About the Authors

Yutaka Fujiwara

yutakafu@ncc.go.jp

Affiliations Division of Medical Oncology and Hematology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan, Department of Experimental Therapeutics, Exploratory Oncology Research & Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo, Japan

Shogo Kobayashi

Affiliation Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Suita, Japan

Hiroaki Nagano

Affiliation Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Suita, Japan

Masashi Kanai

Affiliation Outpatient Oncology Unit, Kyoto University Hospital, Kyoto, Japan

Etsuo Hatano

Affiliation Department of Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University Hospital, Kyoto, Japan

Masanori Toyoda

Affiliation Division of Medical Oncology and Hematology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan

Tetsuo Ajiki

Affiliation Department of Surgery, Division of Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan

Yuki Takashima

Affiliation Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Fundamental Innovative Oncology Core, National Cancer Center Research Institute, Tokyo, Japan

Kenichi Yoshimura

Affiliation Innovative Clinical Research Center, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan

Akinobu Hamada

Affiliation Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Fundamental Innovative Oncology Core, National Cancer Center Research Institute, Tokyo, Japan

Hironobu Minami

Affiliation Division of Medical Oncology and Hematology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan

Tatsuya Ioka

Affiliation Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Oncology, Osaka Medical Center for Cancer and Cardiovascular Diseases, Osaka, Japan

Competing Interests

The authors have the following interests: Y. Fujiwara has received research funding from Eli Lilly. M. Kanai has received research funding from Taiho. E. Hatano has received research funding from Eli Lilly. T. Ioka has received research funding from Taiho and Yakult and has honoraria from Eli Lilly, Taiho, and Yakult. The research funding from Eli Lilly, Taiho and Yakult does not relate to this study. There are no patents, products in development or marketed products to declare. This does not alter the authors' adherence to all the PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials as detailed online in the guide for authors.

Author Contributions

Conceived and designed the experiments: YF SK MK HM TI. Performed the experiments: YF SK HN MK EH MT TA YT AH HM TI. Analyzed the data: YF KY AH HM. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: YF. Wrote the paper: YF SK HN MK EH MT TA KY AH HM TI.