Variability of serum CYFRA 21 - 1 and its susceptibility to clinical characteristics in individuals without cancer: a 4-year retrospective analysis.

Background: CYFRA 21 - 1 is a useful marker for diagnosing and monitoring lung cancer. However, its stability remains unclear. Moreover, while its applicability to screening is now being investigated, CYFRA 21 - 1 levels in individuals without cancer, who are targets for cancer screening, have not yet been the focus of research.

Age and Smoking Status Affect Serum Cytokeratin 19 Fragment Levels in Individuals Without Cancer.

Background/aim: Lung cancer is a frequent and fatal cancer that is difficult to diagnose in the early stages. CYFRA 21-1 is a serological marker currently used to diagnose and monitor lung cancer; however, its clinical use for screening is controversial. Therefore, the present study investigated the relationship between serum CYFRA 21-1 levels and clinical confounders.

Phase II Study of S-1 and Paclitaxel Combination Therapy in Patients with Previously Treated Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

Lessons Learned: In terms of efficacy and safety, good results were obtained with S-1 and paclitaxel (PTX) combination therapy.The findings suggest that S-1 and PTX combination therapy is a feasible treatment option in patients with previously treated non-small cell lung cancer.

Background: Although monotherapy with cytotoxic agents, including docetaxel and pemetrexed, is recommended for patients with previously treated advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), its outcomes are unsatisfactory.

A Phase II Study of S-1 and Paclitaxel Combination Therapy as a First-Line Treatment in Elderly Patients with Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

Lessons Learned: Coadministration of S-1 and paclitaxel in elderly patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer showed favorable efficacy.Coadministration of S-1 and paclitaxel in elderly patients with advanced non-small lung cancer showed tolerable toxicity.

Background: Although monotherapy with cytotoxic agents including docetaxel or vinorelbine are recommended for elderly patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the outcome is not satisfactory.

Phase I study of S-1 plus paclitaxel combination therapy as a first-line treatment in elderly patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

This phase I study was aimed at determining the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) and recommended dose (RD) for oral S-1 plus paclitaxel combination therapy in elderly patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Chemotherapy-naïve patients (age, >70 years) with stage III/IV NSCLC were treated with paclitaxel intravenously at four dose levels (DLs), 60, 70, 80, and 90 mg/m, on day 1 and 8, and with S-1 (80 mg/m) orally on days 1-14 every 3 weeks. MTD was defined as the dose at which two of the initial three patients experienced dose-limiting toxicities (DLTs).

Feasibility Study of Sequentially Alternating EGFR-TKIs and Chemotherapy for Patients with Non-small Cell Lung Cancer.

Background/aim: The purpose of this trial was to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of alternating platinum-based doublet chemotherapy with epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs) in patients with EGFR-mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Patients And Methods: Chemotherapy-naive patients with advanced NSCLC harboring an EGFR mutation were enrolled. All patients underwent induction chemotherapy by sequentially alternating pemetrexed/cisplatin/bevacizumab and EGFR-TKIs followed by maintenance therapy with pemetrexed/bevacizumab and EGFR-TKIs.

Measurement of exhaled nitric oxide and serum surfactant protein D levels for monitoring radiation pneumonitis following thoracic radiotherapy.

The present study aimed to examine the role of exhaled nitric oxide (eNO) and serum surfactant protein D (SP-D) level in the determination of radiation pneumonitis (RP) after thoracic radiotherapy (RT). The study included 34 treatments for 33 patients, including 16 three-dimensional conformal and 18 stereotactic body RT treatments. eNO levels were measured prior to RT, immediately subsequent to RT, every week during the RT course and at 1, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months following the treatment.

[A case of microscopic polyangiitis with silicosis].

A 76-year-old man was admitted to our hospital because of increasing size of lung nodules, while he was under observation for silicosis at another hospital. As the result of bronchoscopic biopsy, it was confirmed that they were silicotic nodules. However, he was hospitalized again about one month later due to left spontaneous pneumothorax.

[Small cell lung cancer with Sézary syndrome].

A 69 year-old man was admitted to our hospital with bloody sputum and abnormal shadows in his chest X-ray film and CT. According to the bronchoscopic examination, he was diagnosed as suffering from small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Aside from SCLC, erythroderma, lymphoadenopathy and abnormal lymphoid cells in his peripheral blood were recognized on admission.

[Two cases of complex sleep apnea syndrome].

Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is widely accepted. Recently it is reported that central type apnea increases in some patients with OSAS with the application of CPAP, and this type of sleep-disordered breathing is called complex sleep apnea syndrome (comp. SAS).

Phase II trial of weekly gemcitabine and split-dose cisplatin for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.

Objective: Cisplatin is widely used for the treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer. However, it can cause unpleasant side effects and also requires prolonged hydration. We conducted a Phase II study of weekly gemcitabine and split-dose cisplatin in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in order to reduce toxicity and shorten the time taken by administration.

Effect of inducible nitric oxide synthase on apoptosis in Candida-induced acute lung injury.

Excessive nitric oxide (NO) generated by inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) aggravates acute lung injury (ALI) by producing peroxinitrite. We previously showed that the expression of iNOS and lung injury were suppressed by inhalation of a novel iNOS inhibitor, ONO-1714, in mice with Candida-induced ALI, and that nitric oxide produced by iNOS and apoptosis of epithelial cells were found to have a crucial role in Candida-induced ALI. In the present study, we investigated the effect of NO on the apoptosis of alveolar epithelial cells in Candida-induced ALI.

Phase I/II trial of biweekly docetaxel and cisplatin with concurrent thoracic radiation for stage III non-small-cell lung cancer.

Objectives: We conducted phase I and II studies of biweekly docetaxel and cisplatin with concurrent radiotherapy, followed by consolidation chemotherapy with the same drugs in patients with locally advanced, unresectable non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Our objectives were to define the maximum-tolerated dose and dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) in the phase I study, and to determine the response rate, toxicity, and survival rate at the recommended dose (RD) in the phase II study.

Methods: Patients with unresectable stage IIIA and IIIB NSCLC were studied.

Double-cycle, high-dose ifosfamide, carboplatin, and etoposide followed by peripheral blood stem-cell transplantation for small cell lung cancer.

Purposes: To determine the tolerability and feasibility of double-cycle, high-dose chemotherapy followed by peripheral blood stem-cell transplantation (PBSCT) after conventional chemotherapy or chemoradiotherapy for small cell lung cancer (SCLC).

Patients And Methods: Patients with previously untreated SCLC received two cycles of cisplatin, 80 mg/m2, and etoposide, 300 mg/m2 (cisplatin-etoposide [PE]). Later, they were administered high-dose etoposide, 1,500 mg/m2, followed by granulocyte colony-stimulating factor for collection of peripheral blood stem cells.

[A case of non-mucin-producing papillary adenocarcinoma with a 19-year clinical history before operation].

A 73-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital for investigation of an abnormal shadow in the right upper lung field. Every year she had a medical check up since 1983 and the abnormal shadow was repeatedly pointed out However, she had not undergone a detailed examination. When she had a medical check up in July 2001, the shadow slightly increased compared with the previous chest film.

[A case of solitary endobronchial metastasis of prostatic cancer].

We report the case of a 67-year-old man found to have an abnormal chest shadow in February 2003, who was referred to our hospital in April 2003, and was admitted in July 2003 because of the expansion of this shadow. Chest radiography and CT on admission showed a small nodular shadow in the right S6. Bronchoscopy revealed a soft polypoid mass in the lumen of the right B6b ii, which was considered to be an endobronchial neoplasm.