The synergistic role of ATP-dependent drug efflux pump and focal adhesion signaling pathways in vinorelbine resistance in lung cancer.

The vinorelbine (VRB) plus cisplatin regimen is widely used to treat non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), but its cure rate is poor. Drug resistance is the primary driver of chemotherapeutic failure, and the causes of resistance remain unclear. By focusing on the focal adhesion (FA) pathway, we have highlighted a signaling pathway that promotes VRB resistance in lung cancer cells.

Radiologic and Functional Analysis of Compensatory Lung Growth After Living-Donor Lobectomy.

Background: Whether compensatory lung growth occurs in adult humans is controversial. The aim of this study was to confirm compensatory lung growth by analyzing ipsilateral residual lung after lower lobectomy in living lung transplant donors with quantitative and qualitative computed tomography assessments.

Methods: Chest computed tomography and pulmonary function tests were performed in 31 eligible donors before and 1 year after donor lobectomy.

Association of Local Intrapulmonary Production of Antibodies Specific to Donor Major Histocompatibility Complex Class I With the Progression of Chronic Rejection of Lung Allografts.

Background: Antibody-mediated rejection may lead to chronic lung allograft dysfunction, but antibody-mediated rejection may develop in the absence of detectable donor-specific antibody (DSA) in recipient serum. This study investigated whether humoral immune responses develop not only systemically but locally within rejected lung allografts, resulting in local production of DSA.

Methods: Lewis rats received orthotopic left lung transplantation from Lewis (syngeneic control) or Brown-Norway (major histocompatibility complex-mismatched allogeneic) donor rats.

Hypoxia-inducible factor 1 promotes chemoresistance of lung cancer by inducing carbonic anhydrase IX expression.

Lung cancer treatment is difficult owing to chemoresistance. Hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) and HIF-1-induced glycolysis are correlated with chemoresistance; however, this is not evident in lung cancer. We investigated the effect of HIF-1α and carbonic anhydrase IX (CAIX), a transmembrane protein neutralizing intracellular acidosis, on chemoresistance and prognosis of lung cancer patients after induction chemoradiotherapy.

Is volumetric 3-dimensional computed tomography useful to predict histological tumour invasiveness? Analysis of 211 lesions of cT1N0M0 lung adenocarcinoma.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to use Hounsfield unit (HU) thresholds of computed tomography (CT) images to predict pathological lymph node metastasis and tumour invasiveness of cT1N0M0 lung adenocarcinoma on 3D evaluations.

Methods: Preoperative CT images of 211 lesions of surgically resected cT1N0M0 lung adenocarcinoma were retrospectively examined. The tumour size was calculated in 1D, 2D and 3D views.

Association between epithelial-mesenchymal transition and cancer stemness and their effect on the prognosis of lung adenocarcinoma.

The epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and cancer stemness (CS) are reported to be pivotal phenomena involved in metastasis, recurrence, and drug-resistance in lung cancer; however, their effects on tumor malignancy in clinical settings are not completely understood. The mutual association between these factors also remains elusive and are worthy of investigation. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the association between EMT and CS, and their effect on the prognosis of patients with lung adenocarcinoma.

Expression of the GLI family genes is associated with tumor progression in advanced lung adenocarcinoma.

Background: The hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway is aberrantly activated in various cancers. Expression of the GLI family of genes, which encode for transcriptional factors of the Hh pathway, has not been fully assessed in clinical samples of advanced lung adenocarcinoma. In this study, we retrospectively evaluated the expression of the GLI family of genes in advanced stage lung adenocarcinoma samples and determined their relation to patient survival.

Video-assisted mediastinoscopic resection of ectopic parathyroid adenoma.

Hyperparathyroidism can induce fatal complications in long-term hemodialysis patients. Approximately 20% of patients with hyperparathyroidism have ectopic mediastinal parathyroid glands, and the locations of 2% require a median sternotomy or thoracotomy. A 68-year-old man with an ectopic parathyroid gland in the thymus, underwent total resection via a video-assisted mediastinoscopic approach, which provides a less invasive surgical approach.

Transmanubrial approach combined with video-assisted approach for superior sulcus tumors.

Surgical resection after chemoradiotherapy with strict patient selection is an established treatment for superior sulcus tumors. Several surgical approaches have been described, but surgery for superior sulcus tumors is still a challenge. Among the approaches, the anterior transmanubrial approach has been reported to provide good access to apical chest tumors.

[A case of complete resection of a squamous cell lung cancer invading diaphragm after neoadjuvant chemotherapy of nedaplatin and irinotecan].

The treatment for squamous cell lung cancer has remained unclear, while that for lung cancer according to each pathology type has advanced. This is a case of complete response of a squamous cell lung cancer invading the diaphragm which could be resected completely after neoadjuvant chemotherapy of nedaplatin (CDGP) and irinotecan (CPT-11). CDGP and CPT-11 might be effective for squamous cell lung cancer.

Spontaneous regression of an invasive thymoma.

Although there are many reports of spontaneous regression of noninvasive thymoma, there are no reports of spontaneous regression of an invasive thymoma. Moreover, the mechanism of the spontaneous regression is still unknown. The present case concerns a 47-year-old man who presented with chest pain.

Treatment of primary melanoma of the lung monitored by 5-S-cysteinyldopa levels.

Malignant melanoma originating outside the skin is very rare, whereas primary malignant melanoma of the lung is extremely rare. 5-S-Cysteinyldopa (5-S-CD), a melanin metabolite, has been reported to be a prognostic marker for cutaneous malignant melanoma. This is the first report in the English language literature dealing with primary malignant melanoma of the lung using serum 5-S-Cysteinyldopa levels to monitor the effects of surgery and chemotherapy.

Bronchopulmonary foregut malformation in an adult.

A 50-year-old man with repeated episodes of right epigastric pain was seen in our hospital. Chest computed tomography and angiography revealed several arteries feeding an enhanced large mass located in the right lower lobe region. A right lower lobectomy was done with a provisional diagnosis of an intralobar sequestration.