Clinical and radiological septic joint analysis of spontaneous sternoclavicular joint infections: achieving the best outcomes-a systems engineering approach.

Objectives: Spontaneous sternoclavicular joint infection (SSCJI) is a rare and poorly understood disease process. This study aims to identify factors guiding effective management strategies for SSCJI by using data mining.

Methods: An Institutional Review Board-approved retrospective review of patients from 2 large hospitals (2010-2022) was conducted.

The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer Lung Cancer Staging Project: Proposals for Revision of the TNM Stage Groups in the Forthcoming (Ninth) Edition of the TNM Classification for Lung Cancer.

Introduction: The TNM classification of lung cancer is periodically revised. The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer collected and analyzed a new database to inform the forthcoming ninth edition of the TNM classification. The results are herewith presented.

Metabolic signatures of thymomas: potential biomarkers and treatment targets.

Objectives: A study of tumour metabolic reprogramming has revealed disease biomarkers and avenues for therapeutic intervention. Metabolic reprogramming in thymoma is currently understudied and largely unknown. This study utilized metabolomics and isotope tracing with 13C-glucose to metabolically investigate thymomas, adjacent thymic tissue and benign thymic lesions.

Training Cardiothoracic Residents in Robotic Lobectomy Is Cost-Effective With No Change in Clinical Outcomes.

Our objective was to evaluate for any changes in quality or cost when robotic lung resection is used with significant trainee participation. All anatomic lung resections between January 2006 and June 2016 were identified from a prospectively maintained database. Clinical data were recorded by double entry.

Inhalational delivery of induced pluripotent stem cell secretome improves postpneumonectomy lung structure and function.

Cell-free secretory products (secretome) of human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have been shown to attenuate tissue injury and facilitate repair and recovery. To examine whether iPSC secretome facilitates mechanically induced compensatory responses following unilateral pneumonectomy (PNX), litter-matched young adult female hounds underwent right PNX (removing 55%-58% of lung units), followed by inhalational delivery of either the nebulized-conditioned media containing induced pluripotent stem cell secretome (iPSC CM) or control cell-free media (CFM); inhalation was repeated every 5 days for 10 treatments. Lung function was measured under anesthesia pre-PNX and 10 days after the last treatment (8 wk post-PNX); detailed quantitative analysis of lung ultrastructure was performed postmortem.

Concentration-dependent Early Antivascular and Antitumor Effects of Itraconazole in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

Purpose: Itraconazole has been repurposed as an anticancer therapeutic agent for multiple malignancies. In preclinical models, itraconazole has antiangiogenic properties and inhibits Hedgehog pathway activity. We performed a window-of-opportunity trial to determine the biologic effects of itraconazole in human patients.

Closing the gap: Contribution of surgical best practices to outcome differences between high- and low-volume centers for lung cancer resection.

Background: Clinical outcomes for resected early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are superior at high-volume facilities, but reasons for these differences remain unclear. Understanding these differences and optimizing outcomes across institutions are critical to the management of the increasing incidence of these cases. We evaluated the extent to which surgical best practices account for resected early-stage NSCLC outcome differences between facilities according to case volume.

Increased reporting but decreased mortality associated with adverse events in patients undergoing lung cancer surgery: Competing forces in an era of heightened focus on care quality?

Introduction: Advances in surgical techniques have improved clinical outcomes and decreased complications. At the same time, heightened attention to care quality has resulted in increased identification of hospital-acquired adverse events. We evaluated these divergent effects on the reported safety of lung cancer resection.

Does Tumor FDG-PET Avidity Represent Enhanced Glycolytic Metabolism in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer?

Background: In non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), fluoro-2-deoxyglucose-positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) assists in diagnosis, staging, and evaluating treatment response. One variable of FDG-PET, the maximum standard uptake value (SUV), is considered an objective measure of glucose uptake. However, little is known about the fate of glucose in FDG-avid lung tumors in vivo.

Minimally Invasive and Robotic Esophagectomy: A Review.

Great advances have been made in the surgical management of esophageal disease since the first description of esophageal resection in 1913. We are in the era of minimally invasive esophagectomy. The current three main approaches to an esophagectomy are the Ivor Lewis technique, McKeown technique, and the transhiatal approach to esophagectomy.

Radiation-Induced Liver Injury Mimicking Metastatic Disease in a Patient With Esophageal Cancer: Correlation of Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography With Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Literature Review.

Post-radiation therapy evaluation of distal esophageal cancers with positron emission tomography/computed tomography can be problematic. Differentiation of recurrent neoplasm from postradiation changes is difficult in areas of fluorodeoxyglucose avidity in adjacent, incidentally irradiated organs. Few studies have described the magnetic resonance imaging appearance of radiation-induced hepatic injury.

Audit of lymphadenectomy in lung cancer resections using a specimen collection kit and checklist.

Background: Audits of operative summaries and pathology reports reveal wide discordance in identifying the extent of lymphadenectomy performed (the communication gap). We tested the ability of a prelabeled lymph node specimen collection kit and checklist to narrow the communication gap between operating surgeons, pathologists, and auditors of surgeons' operation notes.

Methods: We conducted a prospective single cohort study of lung cancer resections performed with a lymph node collection kit from November 2010 to January 2013.

Trimodality therapy for superior sulcus non-small cell lung cancer: Southwest Oncology Group-Intergroup Trial S0220.

