[Case Report of Occult Breast Cancer with Triple Negative Subtype].

A 61-year-old woman presented at a nearby clinic with a complaint of a mass in the right axilla. Initial imaging examinations, including mammography, ultrasonography, and breast MRI, did not reveal any obvious intramammary lesions, although a swollen lymph node was observed in the right axilla. Fine-needle aspiration cytology confirmed malignancy.

Perineural Invasion Predicts Unfavorable Prognosis in Patients With Invasive Breast Cancer.

Background/aim: Perineural invasion (PNI) is a poor prognostic factor in a variety of cancers. However, the frequency of PNI in invasive breast carcinoma varies among studies, and the prognostic significance of PNI remains unclear. Therefore, we aimed to explore the prognostic value of PNI in breast cancer patients.

Clinical Significance of Subcellular Localization of Maspin in Breast Carcinoma: An Immunohistochemical Study Using Two Different Antibodies.

Background: Maspin is known to be a tumor suppressor protein: however, its prognostic value in patients with breast cancer remains controversial. The key influential factors contributing to this complexity may be the differences in antibodies used, as well as the positive criteria and sample size. To date, no study has investigated the prognostic significance of maspin expression by using two different antibodies in the same cohort.

Clinical Significance of Serglycin Expression in Human Breast Cancer Patients.

Background/aim: Serglycin plays a crucial role in the aggressiveness of several types of malignancies, including breast cancer. In this study, we aimed to investigate the prognostic impact of serglycin expression in breast cancer patients, which has not been previously reported.

Patients And Methods: Immunohistochemical analyses were performed on 348 resected specimens of invasive carcinomas, using antibodies against serglycin.

Role of cytoplasmic localization of maspin in promoting cell invasion in breast cancer with aggressive phenotype.

Mammary serine protease inhibitor (maspin) is a tumor suppressor gene that is downregulated during carcinogenesis and breast cancer progression. While the nuclear localization of maspin is essential for tumor suppression, we previously reported that the cytoplasmic localization of maspin was significantly correlated with poor prognosis in breast cancer patients. To understand the mechanisms that underlie oncogenic role of cytoplasmic maspin, we studied its biological function in breast cancer cell lines.

Podoplanin expression in cancer-associated fibroblasts predicts unfavorable prognosis in node-negative breast cancer patients with hormone receptor-positive/HER2 - negative subtype.

Background: Podoplanin expression in cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) has been proposed as an indicator for poor prognosis in patients with invasive breast carcinomas, but little is known about its clinical significance in node-negative breast cancer patients with hormone receptor (HR) + /HER2  - subtype, who are expected to have a favorable prognosis.

Methods: Immunohistochemical analyses were performed on 169 resected specimens of node-negative invasive carcinoma of no special type with HR + /HER2 - subtype using antibodies for podoplanin. When more than 10% of CAFs showed immunoreactivity with podoplanin as strong as that of internal positive controls, the specimens were judged as podoplanin-positive.

Upregulation of glucose and amino acid transporters in micropapillary carcinoma.

Micropapillary carcinoma (MPC), a relatively rare histologic carcinoma observed in various organs, is associated with vascular invasion, nodal metastasis, and poor prognosis. MPC is different from papillary carcinoma as it has no fibrovascular core and is thus considered essentially hypovascular. MPCs are known to upregulate glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1) via the activation of a transcription factor, hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1.

Clinical Significance of Subcellular Localization of Maspin in Patients with Pathological Stage IA Lung Adenocarcinoma.

Background/aim: Maspin is a tumor-suppressor protein and its prognostic value in lung adenocarcinoma has been reported. However, little is known about the clinical impact of subcellular localization of maspin in early-stage lung adenocarcinoma. We aimed to evaluate the clinical significance of subcellular localization of maspin in patients with pathological stage (p-stage) IA lung adenocarcinoma categorized by the new eighth edition TNM classification.

Prognostic Factors for Post Recurrence Survival in Resected Pathological Stage I Non-small Cell Lung Cancer.

Background: Recurrence of lung cancer after surgical resection is a major obstacle in the cure and long-term survival of patients and has become the most common cause of death. However, prognostic factors and efficacy of therapy after recurrence remain controversial. We evaluated the prognostic factors of post recurrence survival (PRS) in patients of resected stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Initial Results of Robotic Surgery for Primary Lung Cancer: Feasibility, Safety and Learning Curve.

Background: At the end of 2016, robot-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (RATS) was still not covered by Japanese national health insurance. Therefore, few institutions in Japan perform RATS and even fewer have reported procedures as they occurred earlier. So, we decided to focus on the initial results of RATS for primary lung cancer.

Podoplanin expression in cancer-associated fibroblasts predicts unfavourable prognosis in patients with pathological stage IA lung adenocarcinoma.

Aims: Podoplanin expression in cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) has been proposed as an unfavourable indicator in squamous cell carcinoma of the lung, but little is known about its clinical significance in early-stage lung adenocarcinoma. We evaluated the prognostic impact of podoplanin expression in patients with pathological stage (p-stage) IA lung adenocarcinoma as categorised by the 8th edition of the tumour-node-metastasis classification for lung cancer.

Methods And Results: Immunohistochemical analyses using anti-podoplanin antibody were performed on resected specimens from 158 patients with p-stage IA lung adenocarcinoma.

Subcellular Localization of Maspin Correlates with Histone Deacetylase 1 Expression in Human Breast Cancer.

