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Neoadjuvant systemic therapy (NST) induces tumor shrinkage and boosts the chance of breast-conserving thearpy (BCT) in patients with breast cancer. However, only a few trials have evaluated the effect of NST in conversion from BCT ineligibility to BCT eligibility in HER2-positive breast cancer.

Semen quality is affected by environmental factors, endocrine function abnormalities, and genetic factors. A GWAS recently identified ERBB4at 2q34 as a genetic locus associated with sperm motility. However, GWASs for human semen volume and sperm concentration have not been conducted. In addition, testis size also reportedly correlates with semen quality, and it is important to identify genes that affect testis size. Reproductive hormones also play an important role in spermatogenesis. To date, genetic loci associated with plasma testosterone, sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and luteinizing hormone (LH) levels have been identified using GWASs. However, GWASs have not identified any relevant loci for plasma inhibin B levels. We conducted a two-stage GWAS using 811 Japanese men in a discovery stage followed by a replication stage using an additional 721 Japanese men. The results of the discovery and replication stages were combined into a meta-analysis. After setting a suggestive significance threshold for Pvalues < 5 × 10−6in the discovery stage, we identified ten regions with SNPs (semen volume: one, sperm concentration: three, testes size: two, and inhibin B: four). We selected only the most significant SNP in each region for replication genotyping. Combined discovery and replication results in the meta-analysis showed that the locus 12q21.31 associated with plasma inhibin B levels (rs11116724) had the most significant association (P= 5.7 × 10−8). The LRRIQ1and TSPAN19genes are located in the 12q21.31 region. This study provides new susceptibility variants that contribute to plasma inhibin B levels.

This Japanese Kidney Transplant Registry analysis shows no significant differences in patient or graft outcomes comparing ABO incompatible and compatible pediatric kidney transplant recipients. Supplemental digital content is available in the text.

Coinfection by Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) has been reported to increase risk of graft failure for liver transplant recipients. But other studies have controverted that finding. The aim of this study was to determine whether—after adjustments for other important predictors—HBV/HCV coinfection was associated with worse liver graft survival than HBV or HCV mono-infection.

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text