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Int J Cancer 2019 Feb 20. Epub 2019 Feb 20.

State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine/Macau Institute For Applied Research in Medicine and Health, Macau University of Science and Technology, Avenida Wai Long, Taipa, Macau (SAR), China.

Oncogenic KRAS is considered a promising target for anti-cancer therapy. However, direct pharmacological strategies targeting KRAS-driven cancers remained unavailable. The prenyl-binding protein PDEδ, a transporter of KRAS, has been identified as a potential target for pharmacological inhibitor by selectively binding to its prenyl-binding pocket, impairing oncogenic KRAS signaling pathway. Read More

PLoS One 2019 20;14(2):e0212831. Epub 2019 Feb 20.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone. Read More

J Clin Oncol 2019 Feb 20:JCO1801042. Epub 2019 Feb 20.

21 Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University, Atlanta, GA.

Purpose: CheckMate 568 is an open-label phase II trial that evaluated the efficacy and safety of nivolumab plus low-dose ipilimumab as first-line treatment of advanced/metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We assessed the association of efficacy with programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression and tumor mutational burden (TMB).

Patients And Methods: Two hundred eighty-eight patients with previously untreated, recurrent stage IIIB/IV NSCLC received nivolumab 3 mg/kg every 2 weeks plus ipilimumab 1 mg/kg every 6 weeks. Read More

Eur J Cancer 2019 Feb 18;110:110-119. Epub 2019 Feb 18.

Department of Radiation Oncology, CancerCare Manitoba and University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

Extensive stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC) carries a poor prognosis, and the thoracic progression is common. Consolidation radiation to thoracic disease (cRT) could improve progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). We conducted an electronic search of PubMed and Embase with no language, year or publication status restrictions and evaluated randomised controlled trials (RCTs) addressing the role of cRT in ES-SCLC. Read More

Biomed Pharmacother 2019 Feb 18;112:108590. Epub 2019 Feb 18.

Department of Tumor Biomarker Development, California Cancer Institute, Sino-American Cancer Foundation, 4978 Santa Anita Ave., Temple City, CA, 91007, USA. Electronic address:

Background: Etoposide-induced gene 24 (EI24) is an induction target of TP53-mediated apoptosis in human cancer cells. The hypothesis of this study is that EI24 might be a prognostic biomarker of non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC).

Material And Methods: Fourteen gene expression NSCLC datasets with follow-up information (a total of 2582 accessible cases) were collected from Asia, Europe and North America. Read More

J Microencapsul 2019 Feb 20:1-27. Epub 2019 Feb 20.

a Keylab PRT, Viet Nam Institute of Industrial Chemistry , Hanoi , Viet Nam.

Tagitinin C, a sesquiterpene lactone compound from Tithonia diversifolia, is known to have various bioactivities including anticancer effects. The disadvantages of tagitinin C which make its therapeutic application limited are low water solubility and poor stability. In this work, we encapsulated tagitinin C in the form of liposomal nanoparticles to overcome its limitations and evaluated its anticancer activity. Read More

Int J Cancer 2019 Feb 5. Epub 2019 Feb 5.

Department of Medical Oncology, Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital & Thoracic Cancer Institute, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors targeting the programmed cell death receptor/ligand 1 (PD-1/PD-L1) pathway have profoundly improved the clinical management of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Nevertheless, the superiority of single-agent PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors in pretreated EGFR mutant patients has turned out to be moderate. One proposed mechanism for poor response to immune checkpoint inhibitors is an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. Read More

Gen Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2019 Feb 19. Epub 2019 Feb 19.

Department of Thoracic Surgery, Saitama Cardiovascular and Respiratory Center, 1696 Itai, Kumagaya, Saitama, 360-0197, Japan.

Background: Sublobar resection for lung cancer is associated with a higher risk of recurrence than that of lobectomy; we evaluated the factors considered to be predictors of recurrence.

Methods: By analyzing multicenter prospective studies of sublobar resection for patients with c-stage I non-small lung cancer who were unable to undergo lobectomy (KLSG-0801), we investigated the relationship between (1) tumor location (TL) and margin distance from the stump (MD), (2) the MD/tumor size (TS) ratio and prognosis, (3) and the margin cytology (MC) and prognosis.

