who received metronomic regimens was significantly higher in long-term survivors than in non-long-term survivors (65.2% versus 35.7%, P = 0.034) when the most effective regimen among regimens that were received in metastatic settings was compared between the two groups. Overall response rate was significantly higher (82.6% versus 17.9%, P <0.00001) and time to treatment failure after receiving the most effective regimen was longer in long-term survivors than in non-long-term survivors (26 versus 5 months, P = 0.0001). The number of chemotherapeutic regimens for breast cancer and that for MBC did not differ between the two groups.ConclusionsPatients with luminal-type MBC who benefit at least once from chemotherapy including metronomic regimens, or patients who continued to receive the most effective regimen for more than two years can be expected to have long-term survival after diagnosis of MBC, regardless of the number of chemotherapeutic regimens they had received.

As a source of hematopoietic stem cells for transplantation, the use of peripheral blood stem cells (PBSCs) has become routine and comparable to that of the use of bone marrow. Recently, elderly patients with hematological malignancies also have been allowed to receive minitransplantations with nonmyeloablative conditioning regimens under sufficient PBSC infusion. As a result of these minitransplantations, elderly donors have been chosen increasingly from the siblings of elderly patients. We analyzed factors influencing the condition of CD34+ cells in the first days of collection in 49 healthy donors from July 1995 to January 2001. The median dose of recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor was 8 g/kg/day (range 8 ∼ 10) over 3 days. The target number of CD34+ cells used in this study was м 3 × 10 6 cells/kg of recipient body weight. The median apheresis volume was 12 L. Except for one 60 year old man, we obtained an adequate number of stem cells. In the regression analysis, a negative correlation was seen between donor age and the number of CD34+ cells/kg of recipient body weight per 12 L volume (Y ‫ס‬ aX + b; a ‫ס‬ −0.07507; b ‫ס‬ 6.629996; r ‫ס‬ −0.50985; p ‫ס‬ 0.000252). Significantly higher apheresis results were obtained in donors younger than 45 years compared with donors 45 years old and older (p < 0.0227). There were no correlations among the number of CD34+ cells, donor body weight, and the number of leukocytes in peripheral blood on the first day of apheresis. Key Words: CD34 positive cells-Donor age-Peripheral blood stem cell.Peripheral blood stem cells (PBSCs) mobilized by granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) and collected by apheresis are increasingly being used along with bone marrow for transplantation (1-3). With regard to the use of PBSCs for allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, additional issues must be considered, such as the safety of healthy donors during apheresis. The second that must be considered is the most appropriate schedule for PBSC mobilization and harvesting. In addition, the number of elderly donors has recently increased due to the widespread use of minitransplantation (4,5). There are various reports suggesting that donor age affects the yield of PBSCs (6-10) while at the same time there are reports suggesting the opposite (11)(12)(13). It is necessary to plan transplantations and PBSC harvests adequately. In an attempt to better understand the factors influencing the mobilization and collection of CD34+ cells in healthy donors, we have analyzed the yields of CD34+ cells from 49 donors. MATERIALS AND METHODS Donor characteristics and apheresisA total of 49 consecutive healthy donors were included in this study (23 men, 26 women) from July 1995 to January 2001. Written informed consent was obtained from every donor before they underwent the procedure. The donors who had complications (e.g., hypertension and hyperlipidemia) were excluded. Apheresis was performed through peripheral venous access for all donors. The median age of the subjects w...

Additions to the Spectra Lila, Lizb and LiZla.Six new spectral lines have been observed in the lithium spectrum between 200 nm and 600 nm. Possible classifications are given and discussed.

ABSTRACT. The prevalence of footpad dermatitis (FPD) in broiler chickens in Japan was investigated. In the first examination at slaughterhouses, lesions were commonly observed on the footpads of a total of 8,985 broiler chickens from 45 flocks on 36 farms. In 3 flocks, all the birds examined had lesions. In the other 42 flocks, the incidence of FPD ranged from 31.9% (81/254) to 99.5% (1/222). The footpad lesions were classified into 4 categories according to the severity of dermatitis as follows; score 0, 1,181 birds (13.1%); score 1, 2,992 birds (33.3%); score 2, 3,000 birds (33.4%); and score 3, 1,812 birds (20.2%). The mean scores of the flocks varied widely from 0.31 to 2.69. Males had higher mean scores than females. No significant differences were found between the mean scores of birds reared in windowless houses and those in open-sided houses. On 4 farms, the investigation was carried out in different seasons, and 3 of them showed higher mean scores in winter than in summer. Next, observation of 2,255 birds from 15 flocks on 5 farms during a 4-week rearing period revealed that FPD was already produced at 7 days of age and worsened with age.KEY WORDS: animal welfare, broiler, footpad dermatitis, lesion score.J. Vet. Med. Sci. 73(3): 293-297, 2011 Footpad dermatitis (FPD) has been regarded as a type of contact dermatitis of the footpad in chickens because it occurs on the points of contact with the ground and has been found in floor broilers under wet litter conditions [14]. The chicken feet, including the footpads, are edible parts of the chicken that are in high demand, especially in Southeast Asia. Chicken feet are exported from Japan and other countries, but feet with severe FPD are unfit for human consumption. They are condemned, resulting in significant economic losses. On the other hand, FPD is considered to be an indicator of animal welfare, especially in Europe, because the disease likely affects the health of the birds and inflicts suffering [7,22,26].So far, the prevalence of FPD in broiler chickens in Japan has not been reported. In this report, the first report on FPD in broiler chickens in Japan, we have investigated the prevalence of FPD in broiler chickens at processing plants and on farms. farms were slaughtered at 3 processing plants in the Minami-Kyushu area, and the other birds, which were reared on 7 farms, were slaughtered at 2 processing plants in the Tohoku area. The ages of the slaughtered birds ranged from 41 to 60 days (mean age of 53.2 days). In regard to the breed of the birds, 487 were Cobb chickens, 425 were Ross and Cobb chickens (mixture) and 8,073 were Ross chickens. Thirty-two flocks (6,386 birds) were reared in open houses, and 13 flocks (2,599 birds) were in windowless houses. Birds reared on 4 farms in Minami-Kyushu were examined twice, in summer (September) and in winter (January). MATERIALS AND METHODS Examination at slaughterhouses:Examination on farms: During the rearing period, a total of 2,245 broiler chickens (Ross breed) from 15 flocks on 5 farms in the Minam...