Validation of a breath-holding test as a screening test for exercise-induced hypoxemia in chronic respiratory diseases.

The detection of exercise-induced hypoxemia is important for evaluating disease status in patients with chronic respiratory diseases. The 6-min walk test (6MWT) is useful for detecting exercise-induced hypoxemia. This pilot study aimed to validate the breath-holding test (BHT) as a screening for exercise-induced hypoxemia and compare its utility with that of the 6MWT in patients with chronic respiratory diseases.

Pathological and clinical relevance of selective recruitment of Langerhans cells in the respiratory bronchioles of smokers.

Background: Smoking causes an influx of inflammatory cells including Langerhans cells (LCs) into the airways and lung parenchyma, thus inducing histological changes, such as emphysema and fibrosis. We examined the distribution and quantity of Langerhans cells in relation to clinical and pathological findings and explored the association between smoking and accumulation of Langerhans cells in the respiratory bronchioles.

Methods: Fifty-three patients who underwent lung resection for primary diseases, including lung cancer, were recruited.

Distinct transcriptional programs of SOX2 in different types of small cell lung cancers.

SOX2 is recognized as an oncogene in human small cell lung cancer (SCLC), which is an aggressive neuroendocrine (NE) tumor. However, the role of SOX2 in SCLC is not completely understood, and strategies to selectively target SOX2 in SCLC cells remain elusive. Here, we show, using next-generation sequencing, that SOX2 expressed in the ASCL1-high SCLC (SCLC-A) subtype cell line is dependent on ASCL1, which is a lineage-specific transcriptional factor, and is involved in NE differentiation and tumorigenesis.

Ascl1-induced Wnt11 regulates neuroendocrine differentiation, cell proliferation, and E-cadherin expression in small-cell lung cancer and Wnt11 regulates small-cell lung cancer biology.

The involvement of Wnt signaling in human lung cancer remains unclear. This study investigated the role of Wnt11 in neuroendocrine (NE) differentiation, cell proliferation, and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in human small-cell lung cancer (SCLC). Immunohistochemical staining of resected specimens showed that Wnt11 was expressed at higher levels in SCLCs than in non-SCLCs; 58.

Asthma exacerbations in patients with asthma and rhinitis: Factors associated with asthma exacerbation and its effect on QOL in patients with asthma and rhinitis.

Background: The comorbidity of asthma and allergic rhinitis is remarkably high, but not much is known about the effects of this combined condition on the quality of life. We aimed to evaluate the factors associated with asthma exacerbations and the effect of the exacerbations on the quality of life (QOL) through a one-year, large-scale, observational study in Japanese patients with asthma and rhinitis.

Methods: A case survey by attending physicians and a patient survey was conducted at each assessment timepoint over a period of one year.

Four-meter gait speed predicts daily physical activity in patients with chronic respiratory diseases.

Background: Physical activity measures are valuable for assessing the progression of chronic respiratory diseases. The 4-m gait speed (4MGS) test is an established functional assessment in the elderly. However, the relationship between the 4MGS and daily activity in patients with chronic respiratory diseases has not been fully understood.

Anticoagulant Therapy for Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation After Gastrointestinal Surgery.

Many studies about anticoagulant therapy for disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) confused gastrointestinal surgery-related DIC with DIC unrelated to a prior operation. Furthermore, the potentially increased risk of bleeding by anticoagulants complicates their use. We carried out a systematic review to describe the efficacy and safety of anticoagulant agents for DIC after gastrointestinal surgery.

Respiratory evaluation of the risk for postoperative pulmonary complications in patients who preoperatively consulted pulmonologists: Studying both patients who underwent and who precluded planned surgery.

Background: Due to advances in medicine, patients with pulmonary diseases have become candidates for surgery under general anesthesia. They often consult pulmonologists to assess their tolerability for surgery. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the significant characteristics responsible for postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs) and the preclusion of the planned surgery.

Lung abscess following bronchoscopy due to multidrug-resistant Capnocytophaga sputigena adjacent to lung cancer with high PD-L1 expression.

Lung abscess following flexible bronchoscopy is a rare and sometimes fatal iatrogenic complication. Here, we report the first case of a lung abscess caused by multidrug-resistant Capnocytophaga sputigena following bronchoscopy. A 67-year-old man underwent bronchoscopy to evaluate a lung mass.

Population Pharmacokinetics and Adverse Events of Erlotinib in Japanese Patients with Non-small-cell Lung Cancer: Impact of Genetic Polymorphisms in Metabolizing Enzymes and Transporters.

Determinants of interindividual variability in erlotinib pharmacokinetics (PK) and adverse events remain to be elucidated. This study with 50 Japanese non-small-cell lung cancer patients treated with oral erlotinib at a standard dose of 150 mg aimed to investigate whether genetic polymorphisms affect erlotinib PK and adverse events. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes encoding metabolizing enzymes (CYP1A1, CYP1A2, CYP2D6, CYP3A4, CYP3A5, UGT1A1, UGT2B7, GSTM1, and GSTT1) or efflux transporters (ABCB1, and ABCG2) were analyzed as covariates in a population PK model.

Clinical effects of direct hemoperfusion using a polymyxin B-immobilized fiber column in clinically amyopathic dermatomyositis-associated rapidly progressive interstitial pneumonias.

Background: Rapidly progressive interstitial pneumonias (RPIPs) associated with clinically amyopathic dermatomyositis (CADM) are highly resistant to therapy and have a poor prognosis. Multimodal therapies, including direct hemoperfusion using a polymyxin B-immobilized fiber column (PMX-DHP), have a protective effect on RPIPs. We evaluated the effects of PMX-DHP on CADM-associated RPIPs.

Protective effect of Galectin-9 in murine model of lung emphysema: Involvement of neutrophil migration and MMP-9 production.

