Diagnosis of sarcopenia on thoracic computed tomography and its association with postoperative survival after anatomic lung cancer resection.

Computer tomography-derived skeletal muscle index normalized for height in conjunction with muscle density enables single modality-based sarcopenia assessment that accounts for all diagnostic criteria and cutoff recommendations as per the widely accepted European consensus. Yet, the standard approach to quantify skeletal musculature at the third lumbar vertebra is limited for certain patient groups, such as lung cancer patients who receive chest CT for tumor staging that does not encompass this lumbar level. As an alternative, this retrospective study assessed sarcopenia in lung cancer patients treated with curative intent at the tenth thoracic vertebral level using appropriate cutoffs.

Postoperative outcome after palliative treatment of malignant pleural effusion.

Background: The objective of this nationwide, registry-based study was to compare the two most frequently used procedures for the palliative treatment of a malignant pleural effusion (MPE) and to evaluate differentiated indications for these two procedures.

Methods: This was a retrospective observational study based on data of the "PLEURATUMOR" registry of the German Society for Thoracic Surgery. Patients who were documented in the period from January 2015 to November 2021 and had video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) talc pleurodesis or implantation of an indwelling pleural catheter (IPC) were included.

EpCAM-positive disseminated cancer cells in bone marrow impact on survival of early-stage NSCLC patients.

Introduction: Detection of disseminated cancer cells (DCC) in bone marrow (BM) of patients with early-stage NSCLC has been associated with poor outcome. However, the phenotype, and hence relevant therapy targets, of DCCs in BM are unknown. We therefore compared a classical pan-Cytokeratin (CK) antibody for DCC detection with an anti-EpCAM antibody that may also detect more stem-like cells and tested whether assay positivity impacts on the survival of NSCLC patients.

DNA barcoding for species delimitation of the freshwater leech genus from the Western Balkan (Hirudinea, Glossiphoniidae).

Glossiphoniid leeches are a diverse group and sometimes abundant elements of the aquatic fauna inhabiting various types of freshwater habitats. In this study, we sampled leeches of the genus from the Western Balkan in order to test the suitability of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) marker sequence for species delimitation. Morphological analysis revealed the presence of four taxa, with two subspecies, and , the latter an endemic of Ohrid Lake, and endemic .

Assessment of concentration and penetration depth of cisplatin in human lung tissue after decortication and hyperthermic exposure.

Background: Hyperthermic perfusion of the pleural cavity with cisplatin after pleurectomy/decortication is an additional therapeutic option to reduce local relapse of malignant pleural tumours. Although there are data on the clinical effect, only little is known about the local impact on human lung tissue by cisplatin. The objective of this experimental study is to evaluate both the concentration and the penetration depth of cisplatin in human lung tissue after normothermic and hyperthermic exposure under ex-vivo-in-vitro conditions.