DEK oncoprotein regulates transcriptional modifiers and sustains tumor initiation activity in high-grade neuroendocrine carcinoma of the lung.

Lung cancer shows diverse histological subtypes. Large-cell neuroendocrine cell carcinoma and small-cell lung carcinoma show similar histological features and clinical behaviors, and can be classified as high-grade neuroendocrine carcinoma (HGNEC) of the lung. Here we elucidated the molecular classification of pulmonary endocrine tumors by copy-number profiling.

[A Japanese lung cancer registry study at 2002].

Objectives: To publicize clinical results of Japanese lung cancer patients registered in 2002. Study design. In 2002, The Japanese Joint Committee for Lung Cancer Registration conducted a prospective observational study for lung cancer patients registered at starting treatments with follow-ups in 2004 and 2009.

Clinicopathologic analysis of multiple (five or more) atypical adenomatous hyperplasias (AAHs) of the lung: evidence for the AAH-adenocarcinoma sequence.

Objective: Clarification of the clinicopathologic characteristics of patients with multiple atypical adenomatous hyperplasias (AAHs).

Materials And Methods: The subjects were 1,639 patients who underwent lobectomy or pneumonectomy for lung tumors. The clinicopathologic features of the AAHs in the lung background and the main tumors were examined with regard to the number and the size of the AAHs, the incidence and histology of adenocarcinomas (ADs), and the outcome.

Unusual body posture after death leading to signs of strangulation.

This report concerns a case in which the decedent was found in a highly unusual posture, one resembling a yoga backbend pose. Several findings in this case pointed to death by strangulation, including facial congestion, extensive petechiae of the conjunctivae and mucosal membranes of the oral cavity, and congestion and hemorrhaging in the lingual root, laryngopharynx, and cervical lymph nodes. However, no hemorrhaging of the cervical skin or soft tissue was observed.

Histological scoring for small lung adenocarcinomas 2 cm or less in diameter: a reliable prognostic indicator.

Objective: Lung adenocarcinomas 2 cm or less in diameter were studied to develop histologic criteria predicting the outcome.

Materials And Methods: We reviewed 510 consecutive lung adenocarcinomas 2 cm or less in diameter and assessed three histologic parameters to implement a histologic scoring system: lymphovascular invasion, maximum diameter of the nonbronchioloalveolar carcinoma (BAC) component, and percentage of the solid, cribriform, and/or papillary component in the entire tumor volume (%solid/cribriform/papillary). One point was given to each of lymphovascular invasion-positive, non-BAC >10 mm and %solid/cribriform/papillary > or =30%, and by the sum of these points, a score of 0 to 3 was assigned for each tumor.

Evaluation of a new experimental kit for the extraction of DNA from bones and teeth using a non-powder method.

An experimental DNA extraction kit (new kit) was recently developed to extract DNA from degraded skeletal remains without the need for powdering the samples. We compared the utility of the new kit with the conventional phenol/chloroform method using real-time quantitative PCR and multiplex STR analysis. The new kit yielded large amounts of DNA from a compact bone fragment compared with the conventional phenol/chloroform method.

[The process of the revision of staging system for lung cancer(UICC-7)].

The agenda for a new staging system for lung cancer has been determined and proposed to the UICC and AJCC by the IASLC (International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer) staging committee. Publication by both organizations is scheduled late this year. For the present revision, the IASLC launched a staging project early and accumulated data on more than 100, 000 patients from all continents.

A phase III randomized trial of lobectomy versus limited resection for small-sized peripheral non-small cell lung cancer (JCOG0802/WJOG4607L).

A Phase III study was started in Japan to evaluate the non-inferiority in overall survival of segmentectomy compared with lobectomy in patients with small-sized (diameter View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Improvements in surgical results for lung cancer from 1989 to 1999 in Japan.

Background: In 1986, Japanese Association for Thoracic Surgery started a nationwide survey of the number of primary lung cancer undergoing resection and this survey was continued annually. Thereafter, investigations of lung cancer surgical results have been conducted three times. The postoperative overall 5-year survival rate was 47.

Restriction enzyme analysis of PCR products.

Progress in single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) detection technologies has provided information for SNP-based studies, such as identification of candidate genes for the complex genetic diseases, pharmacogenetic analysis, drug development, population genetics, evolutionary studies, and forensic investigations. SNP detection is performed by many methods, including hybridization, allele-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR), primer extension, oligonucleotide ligation, direct DNA sequencing, and endonuclease cleavage. Each of these methods has its specific advantages and disadvantages.

Pulmonary resection in patients aged 80 years or over with clinical stage I non-small cell lung cancer: prognostic factors for overall survival and risk factors for postoperative complications.

Introduction: This retrospective study was designed to identify the predictors of long-term survival and the risk factors for complications after surgery in patients aged 80 years or older with clinical (c)-stage I non-small cell lung cancer.

Methods: The Japanese Joint Committee of Lung Cancer Registry collated the clinicopathological profiles and outcomes of 13,344 patients who underwent pulmonary resection for primary lung cancer in 1999. The data of 367 patients aged 80 years or older with c-stage I non-small cell lung cancer were analyzed for prognostic factors and risk factors for postoperative complications.

Comparison of different clones (WT49 versus 6F-H2) of WT-1 antibodies for immunohistochemical diagnosis of malignant pleural mesothelioma.

