Prognostic value of intraoperative pleural lavage cytology for non-small cell lung cancer: the influence of positive pleural lavage cytology results on T classification.

Objective: Although positive pleural lavage cytology (PLC) has been demonstrated to be closely associated with a poor prognosis for patients with lung cancer, it has not been incorporated into the TNM staging system of the Union for International Cancer Control. The aim of our study was to retrospectively examine the clinical significance of PLC status and illustrate the recommendations of the International Pleural Lavage Cytology Collaborators (IPLCC) in a large national database.

Methods: The Japanese Joint Committee of Lung Cancer Registry database included 11,073 patients with non-small cell lung cancer who underwent resections in 2004.

Surgery for small cell lung cancer: a retrospective analysis of 243 patients from Japanese Lung Cancer Registry in 2004.

Introduction: Indications for surgical resection for small cell lung cancer (SCLC) have been very limited. Because early-stage SCLC is a rare presentation of lung cancer, studies comparing surgical resection among a large number of patients are unlikely to be conducted. This study reports the most recent surgical outcomes of a large number of SCLC patients who underwent surgery in 2004.

Recurrent pneumothorax associated with bronchial atresia: report of a case.

We herein report a case of recurrent pneumothorax associated with congenital bronchial atresia. A 26-year-old male presented with chest pain. Chest roentgenograms showed left pneumothorax, a left apical bulla and an area of hyperlucency in the left upper lung field, and chest computed tomography revealed a discontinuation of the left superior bronchus.

The impact of combined pulmonary fibrosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease on long-term survival after lung cancer surgery.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of pulmonary fibrosis (PF) on postoperative complications and on long-term survival after surgical resection in lung cancer patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Patients And Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted of 380 patients with COPD who had undergone pulmonary resection for lung cancer at the University Hospital between 1990 and 2005. The definition of COPD was a preoperative forced expiratory volume in 1 second/forced vital capacity (FEV1/FVC) ratio of less than 70%; PF was defined as obvious bilateral fibrous change in the lower lung fields, confirmed by computed tomography.

Comparison between endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration and 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography in the diagnosis of postoperative nodal recurrence in patients with lung cancer.

Objectives: Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) has a high diagnostic value for preoperative mediastinal staging in patients with lung cancer. In this study, the utility of EBUS-TBNA for the pathological diagnosis of postoperative lymph node recurrence was investigated and compared with that of (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET).

Methods: Patients who received both EBUS-TBNA and FDG-PET for the diagnosis of postoperative lymph node recurrence were retrospectively investigated.

Combination of HDAC inhibitor MS-275 and IL-2 increased anti-tumor effect in a melanoma model via activated cytotoxic T cells.

Background: Histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors are immunomodulatory, and demonstrate antitumor activity in various tumor models including malignant melanoma.

Objective: The present study examines the effectiveness of IL-2 and HDAC inhibitor MS-275-combination therapy in a murine melanoma model.

Methods: B16F10 cells were implanted subcutaneously in C57BL/6 mice which were randomly divided into four groups and treated with either IL-2 by subcutaneous injection, MS-275 by oral gavage (5 days/week, daily for 2 weeks), or a combination of the two agents.

Successful treatment of lung cancer by multimodal endobronchial interventions.

The innovation of thoracic interventions, such as endobronchial ultrasound and photodynamic ablation, has changed the interventional management of lung cancer. In this case report, we discuss the case of a successful treatment of endobronchial squamous cell carcinoma occluding the left upper lobe bronchus by a minimally invasive transbronchial approach. This case was initially planned for a sleeve left upper lobectomy.

Registry of the Japanese Society of Lung and Heart-Lung Transplantation: official Japanese lung transplantation report, 2014.

The number of organ donations after brain death has significantly increased since the revised Japanese Organ Transplant Law took effect in July 2010. Sixty-one lung transplantations were conducted throughout Japan in 2013, including 20 living-donor lung transplantations and 41 brain-dead-donor lung transplantations (23 bilateral lungs, 17 single lungs, and 1 heart-lung transplantation). The number of lung transplant candidates newly registered at the Japan Organ Transplantation Network also increased to 126 in 2013, suggesting a severe donor shortage in Japan.

