Consolidation chwemotherapy after concurrent chemoradiotherapy vs. chemoradiotherapy alone for locally advanced unresectable stage III non-small-cell lung cancer: A meta-analysis.

Concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) has been considered to be the standard of care for locally advanced unresectable stage III non-small-cell lung cancer (LA-NSCLC). Whether consolidation chemotherapy (CCT) following CCRT is able to further improve the clinical outcome remains unclear. We therefore undertook a meta-analysis to compare the two regimens for LA-NSCLC.

Analysis of Cytokine Levers in Pleural Effusions of Tuberculous Pleurisy and Tuberculous Empyema.

The aim is to examine whether the interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-2, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), plasminogen activator inhibitor type-1 (PAI-1), and tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) levels were different in pleural effusions of tuberculous pleurisy and tuberculous empyema. IL-1β, IL-2, IL-6, TNF-α, PAI-1, and t-PA levels in pleural fluids of 40 patients with tuberculous pleurisy and 38 patients with tuberculous empyema were measured. The levels of IL-1β, PAI-1, and t-PA in the pleural effusions were different between tuberculous pleurisy and tuberculous empyema; it could be helpful to differentiate the two diseases.

Analysis of Pneumonectomy for Benign Disease: A Single Institution Retrospective Study on 59 Patients.

Introduction: Pneumonectomy is the only curative treatment for some benign diseases but the operation is a challenging procedure. Herein, we present our experiences of pneumonectomy for 59 patients.

Methods: The medical records of 59 patients who undergone pneumonectomy for benign lung diseases from 2008 to 2013 at the Division of Thoracic Surgery in Beijing Chest Hospital were retrospectively reviewed.

Analysis of the surgical treatment of endobronchial tuberculosis (EBTB).

Purpose: Endobronchial tuberculosis (EBTB) is defined as tuberculosis infection of the tracheobronchial tree. EBTB may require aggressive treatment, including lung resection, because of severe bronchostenosis and its complications, despite formal anti-TB chemotherapy. We present our experience of treating 25 patients with EBTB.

Application of hyperbranched rolling circle amplification for direct detection of mycobacterium tuberculosis in clinical sputum specimens.

Background: Global tuberculosis (TB) control is encumbered by the lack of a rapid and simple detection method for diagnosis, especially in low-resource areas. An isothermal amplification method, hyperbranched rolling circle amplification (HRCA), was optimized to detect Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) in clinical sputum specimens.

Methods: A clinical validation study was performed to assess the diagnostic accuracy of HRCA.

Phosphorylated Akt overexpression and loss of PTEN expression in non-small cell lung cancer confers poor prognosis.

Akt, a downstream mediator of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), is a signal transduction protein that plays a central role in tumorigenesis. The tumor suppressor gene PTEN negatively regulates the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. However, the roles of Akt and PTEN function in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is not well established.