Patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and refractory cough have traction bronchiectasis and distorted airway architecture: a retrospective case review study.

Cough is a common and important sign/symptom in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). However, there have been few reports focusing on cough, and the exact mechanisms for cough in patients with IPF have remained unclear. The objective of this study was to investigate the clinical features of IPF patients with refractory cough and to clarify mechanisms for cough in these patients.

Bronchial Thermoplasty Attenuates Cough Reflex Sensitivity in Severe Asthma : A Single-Center Retrospective Study with 2-year Follow-up.

Despite the relatively short follow-up period in our previous study, we had reported that increased cough reflex sensitivity (CRS) may predict the efficacy of bronchial thermoplasty (BT) for treating asthma. Herein, we examined whether CRS predicts the efficacy of BT 2 years after the final BT treatment. We also investigated the influence of BT on CRS.

Long-Term Survival of Patients With Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Treated With Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Monotherapy in Real-World Settings.

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) monotherapy is more effective than cytotoxic chemotherapy in improving overall survival (OS) among patients with advanced-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Recently, chemotherapy combined with ICI has been found to yield good outcomes. However, ICI monotherapy is still considered an important treatment option.

Suitability of Endobronchial Ultrasound-Guided Transbronchial Needle Aspiration versus Paired Transbronchial Biopsy Specimens for Evaluating Programmed Death Ligand-1 Expression in Stage III and IV Lung Cancer: A Comparative Retrospective Study.

Cancer cells usually escape tumor-reactive T-cell responses using immune checkpoint proteins, such as programmed death protein-1 (PD-1) and its ligand, programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1). These proteins can be blocked by immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs); the decision on ICI-based first-line treatment for advanced lung cancers depends on the PD-L1 levels in tumor specimens. Determining the PD-L1 expression conventionally requires histological specimens from resected tumors and core biopsy specimens.

Late-onset programmed cell death protein-1 inhibitor-induced pneumonitis after cessation of nivolumab or pembrolizumab in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer: a case series.

Awareness of the immune-related adverse event of programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1) inhibitor-induced pneumonitis is important. Herein, we report the clinical course of 3 patients suspected to have PD-1 inhibitor-induced pneumonitis after cessation of PD-1 inhibitor treatment. In case 1, a 62-year-old man was diagnosed with stage IVA adenocarcinoma.

Histopathological Type of Lung Cancer and Underlying Driver Mutations in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) versus Patients with Asthma and COPD Overlap: A Single-Center Retrospective Study.

Objectives: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) increases the risk of lung cancer. The relationships between COPD and Asthma COPD Overlap (ACO), and between the histopathological types of lung cancer and driver mutations remain unclear and need further study. The aim of this retrospective study was to examine the relationships between the histopathological type, frequency of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) driver mutations, and anaplastic lymphoma receptor tyrosine kinase (ALK) rearrangements in the lung cancers of patients with COPD and ACO.

Repeated bronchoconstriction attenuates the cough response to bronchoconstriction in naïve guinea pigs.

Background: Cough variant asthma (CVA) is recognized as a precursor of bronchial asthma (BA). However, the cough response to bronchoconstriction differs between these similar diseases. Repeated bronchoconstriction and the resulting imbalance of endogenous lipid mediators may impact the cough response.

The prevalence and clinical features of asthma-COPD overlap (ACO) definitively diagnosed according to the Japanese Respiratory Society Guidelines for the Management of ACO 2018.

Background Asthma-COPD overlap (ACO) is a disease that shares clinical features of both asthma and COPD. The purpose of this study is to investigate the prevalence and clinical features of ACO. Methods We retrospectively reviewed data for 170 patients with persistent airflow limitation and diagnosed them according to "The Japanese Respiratory Society Guidelines for the Management of ACO 2018".

Real-World Evidence of Safety and Efficacy of Carboplatin plus Nanoparticle Albumin-Bound Paclitaxel in Patients with Advanced Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer and Preexisting Interstitial Lung Disease: A Retrospective Study.

Background: Standard chemotherapy for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with preexisting interstitial lung disease (ILD) has not yet been established. Although a combination of carboplatin and paclitaxel is most frequently used for patients with advanced NSCLC and ILD, the safety and efficacy of carboplatin plus nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel (nab-paclitaxel) are yet to be elucidated.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of carboplatin plus nab-paclitaxel for advanced NSCLC with ILD.

Role of prostaglandin I in the bronchoconstriction-triggered cough response in guinea pigs.