Results: The correlation between TS and MD was statistically significant in cases of easily resectable regions defined by Lewis' classification (n = 18). Read More

J Cancer Res Clin Oncol 2019 Feb 19. Epub 2019 Feb 19.

Department of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 50 Irwon- dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 135-710, South Korea.

Purpose: In the randomized phase IIb LUX-Lung 7 trial, afatinib significantly improved progression-free survival (PFS) and time-to-treatment failure vs gefitinib in patients with treatment-naïve epidermal growth factor receptor mutation-positive non-small cell lung cancer. We report post hoc analyses of tolerability-guided dose adjustment for afatinib and summarize the clinical characteristics of patients who continued afatinib/gefitinib beyond initial radiological progression in LUX-Lung 7.

Methods: Patients received afatinib 40 mg/day or gefitinib 250 mg/day until investigator-assessed progression or beyond if beneficial. Read More

Int J Clin Oncol 2019 Feb 19. Epub 2019 Feb 19.

Department of Medical Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey.

Background: This study aims to investigate the prognostic value of the ratio of hemoglobin-RDW (HRR) at diagnosis, in terms of overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods: Patients with metastatic NCCLC who attended two separate medical oncology clinics between April 2013 and December 2017 were retrospectively screened. HRR was calculated as Hgb (g/dL) divided by the RDW (%). Read More

Lung 2019 Feb 19. Epub 2019 Feb 19.

Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.

Purpose: While there is significant mortality and morbidity with lung cancer, early stage diagnoses carry a better prognosis. As lung cancer screening programs increase with more pulmonary nodules detected, expediting definitive treatment initiation for newly diagnosed patients is imperative. The objective of our analysis was to determine if the use of a dedicated interventional pulmonology practice decreases time delay from new diagnosis of lung cancer or metastatic disease to the chest to treatment initiation. Read More

Oncotarget 2019 Jan 25;10(8):810-824. Epub 2019 Jan 25.

Tumor Biology Program, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, FL, USA.

Transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ) plays a key role in regulating epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). A gene expression signature () associated with TGFβ-induced EMT activities was developed using human Non-Small Cell Lung Carcinoma (NSCLC) cells treated with TGFβ-1 and subjected to Affymetrix microarray analysis. The final 105-probeset signature covers 77 genes, and a NanoString assay utilized a subset of 60 of these genes (TGFβ-EMTN signature). Read More

J Thorac Oncol 2019 Mar;14(3):e60-e61

Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.

J Thorac Oncol 2019 Mar;14(3):e55-e57

Department of Respiratory Medicine, National Hospital Organization Nagoya Medical Center, Nagoya, Japan.

J Thorac Oncol 2019 Mar;14(3):328-331

Medical School, Paris-Saclay University, Paris-Sud University, Le Kremlin Bicêtre, France; Drug Development Department (DITEP), Gustave Roussy Institute, Paris Saclay University, Villejuif, France. Electronic address:

Cell Mol Biol (Noisy-le-grand) 2019 Jan 31;65(1):89-93. Epub 2019 Jan 31.

Department of Anesthesiology, No. 971 Hospital of PLA, Qingdao 266071, Shandong, China.

The role of serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) on the clinical outcomes of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine-kinase inhibitors (TKIs) treatment remained to be elucidated. Therefore, we did this meta-analysis. We searched databases including PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library till to June, 2017. Read More

J Drug Target 2019 Feb 20:1-23. Epub 2019 Feb 20.

c Department of Thoracic Surgery , Zhejiang Hospital , Hangzhou , Zhejiang 310013 , PR China.

Development of paclitaxel-resistance is a main problem during non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) chemotherapy. Nuclear paraspeckle assembly transcript 1 (NEAT1) is an oncogenic long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) which has been proved to be aberrantly upregulated in many human malignancies. In this study, we investigated the mechanism by which NEAT1 contributed to paclitaxel-resistance in NSCLC. Read More

Expert Rev Endocrinol Metab 2012 Sep;7(5):541-554

f Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.

Approximately 90% of thyroid cancers are differentiated (DTCs) and have papillary, follicular or Hürthle cell morphology. Although treatment with surgery and radioactive iodine (I-131; RAI), as appropriate, is associated with significant cure rates and survival benefits, clonal disease progression with development of refractoriness to RAI poses a major therapeutic challenge in about 15% of patients. Traditional chemotherapeutic agents are relatively ineffective and are associated with significant toxicities. Read More

Cancers (Basel) 2019 Feb 13;11(2). Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Genetics, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX 76107, USA.