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is known to mimic the morphology of a number of diverse neoplastic conditions. WT-1 protein is conventionally used as a positive mesothelioma marker. Recently, a new monoclonal antibody clone WT49 has recently become commercially available.

Visceral pleura invasion impact on non-small cell lung cancer patient survival: its implications for the forthcoming TNM staging based on a large-scale nation-wide database.

Introduction: No analyses have been reported on the impact of visceral pleura invasion (VPI) on staging, in relation with the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer proposals for the 7th edition of the tumor, node, metastasis (TNM) classification of the International Union Against Cancer staging system. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of VPI on survival and propose a method of incorporating VPI status into the TNM classification.

Methods: We reviewed the data on 9758 non-small cell lung cancer patients, who underwent anatomic surgical resection in 1999, accumulated by the Japanese Joint Committee for Lung Cancer Registration, to gain insight into their clinicopathologic characteristics and outcomes.

Lymph node dissection for lung cancer: significance, strategy, and technique.

Since Cahan (1960) reported the first 48 cases that successfully underwent lobectomy with regional lymph node dissection, which was called "radical lobectomy", this procedure was universally accepted and has remained a standard surgery for lung cancer. In recent decades, the intrathoracic reevaluation of disease at thoracotomy for lung cancer has evolved into a detailed and sophisticated assessment of disease extent. Central to this is an evaluation of nodal involvement at the mediastinal and hilar levels.

The IASLC lung cancer staging project: a proposal for a new international lymph node map in the forthcoming seventh edition of the TNM classification for lung cancer.

The accurate assessment of lymph node involvement is an important part of the management of lung cancer. Lymph node "maps" have been used to describe the location of nodal metastases. However, discrepancies in nomenclature among maps used by Asian and Western countries hinder analyses of lung cancer treatment outcome.

Gender difference in survival of resected non-small cell lung cancer: histology-related phenomenon?

Objective: It remains controversial whether there is a gender difference in survival of patients with resected non-small cell lung cancer.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 2770 patients (1689 men and 1081 women) with non-small cell lung cancer who underwent pulmonary resection between 1995 and 2005 at the National Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo. A gender difference in survival was studied in all patients, in those divided according to histology or pathologic stage, and in propensity-matched gender pairs.

Clinicopathological characteristics of screen-detected lung cancers.

Background: The efficacy of screening for lung cancers remains controversial, and none of the guidelines for lung cancer detection recommend screening for lung cancers. The purpose of the present study was to retrospectively analyze and characterize the clinicopathological features of screen-detected (SCR) lung cancer in comparison with lung cancers detected by other means.

Patients: The records of 2281 patients who underwent lung resection for primary lung cancer between 2000 and 2006 were analyzed retrospectively.

Cytological features of signet-ring cell carcinoma of the lung: comparison with the goblet-cell-type adenocarcinoma of the lung.

Signet-ring cell carcinoma (SRCC) and goblet-cell-type adenocarcinoma (GCA) are mucin-producing lung adenocarcinomas. Primary SRCC shows an aggressive clinical course, whereas GCA shows infrequent distant metastasis, but more frequent intrapulmonary metastases resembling lobar pneumonia. To distinguish SRCC from GCA, this study investigated the respective cytological features of these lesions.

Minute pulmonary meningothelial-like nodules: clinicopathologic analysis of 121 patients.

Minute pulmonary meningothelial-like nodules (MPMNs) are generally detected incidentally in resected lung specimens. With the development of diagnostic radiology, MPMNs have occasionally been detected on thin-section computed tomography. Their clinicopathologic background remains unclear because there have been no reports of a large series of patients with them.

The IASLC Lung Cancer Staging Project: proposals for the inclusion of broncho-pulmonary carcinoid tumors in the forthcoming (seventh) edition of the TNM Classification for Lung Cancer.

Objective: In the 2003 Supplement for tumor, node, metastasis (TNM) Staging classification it states that TNM staging "applies to all types of carcinoma including small cell carcinoma; however, it does not apply to carcinoids." Despite this caveat, most publications on typical and atypical carcinoids use the TNM staging system for nonsmall cell carcinoma and are able to demonstrate prognostic significance for the different stages. For this reason, as the next TNM Staging proposal is being considered, we sought to investigate the carcinoid cases submitted to the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) database, as well as the National Cancer Institute Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER).

Population data on 10 non-CODIS STR loci in Japanese population using a newly developed multiplex PCR system.

This paper describes a newly devised autosomal short tandem repeat (STR) multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) systems for 10 loci (D1S1656, D2S1353, D8S1132, D12S1090, D14S608, D18S535, D19S253, D20S480, D21S226, and D22S689) unlinked to the core STR loci (non-CODIS loci). Of 252 samples taken from the Japanese population, PCR products ranged in length from 107 bp to 319 bp. No significant deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium were observed at any of the 10 loci.

Minimally invasive open surgery approach for the surgical resection of thoracic malignancies.

This article describes minimally invasive open surgery for resection of intrapulmonary malignancies. This approach compensates for the weak points of video-assisted thoracic surgery while remaining minimally invasive. Overall, it is respected as a technically feasible alternative to conventional lobectomy by way of open thoracotomy with an acceptable range of morbidity or mortality.