Background: Although preoperative chemotherapy (cisplatin-etoposide) and radiotherapy, followed by surgical resection, is considered a standard of care for superior sulcus cancers, treatment is rigorous and relapse limits long-term survival. The Southwest Oncology Group-Intergroup Trial S0220 was designed to incorporate an active systemic agent, docetaxel, as consolidation therapy.

Methods: Patients with histologically proven and radiologically defined T3 to 4, N0 to 1, M0 superior sulcus non-small cell lung cancer underwent induction therapy with cisplatin-etoposide, concurrently with thoracic radiotherapy at 45 Gy.

Robotic esophagectomy: modified McKeown approach.

This article describes a robotic 2-stage 3-field esophagolymphadenectomy. Techniques highlighted include thoracic esophagectomy; cervical, wide thoracic, and abdominal lymphadenectomy; thoracic duct ligation; gastric tube creation; esophagogastric anastomosis in the left neck; and jejunostomy feeding tube placement.

Identification of novel autoantibodies for detection of malignant mesothelioma.

Background: The malignant mesothelioma (MM) survival rate has been hampered by the lack of efficient and accurate early detection methods. The immune system may detect the early changes of tumor progression by responding with tumor-associated autoantibody production. Hence, in this study, we translated the humoral immune response to cancer proteins into a potential blood test for MM.

Serological antibodies against LY6K as a diagnostic biomarker in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Objectives: To evaluate the diagnostic values of autoantibodies against lymphocyte antigen 6 complex locus K (LY6K) in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).

Methods: After cloning, expressing, and purifying LY6K as fusion proteins, LY6K autoantibodies were measured in 62 patient and 58 control serum samples using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to measure the LY6K mRNA levels in ESCC and adjacent tissues.

DNA methylation biomarkers for lung cancer.

Changes in DNA methylation patterns are an important characteristic of human cancer including lung cancer. In particular, hypermethylation of CpG islands is a signature of malignant progression. Methylated CpG islands are promising diagnostic markers for the early detection of cancer.

Recommendations for uniform definitions of surgical techniques for malignant pleural mesothelioma: a consensus report of the international association for the study of lung cancer international staging committee and the international mesothelioma interest group.

Introduction: Extrapleural pneumonectomy has been well defined; however, surgeons vary regarding the surgical extent and goals of "pleurectomy/decortication" (P/D). We explored mesothelioma surgeons' concepts of P/D with the aim of unifying surgical nomenclature.

Methods: A web-based survey was administered to surgeons who operated on malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) for diagnosis, staging, palliation, or cytoreduction.

Differential expression patterns of capping protein, protein phosphatase 1, and casein kinase 1 may serve as diagnostic markers for malignant melanoma.

Early and accurate diagnosis of malignant melanoma is critical for patient survival. However, currently used diagnostic markers are insufficiently specific, which limits their utility. We aimed to identify molecular markers that are more specific to malignant melanoma, thereby aiding in melanoma diagnosis and treatment.

Autoantibodies against MMP-7 as a novel diagnostic biomarker in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Aim: To evaluate the diagnostic values of serum autoantibodies against matrix metalloproteinase-7 (MMP-7) in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).

Methods: The MMP-7 cDNA was cloned from ESCC tissues, and MMP-7 was expressed and purified from a prokaryotic system. MMP-7 autoantibodies were then measured in sera from 50 patients with primary ESCC and 58 risk-matched controls, using a reverse capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in which autoantibodies to MMP-7 bound to the purified MMP-7 proteins.

Fen1 mutations that specifically disrupt its interaction with PCNA cause aneuploidy-associated cancer.

DNA replication and repair are critical processes for all living organisms to ensure faithful duplication and transmission of genetic information. Flap endonuclease 1 (Fen1), a structure-specific nuclease, plays an important role in multiple DNA metabolic pathways and maintenance of genome stability. Human FEN1 mutations that impair its exonuclease activity have been linked to cancer development.

Minimally invasive and robotic-assisted thymus resection.

Thymectomy for thymoma has traditionally been performed through a transsternal approach because of the excellent exposure that that the median sternotomy provides. Minimally invasive alternatives, such as transcervical thymectomy, video-assisted thymectomy, and robotic thymectomy, have not been extensively evaluated for this disease process. It is uncertain which patients may benefit from minimally invasive approaches and data regarding the oncologic effectiveness of these techniques remains to be established.

Protein microarray: sensitive and effective immunodetection for drug residues.

Background: Veterinary drugs such as clenbuterol (CL) and sulfamethazine (SM2) are low molecular weight (<1000 Da) compounds, or haptens, that are difficult to develop immunoassays due to their low immunogenicity. In this study, we conjugated the drugs to ovalbumin to increase their immunogenicity for antiserum production in rabbits and developed a protein microarray immunoassay for detection of clenbuterol and sulfamethazine. The sensitivity of this approach was then compared to traditional ELISA technique.

Image-guided Radiotherapy Of Esophageal Cancer By Helical Tomotherapy: Acute Toxicity And Preliminary Clinical Outcome.

Background: Helical tomotherapy is a novel intensity-modulated radiotherapy modality with a helical 360° radiation delivery system and CT imaging ability. The purpose of this report is to review our initial experiences and to assess the toxicity and efficacy of helical tomotherapy for esophageal cancer.

Methods: Twenty patients with locally advanced esophageal cancer (T3-4 and/or N+ and/or M1a/b) were treated with helical tomotherapy.