Protein kinase C (PKC), a multi-gene family, plays critical roles in signal transduction and cell regulation. Protein kinase C-eta (PKCη) is a unique member of the PKC family since its regulation is distinct from other PKC isozymes. PKCη was shown to regulate cell proliferation, differentiation and cell death. Read More

Int J Mol Sci 2019 Feb 13;20(4). Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Department of Pathology, Wayne State University and Karmanos Cancer Institute, Detroit, MI 48201, USA.

Garcinol, a dietary factor obtained from , modulates several key cellular signaling pathways as well as the expression of miRNAs. Acquired resistance to standard therapies, such as erlotinib and cisplatin, is a hallmark of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells that often involves miRNA-regulated epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). We used A549 cells that were exposed to transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1), resulting in A549M cells with mesenchymal and drug resistant phenotype, and report that garcinol sensitized resistant cells with mesenchymal phenotype to erlotinib as well as cisplatin with significant decrease in their IC values. Read More

Molecules 2019 Feb 13;24(4). Epub 2019 Feb 13.

School of Basic Medicine Sciences, Henan University of Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou 450002, Henan, China.

Progastrin-releasing peptide (ProGRP), which is known to be highly specific and sensitive to small cell lung cancer (SCLC), has been proven to be a valuable substitute for neuron-specific enolase in SCLC diagnostics and monitoring, especially in its early stages. The detection of ProGRP levels also facilitates a selection of therapeutic treatments. For the fabrication of our proposed biosensor, titanium (IV) oxide microparticles were first used, followed by dispersing gold nanoparticles into chitosan and immobilizing them onto a carbon paste electrode (CPE) surface. Read More

Molecules 2019 Feb 18;24(4). Epub 2019 Feb 18.

School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shandong University, 44 West Wenhua Road, Jinan 250012, Shandong, China.

This study was aimed to investigate the anti-tumor, anti-metastasis and immunomodulatory effects of Yifei Tongluo (YFTL), a Chinese herbal formula, in Lewis lung carcinoma mice and to explore the underlying mechanisms. LLC cells were inoculated subcutaneously in C57BL/6 mice to establish the Lewis lung carcinoma model. We observed that YFTL effectively inhibited tumor growth and prolonged the overall survival of tumor-bearing mice. Read More

Mar Drugs 2019 Feb 18;17(2). Epub 2019 Feb 18.

Zhejiang Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center of Marine Biomedical Products, School of Food and Pharmacy, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan 316022, China.

peptide (PAP) is a decapeptide (Ile-Glu-Pro-Gly-Thr-Val-Gly-Met-Met-Phe, IEPGTVGMMF) with anticancer activity that was purified from an enzymatic hydrolysate of . In the present study, the anticancer effect of PAP on H1299 cell proliferation was investigated. Our results showed that PAP promoted apoptosis and inhibited the proliferation of H1299 cells in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Read More

Cancers (Basel) 2019 Feb 16;11(2). Epub 2019 Feb 16.

Department of Radiation Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, AZ 85259, USA.

Diagnosis-specific survival scores including a new score developed in 157 patients with brain metastases from small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) receiving whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT) with 30 Gy in 10 fractions (WBRT-30-SCLC) were compared. Three prognostic groups were designed based on the 6-month survival probabilities of significant or almost significant factors, (age, performance score, number of brain metastases, extra-cerebral metastasis). Six-month survival rates were 6% (6⁻11 points), 44% (12⁻14 points) and 86% (16⁻19 points). Read More

Biomed Pharmacother 2019 Feb 16;112:108648. Epub 2019 Feb 16.

Infections Department, Wenzhou Central Hospital, Wenzhou, 325000, China.

Long noncoding RNAs (LncRNAs) play critical roles in the development and progression of cancers. However, little is known about the function and mechanism of lncRNAs in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In this study, we investigated the expression and functional role of lncRNA small nucleolar RNA host gene 20 (SNHG20) as well as its underlying mechanism in NSCLC. Read More

J Thorac Oncol 2019 Feb 16. Epub 2019 Feb 16.

