Progression of focal pure ground-glass opacity detected by low-dose helical computed tomography screening for lung cancer.

Objective: To clarify the progression of focal pure ground-glass opacity (pGGO) detected by low-dose helical computed tomography (CT) screening for lung cancer.

Methods: A total of 15,938 low-dose helical CT examinations were performed in 2052 participants in the screening project, and 1566 of them were judged to have yielded abnormal findings requiring further examination. Patients with peripheral nodules exhibiting pGGO at the time of the first thin-section CT examination and confirmed histologically by thin-section CT after follow-up of more than 6 months were enrolled in the current study.

CT findings of surgically resected large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the lung in 38 patients.

Objective: We sought to assess the CT features of surgically resected large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the lung.

Materials And Methods: The cases of all patients who underwent surgical resection for primary lung cancer in a single institution from 1993 to 2000 and who received an initial diagnosis of poorly differentiated non-small cell lung carcinoma, small cell carcinoma, carcinoid tumor, and large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma were histologically reviewed. The findings for 43 patients were histologically reclassified and confirmed as large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma.

Measurement of prompt charm meson production cross sections in pp collisions at square root s = 1.96 TeV.

We report on measurements of differential cross sections dsigma/dp(T) for prompt charm meson production in ppmacr; collisions at sqrt[s]=1.96 TeV using 5.8+/-0.

Prediction of invasive activities in hepatocellular carcinomas with special reference to alpha-fetoprotein and des-gamma-carboxyprothrombin.

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the world's major malignancies, especially in Asian countries. To improve the prognosis of HCC, it is essential to predict its invasive behavior in both intra- and extra-hepatic modalities. For this purpose, we examined the predictive values of two tumor markers, alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and des-gamma-carboxyprothrombin (DCP).

Chest wall tumors: radiologic findings and pathologic correlation: part 2. Malignant tumors.

Malignant chest wall tumors are classified into eight main diagnostic categories: muscular, vascular, fibrous and fibrohistiocytic, peripheral nerve, osseous and cartilaginous, adipose, hematologic, and cutaneous. However, there are malignant tumors that arise in the chest wall and that do not fit well in any of these categories (eg, Ewing sarcoma and synovial sarcoma). Malignant chest wall tumors typically manifest as painful, rapidly growing, large palpable masses.

Chest wall tumors: radiologic findings and pathologic correlation: part 1. Benign tumors.

Benign chest wall tumors are uncommon lesions that originate from blood vessels, nerves, bone, cartilage, or fat. Chest radiography is an important technique for evaluation of such tumors, especially those that originate from bone, because it can depict mineralization and thus indicate the diagnosis. Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging are helpful in further delineating the location and extent of the tumor and in identifying tumor tissues and types.

Molecular detection and characterization of Haemobartonella felis in domestic cats in Japan employing sequence-specific polymerase chain reaction (SS-PCR).

A novel PCR assay was developed in order to examine the prevalence of Haemobartonella felis (H. felis) in Japanese domestic cats and which was able to differentiate of the Ohio strain and the California strain of H. felis.

Distant failure after treatment of postoperative locoregional recurrence of non-small cell lung cancer.

Background: The standard treatment for patients with locoregional recurrence of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after complete resection has not been established. The aim of this study was to evaluate clinicopathologic characteristics, type of locoregional recurrence, pattern of subsequent failure, and survival after the recurrence.

Methods: Of 743 patients undergoing pulmonary resection for NSCLC in the National Cancer Center Hospital between 1990 and 1995, we retrospectively reviewed the medical charts of the 43 patients (5.

Thymoma: a clinicopathologic study based on the new World Health Organization classification.

Objective: This study explored the relationship between the histologic subtype of thymoma according to the new World Health Organization histologic classification and the clinical findings, as well as the prognostic significance of the classification.

Methods: A total of 130 patients with thymoma, who underwent resection at the National Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo, from 1962 to 2000, were studied retrospectively. The histologic subtype of thymoma was determined according to the new World Health Organization histologic classification.

A clinicopathological study of resected subcentimeter lung cancers: a favorable prognosis for ground glass opacity lesions.

Background: Owing to the advent of refined chest computed tomography (CT) images with higher resolution and CT screening programs, more faint and smaller lung cancers are being discovered. These include small-sized lung cancers such as those with a subcentimeter diameter, which had never been picked up on the routine chest roentgenogram films. However their clinicopathological characteristics with special reference to the proper surgical mode are not fully described so far.

Malignant glomus tumor of the lung.

Primary malignant glomus tumors of the lung are extremely rare, and to our knowledge, only three cases have been described to date. We report one such case in a 53-year-old man who presented with a persistent dry cough. Chest computed tomography scans demonstrated an irregularly shaped mass in the right lower lobe of the lung.

Aggregability and post-transfusion survival of canine platelets in stored whole blood.

The effects of whole blood storage time on platelet aggregation and on post-transfusion platelet survival time were assessed in dogs. Citrate phosphate dextrose adenine-1 (CPDA-1) was used as a blood cell preservative. Storage time dependent decay of platelet aggregability was assessed.

Expression of group I metabotropic glutamate receptors in rat hippocampal cells in culture and their characterization by intracellular calcium ion dynamics.

