Practical methods to differentiate thymic malignancies by positron-emission tomography and tumor markers.

Purpose: An accurate diagnosis of thymic malignancies is important, but challenging due to the broad range of differential diagnoses. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of PET/CT and tumor markers for diagnosing thymic malignancies.

Methods: Patients admitted to our department between January 2012 and December 2021 with primary anterior mediastinal tumors were retrospectively evaluated.

Pulmonary artery sarcoma and severe valvular diseases in late-septuagenarian women: was 2-stage surgery an appropriate strategy? A case report.

Background: Pulmonary artery sarcomas (PASs) are rare, and complete tumor resection is often difficult at the time of detection. We encountered a case of PAS that was thought to be resectable; however, the patient had severe symptomatic valvular disease. We faced a difficult decision regarding the surgical strategy.

Sphericity of lymph nodes using 3D-CT predicts metastasis in lung cancer patients.

Background: The presence of mediastinal lymph node metastasis is important because it is related to the treatment and prognosis of lung cancer. Although prevalently used, evaluation of lymph nodes is not always reliable. We introduced sphericity as a criterion for evaluating morphologic differences between metastatic and nonmetastatic nodes.

[Perioperative Management for Air Leakage, Atelectasis, and Pneumonia in Patients Undergoing Lung Resection].

Thoracic surgeons often encounter postoperative air leakage, atelectasis, and pneumonia as common complications of lung resection. Mostly, those are managed and treated properly, which results in avoiding serious outcomes. However, some clinical conditions manifesting initially as common complications could become severe unless an early correct differential diagnosis is made.

Successful long-term management for postoperative sternal infection with multiple disseminated lymphadenitis caused by Mycobacterium abscessus.

Background: Postoperative sternal infection caused by Mycobacterium abscessus (M. abscessus) is rare, but associated with a high 2-year mortality rate of 40%. Decision-making around treatment strategy is challenging.

Retrospective single-arm cohort study of video-assisted thoracic surgery for treatment of idiopathic peripherally located simple type pulmonary arteriovenous malformation in 23 consecutive patients.

Background: Although case reports of video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) for pulmonary arteriovenous malformation (PAVM) have been published, studies analyzing more than 10 cases were limited. A retrospective single-arm cohort study was performed to investigate the efficacy of VATS in 23 consecutive patients with idiopathic peripherally located simple type PAVM.

Methods: VATS was performed for wedge resection of 24 PAVMs in 23 patients, which included 4 males and 19 females with an age range of 25 to 80 years (mean: 59.

Relationship between changes in pulmonary function and patient-reported outcomes of lung cancer surgery.

Purpose: To investigate the relationship between changes in pulmonary function (PF) and patient-reported outcomes (PROs) of lung cancer surgery.

Methods: We recruited 262 patients who underwent lung resection for lung cancer, to evaluate the PROs, using the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ)-C30 and the Lung Cancer 13-question supplement (LC13). The patients underwent PF tests and PRO assessments preoperatively (Pre) and 1 year after surgery (Y1).

Sex-specific emphysematous changes evaluated by a three-dimensional computed tomography volumetric analysis among patients with smoking histories who underwent resection for lung cancer.

Purpose: The present study evaluated the sex-specific susceptibility to the development of emphysema in patients with smoking histories who underwent lung cancer surgeries.

Methods: Lung cancer patients with smoking histories who underwent lung resection at the University of Tsukuba Hospital, Japan, were enrolled. Radiologic emphysematous changes were analyzed using three-dimensional computed tomography (3D-CT).

Silicone stent placement using a rigid bronchoscope via a tracheostoma in a patient with postpneumonectomy syndrome.

Background: Silicone stents are options for airway stenosis or obstruction. Generally, silicone stent placement needs rigid bronchoscopy, but manipulation of a rigid bronchoscope has technical difficulties in some cases. The objective of this clinical case report is to highlight silicone stent placement with a rigid bronchoscope successfully achieved by changing the insertion from the mouth to the tracheostoma in a patient with postpneumonectomy syndrome.

Progression of Smoking-Induced Emphysema in a Case with Indium Lung.

Recently, it has become clear that inhaled indium-tin oxide causes emphysematous as well as interstitial changes in the lung. Here, we present a 59-year-old male ex-smoker, quitting smoking at the age of 55. He had been engaged in indium-tin oxide processing from 27 to 37 years of age, with 22 years having passed since the final exposure to indium.

Alaska pollock gelatin sealant shows long-term efficacy and safety in a pulmonary air leakage rat model.

