The principal cause of fibrosis in systemic sclerosis is thought to be excessive deposition of extracellular matrix in multiple organs. The main component of matrix is thought to be collagen, especially type I collagen, which is one of the most abundant proteins in the mammalian body. Various factors have been estimated to be involved in the mechanism of their excessive deposition in fibrotic t...

Pretibial myxedema (PTM) is an uncommon cutaneous manifestation of Graves’ disease. A 62-year-old obese Japanese man treated for Graves’ disease presented with nodular lesions symmetrically on both pretibial areas. Systemic corticosteroid therapy targeted against simultaneously developing severe Graves’ ophthalmopathy almost completely cleared his skin symptoms. About ten years later, edema of ...

Inflammaging is a subject of considerable attention, because aging is characterized by low-grade, chronic, and asymptomatic inflammation, concomitant with increased blood levels of senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) factors, including IL-1, IL-6, IL-8, IL-18, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). However, IL-27 is currently not categorized as a SASP factor, although it is known to ...

A 62-year-old woman reported with progressive pruritus rash that persisted on her buttocks and extremities for a duration of twenty years. She was initially diagnosed with tinea corporis but then the morphological and histological features were consistent with MF. As MF is considered as a “great imitator”, it is important to emphasize that cutaneous characteristics, skin biopsy, histology, and ...

It has been less than a decade since immune checkpoint inhibitors became the mainstay of lung cancer treatment, and 2020 saw the advent of the era of complex immune checkpoint inhibitors. Although clinical trials have shown that the therapeutic effects of complex immune checkpoint inhibitors are favorable, they are associated with an increase in adverse events. The use of combined immune checkp...

Immune checkpoint inhibitors, which promote or suppress the anti-tumor immune response, are becoming the mainstay of cancer treatment. In 2018, CheckMate 214 study showed a higher response rate with ipilimumab and nivolumab combination therapy compared to conventional therapy for advanced renal cell carcinoma. We report a case of complete response and durable response for two years to ipilimuma...

Early detection is the key in managing side effects because immune-related adverse events (irAEs) are becoming more serious, and their onset time differs. In our hospital, we conducted an outpatient pharmacist clinic for early detection of irAEs by self-care practice for the cases of immune checkpoint inhibitor administration. As a result of a retrospective survey of 207 cases, the percentage o...