methylation-dependent expression of a variant ligand and receptor of the ghrelin system induces thymoma tumorigenesis.

Our previous study reported that the DNA methylation of growth hormone secretagogue receptor () was significantly higher in thymoma or thymic carcinoma (TC) than in normal thymic tissue samples. Thymic epithelial tumors (TETs) with higher DNA methylation were associated with significantly worse prognosis than those with lower levels of DNA methylation. Diversified components of the ghrelin- axis may exert opposing effects in cancer progression, depending on the cancer type in question.

Rapid growing mediastinal ectopic pancreas within ruptured thymic cyst treated using video-assisted thoracic surgery.

Ectopic pancreas (EP) is typically found within other gastrointestinal organs. Its discovery in other parts of the body, especially in the mediastinum, is exceedingly rare. This paper presents a case of a 17-year-old female patient with EP in a large, rapidly growing thymic cyst.

GAD1 expression and its methylation as indicators of malignant behavior in thymic epithelial tumors.

Thymic epithelial tumors (TETs) comprise thymomas and thymic carcinoma (TC). TC has more aggressive features and a poorer prognosis than thymomas. Genetic and epigenetic alterations in thymomas and TC have been investigated in an attempt to identify novel target molecules for TC.

Post-mortem biopsy of a patient with late exacerbation of COVID-19 pneumonia.

Pathological findings of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) have rarely been reported owing to its contagious nature. Here, we treated an 82-year-old man whose condition was diagnosed as COVID-19 pneumonia, which exacerbated approximately 25 days after the initial onset. The patient died despite receiving intensive care.

Shikonin induces odontoblastic differentiation of dental pulp stem cells via AKT-mTOR signaling in the presence of CD44.

: In our previous study, we demonstrated that hyaluronan induces odontoblastic differentiation of dental pulp stem cells via interactions with CD44. However, it remains unclear whether CD44 expression by dental pulp stem cells is required for odontoblastic differentiation.: We searched for a compound other than hyaluronan that induces odontoblastic differentiation of dental pulp stem cells and used western blotting to determine whether CD44 is involved in the induction of odontoblastic differentiation by the compound.

Prediction of improvement after extended thymectomy in non-thymomatous myasthenia gravis patients.

Background: It is popularly believed that myasthenia gravis (MG) patients show acetylcholine receptor antibody (AChRAb) production associated with the thymus (germinal centers, approximately 80%). It has been suggested that thymectomy can remove the area of autoantibody production. This study aimed to determine whether the solid volume of the thymus calculated using three-dimensional (3D) imaging could be used to predict the efficacy of thymectomy.

DNA methylation of GHSR, GNG4, HOXD9 and SALL3 is a common epigenetic alteration in thymic carcinoma.

Thymic epithelial tumors comprise thymoma, thymic carcinoma and neuroendocrine tumors of the thymus. Recent studies have revealed that the incidence of somatic non‑synonymous mutations is significantly higher in thymic carcinoma than in thymoma. However, limited information is currently available on epigenetic alterations in these types of cancer.

Removal of lung lavage fluid during whole-lung lavage using biphasic cuirass ventilation chest percussion in a patient with autoimmune pulmonary alveolar proteinosis.

Autoimmune pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP) is a rare lung disease. Although recombinant human granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) therapy has emerged as a new therapeutic modality, whole-lung lavage (WLL) with manual chest percussion has been a standard therapy in advanced cases. The application of biphasic cuirass ventilation (BCV) instead of chest percussion has rarely been reported.

Chromate exposure induces DNA hypermethylation of the mismatch repair gene MLH1 in lung cancer.

Hexavalent chromium is recognized as a human carcinogen. Our previous studies revealed that lung cancer (LC) in chromate-exposed workers (chromate LC) had molecular features of frequent microsatellite instability (MSI), repression of MLH1 level, and aberrant DNA methylation of several tumor-suppressor genes, including MLH1. In the present study, we quantitatively investigated MLH1-promoter methylation status using bisulfite pyrosequencing of paired tumorous/nontumorous tissues from chromate and nonchromate LCs to determine the effect of chromate exposure on MLH1-promoter methylation.

