Risk Stratification According to Baseline and Early Change in Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio in Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Treated with Chemoimmunotherapy: A Multicenter Real-World Study.

Background: Chemoimmunotherapy is a standard treatment for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, data on clinical predictive factors remain scarce.

Objective: We aim to identify clinical biomarkers in patients undergoing chemoimmunotherapy.

Sema6D forward signaling impairs T cell activation and proliferation in head and neck cancer.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are indicated for a diverse range of cancer types, and characterizing the tumor immune microenvironment is critical for optimizing therapeutic strategies, including ICIs. T cell infiltration and activation status in the tumor microenvironment greatly affects the efficacy of ICIs. Here, we show that semaphorin 6D (Sema6D) forward signaling, which is reportedly involved in coordinating the orientation of cell development and migration as a guidance factor, impaired the infiltration and activation of tumor-specific CD8+ T cells in murine oral tumors.

Real-world outcomes of nivolumab plus ipilimumab and pembrolizumab with platinum-based chemotherapy in advanced non-small cell lung cancer: a multicenter retrospective comparative study.

Introduction: Nivolumab plus ipilimumab with chemotherapy (NICT) and pembrolizumab with chemotherapy (PCT) are commonly used in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Compared with immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) monotherapy, ICI combination therapy can increase immune-related toxicity instead of prolonging survival. This study aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of NICT and PCT to decide on the favorable treatment.

Pneumonitis During Durvalumab Consolidation Therapy Affects Survival in Stage III NSCLC.

Introduction: Durvalumab consolidation therapy is the standard of care after concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CRT) for stage III NSCLC. Immune-related pneumonitis during durvalumab treatment is potentially fatal; however, information is lacking regarding the impact of pneumonitis on patient survival. This study investigates the effect of pulmonary and nonpulmonary immune-related adverse events (irAEs) on the efficacy of durvalumab treatment in patients with stage III NSCLC.

Impact of Lymphopenia Recovery After Chemoradiotherapy on Durvalumab Consolidation Therapy in Stage III NSCLC.

Introduction: Durvalumab maintenance therapy after definitive concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CRT) is the standard treatment modality for stage III NSCLC. Although severe treatment-related lymphopenia (TRL) during CRT may impair the efficacy of subsequent durvalumab therapy, data on the effect of TRL recovery on consolidation durvalumab therapy are lacking.

Methods: This retrospective study evaluated patients with unresectable stage III NSCLC treated with durvalumab after concurrent CRT.

Secondary subcutaneous abscess due to mixed infections by and after COVID-19.

This report described a rare case of subcutaneous anaerobic bacterial abscess due to and after COVID-19. The patient received incision and drainage of the abscess and antibiotics, thereby achieving recovery. Immunodeficiency related to COVID-19 and its treatment might contribute to secondary skin and subcutaneous bacterial infections.

Impact of treatment line on risks and benefits of immune checkpoint inhibitor in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer and interstitial lung disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies.

Background: There is no clear consensus regarding the safety and efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and pre-existing interstitial lung disease (ILD). We aimed to elucidate the impact of ICIs on pre-existing ILD.

Methods: We systematically queried PubMed-MEDLINE, Embase-Scopus, and ISI Web of Science databases up to January 10, 2022.

Respiratory Impedance is Associated with Ventilation and Diffusing Capacity in Patients with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Combined with Emphysema.

Purpose: Pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema result in relatively maintained ventilation and reduced diffusing capacity. This pulmonary functional impairment complicates the evaluation of pulmonary function in patients with combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema (CPFE). Therefore, a single and easy-to-use pulmonary function index to evaluate patients with CPFE warrants further studies.

Chronic Pulmonary Disease Caused by Tsukamurella toyonakaense.

Unidentified Mycobacterium species are sometimes detected in respiratory specimens. We identified a novel Tsukamurella species (Tsukamurella sp. TY48, RIMD 2001001, CIP 111916), Tsukamurella toyonakaense, from a patient given a misdiagnosis of nontuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease caused by unidentified mycobacteria.

A case of synchronous triple autoimmune disorders secondary to thymoma: Pure red cell aplasia, Good's syndrome, and thymoma-associated multi-organ autoimmunity.

Pure red cell aplasia (PRCA), Good's syndrome (GS), and thymoma-associated multiorgan autoimmunity (TAMA) are associated with thymoma. Herein, we describe the case of a 56-year-old woman with PRCA, GS, and TAMA simultaneously. She was treated with cyclosporine, immunoglobulin supplementation, and prednisolone; however, she died of uncontrolled sepsis due to extreme immunosuppression.

