Conflict of interest

Tadakazu Hisamatsu received research grants from Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, EA Pharma Co. Ltd., AbbVie GK, JIMRO Co. Ltd., Zeria Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Kyorin Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Nippon Kayaku Co. Ltd., Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Pfizer Inc., Mochida Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Boston Scientific Corporation, and Kissei Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.; a consulting fee from Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, EA Pharma Co. Ltd., AbbVie GK, Janssen Pharmaceutical K.K., Pfizer Inc., Nichi-Iko Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Eli Lilly, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Gilead Sciences, Inc.,; and honoraria for lectures from Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, AbbVie GK, EA Pharma Co. Ltd., Kyorin Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., JIMRO Co. Ltd., Janssen Pharmaceutical K.K., Mochida Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Pfizer Inc., and Kissei Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.. Minoru Matsuura received honoraria from AbbVie GK and Janssen Pharmaceutical K.K. Ryota Ogihara, Takuya Ishida, Hiromu Morikubo, Tatsuya Mitsui, Daisuke Saito, Jun Miyoshi, Junji Shibahara, and Eiji Sunami declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Human rights

All procedures were performed in accordance with the ethical standards laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from the patient for being included in the study.