Department of medical oncology, Gustave Roussy Cancer Campus, Institut d'Oncologie Thoracique (IOT), Gustave Roussy, Université Paris-Saclay, F-94805, Villejuif, France; Paris-Sud University, Orsay, France.

Introduction: although frequent in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), brain metastases (BM) patients are often excluded from immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) trials. We evaluated BM outcome in a less selected NSCLC cohort.

Methods: data from consecutive advanced ICI treated NSCLC patients were collected. Read More

J Thorac Oncol 2019 Feb 16. Epub 2019 Feb 16.

Department of Thoracic / Head and Neck Medical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd., Unit 0432, Houston, Texas, 77030, United States of America. Electronic address:

Introduction: Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) has revolutionized the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), but only ∼15% of patients achieve durable benefit. Understanding resistance mechanisms to ICB is pivotal in developing more effective treatment strategies. Recent studies showed human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I heterozygosity might be important in mediating benefit from ICB. Read More

Thorac Cancer 2019 Feb 18. Epub 2019 Feb 18.

National Cancer Center/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.

Background: The role of thoracic radiation therapy (TRT) after chemotherapy (CHT) in extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC) has not been well defined. We investigated whether intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) improves outcomes in ES-SCLC after CHT compared to CHT alone.

Methods: A total of 292 patients who reached a complete response (CR), partial response (PR), or stable disease (SD) after CHT were assigned into groups: CHT + TRT and CHT alone. Read More

Thorac Cancer 2019 Feb 19. Epub 2019 Feb 19.

Department of Respiratory Medicine, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.

Background: Immunotherapy has considerably changed the treatment of lung cancer. As immunotherapy has a special mechanism of action, the disease remission that it can induce is unique. Recently, Immune Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (iRECIST), which focus on assessing the apparent curative effect of immunotherapy, have become widely accepted. Read More

Thorac Cancer 2019 Feb 18. Epub 2019 Feb 18.

Shanghai Lung Cancer Center, Shanghai Chest Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.

Background: Small-cell lung cancer (SCLC), a malignant tumor, is usually widely metastatic when diagnosed. The lack of important therapeutic clinical advances makes it difficult to treat. Previous studies showed that Adjudin had anticancer effects in many other human cancers, and it was synergetic with cisplatin in non-small cell lung cancer. Read More

Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci 2019 Feb;23(3):1108-1115

Laboratory Medicine, People's Hospital of Rizhao, Rizhao, China.

Objective: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most common cause for cancer-related mortality worldwide. Currently, early detection of NSCLC is one of the main available strategies for improving its prognosis. Due to the lack of non-invasive and convenient tools, early diagnosis of NSCLC remains poor. Read More

Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci 2019 Feb;23(3):1102-1107

Department of Respiratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, China.

Objective: Recent researches have proved that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play an important role in multiple diseases, including malignant tumors. The aim of this study was to explore the exact role of lncRNA AK027294 in the development of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and to investigate the possible underlying mechanism.

Patients And Methods: Real Time-quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-qPCR) was utilized to detect the AK027294 expression in NSCLC patients. Read More

Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci 2019 Feb;23(3):1093-1101

Cancer Treatment Center, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Ji'nan, China.

Objective: Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) exerts tissue specificity and regulates the occurrence and progression of tumors. Previous bioinformatics showed that lncRNA BC200 is served as an oncogene. However, the specific role of BC200 in lung cancer (LC) is rarely reported. Read More

Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci 2019 Feb;23(3):1087-1092

Department of Thoracic Surgery, Yantaishan Hospital, Yantai, China.

Objective: Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have attracted more attention for their role in tumor progression recently. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of DSCAM-AS1 in the progression of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and to elucidate its possible underlying mechanism.

Patients And Methods: DSCAM-AS1 expression in both NSCLC cells and tissue samples was detected by Real Time quantitative-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-qPCR). Read More

Curr Treat Options Oncol 2019 Feb 18;20(3):21. Epub 2019 Feb 18.

Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Division of Medical Oncology, University of Toronto, 7-913 700 University Avenue, Toronto, ON, M5G 1Z5, Canada.