Cavernous hemangioma of the posterior mediastinum with bony invasion.

We herein report a case of a cavernous hemangioma of the posterior mediastinum treated with surgical resection. Mediastinal hemangiomas are rare and diagnosis is difficult prior to operation. A 58-year-old female was referred to our hospital for back pain and a tumor in the left posterior mediastinum that was detected by chest computed tomography (CT).

[Surgical treatment of primary chest wall tumor].

Background: Primary chest wall tumors are uncommon and there is limited information in the literature regarding treatment strategies for these tumors.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 14 patients who were referred for surgical resection for a primary chest wall tumor.

Results: Except for neurogenic tumors, 14 primary chest wall tumors were resected among 3,260 surgical cases during a 13-year period in our institution.

[Treatment of cancer chemotherapy-associated anemia in Japan - conditions and issues].

Cancer chemotherapy-induced anemia(CIA)is observed in approximately 70%of patients treated with cytotoxic chemo- therapy. The hemoglobin concentration in the peripheral blood is C10 g/dL in 40% of these patients, and C8 g/dL in 23% of these patients. Red blood cell transfusion is performed in 16% of these patients.

Thymoma patients with pleural dissemination: nationwide retrospective study of 136 cases in Japan.

Background: Thymoma is a rare mediastinal tumor with relatively slow growth. However, advanced-stage cases with pleural dissemination are occasionally encountered. The outcome of surgical resection for thymomas with pleural dissemination has not been clearly determined.

Questionnaire-based survey on chemotherapy-induced anemia.

A questionnaire-based survey on chemotherapy-induced anemia (CIA) in cancer patients was conducted between September and November 2010. The number of patients treated with chemotherapy, rate of blood transfusion, volume of blood transfused, severity of anemia, and factors affecting blood transfusion were analyzed according to the type of cancer, in an attempt to clarify the current status of CIA in Japan. During the survey period, among the eight types of cancer analyzed (breast, lung, stomach, colorectal, liver, gynecologic cancer, urologic cancer, and malignant lymphoma), chemotherapy was given to 5.

Pattern of metastasis outside tumor-bearing segments in primary lung cancer: rationale for segmentectomy.

Background: Patterns of intrapulmonary metastasis, particularly metastasis outside tumor-bearing segments, were investigated in lung cancer patients to address the rationale for segmentectomy.

Methods: In a consecutive series of patients who underwent resection of two or more pulmonary segments for primary lung cancer, intrapulmonary spread patterns, such as segmental/intersegmental node metastasis and pulmonary parenchymal metastasis, were pathologically examined.

Results: Eligible 244 lesions included 167 adenocarcinomas, 66 squamous cell carcinomas, and 11 large cell carcinomas.

Transbronchial biopsy needle rinse solution used for comprehensive biomarker testing in patients with lung cancer.

Introduction: Although genetic information is essential for molecular targeted therapy for personalized medicine, tissue sampling for genetic analysis remains challenging. We investigated the utility of bronchoscopic sampling in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients compared with conventional histological materials for multiple genetic analyses.

Methods: Patients with NSCLC proven by onsite cytological evaluation during bronchoscopic survey were eligible for this study.

Efficacy of perioperative high-dose prednisolone therapy during thymectomy in myasthenia gravis patients.

Background: This study aimed to investigate the benefits of administering perioperative high-dose prednisolone in conjunction with thymectomy in patients with myasthenia gravis.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed data from patients with Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America Clinical Class I to IIIB who had undergone an extended thymectomy between 1992 and 2009. Perioperative high-dose prednisolone was administered at starting doses of 10 to 20 mg and escalated up to 100 mg on alternate days.

Clinicopathological characteristics and surgical results of lung cancer patients aged up to 50 years: the Japanese Lung Cancer Registry Study 2004.

Objective: The clinicopathological characteristics and surgical results of young lung cancer patients were investigated.

