Fibrin sealant for esophageal anastomosis: A phase II study.

Background: Esophagectomy is a pivotal curative modality for localized esophageal or esophagogastric junction cancer (EC or EJC). Postoperative anastomotic leakage (AL) remains problematic. The use of fibrin sealant (FS) may improve the strength of esophageal anastomosis and reduce the incidence of AL.

Specific Safety Profile of Bevacizumab in Asian Patients With Advanced NSCLC: A Meta-Analysis.

Randomized studies have obtained varying findings regarding the benefits and toxicities of bevacizumab in the treatment of nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC). It is unclear whether the discrepancies among trials are due to ethnic/racial differences. We therefore performed a meta-analysis of all published, randomized, controlled clinical trials involving bevacizumab in patients with NSCLC to assess its effectiveness and safety in Asian and non-Asian populations.

Clinicopathological features and outcome of gastric metastases from primary lung cancer: A case report and systematic review.

Primary lung cancer is the fourth most frequently diagnosed cancer, but gastric metastasis from lung cancer is extremely rare. Little is known about its clinicopathological features, prognosis and optimal treatment strategy. The present study reports a case of primary lung cancer that metastasized to the stomach and to the best of our knowledge, is the first to identify discordance in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation status between the primary tumor and gastric metastasis.

Impact of alcohol consumption on survival in patients with esophageal carcinoma: a large cohort with long-term follow-up.

Alcohol is a well-established cause of esophageal carcinoma, but its effect on survival is little known and contradictory. To clarify whether drinking is an independent predictor of survival in esophageal carcinoma, 2151 Chinese patients, receiving surgical resection from January 1997 to December 2008, were followed until March 2014. Cox proportional hazards analysis was applied to evaluate the prognostic effect of alcohol consumption.

Frequency of EGFR mutations in lung adenocarcinoma with malignant pleural effusion: Implication of cancer biological behaviour regulated by EGFR mutation.

Objective: A retrospective single-centre study to compare the clinical features of patients with lung adenocarcinoma with and without epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations.

Methods: Pretreatment medical records of patients with lung adenocarcinoma were reviewed. DNA was extracted from paraffin wax-embedded tumour tissue for analysis of EGFR mutations.

Caspase-3 expression in metastatic lymph nodes of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma is prognostic of survival.

Aim: To assess whether differential expression of caspase-3 in paired metastatic lymph nodes (LNs) is prognostic of survival in patients with resectable esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).

Methods: Capases-3 expression was evaluated immunohistochemically in 122 pairs of primary ESCCs and regional metastatic LNs assembled on tissue microarrays. The impact of caspase-3 expression on survival outcomes was analyzed by the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional hazards regression model.

Maximum standardized uptake value on PET/CT in preoperative assessment of lymph node metastasis from thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

The presence of lymph node metastasis is an important prognostic factor for patients with esophageal cancer. Accurate assessment of lymph nodes in thoracic esophageal carcinoma is essential for selecting appropriate treatment and forecasting disease progression. Positron emission tomography combined with computed tomography (PET/CT) is becoming an important tool in the workup of esophageal carcinoma.

Role of the stem cell-associated intermediate filament nestin in malignant proliferation of non-small cell lung cancer.

Background: Nestin is associated with neoplastic transformation, but the mechanisms by which nestin contributes to invasion and malignancy of lung cancer remain unknown. Considering that proliferation is necessary for malignant behavior, we investigated the mechanism of nestin action in association with the proliferative properties of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods: Nestin expression was examined in NSCLC specimens and cell lines.

Impact of thoracic recurrent laryngeal node dissection: 508 patients with tri-incisional esophagectomy.

Background: To evaluate the feasibility and safety of recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) lymph node (LN) dissection, this study compared the postoperative complications and survival between modern two-field lymphadenectomy (MTL) and modified standard two-field lymphadenectomy (MSTL) by using the propensity score matching method.

Methods: After generating propensity scores given the covariates of age, sex, tumor length, tumor location, tumor grade, and clinical stage, 254 patients with MTL were matched to 254 MSTL patients using the nearest available score matching. The LNs resected during MSTL were paraesophageal and preparatracheal LNs in the upper mediastinum, in addition to those resected during standard two-field lymphadenectomy.

Medical thoracoscopy and gastroscopy for the treatment of intrathoracic anastomotic leakage following esophagectomy.

Intrathoracic anastomotic leakage following esophagectomy is extremely difficult to manage appropriately. The outcomes of conservative management strategies are often disappointing, particularly in patients who develop adhesions of the pleural cavity and multiloculated empyema. This study describes a novel approach using combined thoracoscopy and gastroscopy in two cases.

Comparative pulmonary functional recovery after Nuss and Ravitch procedures for pectus excavatum repair: a meta-analysis.

Background: Pectus excavatum (PE) is a common chest wall malformation, with surgery being the only method known to correct the defect. Although the Nuss and Ravitch procedures are commonly used, there is no consensus as to whether surgical repair improves pulmonary function. We therefore investigated whether pulmonary function recovers after surgical repair, and if recovery is dependent on the type of procedure or time after surgery.

[Analysis of learning process of video-assisted minimally invasive esophagectomy for thoracic esophageal carcinoma].

Objective: To evaluate the learning process of video-assisted minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE).

Methods: One hundred consecutive patients with thoracic esophageal carcinoma were treated by a same team of surgeons, and were divided into 3 groups in chronological order. The former two groups both consisted of 25 patients with thoracoscopy plus laparotomy.

[A new retrievable nitinol alloy stents for treatment of refractory benign esophageal strictures].

Objective: To explore long-term effect of the treatment of refractory benign esophageal strictures with a novel retrievable fully covered stent made of nitinol alloy.

Methods: From November 2009 to May 2011, the stents were placed in 8 patients with refractory benign esophageal strictures in the Department of Thoracic Surgery at the Cancer Center of Sun Yat-sen University. Esophago-gastro-duodenoscopy and barium swallow examinations were performed respectively on the 1st, 7th, 30th, 60th day after implantations of the stents and 1,2,3,6 months or even longer after removal of the stents in order to assess the long-term effect on the improvement of dysphagia and the development of complications.

Expression and prognostic relevance of Id1 in stage III esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Inhibitor of differentiation 1 (Id1) plays a role in cellular differentiation, proliferation, angiogenesis and tumor invasion. In current study, we investigated the expression of Id1 protein in 189 specimens of stage III ESCC by immunohistochemistry. The correlation between Id1 expression and clinicopathological parameters in terms of gender, age, tumor location, differentiation, pathological T stage and pathological N stage was also explored.

Serum protein profiles in myasthenia gravis.

Background: The diagnosis of myasthenia gravis (MG) remains challenging. We performed a proteome-wide search for potential serum protein diagnostic markers for MG using surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization (SELDI) time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOFMS).

Methods: Proteomic spectra from 80 MG patients and 80 healthy individuals were generated by SELDI.