Opinion Statement: The treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has evolved to include targeted therapy, immunotherapy as well as chemotherapy for selected patients in the first-line setting. Angiogenesis inhibitors have been used in combination with chemotherapy in the first-line and maintenance settings providing improved progression-free survival (PFS) and objective response rate (ORR), as well as overall survival (OS) in selected studies. Biologic rationale exists for combining anti-angiogenic agents with immunotherapy and targeted kinase inhibitors (TKIs). Read More

Surg Today 2019 Feb 18. Epub 2019 Feb 18.

Department of General Thoracic Surgery, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba, 260-8670, Japan.

Surgical intervention after induction chemoradiation is designed as curative treatment for resectable stage III/N2 non-small cell lung cancer. However, there is no definitive evidence to support this approach, possibly because successful treatment requires certain "arts", such as proper patient selection, an appropriate induction regimen, and choice of the best surgical procedure. We review the previous reports and discuss our own experience to explore the appropriate strategy for patients with resectable stage III/N2 disease, and to identify the factors associated with successful surgical intervention. Read More

Eur Radiol 2019 Feb 18. Epub 2019 Feb 18.

Department of Radiation Oncology, Shanghai Chest Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, No.241 Huaihai Road, Shanghai, 200030, China.

Objectives: The tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI)-sensitive mutations of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene is essential in the treatment of lung adenocarcinoma. To overcome the difficulty of EGFR gene test in situations where surgery and biopsy samples are too risky to obtain, we tried a noninvasive imaging method using radiomics features and random forest models.

Methods: Five hundred three lung adenocarcinoma patients who received surgery-based treatment were included in this study. Read More

Nat Ecol Evol 2019 Feb 18. Epub 2019 Feb 18.

Department of Translational Hematology and Oncology Research, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA.

Heterogeneity in strategies for survival and proliferation among the cells that constitute a tumour is a driving force behind the evolution of resistance to cancer therapy. The rules mapping the tumour's strategy distribution to the fitness of individual strategies can be represented as an evolutionary game. We develop a game assay to measure effective evolutionary games in co-cultures of non-small cell lung cancer cells that are sensitive and resistant to the anaplastic lymphoma kinase inhibitor alectinib. Read More

Thorax 2019 Feb 18. Epub 2019 Feb 18.

Department of Oncology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.

Background: Lung cancer 5-year survival has doubled over 15 years. Although the risk of second primary cancer is recognised, quantification over time is lacking. We describe the incidence of second and higher order smoking-related primary cancers in lung cancer survivors, identifying high-incidence groups and how incidence changes over time from first diagnosis. Read More

Cancer Discov 2019 Feb 18. Epub 2019 Feb 18.

Department of Thoracic Head and Neck Medical Oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Despite recent advances in the use of immunotherapy, only a minority of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) patients respond to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB). Here, we show that targeting DNA damage response (DDR) proteins, poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) and checkpoint kinase 1 (CHK1) significantly increased protein and surface expression of PD-L1. PARP or CHK1 inhibition remarkably potentiated the anti-tumor effect of PD-L1 blockade and augmented cytotoxic T-cell infiltration in multiple immunocompetent SCLC in vivo models. Read More

Curr Probl Cancer 2019 Feb 13. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Department of Medical Oncology, Jiangsu Cancer Hospital & Jiangsu Institute of Cancer Research & The Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, PR China. Electronic address:

Background: Cisplatin is one of the most effective chemotherapeutic drugs for patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Single high-dose cisplatin is a commonly used chemotherapy regimen in the world. At present, fractionated doses cisplatin is used in most hospitals in China. Read More

Eur J Radiol 2019 Mar 25;112:180-185. Epub 2019 Jan 25.

Department of Respiratory Medicine, Nishinomiya Municipal Central Hospital, 8-24, Hayashida-cho, Nishinomiya-city, Hyogo, 663-8014, Japan. Electronic address:

Purpose: To develop and assess a non-invasive two-step method for evaluating the relationship between the parietal pleura and peripheral pulmonary lesions to preoperatively exclude invasion or focal pleural adhesion by multidetector computed tomography (CT).

Methods: Twenty-six patients with pulmonary peripheral lesions who underwent surgical lung resection between May and December 2017 were enrolled in this study. Routine CT was performed in the inspiratory phase in the supine position. Read More

J Exp Clin Cancer Res 2019 Feb 18;38(1):87. Epub 2019 Feb 18.

Department of Radiation Oncology, Shandong Cancer Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan, 250117, Shandong Province, China.