Purpose: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by irreversible airflow obstruction and pulmonary emphysema. Persistent inflammation and remodeling of the lungs and airways result in reduced lung function and a lower quality of life. Galectin (Gal)-9 plays a crucial role as an immune modulator in various diseases.

Efficacy of direct hemoperfusion using polymyxin B-immobilized fiber column (PMX-DHP) in rapidly progressive interstitial pneumonias: results of a historical control study and a review of previous studies.

Background: Direct hemoperfusion using polymyxin B-immobilized fiber column (PMX-DHP) therapy has been approved for sepsis-associated acute respiratory distress syndrome, but its efficacy for other rapidly progressive interstitial pneumonias (RPIPs) is unclear. The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of PMX-DHP therapy for acute respiratory failure in patients with RPIPs, when compared with a historical control receiving conventional treatment without PMX-DHP.

Methods: This study comprised 77 patients with RPIPs in our institute between January 2002 and December 2015.

Aerosolized tobramycin for Pseudomonas aeruginosa ventilator-associated pneumonia in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Background: Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) due to Pseudomonas aeruginosa has a high mortality and recurrence rate, especially in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Therefore, new therapeutic strategies against severe pneumonia are needed. This study evaluated the efficacy of aerosolized tobramycin for P.

The cell-cell interaction between tumor-associated macrophages and small cell lung cancer cells is involved in tumor progression via STAT3 activation.

Objectives: Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is an aggressive tumor with a poor prognosis. It is well known that various stromal cells, including macrophages, play a role in tumor progression in several types of malignant tumors; however, the significance of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) in SCLC has not been fully elucidated. Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is a molecule well-known to be related to tumor progression.

Rapidly progressive interstitial lung disease due to anti-MDA-5 antibody-positive clinically amyopathic dermatomyositis complicated with cervical cancer: Successful treatment with direct hemoperfusion using polymyxin B-immobilized fiber column therapy.

The anti-melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 (MDA-5) antibody is a marker of clinically amyopathic dermatomyositis (CADM) and rapidly progressive interstitial lung disease (ILD) with acute respiratory failure. A 35-year-old woman with cervical cancer showed Gottron's papules, severe hypoxemia, and diffuse ground-glass opacities on chest computed tomography. She was diagnosed with rapidly progressive ILD associated with CADM.

Drebrin: A new oncofetal biomarker associated with prognosis of lung adenocarcinoma.

Objectives: With the aim of searching for novel oncofetal tumor biomarkers of lung adenocarcinoma other than carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), we developed a strategy involving monoclonal antibodies generated from embryonic tissue of miniature swine.

Materials And Methods: Using immunohistochemistry, we selected suitable hybridoma clones that were reactive against swine fetal lung but not adult lung using tissue microarray loading of human normal lung, lung cancer, and fetal and adult swine tissues.

Results: The selected clones included several that were uniquely reactive against both swine fetal lung and human lung adenocarcinoma, and protein microarray revealed that the antigen they recognized was "drebrin" (DBN1).

Pulmonary Mucosa-associated Lymphoid Tissue Lymphoma with Spontaneous Regression after Computed Tomography-guided Needle Biopsy: A Case Report and Summary of 8 Reported Cases.

A 72-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital with a solitary right lung nodule. She had no symptoms and no abnormal physical findings except for bladder cancer. Tumor markers were mildly elevated but no other abnormal laboratory data were found.

Metformin attenuates lung fibrosis development via NOX4 suppression.

Background: Accumulation of profibrotic myofibroblasts in fibroblastic foci (FF) is a crucial process for development of fibrosis during idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) pathogenesis, and transforming growth factor (TGF)-β plays a key regulatory role in myofibroblast differentiation. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) has been proposed to be involved in the mechanism for TGF-β-induced myofibroblast differentiation. Metformin is a biguanide antidiabetic medication and its pharmacological action is mediated through the activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), which regulates not only energy homeostasis but also stress responses, including ROS.

Phase II trial of weekly nab-paclitaxel for previously treated advanced non-small cell lung cancer: Kumamoto thoracic oncology study group (KTOSG) trial 1301.

Objectives: We performed an open-label, multicenter, single-arm phase II study (UMIN ID 000010532) to prospectively evaluate the efficacy and safety of nab-paclitaxel for previously treated patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods: Patients with advanced NSCLC who experienced failure of prior platinum-doublet chemotherapy received weekly nab-paclitaxel (100mg/m(2)) on days 1, 8, and 15 of a 21-day cycle until disease progression or the development of unacceptable toxicity. The primary end point of the study was objective response rate (ORR).

An Invasive Lepidic Predominant Adenocarcinoma Extensively Involving the Lung with Areas of Sarcomatoid Carcinoma Containing Osteoclast-like Giant Cells.

Primary lung tumor tissue exhibiting numerous multinucleated osteoclast-like giant cells (OGCs) is an extremely rare histological type. In this study, we describe the case of an 82-year-old woman. Chest CT demonstrated an extensive crazy-paving appearance in both of the lung fields and a solid round mass in the right lower lobe.

Primary Diaphragmatic Dedifferentiated Liposarcoma in a Young Female Patient after Delivery.

A 26-year-old woman was admitted with the chief complaint of chest pain. She had delivered her first child 9 months before admission. Computed tomography showed a bulky mass in her left chest, and histopathological analysis revealed it to be dedifferentiated liposarcoma.

Aggressive tumor microenvironment of solid predominant lung adenocarcinoma subtype harboring with epidermal growth factor receptor mutations.

Introduction: Tumor microenvironment critically affects cancer progression. This study aimed to identify differences in microenvironments of lung adenocarcinomas with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations by histological subtypes.

Methods: The study cohort included 214 lung adenocarcinomas harboring EGFR mutations.