Background/aim: Maspin is known to be a tumor suppressor protein. Its nuclear localization and endogenous inhibition of histone deacetylase 1 (HDAC1) are considered crucial for its tumor suppressor activity. However, it remains unclear whether subcellular localization of maspin correlates with HDAC1 expression level in human breast cancer.

Serum Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor-A as a Prognostic Biomarker for Epithelial Ovarian Cancer.

Background: Bevacizumab, which targets vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A, has recently been proven to be effective for the treatment of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). Thus, interest in VEGF-A has increased. There are few reports on concomitant detection of both ligands and its soluble receptors in serum samples, and the significance of serum VEGF-A in EOC is unclear, unlike the situation with tissue samples.

Clinicopathological Characteristics of Lung Adenocarcinoma with Unexpected Lymph Node Metastasis.

Purpose: The objective is to demonstrate the clinicopathological characteristics of patients with unexpected node-positive lung adenocarcinoma and to analyze predictive factors of unexpected disease.

Methods: We reviewed 225 patients with lung adenocarcinoma who underwent curative-intent operation between January 2008 and December 2014. Unexpected node-positive diseases were defined as cases with hilar or mediastinal lymph nodes metastasis in spite of both negative significant enlargement of lymph nodes on preoperative chest computed tomography (CT) and negative fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake in lymph nodes on preoperative positron emission tomography (PET)/CT.

[Two Surgical Cases of Müllerian Cyst Arising From the Posterior Mediastinum].

We experienced 2 cases of Müllerian cyst. Case 1 was a 48-year-old woman with a paravertebral cystic tumor. The tumor grew from 23 to 31 mm in diameter for the 3 years.

Podoplanin Expression in Cancer-associated Fibroblasts Predicts Poor Prognosis in Patients with Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Lung.

Background/aim: Podoplanin is a candidate cancer stem cell marker in squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Several studies have reported the prognostic value of podoplanin expression in tumor cells in lung SCC but few have focused on its expression in cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs). The aim of this study was to analyze the prognostic significance of podoplanin expression, with special reference to the expression pattern in both tumor cells and CAFs.

Simplified comorbidity score for elderly patients undergoing thoracoscopic surgery for lung cancer.

Purpose: We investigated the efficiency of the Simplified Comorbidity Score (SCS) for predicting postoperative complications and prognosis in elderly patients undergoing video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) for lung cancer.

Methods: We reviewed 216 patients aged 75 years or older, who underwent pulmonary resection by VATS for lung cancer between January, 2005 and December, 2012. The SCS assigns different scores to patients' comorbidities; namely, smoking (n = 7); diabetes mellitus (n = 5); renal insufficiency (n = 4); and respiratory, neoplastic, and cardiovascular comorbidities or alcoholism (n = 1 each).

Prognostic Significance of Solid and Micropapillary Components in Invasive Lung Adenocarcinomas Measuring ≤3 cm.

Background/aim: We aimed to analyze the clinical impact of solid and micropapillary components in a series of Japanese patients resected for ≤3 cm lung adenocarcinoma.

Patients And Methods: A total of 115 patients with ≤3 cm lung adenocarcinomas were reviewed and classified according to the American Thoracic Society and the European Respiratory Society classification. The presence of solid (S+) or micropapillary component (MP+) was defined when the component constituted ≥1% of the entire tumor.

Successful multimodality treatment for locally advanced primary thymic adenocarcinoma: report of a case.

Although the optimal treatment strategy for locally advanced thymic carcinomas has yet to be determined, complete resection of the tumor after induction chemoradiotherapy (CRT) can sometimes provide a good chance of being cured. A 61-year-old woman was diagnosed with locally advanced primary thymic carcinoma, which invaded bilateral brachiocephalic veins and superior vena cava with intraluminal tumor thrombus. Induction CRT was performed, and a partial response to the treatment was achieved.

Excellent prognosis of lepidic-predominant lung adenocarcinoma: low incidence of lymphatic vessel invasion as a key factor.

Aim: To clarify the prognostic value of predominant histological subtypes for small-sized lung adenocarcinoma.

Materials And Methods: Sixty-four specimens of resected invasive lung adenocarcinoma less than 20 mm in diameter with no lymph node metastasis were studied. These specimens were microscopically classified into predominant histological subtypes (21 lepidic, 16 acinar, 24 papillary, and three solid) according to the International association for the study of lung cancer/American thoracic society/European respiratory society adenocarcinoma classification.

Desmoid tumor requiring differentiation from port-site relapse after surgery for lung cancer.

Thoracoscopic left lower lobectomy with lymph node dissection for lung cancer was performed in a 76-year-old man. The diagnosis was pT2aN2M0 adenocarcinoma. Sixteen months after surgery, CT revealed a pleural tumor measuring 38 mm at the surgical port wound.

[Long-term survival of a case of advanced cancer of the esophagogastric junction with complete response to low-dose 5-fluorouracil and cisplatin chemotherapy].

A 58-year-old man was admitted to the author's institution with complaints of dysphagia and tarry stool. An advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagogastric junction was revealed by endoscopy. The clinical stage was GE, T4, N1, H0, M0, cStageIVa, according to the Japanese Classification of Esophageal Cancer.

Treatment for gastric carcinoma in the oldest old patients.

Background: The strategy for treating extremely aged patients with gastric carcinoma is controversial. This study reviews the prognoses of patients aged 85 years and older who were diagnosed with gastric carcinoma.

Methods: One hundred seventeen patients aged 85 years and older were diagnosed as having gastric carcinoma after 1969 in our institution.