Clinical Characteristics and Changes of Clinical Features in Patients with Asthma-COPD Overlap in Korea according to Different Diagnostic Criteria.

Background: Asthma-chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) overlap (ACO) is a condition characterized by the overlapping clinical features of asthma and COPD. To evaluate the appropriateness of different sets of ACO definition, we compared the clinical characteristics of the previously defined diagnostic criteria and the specialist opinion in this study.

Methods: Patients enrolled in the KOrea COpd Subgroup Study (KOCOSS) were evaluated.

Effect of Inhaled Corticosteroids on Exacerbation of Asthma-COPD Overlap According to Different Diagnostic Criteria.

Background: Few reports have investigated the efficacy of using inhaled corticosteroid (ICS)-containing inhalers to treat patients with asthma-chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) overlap (ACO).

Objective: To investigate the effect of ICS treatment on patients with ACO using 5 sets of diagnostic criteria.

Methods: Patients with stable COPD enrolled in the Korean COPD subgroup study cohort were assessed for asthma overlap.

Clinical utility of a novel natural killer cell activity assay for diagnosing non-small cell lung cancer: a prospective pilot study.

Purpose: Although decreased natural killer cell activity (NKA) has been observed in many solid cancers, clinical implication of NKA has been scarcely investigated in lung cancer. The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential of using NKA to support diagnosis of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Materials And Methods: We prospectively evaluated and compared peripheral blood NKA using a novel interferon-gamma releasing assay in healthy population (n=40), patients with benign lung disease (n=40), and those with NSCLC (n=71).

Toll-like receptor expression in pulmonary sensory neurons in the bleomycin-induced fibrosis model.

Airway sensory nerves are known to express several receptors and channels that are activated by exogenous and endogenous mediators that cause coughing. Toll-like receptor (TLR) s are expressed in nociceptive neurons and play an important role in neuroinflammation. However, there have been very few studies of TLR expression in lung-derived sensory neurons or their relevance to respiratory symptoms such as cough.

NANOG as an adverse predictive marker in advanced non-small cell lung cancer treated with platinum-based chemotherapy.

Purpose: NANOG is a master transcription factor that regulates stem cell pluripotency and cellular reprograming. Increased NANOG expression has been associated with poor survival in several human malignancies. However, the clinical significance of NANOG overexpression in lung cancer has been scarcely evaluated.

Randomized Phase III Study of Docetaxel Plus Cisplatin Versus Pemetrexed Plus Cisplatin as First-line Treatment of Nonsquamous Non-Small-cell Lung Cancer: A TRAIL Trial.

Introduction: To date, no prospective phase III trials have directly compared the efficacy of pemetrexed plus cisplatin (Pem-Cis) with docetaxel plus cisplatin (Doc-Cis) in patients with nonsquamous non-small-cell lung cancer.

Materials And Methods: A total of 148 chemotherapy-naive patients lacking driver mutations were randomized into 21-day regimens of cisplatin 70 mg/m with either docetaxel 60 mg/m (n = 71) or pemetrexed 500 mg/m (n = 77) for ≤ 4 cycles. The primary objective was to assess the noninferiority of progression-free survival (PFS) for patients receiving the Doc-Cis regimen.

Reactive oxygen species modulator 1 (Romo1) as a novel diagnostic marker for lung cancer-related malignant effusion.

Reactive oxygen species modulator 1 (Romo1) is a novel protein that plays an important role in intracellular reactive oxygen species generation. Recently, Romo1 has been suggested to have diagnostic and prognostic potential in lung cancer. However, there is no data on the diagnostic value of Romo1 level in malignant pleural effusion.

Reactive Oxygen Species Modulator 1 (Romo1) Predicts Poor Outcomes in Advanced Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Patients Treated with Platinum-Based Chemotherapy.

Purpose: Reactive oxygen species modulator 1 (Romo1) is a key mediator of intracellular reactive oxygen species production. However, examination of the clinical usefulness of Romo1 in cancers has been limited. We evaluated the association of Romo1 expression with clinical outcomes in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients treated with platinum-based chemotherapy.

The effect of an IκB-kinase-β(IKKβ) inhibitor on tobacco smoke-induced pulmonary inflammation.

Purpose Of The Study: Inactivation of NF-κB with IKKβ knockout mice reduces tobacco smoke-induced pulmonary inflammation. In this study, we investigated whether the IKKβ inhibitor PS-1145 could attenuate the pulmonary inflammation induced by tobacco smoke.

Materials And Methods: We divided 30 mice into three groups: a control group, a smoking group, and a PS-1145 group.

Serum Procalcitonin for Differential Diagnosis of Acute Exacerbation and Bacterial Pneumonia in Patients With Interstitial Lung Disease.

Background: Acute exacerbation and bacterial pneumonia are major life-threatening conditions in patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD). The rapid recognition of these 2 different conditions is important for their proper treatment. An elevated procalcitonin (PCT) level is commonly detected in patients with bacterial infections.

18F-FDG PET/CT of Bronchial Mucous Gland Adenoma.

Bronchial mucous gland adenoma is a very rare benign tumor that arises from the bronchial mucous-secreting glands. Its detection and appearance using F-FDG PET/CT has not been well characterized. We present a case of a 59-year-old man with FDG-avid mucous gland adenoma that mimicked lung cancer on F-FDG PET/CT.