Haemoptysis and bronchial congestion due to pulmonary vein stenosis after maze procedure.

Pulmonary vein stenosis (PVS) is a rare disease that can cause haemoptysis. Acquired PVS is indicated as a complication associated with cardiac catheter intervention; however, the maze procedure has not been reported to induce PVS. Here, we describe the diagnosis and treatment strategy for the first case of PVS with haemoptysis due to the maze procedure.

Prognostic significance of GAD1 overexpression in patients with resected lung adenocarcinoma.

Background And Objectives: In a previous genome-wide screening, we identified hypermethylated CpG islands around glutamate decarboxylase 1 (GAD1) in lung adenocarcinoma (LADC). In this study, we aimed to investigate the methylation and expression status of GAD1 and its prognostic value in patients with LADC.

Methods: GAD1 methylation and mRNA expression status were analyzed using 33 tumorous and paired non-tumorous LADC samples and publicly available datasets.

Evaluation of the components of mediastinal cystic lesions using imaging techniques.

Objective: To identify and differentiate patients with mediastinal cysts from those with cystic tumors requiring surgery.

Methods: A total of 36 patients with mediastinal cystic lesions were enrolled. The patients were separated into two groups based on pathological findings : those with mediastinal cysts (n=23) and those with mediastinal tumors (n=13).

Aorto-pleural fistula successfully treated by one-lung ventilation and Endobronchial Watanabe Spigots.

Aorto-pleural fistula (APF) is a rare, potentially fatal condition that should be immediately treated by an endovascular or surgical approach. In this case, we treated APF using bronchial occlusion with Endobronchial Watanabe Spigots (EWSs) after one-lung ventilation. Notably, EWS is composed of silicon for endobronchial occlusion under bronchoscopy.

Non‑invasive monitoring of cisplatin and erlotinib efficacy against lung cancer in orthotopic SCID mouse models by small animal FDG‑PET/CT and CT.

We established patient‑like models of lung cancer metastasis by orthotopically implanting human non‑small cell lung cancer cell lines into SCID mice. We evaluated the utilities of small‑animal computed tomography (CT) and positron‑emission tomography‑computed tomography (PET/CT) in these models to non‑invasively and repeatedly monitor the anticancer effects of cisplatin and erlotinib. We orthotopically implanted three non‑small cell lung cancer cell lines, A549, FT821 and PC‑9, into SCID mice.

A case of solitary paraaortic lymph node recurrence of lung squamous cell carcinoma after resection.

Solitary abdominal paraaortic lymph node recurrence after radical lung cancer surgery is very rare. Here, we report a case of a solitary abdominal paraaortic lymph node recurrence of lung squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). A 63-year-old man was diagnosed with lung SCC (cT1cN0M0 stage IA3), underwent a video-assisted right lower lobectomy (ND2a-1), and the pathological findings showed SCC (pT1cN0M0 stage IA3).

Autofluorescence for the diagnosis of visceral pleural invasion in non-small-cell lung cancer.

Objectives: This study was conducted to evaluate the accuracy of autofluorescence as a mode of diagnosis for visceral pleural invasion of non-small-cell lung cancer compared with white-light by means of clinical questions to several thoracic surgeons.

Methods: Eight independent thoracic surgeons evaluated visceral pleural invasion in 25 cases of non-small-cell lung cancer attached to the visceral pleura on lung windows of preoperative computed tomography images. At the first study meeting to evaluate the accuracy of visceral pleural invasion diagnosis using conventional white-light images, the surgeons diagnosed visceral pleural invasion based on information in preoperative computed tomography images, histological types and videos recorded with white-light mode using a thoracoscope.

Ipsilateral shoulder pain in patients following lung resection in the decubitus position.

Aims And Objectives: To examine the frequency, influencing factors and clinical course of shoulder pain in patients following lung resection.

Background: Thoracoscopes have been introduced in the surgical treatment of lung cancer and allow for less invasive surgery with a minimal incision. However, decubitus position-related shoulder pain on the operated side has not yet been investigated.

