Capecitabine as salvage treatment for lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma of lung.

Lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma (LELC) of lung has previously demonstrated good clinical response to 5-fluorouracil containing chemotherapy regimen, similar to the observation in undifferentiated nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Capecitabine, which is converted into active 5-fluorouracil within tumor cells, has been found effective in colorectal, breast, and recently nasopharyngeal carcinomas. We report our experience in five patients with advanced or metastatic LELC of lung who were treated with single agent capecitabine as salvage chemotherapy.

Chinese green tea ameliorates lung injury in cigarette smoke-exposed rats.

Background: Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), which has been shown to have potent antioxidant effect, comprises 80% of catechins in Chinese green tea. This study was to investigate whether cigarette smoke (CS) exposure would induce lung morphological changes and oxidative stress in the CS-exposed rat model, and whether Chinese green tea (Lung Chen tea with EGCG as its main active ingredient) consumption would alter oxidative stress in sera and lung leading to protection of CS-induced lung damage.

Methods: Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups, i.

Lung cancer: future directions.

Increasingly, basic research is being translated into clinical benefits for patients. Recent studies have shed more light on the clinical use of targeted therapies such as tyrosine kinase and angiogenesis inhibitors, and predictive factors for their clinical benefit and their role in different clinical settings are now being elucidated. New insights into the basic biology of lung cancer hold translational promise in risk assessment, early detection, molecular staging, treatment response prediction and novel therapies.

Lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma of the lung.

Lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma (LELC) of the lung was first reported in 1987. In the past two decades, there have been just more than 150 cases reported in the literature. This uncommon but distinct form of non-small cell lung carcinoma has a predilection for young non-smoking Asians, without gender distinction.

Distinct epidermal growth factor receptor and KRAS mutation patterns in non-small cell lung cancer patients with different tobacco exposure and clinicopathologic features.

Purpose: This study evaluated the mutational profile of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and KRAS in non-small cell lung cancers in Hong Kong and determined their relation with smoking history and other clinicopathologic features.

Experimental Design: Mutational profile of exons 18 to 21 of EGFR and codons 12, 13, and 61 of KRAS were determined in 215 adenocarcinomas, 15 squamous cell (SCC), and 11 EBV-associated lymphoepithelioma-like carcinomas (LELC).

Results: EGFR mutations were prevalent in adenocarcinomas (115 of 215), uncommon in LELC (1 of 11), and not found in SCC (P < 0.

Inhibition of pyocyanin-potentiated IL-8 release by steroids in bronchial epithelial cells.

Airway epithelial cells are the first targets of environmental stimuli and local cytokines. Pyocyanin-induced synergism with interleukin (IL)-1 or tumour necrosis factor (TNF) in triggering IL-8 release has been documented previously. In this study, IL-8 mRNA and protein expression were examined in cultured human bronchial epithelial cells (BEAS-2B) stimulated with pyocyanin alone, and in combination with IL-1beta or phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate (PDBu) in the absence and presence of a group of glucocorticoids.

Analysis of TGF-beta(1) gene polymorphisms in Hong Kong Chinese patients with asthma.

Background: The C-509T polymorphism of TGF-beta(1) gene has been associated with asthma and atopy in white populations.

Objective: We investigated the association between asthma and previously identified polymorphisms at C-509T and T869C of the TGF-beta(1) gene among 250 Chinese patients with asthma and 308 healthy controls in Hong Kong.

Methods: Genotyping was performed on peripheral blood genomic DNA by using PCR-RFLP.

Elevated levels of transforming growth factor-beta(1) in serum of patients with stable bronchiectasis.

Bronchiectasis is a chronic inflammatory and infective airway disease characterized by irreversible dilatation of the bronchi and persistent purulent sputum. Transforming growth factor-beta(1) (TGF-beta(1)) has been found to be increased in the lungs or bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of patients with inflammatory lung diseases. However, little is known on the serum TGF-beta(1) levels in patients with bronchiectasis.

Lung cancer in Asian women-the environment and genes.

The mortality rate of lung cancer in Asian women has increased significantly in the past few decades. Environmental factors include tobacco smoke (active and environmental), other indoor pollutions (cooking oil vapours, coal burning, fungus spores), diet, and infections. Active tobacco smoking is not the major factor.

Clinical value of ciliary assessment in bronchiectasis.

Although ciliary dysfunction and numerous ultrastructural defects have been described, and these could be etiologically important in the development of bronchiectasis, their correlation with relevant clinical parameters have not been systematically evaluated. We have prospectively evaluated the prevalence and clinical significance of ciliary beat frequency and ultrastructural defects of nasal respiratory mucosa obtained from 152 stable patients with idiopathic bronchiectasis (100F, 57.7 +/- 15.

Malignant mesothelioma in Hong Kong.

Malignant mesothelioma (mesothelioma) is rare. We conducted the first systematic study of the epidemiology of mesothelioma in Hong Kong from 1988 to May 2002 by reviewing medical records. Mesothelioma patients were identified from the database of 12 out of 20 hospitals that would have admitted mesothelioma patients territory-wide.