Case report: Acute exacerbation of interstitial pneumonia related to messenger RNA COVID-19 vaccination.

Messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines that protect against COVID-19 are widely used in many countries owing to their high efficacy and safety profiles. Recently, few severe adverse events, such as anaphylaxis and myocarditis, were reported in healthy individuals. The safety of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines has not been adequately studied in patients with interstitial lung disease.

Management of severe hypertension due to lenvatinib in patients with advanced thymic carcinoma: A case report.

Rationale: Thymic carcinoma (TC) is a malignant mediastinal tumor, and there are no established treatments for pre-treated patients with advanced TC. Recently, lenvatinib was approved for such patients in Japan, ahead of other countries. Higher dose lenvatinib may be more efficacious than conventional treatments, although many patients experience grade 3 hypertension.

The Diagnosis of Nontuberculous Mycobacterial Pulmonary Disease by Single Bacterial Isolation Plus Anti-GPL-Core IgA Antibody.

Although serum anti-glycopeptidolipid (GPL)-core IgA antibody is a highly specific test for infection with Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC), Mycobacterium abscessus, and its subspecies , subsp. , and subsp. (MAB), its use for the definitive diagnosis of MAC pulmonary disease (PD) and MAB-PD are unknown.

Impact of treatment timing and sequence of immune checkpoint inhibitors and anti-angiogenic agents for advanced non-small cell lung cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: Several studies have demonstrated that anti-angiogenic agents (AAs) have the ability to regulate immune-related cells in the tumor microenvironment and may affect the clinical effect of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). Therefore, we investigated the drug interaction between ICI and AA for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Materials And Methods: We systematically searched PubMed-MEDLINE, Embase-Scopus, and ISI Web of Science before August 23, 2021.

Pulmonary eosinophilia may indicate onset stage of allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis.

Background: Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) and chronic eosinophilic pneumonia (CEP) both display peripheral eosinophilia as well as pulmonary infiltration, together described as pulmonary eosinophilia, and differentiation is sometimes problematic. This study therefore examined the distinctions between ABPA with and without CEP-like shadows.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study from a single center included 25 outpatients (median age, 65 years) with ABPA diagnosed between April 2015 and March 2019, using criteria proposed by the International Society of Human and Animal Mycology (ISHAM), which focuses on positive specific IgE for Aspergillus fumigatus.

Prolonged corticosteroid therapy and cytomegalovirus infection in patients with severe COVID-19.

Systemic corticosteroid therapy is frequently used to treat coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, its maximum duration without secondary infections remains unclear. We aimed to evaluate the utility of monitoring cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection in patients with COVID-19 and estimate the maximum duration of systemic corticosteroid therapy without secondary infections.

Opposite response of lung adenocarcinoma and its choroidal metastases upon ramucirumab plus docetaxel therapy after immunotherapy: a case report.

We report a unique case of advanced non-small cell lung cancer that exhibited the opposite response to its unilateral choroidal metastases upon ramucirumab plus docetaxel treatment. A combination of cisplatin, pemetrexed, and pembrolizumab was administered as first-line treatment, resulting in shrinkage of all the lesions. However, although the patient was continued on a course of pembrolizumab, all the lesions had recurred approximately two months later.

Impact of bronchial wall thickness on airflow obstruction in bronchiectasis.

The association between airflow obstruction and bronchial dilation has been researched in bronchiectasis. However, the impact of bronchial wall thickening on airflow obstruction has not been thoroughly investigated. This study assessed the underlying mechanism of airflow obstruction in bronchiectasis due to abnormal bronchial wall thickening using oscillometry.

Serum GPL core antibody levels are associated with disease activity and treatment outcomes in Mycobacterium avium complex lung disease following first line antibiotic treatment.

Background: No objective serum biomarkers of disease course or treatment outcome of Mycobacterium avium complex lung disease (MAC-LD) presently exist. Serum IgA antibody levels against the glycopeptidolipid (GPL) core have good diagnostic accuracy for MAC-LD. However, their usefulness for monitoring and predicting disease course and outcome of MAC-LD following first-line antibiotic treatment remains unclear.

Oxygen Extraction Based on Inspiratory and Expiratory Gas Analysis Identifies Ventilatory Inefficiency in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

In contrast to cardiovascular disease, low rather than high ventilatory inefficiency, evaluated by the minute ventilation-carbon dioxide output (-)-slope, has been recognized as being related to greater disease severity in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). To better care for patients with cardiopulmonary disease, understanding the physiological correlation between ventilatory inefficiency and exercise limitation is necessary, but remains inadequate. Given that oxygen uptake () evaluated by cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) depends on both the ventilatory capability and oxygen extraction, i.