Materials And Methods: Seven hundred and four (6.0%) patients with lung cancer, aged up to 50 years, were enrolled from among the 11,663 patients registered in the Japanese Lung Cancer Registry Study 2004, and their clinical data were compared with those of 10,959 patients older than 50 years.

Inhibition of epithelial cell death by Bcl-2 improved chronic colitis in IL-10 KO mice.

IL-10-deficient mice spontaneously develop intestinal inflammation, which has many similarities to Crohn's disease. Several reports suggest that epithelial cell death may increase the severity of colitis; however, decisive evidence is lacking. In the present report, we addressed whether and how epithelial cell death plays a role in the development of chronic colitis.

Low-density lipoprotein as a biomarker for the mobilization of hematopoietic stem cells in peripheral blood.

The predictor of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) mobilized in peripheral blood (PB) remains unknown. We retrospectively examined the relationship between serum cholesterol level and CD34-positive cells mobilized with granulocyte stimulating factor in PB. PB- mobilized CD34-positive cells were significantly higher in patients with high titers of total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) than in patients with normal levels (average total cholesterol, 122.

Spirometric and radiological evaluation of the remnant lung long after major pulmonary resection: can compensatory phenomena be recognized in clinical cases?

Purposes: The purpose of this study was to investigate the compensatory phenomena after lung resection in clinical cases by evaluating the spirometric and radiological parameters.

Methods: Forty patients undergoing lobectomy for stage IA lung cancer were divided into the following groups: (A) patients with <10 (n = 20) and (B) patients with ≥10 resected subsegments (n = 20). Comparisons were made of the predicted and observed postoperative values of spirometry and radiological parameters, such as lung volumetry and the "estimated lung weight".

Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration for differentiating N0 versus N1 lung cancer.

Background: The aim of this study was to assess the value of endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) for differentiating cN0 versus cN1 non-small cell lung cancer.

Methods: A retrospective review of EBUS-TBNA results in patients with potentially resectable clinical N0 or N1 non-small cell lung cancer based on computed tomography and positron emission tomography was performed. Systematic mediastinal and hilar lymph node sampling was performed by EBUS-TBNA.

Radiologic evaluation for volume and weight of remnant lung in living lung donors.

Objective: Living-lung donors lose pulmonary function of a right or left lower lobe in exchange for a noble donation; however, Chen and colleagues reported postoperative pulmonary function of the donors was significantly better than the estimated values. The purpose of this study was to investigate if the improvement of postoperative pulmonary function is associated with hypertrophic phenomena of remnant lung.

Methods: A total of 35 patients who underwent a right or left lower lobectomy for living-donor lobar lung transplantation in Kyoto University Hospital from 2008 to 2011 were evaluated by means of spirometry (forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume in 1 second, and diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide), and computed tomography scans both before and 1 year after the surgery.

Acute respiratory distress syndrome after pulmonary resection.

Postoperative acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a recognized complication of pulmonary resection. It is characterized by the acute onset of hypoxemia with radiographic infiltrates consistent with pulmonary edema, without elevations in the pulmonary capillary wedge pressure. Many studies suggest that around 2-5 % of patients develop some degree of lung injury, and the mortality from ARDS following pulmonary resection remains high.

Validation of EBUS-TBNA-integrated nodal staging in potentially node-positive non-small cell lung cancer.

Objective: Nodal staging of lung cancer is important for selecting surgical candidates. Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) was evaluated as a modality for nodal staging of patients with potentially node-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods: Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration was used for nodal staging of NSCLC patients with radiological N2/3 disease (short axis >10 mm on computed tomography and/or standardized positron emission uptake value >2.

Differences in the prognosis of resected lung adenocarcinoma according to the histological subtype: a retrospective analysis of Japanese lung cancer registry data.

Objectives: This study intended to assess the clinicopathological features of the histological subtypes of adenocarcinoma of the lung in a large registry population.

Methods: The Japanese Joint Committee of Lung Cancer Registry performed a nationwide retrospective registry study on the prognosis and clinicopathological profiles of 11 663 patients who underwent resection for primary lung neoplasm in 2004. The registry data of 7921 (62.