Frequent silencing of RASSF1A by DNA methylation in thymic neuroendocrine tumours.

Objectives: Aberrant methylation of promoter CpG islands (CGIs) of tumour suppressor genes is a common epigenetic mechanism underlying cancer pathogenesis. The methylation patterns of thymic tumours have not been studied in detail since such tumours are rare. Herein, we sought to identify genes that could serve as epigenetic targets for thymic neuroendocrine tumour (NET) therapy.

[Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma Presenting Refractory Pneumothorax Successfully Treated by Intrapleural Administration of Diluted Fibrin Glue;Report of a Case].

Malignant pleural mesothelioma sometimes accompanies intractable neumothorax due to the visceral pleural invasion of the tumor. A 68-years-old man was found to have massive pleural effusion and pleural mass combined with pneumothorax by computed tomography(CT). CT guided biopsy revealed the mass to be malignant pleural mesothelioma.

Frequent silencing of the candidate tumor suppressor TRIM58 by promoter methylation in early-stage lung adenocarcinoma.

In this study, we aimed to identify novel drivers that would be epigenetically altered through aberrant methylation in early-stage lung adenocarcinoma (LADC), regardless of the presence or absence of tobacco smoking-induced epigenetic field defects. Through genome-wide screening for aberrantly methylated CpG islands (CGIs) in 12 clinically uniform, stage-I LADC cases affecting six non-smokers and six smokers, we identified candidate tumor-suppressor genes (TSGs) inactivated by hypermethylation. Through systematic expression analyses of those candidates in panels of additional tumor samples and cell lines treated or not treated with 5-aza-deoxycitidine followed by validation analyses of cancer-specific silencing by CGI hypermethylation using a public database, we identified TRIM58 as the most prominent candidate for TSG.

Non-invasive monitoring of anticancer effects of cisplatin on lung cancer in an orthotopic SCID mouse model using [¹⁸F] FDG PET-CT.

Positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) with [18F] fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) has recently been applied for evaluating tumor response to anticancer therapy. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the utility of FDG PET-CT in monitoring non-invasively and repeatedly the inhibitory effect of cisplatin (CDDP) on an orthotopic lung cancer model. Validation of in vivo FDG uptake in human lung cancer Ma44-3 cell line in an orthotopic SCID mouse model was carried out.

Methylation and expression profiles of MGMT gene in thymic epithelial tumors.

Objectives: A key challenge in diagnosis and treatment of thymic epithelial tumors (TET) is in improving our understanding of the genetic and epigenetic changes of these relatively rare tumors.

Methods: Methylation specific PCR (MSP) and immunohistochemistry were applied to 66 TET to profile the methylation status of DNA repair gene O6-methylguanine DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) and its protein expression in TET to clarify the association between MGMT status and clinicopathological features, response to chemotherapy and overall survival.

Results: MGMT methylation was significantly more frequent in thymic carcinoma than in thymoma (17/23, 74% versus 13/44, 29%; P<0.

[Pulmonary resection in renal cell carcinoma metastasis;the influence of histologic atypia of the metastatic focus on preoperative or perioperative diagnosis].

Unlabelled: The diagnostic potential of histological atypia grades in distinguishing between primary lung tumors and renal pulmonary metastases.

Objective: In cases of pulmonary resection for renal cell carcinoma patients, both the preoperative and perioperative diagnosis of lung cancer may be complicated by the need to distinguish between a primary lung tumor and metastatic renal tumor. The degree of histological atypia (grade) of the suspected metastatic focus may indicate the source of the lesion.

18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography and the relationship between fluorodeoxyglucose uptake and the expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α, glucose transporter-1 and vascular endothelial growth factor in thymic epithelial tumours.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT) and the relationships among the expressions of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α), glucose transporter-1 (Glut-1) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), histological type, other clinical factors and FDG uptake in thymic epithelial tumours.

Methods: Thirty-three patients who underwent FDG-PET/CT before treatment were reviewed. All types of tumours were reclassified into three subgroups: low-risk thymomas (types A, AB and B1), high-risk thymomas (types B2 and B3) and thymic carcinomas.