SS-A52 antigen expression in thymic carcinoma accompanied with Sjögren syndrome: A case report.

Rationale: The relationship between thymic tumors and Sjögren syndrome (SjS) is unknown, and surgical resection has not been optimized. Especially, thymic carcinoma with autoimmune disease is rare. Analysis of SS-A52, germinal centers, plasma cells, and Foxp3+ Treg in thymic carcinoma has never been reported, and their pathological roles in causing SjS have not been studied.

Winged scapula following axillary thoracotomy with long thoracic nerve preservation.

Winged scapula is a rare condition caused by injuries to the long thoracic nerve (LTN) and accessory nerves. A 69-year-old man underwent surgery for right lung cancer. Video-assisted thoracic surgery was converted to axillary thoracotomy at the fourth intercostal space.

Eosinophilic Pneumonia Putatively Induced by Vancomycin: A Case Report.

BACKGROUND Herein, we describe a case of eosinophilic pneumonia that was likely to have been induced by vancomycin. CASE REPORT A 65-year-old man on maintenance hemodialysis presented with chest pain and dyspnea. He subsequently developed methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus-positive acute pleural empyema in an evacuated right-sided pneumothorax.

Feasibility of postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy using carboplatin plus S-1 in completely resected non-small cell lung cancer patients.

Feasibility is one of the major concerns during adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with completely resected non-small cell lung cancer. A phase II clinical trial of adjuvant chemotherapy with four courses of carboplatin (AUC 5 at day 1) and S-1 (80 mg/m/day for 2 weeks followed by a 2-week rest) was performed to evaluate the feasibility (UMIN 9101). The primary endpoint was the completion rate and the secondary endpoints were adverse events, 2-year overall survival and disease-free rates.

Epithelioid sarcoma in the chest wall: a case report and literature review.

Background: Epithelioid sarcoma (ES) is a rare variant of soft tissue sarcoma. The proximal type of ES occurs in various locations. We present a resected case with proximal-type ES that occurred in the chest wall and discuss the relevant literature.

Podocalyxin influences malignant potential by controlling epithelial-mesenchymal transition in lung adenocarcinoma.

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) plays an important role in the progression of lung carcinoma. Podocalyxin (PODXL), which belongs to the CD34 family and regulates cell morphology, has been linked to EMT in lung cancer, and PODXL overexpression is associated with poor prognosis in several different classes of cancers. The aim of this study was to clarify the role of PODXL overexpression in EMT in lung cancer, and to determine the prognostic value of PODXL overexpression in tumors from lung cancer patients.

Pleuropneumonectomy for a large thymoma with multiple pleural dissemination using median sternotomy followed by posterolateral thoracotomy.

We present 2 cases of a large thymoma with invasion to the hilum of the lung and pleural dissemination. Case 1: a 47-year-old woman was diagnosed with a type B3 thymoma with abundant left pleural effusion and multiple pleural masses, Masaoka stage IVa. A radical resection was planned after chemical pleurodesis and systemic chemotherapy.

Combined resection of great vessels or the heart for non-small lung cancer.

Objectives: The surgical indications for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) infiltrating a great vessel or the heart are controversial. We assessed clinical features and surgical outcomes of patients with non-small cell lung cancer who underwent combined resection of a lung and great vessel.

Methods: Fourteen patients underwent great vessel resection under a lobectomy (n = 9), sleeve lobectomy (n = 2), or pneumonectomy (n = 3) between 2000 and 2011, in whom the aorta was resected in 6, superior vena cava in 5, right atrium in 1, and left atrium in 2.

Myasthenic crisis caused by preoperative chemotherapy with steroid for advanced thymoma.

We report the case of a 44-year-old woman with Masaoka stage IV, World Health Organization type B1 thymoma associated with pure red cell aplasia, thrombocytopenia, and myasthenia gravis, which occurred during preoperative chemotherapy with high-dose methylprednisolone. Noninvasive positive-pressure ventilation, intravenous immunoglobulin infusion, and methylprednisolone pulse therapy were performed for the myasthenic crisis. Disseminated thymoma was markedly reduced after these treatments, and macroscopic complete resection was performed after achieving control of pure red cell aplasia, myasthenia gravis, and thrombocytopenia using cyclosporine A.

Clinical predictor of pre- or minimally invasive pulmonary adenocarcinoma: possibility of sub-classification of clinical T1a.

Objectives: A new pathological classification for pre- and minimally invasive adenocarcinoma has been established, with distinction prior to surgery crucial because of the extremely good prognosis.

Methods: Of 412 patients who underwent surgery for lung cancer from 2008 to 2011, 110 classified as c-stage I had each of the following four parameters assessed for predictive power for pre- or minimally invasive adenocarcinoma and relapse-free survival (RFS): (i) whole tumour size (WS) shown by computed tomography (CT) , (ii) size of the solid (SS) component in CT findings, (iii) maximum standard uptake value in fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET)/CT scan images (SUVmax) and (iv) serum level of carcinoembryonic antigen.

Results: For prediction of pre- or minimally invasive adenocarcinoma, the area under the receiver-operating curve was >0.

Which subgroup of patients with pathologic N2 non-small cell lung cancer benefit from surgery?

Objective: Patients with pathologic N2 non-small cell lung cancer comprise a heterogeneous group. The objective of this study was to evaluate which subgroup of patients with pathologic N2 benefit from surgery in terms of survival probability.

Methods: This retrospective study included 141 patients who had undergone major resection with pathologically proven N2 from 1990 to 2006 (103 with adenocarcinoma, 38 with squamous cell carcinoma).

Yellow nail syndrome with thoracic empyema: report of a case.

We report a rare case of yellow nail syndrome (YNS) complicated by thoracic empyema. The patient was a 75-year-old man with yellow nails and a history of respiratory illnesses. Initially he presented with recurrent pleural effusion, which developed into empyema within 3 years.

Clinical implication of pulmonary excision for undiagnosed peripheral lung cancer.

Surgical excision is an option to diagnose small-sized lung cancer, although this procedure has potential to disseminate tumor cells from the surgical margin. This retrospective study enrolled 252 patients with clinical stage IA non-small cell lung carcinoma who had undergone lobectomy during the period 1998-2004. Except for 25 patients with ground-glass attenuation (GGA) lesions on computed tomography, all underwent preoperative biopsy using flexible fiberoptic bronchoscopy (FFB).

[Efficacy of 5-FU hepatic arterial infusion with l-leucovorin for patients with unresectable colorectal liver metastasis].

We investigated the efficacy of 5-FU hepatic artery infusion (HAI)for patients with unresectable colorectal liver metastasis. Fifteen patients who received HAI between June 2004 and December 2006 were studied. HAI was attempted as first-line chemotherapy in seven patients(Group A)and as second-line or more in eight(Group B).