Defining Pathologic Upstaging in cT1b Esophageal Cancer: Should We Consider Neoadjuvant Therapy?

Introduction: Neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy (NCRT) for cT1b esophageal cancer is not recommended despite the risk of pathologic upstaging with increased depth of penetration. We aimed to (1) define the rate of and factors associated with pathologic upstaging, (2) describe current trends in treatments, and (3) compare overall survival (OS) with and without NCRT for surgically resected cT1b lesions.

Methods: We used the 2020 National Cancer Database to identify patients with cT1b N0 esophageal cancer with or without pathologic upstaging who underwent removal of their tumor.

Vascularization of the adult mouse lung grafted onto the chick chorioallantoic membrane.

In the later stages of angiogenesis, the vascular sprout transitions into a functional vessel by fusing with a target vessel. Although this process appears to routinely occur in embryonic tissue, the biologic rules for sprout fusion and lumenization in adult regenerating tissue are unknown. To investigate this process, we grafted portions of the regenerating post-pneumonectomy lung onto the chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM).

Waitlist and Transplant Outcomes in Organ Donation After Circulatory Death: Trends in the United States.

Objectives: To summarize waitlist and transplant outcomes in kidney, liver, lung, and heart transplantation using organ donation after circulatory death (DCD).

Background: DCD has expanded the donor pool for solid organ transplantation, most recently for heart transplantation.

Methods: The United Network for Organ Sharing registry was used to identify adult transplant candidates and recipients in the most recent allocation policy eras for kidney, liver, lung, and heart transplantation.

Risk of recipient age on 1-year mortality after simultaneous heart-lung transplantation.

Background: Heart-lung transplantation (HLTx) is relatively uncommon, and there is a paucity of literature to suggest an age at which older recipients may be exposed to excess risk for mortality. This analysis aimed to identify a threshold of age that predicts adverse outcomes after HLTx.

Methods: The United Network of Organ Sharing registry was used to identify adult patients undergoing HLTx from 2005 to 2021.

Cyst of Hattori: A Rare Cyst in the Posterior Mediastinum.

Sixteen years since their initial description in the literature, posterior mediastinal Mullerian cysts - otherwise known as cysts of Hattori, after their discoverer - remain rare, with only 40 patients reported as of 2020. We report a 43 year old obese female that presented with a 2.6 cm cyst found in the posterior mediastinum by endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) and previously by chest magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) originally diagnosed as a congenital enteric duplication cyst of the esophagus radiologically.

Rare Case of Tracheal Fibromyxoma in Obstructive Tracheal Mass.

A 77-year-old male with a history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who presented with cough, congestion, and stridor and was found to have a near obstructing tracheal mass. He subsequently underwent excision of the mass. On pathologic examination, it was diagnosed as fibromyxoma of the trachea.

Phase I Trial Characterizing the Pharmacokinetic Profile of N-803, a Chimeric IL-15 Superagonist, in Healthy Volunteers.

The oncotherapeutic promise of IL-15, a potent immunostimulant, is limited by a short serum The fusion protein N-803 is a chimeric IL-15 superagonist that has a >20-fold longer in vivo versus IL-15. This phase 1 study characterized the pharmacokinetic (PK) profile and safety of N-803 after s.c.

Neuropilin-2b facilitates resistance to tyrosine kinase inhibitors in non-small cell lung cancer.

Objective: Innate and acquired resistance is the principle factor limiting the efficacy of tyrosine kinase inhibitors in lung cancer. We have observed a dramatic upregulation of the cell surface co-receptor neuropilin-2b in lung cancers clinically treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors correlating with acquired resistance. We hypothesize that neuropilin-2b plays a functional role in acquired tyrosine kinase inhibitor resistance.