Unlabelled: Purpose/Aim of the study: Methacholine chloride (MCh) inhalation causes bronchoconstriction and cough. Following MCh-induced bronchoconstriction, metabolic products of prostaglandin I (PGI) increase in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), suggesting that PGI plays a role in the cough response. Accordingly, we used an experimental guinea pig model to evaluate the role of PGI in the bronchoconstriction-triggered cough response.

Increased Cough Receptor Sensitivity to Capsaicin Predicts a Positive Bronchial Thermoplasty Response: A Single-center Retrospective Study.

Background: Bronchial thermoplasty (BT) is a novel bronchoscopic therapy for severe uncontrolled asthma unresponsive to standard pharmacological treatments, including inhaled corticosteroids and long-acting beta-2 agonists. Although several studies have shown that BT improves asthma control, the optimal predictors of BT response remain unknown.

Patients And Methods: We reviewed 10 consecutive asthma patients treated with BT at Kanazawa University Hospital between January 2016 and March 2018 and attempted to identify factors that correlated with a positive BT response.

A Single Institution Retrospective Study of the Clinical Efficacy of Tiotropium Respimat in Never-Smoking Elderly Asthmatics with Irreversible Airflow Limitation.

Objective: In Japan, most asthma deaths occur among the elderly. We should improve the control of asthma in elderly patients to reduce the number of deaths due to asthma. This retrospective study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of tiotropium Respimat (Tio-Res) in symptomatic, never-smoking, elderly asthmatics with irreversible airflow limitation despite the use of high-dose inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) plus long-acting β-adrenoceptor agonists (LABA).

The measurement of cough response to bronchoconstriction induced by methacholine inhalation in healthy subjects: An examination using the Astograph method.

Background: We demonstrated that heightened cough response to bronchoconstriction is a fundamental feature of cough variant asthma (CVA). To evaluate this physiological feature of CVA in daily clinical practice, it is necessary to clarify the cough response to bronchoconstriction in healthy subjects. We evaluated cough response to methacholine (MCh)-induced bronchoconstriction in healthy subjects.

Transformation to small-cell lung cancer following treatment with EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors in a patient with lung adenocarcinoma.

We report the case of a 52-year-old woman with lung adenocarcinoma treated with EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) therapy. After disease progression, histological examination of a secondary biopsy specimen revealed small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) that was sensitive to standard SCLC treatment. Tumor markers, including ProGRP and NSE, were elevated.

Usefulness of transesophageal bronchoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration in the pathologic and molecular diagnosis of lung cancer lesions adjacent to the esophagus.

Background: The discovery of driver oncogenes has increased the need to obtain a sufficient amount of tissue specimens for lung cancer diagnosis. Although endoscopic ultrasound (with bronchoscope)-guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS-B-FNA) is reportedly a feasible and well-tolerated modality, additional advantages of EUS-B-FNA are yet to be thoroughly investigated. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ability of EUS-B-FNA to obtain sufficient tissue specimens for pathologic and molecular diagnoses of lung cancer.

Biodesulfurization of dibenzothiophene and its derivatives using resting and immobilized cells of Sphingomonas subarctica T7b.

The desulfurization ability of Sphingomonas subarctica T7b was evaluated using resting and immobilized cells with dibenzothiophene (DBT), alkyl DBTs, and commercial light gas oil (LGO) as the substrates. The resting cells of S. subarctica T7b degraded 239.

[Endobronchial ultrasonic-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) for lung cancer diagnosis].

Background: Although bronchoscopy has an important role in the diagnosis of lung cancer, more invasive procedures, such as CT-guided biopsy or surgery, are needed when transbronchial approaches fail.

Objective: We investigated the usefulness of endobronchial ultrasonic-transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) for lung cancer diagnosis.

Subjects And Methods: We retrospectively evaluated 122 cases who were finally diagnosed to have lung cancer from among 388 cases who underwent bronchoscopy because of abnormal shadows on their chest X-ray or CT.

Biodesulfurization of alkylated forms of dibenzothiophene and benzothiophene by Sphingomonas subarctica T7b.

Sphingomonas subarctica T7b was isolated from soil in Toyotomi, Hokkaido, Japan as an organism capable of desulfurizing aromatic hydrocarbons in light gas oil (LGO) through enrichment culture. S. subarctica T7b could grow on mineral salt sulfur-free (MSSF) medium with the n-tetradecane oil phase containing dibenzothiophene (DBT), alkyl dibenzothiophenes (alkyl DBTs) or alkyl benzothiophenes (alkyl BTs) as the sole sulfur source and desulfurize these compounds, but could not utilize the tetradecane as a carbon source.