Quercetin Enhances Chemosensitivity to Gemcitabine in Lung Cancer Cells by Inhibiting Heat Shock Protein 70 Expression.

Unlabelled: Quercetin is a bioflavonoid known for antioxidation and antiproliferation activities. We demonstrated that quercetin inhibited cancer cell growth and sensitized cancer cells to gemcitabine treatment by promoting apoptosis via inhibiting heat shock protein 70 expression. Our results suggest that quercetin might have potential to increase sensitivity to chemotherapy and that heat shock protein 70 could be a new target for lung cancer treatment.

Reactive oxygen species modulator 1 (Romo1) overexpression is an independent predictor of poor survival in NSCLC patients who undergo surgical resection.

Objectives: Reactive oxygen species modulator 1 (Romo1) is a novel protein that plays an important role in intracellular reactive oxygen species generation. Romo1 is overexpressed in most cancer cell lines and related to invasiveness and chemoresistance in vitro. However, little information is available on its clinical implications.

Rapid detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis using a novel ultrafast chip-type real-time polymerase chain reaction system.

Background: NBS LabChip G2-3 is a novel, ultrafast, chip-type portable real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) system. We evaluated the clinical usefulness of this system in detecting pulmonary TB and assessed its diagnostic performance compared with a conventional tube-type PCR system.

Methods: A total of 247 sputum samples were collected from patients suspected of having pulmonary TB.

Serum reactive oxygen species modulator 1 (Romo1) as a potential diagnostic biomarker for non-small cell lung cancer.

Objectives: Reactive oxygen species modulator 1 (Romo1) is a novel protein that localizes in the mitochondrial membrane and induces mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. Romo1 is increased in most cancer cell lines and is related with resistance to chemotherapy in vitro. However, data on its expression in patients with malignancy is very limited.

A Case of IgG4-Related Disease Presenting as Massive Pleural Effusion and Thrombophlebitis.

Immunoglobulin (Ig) G4-related disease is a recently recognized systemic fibroinflammatory condition characterized by a lymphoplasmacytic infiltrate rich in IgG4-positive plasma cells with elevated circulating levels of IgG4. The disease can either be localized to one or two organs, or present as diffuse multi-organ disease. Furthermore, lesions in different organs can present simultaneously or metachronously.

Effects of transglutaminase 2 inhibition on ventilator-induced lung injury.

This study was performed to examine the role of transglutaminase 2 (TG2) in ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI). C57BL/6 mice were divided into six experimental groups: 1) control group; 2) lipopolysaccharide (LPS) group; 3) lung protective ventilation (LPV) group; 4) VILI group; 5) VILI with cystamine, a TG2 inhibitor, pretreatment (Cyst+VILI) group; and 6) LPV with cystamine pretreatment (Cyst+LPV) group. Acute lung injury (ALI) score, TG2 activity and gene expression, inflammatory cytokines, and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) activity were measured.

The effect of adipose stem cell therapy on pulmonary fibrosis induced by repetitive intratracheal bleomycin in mice.

Adipose stem cells (ASCs) are detectable in the parenchyma and large airways of lungs after systemic administration, and ameliorate inflammatory infiltration and cell death in animal models of emphysema. We evaluated whether ASC treatment could attenuate lung fibrosis induced by repetitive intratracheal bleomycin administration. Male 8-week-old C57BL/6J mice (control group, bleomycin-only group, and bleomycin-plus-ASC group) were used.

Increased expression of vascular endothelial growth factor and hypoxia inducible factor-1α in lung tissue of patients with chronic bronchitis.

Objectives: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) seems to be involved in the pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but its site-specific expression in lung tissue and the relationship with hypoxia inducible factor-1 alpha (HIF-1α) expression in chronic bronchitis (CB) type COPD have not been studied.

Design And Methods: We evaluated the expression of VEGF and its receptors in various compartments of lung tissue in three groups: non-smokers with normal lung function (non-smokers, n=10), smokers without COPD (healthy smokers, n=10) and smokers with CB (CB, n=10), using immunohistochemical staining and Western blotting. The expression of HIF-1α was assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Relationships of coagulation factor XIII activity with cell-type and stage of non-small cell lung cancer.

Purpose: Factor XIII (FXIII), a thrombin-activated plasma transglutaminase zymogen, is involved in cancer development and progression through a triggered coagulation pathway. The aim of this study was to examine whether FXIII activity levels differed in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients according to histological types and TNM stage when compared with healthy subjects.

Materials And Methods: Twenty-eight NSCLC patients and 28 normal controls who had been individually age-, gender-, body mass index-, smoking status-, and smoking amount-matched were enrolled: 13 adenocarcinomas, 11 squamous cell carcinomas, and four undifferentiated NSCLCs; four stage I, two stage II, 12 stage III, and 10 stage IV NSCLCs.

The start of chemotherapy until the end of radiotherapy in patients with limited-stage small cell lung cancer.

Background/aims: Chemotherapy combined with radiation therapy is the standard treatment for limited stage small cell lung cancer (LS-SCLC). Although numerous studies indicate that the overall duration of chemoradiotherapy is the most relevant predictor of outcome, the optimal chemotherapy and radiation schedule for LS-SCLC remains controversial. Therefore we analyzed the time from the start of any treatment until the end of radiotherapy (SER) in patients with LS-SCLC.