[A case of sarcoidosis with bilateral pleural effusion treated with high-dose steroids].

A 25-year-old man was admitted with elevated fever, dyspnea, cough, dorsal chest pain, and multiple nodular shadows and pleural effusion found on chest X-ray films. There were multiple swollen superficial lymph nodes, and non-caseating epithelioid cell granulomas with Langhans giant cells were detected on a biopsy specimen of a right inguinal lymph node. Bronchoscopy findings demonstrated mucosal irregularity, telangiectasia and small nodules, and another biopsy specimen was similar to that of the inguinal lymph node.

[A case of non-small cell lung cancer responding to S-1 over a year].

A 71-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital, because of an abnormality on her chest radiograph findings. After extensive examination, she was diagnosed with primary lung adenocarcinoma (cT4N2M1, stage IV). She was treated by carboplatin+gemcitabine, gefitinib and docetaxel and the responses were stable disease in any treatment.

Epigenetic inactivation of the thyroid hormone receptor beta1 gene at 3p24.2 in lung cancer.

Background: Frequent allelic loss on chromosome 3p in various human cancers suggests the presence of tumor suppressor genes in this region. The thyroid hormone receptor beta1 (TRbeta1) gene is located at 3p24.2, where allelic loss frequently occurs in lung cancer, and aberrant TRbeta1 methylation was observed in several human cancers.

A phase II study of amrubicin, a synthetic 9-aminoanthracycline, in patients with previously treated lung cancer.

Purpose: This study was designed to confirm the efficacy and safety of amrubicin, a new anthracycline agent, in patients with previously treated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and small cell lung cancer (SCLC).

Methods: Eligible patients were required to have recurrent or refractory NSCLC and SCLC after one or two previous chemotherapy regimens. All patients received intravenous amrubicin 35 mg/m(2) on days 1-3 every 3 weeks.

Phase 2 study of S-1 plus carboplatin in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

We conducted a phase II study of S-1 and carboplatin combination regimen in the treatment of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Chemotherapy-naïve patients with advanced NSCLC were treated with S-1 and carboplatin. S-1 was administered orally twice daily for 14 days and carboplatin AUC 5 on day 1 of each cycle, and this was repeated every 4 weeks.

Expression of L-type amino acid transporter 1 (LAT1) in neuroendocrine tumors of the lung.

Amino acid transport systems play an important role in cellular proliferation. L-type amino acid transporter 1 (LAT1) has been associated with tumor growth, and is highly expressed in the established tumor cell lines and primary human neoplasms. In this study, we investigated the expression of LAT1 to evaluate the malignant potential and prognostic significance in neuroendocrine (NE) tumors of the lung.

A phase I dose escalation study of biweekly gemcitabine and carboplatin in completely resected stage IB-IIIA nonsmall cell lung cancer.

Objective: We conducted a phase I dose escalation study to determine the maximum tolerated dose, recommended dose, and safety profile of a biweekly gemcitabine and carboplatin combination regimen in the treatment of patients with completely resected nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Patients And Methods: Patients with completely resected pathologically documented stage IB, II, or IIIA NSCLC, performance status (ECOG) 0-1, with adequate bone marrow, renal, liver, and cardiac functions, were treated with gemcitabine and carboplatin. The starting dose was gemcitabine 800 mg/m2 on days 1 and 15 and carboplatin area under the time-concentration curve (AUC) 4 mg/mL/min on day 1.

Phase II prospective study of the efficacy of gefitinib for the treatment of stage III/IV non-small cell lung cancer with EGFR mutations, irrespective of previous chemotherapy.

Purpose: Mutations in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene are associated with increased sensitivity of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) to gefitinib, an EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor. The objective of this study was to prospectively evaluate the efficacy of gefitinib in patients with stage III/IV NSCLC whose tumors carried EGFR mutations, irrespective of previous chemotherapy.

Experimental Design: Genomic DNA was extracted from tumor specimens and EGFR mutations in exons 19 and 21 analyzed by direct sequencing.

[A case of pulmonary hypertrophic osteoarthropathy associated with primary lung cancer in a young adult successfully treated with gefitinib].

The patient was a 39-year-old woman admitted with complaints of fever, clubbed fingers and arthralgia. A chest roentgenogram and chest computed tomographic scan revealed a mass in the left lower lobe. Transbronchial lung biopsy was performed, and a diagnosis of moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma was made.

A phase I dose-escalation study of S-1 plus carboplatin in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.

We conducted a phase I study to determine the maximum tolerated dose, the recommended dose and the safety profile of S-1 and carboplatin combination regimen in the treatment of patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer. Chemotherapy-naive patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer were treated with S-1 and carboplatin. S-1 was administered orally twice daily for 14 days and carboplatin on day 1 of each cycle, and this was repeated every 4 weeks.

[A case of multidrug-resistant non-small cell lung cancer responding to TS-1].

A 72-year-old man was admitted to our hospital, complaining of exertional breathlessness. Chest radiograph revealed a right pleural effusion. Cytology for pleural effusion revealed adenocarcinoma; thus, he was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer (clinical stage T 4 N 0 M 0, Stage IIIB).

Epigenetic inactivation of the RUNX3 gene in lung cancer.

The silencing of tumor suppressor genes (TSGs) by aberrant hypermethylation occurs frequently in human cancer. Recently the RUNX3 gene was identified as a TSG inactivated by hypermethylation. We examined RUNX3 expression by reverse transcription-PCR and the methylation status of this gene by methylation specific-PCR in 43 lung cancer cell lines and 120 primary non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tumor samples.

Clinicopathologic significance of the mutations of the epidermal growth factor receptor gene in patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

Purpose: It has been reported that the mutations of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) are detected in lung cancers. Studies of EGFR mutations in large numbers of patients' tumors with clinical data including response to EGFR tyrosine kinase directed therapy are needed to develop a robust database for clinical use. The purpose of the present study is to gain further insights into the significance of EGFR mutation in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Papillary adenocarcinoma of the lung is a more advanced adenocarcinoma than bronchioloalveolar carcinoma that is composed of two distinct histological subtypes.

To clarify the clinicopathological nature of papillary adenocarcinoma (PA) of the lung, 20 cases of PA were collected consecutively from resected adenocarcinoma of the lung, studied immunohistochemically and, using molecular techniques, compared with bronchioloalveolar carcinoma (BAC). Clinicopathologically, PA occurred in 7.4% and dominantly in female patients.

Genetic and epigenetic inactivation of LTF gene at 3p21.3 in lung cancers.

Allelic loss on the short arm of chromosome 3 is one of the most common events in the pathogenesis of lung cancer. The lactotransferrin gene (LTF, also referred to as the lactoferrin gene, LF) is located at 3p21.3 common eliminated region 1, which is frequently deleted in lung and other cancers.

Clinicopathological significance of aberrant methylation of RARbeta2 at 3p24, RASSF1A at 3p21.3, and FHIT at 3p14.2 in patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

We investigated the clinicopathological significance of aberrant methylation of the retinoic acid receptor-beta2 (RARbeta2), RAS association domain family 1A (RASSF1A) and fragile histidine triad (FHIT) genes located on choromosome 3p in 120 patients with primary non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) by a methylation-specific PCR method. Aberrant methylation of these was detected in 31 (26%), 35 (29%) and 43 (36%) tumors, respectively. There was no correlation with the methylation status of any of the genes.