Ciliary central microtubular orientation is of no clinical significance in bronchiectasis.

It has been suggested that patients with bronchiectasis might have increased central microtubular orientation angle (CMOA), which leads to poor coordination of ciliary beating, and consequently impairment of airway defence. We have employed transmission electron microscopy to assess CMOA of ciliated nasal mucosa in a cohort of 133 (81F, 56.8+/-16.

Systemic oxidative and antioxidative status in Chinese patients with asthma.

Background: Patients with asthma generate an increased amount of reactive oxygen species from peripheral blood cells. Reactive oxygen species produce many of the pathophysiologic changes associated with asthma and may contribute to its pathogenesis.

Objective: We investigated changes in antioxidant enzyme activities and oxidized glutathione (glutathione disulfide; GSSG) levels in erythrocytes from a group of healthy control Chinese subjects (n=135) and patients with asthma (n=106).

Lung cancer susceptibility and polymorphisms of glutathione-S-transferase genes in Hong Kong.

Objective: To study the potential role of genetic polymorphisms of glutathione-S-transferases GSTM1, GSTT1 and GSTP1 in susceptibility to lung cancer in Hong Kong Chinese.

Methods: 229 consecutive incident patients with a histological diagnosis of lung cancer from a regional hospital and 197 healthy population-based controls were recruited for this study between July 1999 and June 2001. Genetic polymorphisms of GSTT1 and GSTM1 were determined using PCR-based technique.

A community study of sleep-disordered breathing in middle-aged Chinese women in Hong Kong: prevalence and gender differences.

Study Objectives: To investigate the prevalence of sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) in community-based, middle-aged Chinese women, and to compare the differences between gender with a similar study in men.

Design: A cross-sectional study conducted in Hong Kong from 1998 to 2000.

Setting: Sleep questionnaires were distributed to women (30 to 60 years old) in three offices and two community centers.

Extrapulmonary presentation of asymptomatic pulmonary lymphangioleiomyomatosis.

Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) is a rare parenchymal lung disease, which affects young women of childbearing age and is characterized pathologically by proliferation of interstitial smooth muscle and formation of cysts in the lung. While LAM is usually predominantly a respiratory disorder, it can also initially involve other extrapulmonary organs. We report the case of a 35-year-old Chinese woman, who presented with a 4-week history of left thigh swelling which was found to be secondary to compression of pelvic veins by a mass lesion.

An indolent case of severe acute respiratory syndrome.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a highly contagious and typically rapidly progressive form of atypical pneumonia, which spread from Asia to many parts of the world in early 2003. Clinical diagnosis of SARS requires the presence of unremitting fever and progressive pneumonia despite antibiotic therapy, particularly in the presence of lymphopenia and raised transaminase levels. We report the case of a woman who had undergone a successful allogeneic bone marrow transplant for acute myeloid leukemia.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome: relationship between radiologic and clinical parameters.

Purpose: To quantify severity of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) on chest radiographs and to determine its relationship with clinical parameters.

Materials And Methods: Forty patients (mean age, 42.90 years +/- 14.

Silicosis in 76 men: qualitative and quantitative CT evaluation--clinical-radiologic correlation study.

Purpose: To use qualitative and quantitative computed tomography (CT) to test the hypothesis that impaired lung function with silicosis is due to progressive massive fibrosis (PMF) and associated emphysema.

Materials And Methods: Seventy-six men with silicosis underwent volumetric and thin-section CT of the thorax. Lung function, Borg scale dyspnea grade, silica exposure duration, and cigarette consumption were determined.

High-dose pulse versus nonpulse corticosteroid regimens in severe acute respiratory syndrome.

The treatment of atypical pneumonia, subsequently termed severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), is controversial, and the efficacy of corticosteroid therapy is unknown. We have evaluated the clinical and radiographic outcomes of 72 patients with probable SARS (median age 37 years, 30 M), who received ribavirin and different steroid regimens in two regional hospitals. Chest radiographs were scored according to the percentage of lung field involved.

A cluster of cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome in Hong Kong.

Background: Information on the clinical features of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) will be of value to physicians caring for patients suspected of having this disorder.

Methods: We abstracted data on the clinical presentation and course of disease in 10 epidemiologically linked Chinese patients (5 men and 5 women 38 to 72 years old) in whom SARS was diagnosed between February 22, 2003, and March 22, 2003, at our hospitals in Hong Kong, China.

Results: Exposure between the source patient and subsequent patients ranged from minimal to that between patient and health care provider.

Validation of the Hong Kong Chinese version of the St. George Respiratory Questionnaire in patients with bronchiectasis.

Study Objectives: To validate the Hong Kong Chinese version of the St. George Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ-HK) in patients with bronchiectasis.

Design And Setting: Outpatients (93 patients; 61 women; mean age [+/- SD], 59.