Objectives: Postoperative prolonged air leakage is a frequent complication following lung resection. We have shown the high adhesive quality of a newly developed sealant based on a hydrophobically modified Alaska pollock-derived gelatin (ApGltn) sealant in acute in vivo settings. The purpose of this study was to investigate the long-term efficacy and safety of ApGltn sealant using rats as a preclinical model.

[Emergency Surgical Management of Mediastinal Tumors].

Mediastinal tumors rarely lead to acute symptomatic manifestations due to spontaneous rupture and perforation, intra-tumoral hemorrhage, and bacterial contamination. Moreover, giant mediastinal tumors can compress and infiltrate surrounding mediastinal structures, such as the trachea, bronchus, cardiac sac, and superior vena cava, at the first visit. In addition, mediastinal mature teratomas include various ectopic tissues such as digestive glands and sebaceous glands that can cause specific pathological conditions.

Impacts of pleural adhesions on lobectomies for malignant lung tumors.

Objectives: Pleural adhesions are sometimes troublesome in lung lobectomies, and how they affect such surgeries depends on the degree of the adhesion. Herein, pleural adhesions were categorized according to density, tenacity, and coverage, and the impact of each category on lung lobectomy was investigated.

Methods: The cases of 510 patients who consecutively underwent lobectomies were retrospectively reviewed.

Rapid enlargement of pulmonary benign metastasizing leiomyoma with fluid-containing cystic change: a case report.

Background: Pulmonary benign metastasizing leiomyoma (PBML) is a rare disease that can occur in women with a history of uterine leiomyoma. Despite its benign histological features, like a malignancy, leiomyomas can on rare occasion spread to the lung. Typically, PBML presents with asymptomatic multiple solid lung nodules with slow tumor progression, following hysterectomy.

Prognostic Implication of PD-L1 Expression on Osimertinib Treatment for -mutated Non-small Cell Lung Cancer.

Background/aim: Real-world data on the clinical outcomes of first-line osimertinib treatment for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations is lacking. This study aimed to reveal the treatment outcomes and prognostic factors of osimertinib as first-line therapy in clinical practice settings.

Patients And Methods: We retrospectively evaluated clinical outcomes of patients with EGFR-mutated NSCLC treated with osimertinib as first-line therapy across 12 institutions in Japan between August 2018 and March 2020.

Comparison of Postoperative Quality of Life and Pain with and without a Metal Rib Spreader in Patients Undergoing Lobectomy through Axillary Mini-Thoracotomy for Stage I Lung Cancer.

Purpose: To evaluate postoperative patient-reported quality of life (QOL) and pain with and without a metal rib spreader (MRS) in patients with stage I lung cancer who underwent lobectomy through axillary mini-thoracotomy (AMT).

Methods: This single-institution prospective observational study enrolled patients between January 2015 and April 2018. Their QOL and pain were evaluated using the EQ-5D and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Questionnaire 30 items (QLQ-C30).

Predicting Respiratory Complications Following Lobectomy Using Quantitative CT Measures of Emphysema.

Purpose: In performing surgery for lung cancer, emphysema is a risk factor related to postoperative respiratory complications (PRC). However, few studies have addressed the risk of radiological emphysematous volume affecting PRC. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between emphysematous volume as measured on 3-dimensional computed tomography and PRC.

Risk factors of middle lobe bronchus kinking following right upper lobectomy.

Background: The incidence rate of kinking of the middle lobe bronchus following right upper lobectomy is higher compared to that with residual lung bronchus following other lobectomies. Bronchial kinking was presumed to be caused by the displacement of the residual lung lobes, but its etiology is unclear. Moreover, prevention methods and effective treatments have not yet been established.

Efficacy of Alaska Pollock Gelatin Sealant for Pulmonary Air Leakage in Porcine Models.

Background: Postoperative prolonged air leakage is a frequent complication after lung resection. We have developed a new sealant based on a hydrophobically modified Alaska pollock-derived gelatin (ApGltn) sealant. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the adhesive strength of the ApGltn sealant in comparison with a fibrin sealant using a new spray system in ex vivo and in vivo models.

Response to pembrolizumab in a patient with primary lung adenocarcinoma originated from indium lung.

Background: Indium is a metal used as a compound called indium-tin oxide for liquid crystal display. Its inhalation causes lung toxicity, resulting in a new occupational lung disease called indium lung. Although the carcinogenicity of indium has been reported in an animal model, its carcinogenicity in humans is unknown.