PD-1/PD-L1 checkpoint blockades have achieved significant progress in several kinds of tumours. Pembrolizumab, which targets PD-1, has been approved as a first-line treatment for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with positive PD-L1 expression. However, PD-1/PD-L1 checkpoint blockades have not achieved breakthroughs in treating glioblastoma because glioblastoma has a low immunogenic response and an immunosuppressive microenvironment caused by the precise crosstalk between cytokines and immune cells. Read More

Chest 2019 Feb 15. Epub 2019 Feb 15.

Section of Interventional Pulmonology, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Duke University, Durham, NC.

Background: Malignant airway obstruction (MAO) occurs in 30% of patients with advanced stage lung cancer leading to debilitating dyspnea, cough and hemoptysis. Other than recanalization of the airways, these patients lack long-lasting palliative therapy. The goal of this study was to determine the safety and feasibility of local injection of paclitaxel into the airway wall with a novel microinjection catheter. Read More

J Med Chem 2019 Feb 18. Epub 2019 Feb 18.

Hybrid molecules are composed of two pharmacophores with different biological activities. Here, we conjugated phthalazine moieties (anti-angiogenetic pharmacophore) and bis(hydroxymethyl)pyrrole moieties (DNA crosslinking agent) to form a series of bis(hydroxymethyl)pyrrolo[2,1- a]phthalazine hybrids. These conjugates were cytotoxic to a variety of cancer cell lines by inducing DNA damage, arresting cell cycle progression at the G2/M phase, triggering apoptosis and inhibiting vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR-2) in endothelial cells. Read More

Cancer Sci 2019 Feb 18. Epub 2019 Feb 18.

Third Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Pulmonary Medicine & Medical Oncology, Wakayama Medical University, Wakayama, Japan.

We conducted a large-scale surveillance study as a post-marketing commitment to investigate safety and effectiveness of alectinib in patients with ALK-positive non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in Japan. Patients receiving 300mg twice-daily alectinib (September 2014 to June 2015) were monitored until termination of alectinib or completion of 18 months of treatment at 519 Japanese study sites. The primary endpoint was the incidence of adverse drug reactions (ADRs), which are important identified risks for alectinib in Japanese patients. Read More

Clin Lab 2019 Jan;65(1)

Background: High serum neuron-specific enolase (NSE) level has been in use as a tumor marker; however, some physicians may ignore NSE levels in serum, especially when the patients are asymptomatic. Here we report a case that a 51 year old female patient with no respiratory symptoms who had a NSE level which increased extremely over three months and was eventually diagnosed small cell lung cancer (SCLC).

Methods: Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) in right pulmonary hilar enlarged lymph node was performed for diagnosis. Read More

Thorac Cancer 2019 Feb 18. Epub 2019 Feb 18.

Department of Thoracic Surgery I, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University/Yunnan Cancer Hospital, Yunnan Cancer Center, The International Cooperation Key Laboratory of Regional Tumor in High Altitude Area, Kunming, China.

Background: Both genetic and environmental factors contribute to the development of cancer and its mutant spectrum. Lung cancer has familial aggregation. Lung cancer caused by non-tobacco factors has unique pathological and molecular characteristics. Read More

Thorac Cancer 2019 Feb 18. Epub 2019 Feb 18.

Department of Thoracic Oncology, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University and Collaborative Innovation Center of Biotherapy, Chengdu, China.

EGFR-activating mutations have been recognized as the most important predictor of response to EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs); however, 20-30% of patients harboring EGFR-activating mutations show poor responses. The mechanisms of such EGFR-TKI primary resistance are still poorly understood. In our case, a non-small cell lung cancer patient developed intrinsic EGFR-TKI resistance and was then confirmed to simultaneously harbor an L858R mutation and ROS1 rearrangement. Read More

Pathol Int 2019 Feb 18. Epub 2019 Feb 18.

Department of Pathology, Gifu University Hospital, Gifu-City, Japan.

A 73-year-old Japanese man, who worked at a confectionery company for more than 20 years, was diagnosed with a 28 mm nodular lesion in the superior lobe of the right lung by whole-body computed tomography examination. A biopsy revealed the presence of adenocarcinoma. With a diagnosis of a primary lung cancer, a right upper lobectomy was performed. Read More