Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are proteolytic enzymes that are essentially involved in the turnover of the extracellular matrix (ECM). Recently, several MMPs were implicated in creating an environment that supports the initiation and maintenance of tumor growth. We verified MMP activity in the sera of patients with pleural effusions by gelatin zymography. Of these patients, 22 had malignant pleural effusion, consisting of 11 breast carcinomas and 11 lung carcinomas (7 squamous cell carcinomas and 4 adenocarcinomas), and 8 patients had benign effusions. The sera of 25 healthy subjects were used as controls. Zymography analysis showed three major gelatinolytic bands of 72, 92 and 220 kDa. The MMP-9/MMP-2 ratio was enhanced in cancer patients compared with benign diseases and healthy individuals. Furthermore, we determined the circulating levels of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (Ca 19-9), carbohydrate antigen 15-3 (Ca 15-3). The serum levels of Ca 15-3 were above the cut-off levels in several cancer patients. No correlation between gelatinolytic activity and high tumoral marker values was found.
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J Cardiothorac Surg
January 2025
Department of Heart Surgery, East Slovak Institute for Cardiovascular Diseases, Ondavská 8, Košice, 040 12, Slovakia.
Background: The left internal thoracic artery (LITA) has been widely accepted as the standard for revascularizing the left anterior descending artery during coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery. However, in 10-20% of cases, the LITA may lead to unsecured side branches to the chest wall, particularly the lateral costal artery (LCA), potentially resulting in postoperative chest angina.
Case Presentation: We report the case of a 58-year-old patient who experienced persistent angina eight months after having undergone coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) due to the steal phenomenon caused by a thick lateral costal artery (LCA).
BMC Pediatr
January 2025
Department of Pediatrics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology Union Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, China.
Background: Generalized lymphatic anomaly (GLA) is a rare congenital lymphatic malformation (LM) characterized by multiple infiltrating lymphangiomas in various tissues. Owing to its rarity, information on this disease is obtained mainly through case reports, leading to delayed diagnosis. In this study, we reported a case of generalized lymphatic anomaly in a pediatric patient manifesting as hemorrhagic pleural effusion.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFClin Transplant
January 2025
Department of Hematology and Oncology, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-Ku, Tokyo, Japan.
Background: Pleural effusion and ascites developing after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) are generally associated with inferior overall survival (OS); however, the prognostic value of pretransplant effusion on transplant outcomes remained unclear.
Methods: We retrospectively evaluated minimal pleural effusion and ascites detected by computed tomography in 248 consecutive adult patients who underwent their first allo-SCT from January 2007 to December 2022.
Results: Forty-eight patients demonstrated minimal pleural effusion or ascites within 100 days before transplantation (Effusion group) and the other 200 had no effusion (No effusion group).
Gen Thorac Cardiovasc Surg
January 2025
Department of General Thoracic Surgery, Juntendo University School of Medicine, 1-3 Hongo 3-chome, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8421, Japan.
Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the possibility of defining new imaging criteria to predict less-invasive clinical (c)-stage IA2-IA3 solid predominant lung adenocarcinoma using the maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) as the cutoff value.
Methods: Consecutive 364 patients who underwent anatomical resection with mediastinal lymphadenectomy and positron emission tomography for c-stage IA2-IA3 solid predominant lung adenocarcinoma with a tumor diameter < 3 cm were retrospectively evaluated. Less-invasive cancer was defined as the absence of nodal involvement, lymphovascular or pleural invasion, or spread through air spaces.
Cancer Control
January 2025
Department of Medical Oncology, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing Tuberculosis and Thoracic Tumor Research Institute, Beijing, China.
Background: The proportion and impact of minimal pleural effusion (PE) on prognosis remain blurred in operable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients who reported minimal PE on imaging.
Methods: Clinical and prognostic data of operable NSCLC patients who presented no distant metastasis, no direct pleural invasion, but minimal PE on preoperative imaging were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into surgical (81 cases) and non-surgical (10 cases) cohorts.
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