Anti-EJ antibody-positive interstitial pneumonia with breast cancer improved by combining immunosuppressive therapy and chemotherapy.

We present a case of a 45-year-old woman diagnosed with interstitial pneumonia (IP) during a comprehensive breast cancer evaluation. Although the patient showed no obvious clinical symptoms of polymyositis or dermatomyositis, the presence of anti-glycyl-transfer ribonucleic acid synthetase antibodies confirmed anti-synthetase syndrome. The patient began methylprednisolone for treatment of the IP.

Resection of tracheal mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma by bronchoscopic high-frequency electrosurgical snare: Case report.

There is no standard method of bronchoscopic local therapy for tracheal tumours. We herein present a case involving a 61-year-old woman who was diagnosed with tracheal mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma and underwent resection by a bronchoscopic high-frequency electrosurgical snare. Few reports to date have described such use of high-frequency electrosurgical snares; however, they are effective for the treatment of tracheal tumours, especially pedunculated tumours.

Imaging Changes and Immune-Checkpoint Expression on T Cells in Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid from Patients with Pulmonary Sarcoidosis.

Sarcoidosis is a systemic, granulomatous disease caused by unknown immunological abnormalities. The organs most vulnerable to sarcoidosis are the lungs. Patients often resolve spontaneously, but the lungs can also be severely affected.

The Association of Aging-Related Polymorphisms with Susceptibility to Lung Cancer: A Case-Control Study in a Japanese Population.

Background: Telomere length is associated with cancer as well as aging.  Telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT), telomere RNA component (TERC) and oligonucleotide/oligosaccharide-binding fold containing 1 (OBFC1) are known to be involved in telomere length regulation. The tumor suppressor p53 (TP53), which has been shown to interact with tumor protein p53-binding protein 1 (TP53BP1), is implicated in the response to telomere shortening and aging.

A case of allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis with marked peripheral blood eosinophilia successfully treated with benralizumab.

We herein report a case of allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) with marked eosinophilia and high attenuation mucus (HAM) on chest computed tomography (CT), which demonstrated a rapid and remarkable improvement with benralizumab treatment. A 67-year-old Japanese woman, who was diagnosed with asthma at the age of 64 years, was admitted with dyspnea. Her blood test results showed marked eosinophilia (peripheral blood eosinophil count 24403/μL) and elevated serum IgE levels.

Immune-checkpoint profiles for T cells in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of patients with immune-checkpoint inhibitor-related interstitial lung disease.

Immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have improved clinical outcomes and are becoming a standard treatment for many cancer types. However, these drugs also induce immune-related adverse events, among which interstitial lung disease (ILD) is potentially fatal. The underlying mechanism of ILD induction by ICIs is largely unknown.

Association between Telomere-Related Polymorphisms and the Risk of IPF and COPD as a Precursor Lesion of Lung Cancer: Findings from the Fukuoka Tobacco-Related Lung Disease (FOLD) Registry.

Background: Lung cancer coexisting with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can lead to poor prognosis.  Telomere-related polymorphisms may be implicated in the pathogenesis of these three lung diseases.  As to elucidate the mechanism of lung cancer via IPF or COPD may enable early detection and early treatment of the disease, we firstly examined the association between telomere-related polymorphisms and the risk of IPF and COPD in a case-control study.

Bax-inhibiting peptide attenuates bleomycin-induced lung injury in mice.

Bax is a pro-apoptotic member of the Bcl-2 family of proteins, and plays a central role in mitochondria-dependent apoptosis. Several lines of evidence have implied that Bax is involved in both epithelial apoptosis and fibroblast proliferation in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis; however, the mechanisms remain unknown. Bax-inhibiting peptide V5 (BIP-V5) exhibits membrane permeability and inhibits the activation of Bax.

Treatment with a programmed cell death-1-specific antibody has little effect on afatinib- and naphthalene-induced acute pneumonitis in mice.

Although several antibodies developed to target programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) and its ligand (PD-L1) have demonstrated great promise for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and other malignancies, these therapeutic antibodies can cause pneumonitis. Furthermore, epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI)-induced pneumonitis was reported after treatment with anti PD-1 antibodies. We previously demonstrated that mice with naphthalene-induced airway epithelial injury developed severe gefitinib-induced pneumonitis through a neutrophil-dependent mechanism.

Neutrophil elastase inhibitor sivelestat ameliorates gefitinib-naphthalene-induced acute pneumonitis in mice.

Gefitinib, an epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI), is an effective therapeutic agent for non-small cell lung cancer with EGFR mutations. It can cause severe acute pneumonitis in some patients. We previously demonstrated that mice with naphthalene-induced airway epithelial injury developed severe gefitinib-induced pneumonitis and that neutrophils played important roles in the development of the disease.

The clinical value of serum soluble interleukin-2 receptor in pulmonary sarcoidosis.

Sarcoidosis is a multi-system granulomatous disease in which T-helper type 1 cytokines play a key role. We evaluated the clinical value of serum soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R) as a marker of disease activity and prognosis in sarcoidosis. This study included 67 patients who were newly diagnosed with sarcoidosis from 2006 to 2012 at our department.

Infected complex renal cysts during crizotinib therapy in a patient with non-small cell lung cancer positive for ALK rearrangement.

Crizotinib is the first clinically available tyrosine kinase inhibitor that targets anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) and is associated with the development of complex renal cysts. We now describe a 39-year-old woman who developed infected complex renal cysts during crizotinib treatment. After 10 months of such treatment, she presented with a high fever and low back pain.