The distribution of group I metabotropic glutamate receptors in rat hippocampal cells in culture was examined by calcium imaging and immunocytochemistry. To distinguish different cell types in the culture, the effects of t-ACPD ((1S,3R)-1-aminocyclopentane-1,3-dicarboxylic acid) and of NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) were examined. About 40% of the cultured cells showed either a transient increase or a sustained or oscillatory increase in the intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca(2+)](i)) during t-ACPD administration, while about 60% of the cells showed a sustained [Ca(2+)](i) increase in response to NMDA.

[Standardization of lung cancer surgery].

A lobectomy with systematic nodal dissection is accepted as the standard radical operation for early-stage lung cancer. When this was established as the standard operation, there was little evidence to confirm that the results after a lobectomy with systematic nodal dissection were superior to those after other procedures. Most thoracic surgeons accepted lobectomy with systematic nodal dissection as the gold standard for lung cancer surgery.

A randomized trial comparing induction chemotherapy followed by surgery with surgery alone for patients with stage IIIA N2 non-small cell lung cancer (JCOG 9209).

Objective: We performed a prospective randomized trial in patients with potentially resectable stage IIIA N2 non-small cell lung cancer to confirm the efficacy of induction chemotherapy before surgical resection.

Methods: Patients with stage IIIA N2 non-small cell lung cancer, all with histologically or cytologically confirmed metastases to the ipsilateral mediastinal lymph nodes, were randomly assigned to receive either three cycles of induction chemotherapy (cisplatin at 80 mg/m(2) on 1 day and vindesine at 3 mg/m(2) on 2 days) followed by surgery or surgery alone.

Results: This trial was prematurely terminated because the accrual rate was too slow, which lowered the study's statistical power considerably.

Cell type-selective expression of green fluorescent protein and the calcium indicating protein, yellow cameleon, in rat cortical primary cultures.

A cell type-specific green fluorescent protein (GFP) expression system in rat cortical primary cultures has been developed for the fluorescence labeling of brain cells. Lipid-mediated transfection (lipofection) was employed, allowing the establishment of a convenient efficient system for the analysis of individual cells. To achieve cell type-specific labeling, GFP expression vectors containing the rat neuron-specific enolase (NSE) gene promoter, human glial fibril acidic protein (GFAP) gene promoter, human elongation factor (EF-1alpha) gene promoter, or human cytomegalovirus (CMV) immediate early promoter were constructed, and their specificities examined.

"Early" peripheral lung cancer: prognostic significance of ground glass opacity on thin-section computed tomographic scan.

Background: The number of peripherally located lung cancers with an excellent prognosis has been increasing, possibly due to the introduction of computed tomography for lung cancer screening in Japan. The concept of peripherally located "early lung cancer" remains controversial.

Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on 1,540 lung cancers resected at our institute between May 1992 and December 2000.

Successful pulmonary resection of lung cancer in a patient with partial anomalous pulmonary venous connection: report of a case.

A rare case of the potentially grave combination of lung cancer and partial anomalous pulmonary venous connection (PAPVC) is described. PAPVC would cause many problems following major lung resection, even in a preoperatively asymptomatic patient, because of the inevitable development of right ventricular failure as a result of right ventricular volume overload caused by the left-to-right physiologic shunt. On the other hand, if a patient has primary lung cancer, anatomical resection should be done to achieve curative treatment.

Intrapulmonary lymph nodes: thin-section CT features of 19 nodules.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe the thin-section CT features of intrapulmonary lymph nodes that accompanied primary or metastatic lung tumors.

Method: A retrospective analysis of thin-section CT features was performed on 19 nodules in 16 patients with pathologically confirmed intrapulmonary lymph nodes that accompanied primary or metastatic lung tumors.

Results: Of the 16 patients, 13 had a solitary nodule and 3 had two nodules.

Large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the lung: a clinicopathologic study of eighty-seven cases.

Objective: Large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the lung is a newly recognized clinicopathologic entity. The clinical characteristics and optimal treatment of patients with large cell carcinomas are not yet established. The aim of this study was to define the clinicopathologic characteristics of large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma.

A case of Mycobacterium avium complex infection showing solitary pulmonary mass.

We report a case of Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) infection showing a solitary pulmonary mass. High-resolution computed tomography (CT) revealed a well-defined, lobulated mass (32x25 mm) without calcification, cavitation, or bronchiectasis on the right upper lobe. There were no abnormalities in other sites of the lung even on high-resolution CT.

Early pancreatic cancer.

The results of surgical treatment for ordinary carcinoma of the pancreas, even now considered the only means for cure, have been dismal. In order to define early pancreatic cancer, aiming amelioration of surgical results, early pancreatic cancer has been seeked. It may be readily conceivable that the smaller the tumor size, the earlier the lesion.

Mechanical vascular division in lung resection.

Background: There is little information available regarding the relative advantage of stapling over ligation for major pulmonary vessels in lung resection. The thin and fragile structure of pulmonary vascular walls for their large luminal size might have made surgeons reluctant to use staplers. This study was intended to demonstrate the feasibility of pulmonary vascular division by staplers.

Development of a canine trypsin-like immunoreactivity assay system using monoclonal antibodies.

The radioimmunoassay (RIA) for trypsin-like immunoreactivity (TLI) is one of the most sensitive and specific tests for detecting exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI). An abnormally low serum TLI concentration (<2.5 ng/ml) indicates end-stage EPI.