HGCSG1902 Multicenter, Prospective, Observational Study of Chemotherapy-induced Dysgeusia in Gastrointestinal Cancer

PurposeDysgeusia is an adverse event caused by chemotherapy. Although retrospective studies have shown zinc administration improves dysgeusia, there have been no prospective studies. The present study examined effects of zinc therapy on dysgeusia in patients with gastrointestinal cancer.MethodsThis multicenter, prospective, observational study enrolled patients with dysgeusia during chemotherapy treatment. Patients received treatment of no intervention (control), polaprezinc p.o., or zinc acetate hydrate p.o. and serum zinc levels were measured at 0 (baseline), 6, and 12 weeks. Dysgeusia was assessed using CTCAE v5.0 and Subjective Total Taste Acuity (STTA) criteria using questionnaires at baseline and 12 weeks.ResultsFrom February 2020 to June 2021, 180 patients were enrolled from 17 institutes. There were no differences in mean serum zinc levels in each group at baseline (67.3, 66.6, and 67.5 μg/dL in the no intervention, polaprezinc, and zinc acetate hydrate groups, respectively. P = 0.846) and the mean changes in serum zinc level in the three groups from baseline to after 12 weeks were −3.8, +14.3, and +46.6 μg/dl, respectively. The efficiency rates of dysgeusia were 33.3%, 36.8%, and 34.6% using CTCAE and 33.3%, 52.6%, 32.7% using STTA in the no intervention, polaprezinc, and zinc acetate hydrate groups, respectively. The polaprezinc group showed a significantly improved STTA score compared with the no intervention group (P = 0.045).ConclusionThere was no significant correlation between the degree of serum zinc elevation and improvement in dysgeusia, suggesting that polaprezinc, but not zinc acetate hydrate, is effective in improving chemotherapy-induced dysgeusia.Trial registration number UMIN000039653. Date of registration, March 2, 2020.

Morphological and Optical Properties of Cobalt Ion-Modified ZnO Nanowires

In this study, we prepared cobalt (Co) ion-modified ZnO nanowires using hydrothermal synthesis with zinc acetate dehydrate and Co (II) acetate hydrate precursors in ethanol solutions. Their morphological and optical properties were investigated with varying Co precursor concentration. The morphological changes of the ZnO nanowires depended positively on the concentration of the Co precursor. The ZnO nanowires showed modified crystal orientations and nanostructure shapes depending on the Co concentration in the solutions. Variations in the optical properties of the Co ion-modified ZnO nanowires could be explained by the interaction of the Co ions with the band electrons, oxygen vacancies, and zinc interstitials. The overall growth and characteristics of ZnO nanowires synthesized in solutions containing low levels of Co ions were related to Co doping into the ZnO bulks. In solutions containing high levels of Co ions, these were additionally related to the Co oxide cluster.

P619 Efficacy of zinc acetate hydrate administration for zinc deficiency in patients with inflammatory bowel disease: a multi-centre retrospective study

Background Zinc deficiency is common in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and the frequency is about 42.1% in Crohn’s disease (CD) and 38.5% in ulcerative colitis (UC). Patients with IBD with serum zinc deficiency are more likely to have adverse disease-specific outcomes. However, there are few studies about the effect of administering zinc preparations in IBD patients with zinc deficiency. The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of zinc acetate hydrate (Nobelzin®︎) preparation for patients with IBD with zinc deficiency. Methods 56 IBD patients who were treated with Nobelzin®︎ for zinc deficiency from March 2017 to November 2019 were analyzed. We conducted a multicenter retrospective observational study to investigate changes in serum zinc concentration or changes in disease activity before and after administration and their contributing factors. Results Among 56 cases, 4 cases were excluded due to self-interruption of internal use, and 52 cases (39 cases of CD, 13 cases of UC) were included. The median observation period was 27.5 (13–47) weeks, the median serum zinc concentration before administration was 58.5 (50.8–65.3) μg/dl, and the average of starting dose of Nobelzin®︎ was 67.8±31.1 mg/day. Nobelzin®︎ administration normalised serum zinc concentration(Zn ≥80 μg/dl) in 94.2 % (49/52) of patients. The median administration period required for normalisation of serum zinc concentration was 5 (3–8) weeks. In the group of CD patients who achieved zinc normalisation, the median CDAI score significantly improved after the normalisation from 171.5 to 129.5 (p < 0.001). Similarly, the partial Mayo score in the same group of UC significantly improved after the normalisation (p = 0.035). There were 77.6 % patients who did not have additional treatment without Nobelzin®︎ administration until zinc was normalised. In CD patients of this group, the median CDAI score significantly improved after the normalisation from 152 to 120 (p = 0.029). All 3 cases in which zinc normalisation was not achieved within the observation period were CD cases, and they had a history of multiple surgeries, changes in biologics, or a long medical history. In one patient, side effects of Nobelzin®︎ administration were observed and these were abdominal discomfort and nausea. During the observation period, serum copper concentration was measured in 27 patients after administration of Nobelzin®︎, and one patient presented with copper deficiency. Conclusion Our findings show that administration of zinc acetate hydrate preparations may be effective in improving zinc deficiency and contribute to improve disease activity in IBD patients with zinc deficiency.

Kinetics of nonisothermal dehydration of unirradiated and γ-ray irradiated neodymium (III) acetate hydrate

Kinetics of dehydration of unirradiated and γ-ray irradiated neodymium (III) acetate hydrate with 103 kGy total γ-ray dose absorbed in air atmosphere were studied by isoconversional nonisothermal method. The dehydration proceeds in two steps with the elimination of 0.8 and 0.4 mol of H2O, respectively. This result indicates that the investigated neodymium (III) acetate hydrate contains 1.2 mol of crystalline water in its structure. The dehydration reactions are best described by nucleation (A2 model) and gas diffusion (D4 model) for unirradiated and γ-ray irradiated samples, respectively. Analysis of the kinetic data using linear and nonlinear isoconversional methods showed that the apparent activation energy, Ea (kJ/mol) is dependent on the conversion degree, α, of the dehydration process. The Ea−α plots for both unirradiated and γ-ray irradiated neodymium (III) acetate hydrate showed that the dehydration is a complex process and contains multistep reactions. The results showed that γ-ray irradiation has a significant effect on the kinetics and thermodynamic parameters of the dehydration reaction. Powder X-ray diffraction showed that neodymium (III) acetate hydrate has a monoclinic system (SG P2/m) and no phase transformation was detected by γ-ray irradiation up to 103 kGy absorbed dose. The system maintains the same crystal structure before and after dehydration.