Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

J Thorac Dis 2019 Jan;11(Suppl 1):S37-S44

Department of Pathology Amsterdam University Medical Centers, VU University Medical Center, De Boelelaan 1117, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

There is limited literature on the gross handling of lung resection specimens. Microscopic examination of the specimen, TNM staging and predictive biomarker testing are fully dependent on an adequate gross handling. In this paper, we present a 3-dimensional (3D) grossing method of oncological lung resection specimens, which ensures proper fixation of the tumor tissue, but also enables accurate correlation with the pre-surgical imaging. Read More

Radiother Oncol 2019 Feb 31;131:75-80. Epub 2018 Dec 31.

Clinical Research Department, Parkview Cancer Institute, Fort Wayne, United States. Electronic address:

Objectives: Despite recommendations by clinical guidelines, an advantage of adding systemic chemotherapy to definitive radiation in patients with early stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has never been demonstrated by randomized or large-scale studies. This study evaluates the role of chemotherapy in T2N0M0 NSCLC patients who did not undergo surgical resection.

Materials And Methods: Using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database, we screened for patients with T2N0M0 NSCLC who received radiation therapy without surgical resection from 2004 to 2015. Read More

J Cancer Res Clin Oncol 2019 Feb 13. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea.

Purpose: To evaluate the prognostic value of FDG PET/CT metabolic parameter compared to clinico-pathological risk factors in surgical margin-negative stage IA non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients.

Methods: 167 patients with consecutive FDG PET/CT scans from 2009 to 2015 performed for staging of NSCLC stage IA with plans for curative surgery were retrospectively reviewed. Maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) of primary tumor and mean SUV of liver were acquired from PET/CT. Read More

Mymensingh Med J 2019 Jan;28(1):76-84

Dr Nabarun Biswas, Resident Surgeon, Department of Respiratory Medicine (Attached), Mymensingh Medical College Hospital, Mymensingh, Bangladesh; E-mail:

Lung cancer is the leading cause of death from cancer in the world as well in Bangladesh. Diagnosis is usually confirmed by invasive procedures such as bronchoscopy, mediastinoscopy, or image guided biopsy. In this prospective study suspected lung cancer patients with N2 or N3 disease on CT scan had gone through ultrasound guided FNAC from impalpable, enlarged supraclavicular lymph nodes. Read More

J Thorac Dis 2018 Dec;10(12):6932-6941

Department of Thoracic Surgery, Aichi Cancer Center Hospital, Nagoya, Japan.

Background: Volumetric parameters based on 3-dimensional reconstruction have recently been introduced for cancer staging. We aimed to improve the ability to diagnose hilar lymph node metastasis in patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

Methods: We evaluated 142 patients with non-small cell lung cancer who underwent right upper lobectomy and radical lymph node dissection. Read More

J Thorac Dis 2018 Dec;10(12):6670-6676

Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA.

Background: Patients may be found to have stage IIIA-N2 at the final pathology after the initial surgery. We want to determine the survival rate in this unique group of patients.

Methods: We reviewed all patients who underwent surgical resection for lung cancer from 2000 to 2011 who had pathologic stage N2 without induction therapy. Read More

Int J Biol Sci 2019 1;15(2):369-385. Epub 2019 Jan 1.

Department of Oncology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou 215006, China.

The tumor suppressor ING4 has been shown to be reduced in human HCC. The alteration of ING4 contributes to HCC progression. However, its effect in HCC and the potential mechanism is largely unclear. Read More

J Cytol 2019 Jan-Mar;36(1):65-70

Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, India.

Intrathoracic lymphadenopathy is a common problem encountered in clinical practice and is caused by a wide variety of diseases. Traditionally, the mediastinal lymph nodes were sampled using conventional transbronchial needle aspiration (TBNA), or surgical methods such as mediastinoscopy, and thoracotomy (open or video-assisted thoracoscopy). However, surgical modalities including mediastinoscopy are invasive, expensive, and not universally available. Read More

J Cytol 2019 Jan-Mar;36(1):61-64

Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, India.

The treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) includes surgical resection with curative intent in early-stage disease and chemoradiation in the advanced stage disease. Therefore, an accurate preoperative mediastinal lymph node staging is required not only to offer the appropriate treatment but also to avoid unnecessary invasive procedures including thoracotomy. The mediastinal lymph nodes can be sampled using several techniques including mediastinoscopy, surgery (open or video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery), endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS)-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (TBNA), or endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided fine needle aspiration (FNA). Read More

Int J Gynecol Cancer 2019 Feb 9. Epub 2019 Feb 9.

Department of Radiation Oncology, Washington University in Saint Louis, St Louis, Missouri, USA

Objective: The detection of distant metastatic disease in cervical cancer patients at diagnosis is critical in accurate prognostication and directing treatment strategies. This study describes the frequency and sites of distant metastatic disease at diagnosis in patients with cervical cancer as detected by positron emission tomography with F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG-PET).

Methods: Patients with newly diagnosed cervical cancer underwent pre-treatment whole-body FDG-PET starting in 1997 at an academic institution. Read More

Thorac Cancer 2019 Feb 8. Epub 2019 Feb 8.

Department of Diagnostic Radiology, National Cancer Center/ National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/ Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.

Background: The study was conducted to examine changes in diagnostic and staging imaging methods for lung cancer in China over a 10-year period and to determine the relationships between such changes and socioeconomic development.

Methods: This was a hospital-based, nationwide, multicenter retrospective study of primary lung cancer cases. The data were extracted from the 10-year primary lung cancer databases at eight tertiary hospitals from various geographic areas in China. Read More

Ann Surg Oncol 2019 Feb 8. Epub 2019 Feb 8.

Cancer Programs, American College of Surgeons, Chicago, USA.

Background: The National Cancer Database (NCDB) is a hospital-based cancer registry that includes diagnostic, staging, treatment, and outcomes data for newly diagnosed cancer patients in the United States. The NCDB data include 31 million records for patients diagnosed between 1985-2015. A Participant User File based on a subset of these data has been available to researchers at facilities accredited by the Commission on Cancer since 2010. Read More

Cell Cycle 2019 Feb 17:1-12. Epub 2019 Feb 17.

a Department of Radiation Oncology , The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University , Shenyang , China.

Lung cancer is one of the most malignant cancers worldwide, and lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is the most common histologic subtype. Thousands of biomarkers related to the survival and prognosis of patients with this cancer type have been investigated through database mining; however, the prediction effect of a single gene biomarker is not satisfactorily specific or sensitive. Thus, the present study aimed to develop a novel gene signature of prognostic values for patients with LUAD. Read More

Pediatr Blood Cancer 2019 Feb 5:e27653. Epub 2019 Feb 5.

Chemotherapy Section, IRCCS-Rizzoli Orthopaedic Institute, Bologna, Italy.

Background: Ewing sarcoma (ES) is the second most common bone tumor in adolescents and children. Staging workup for ES includes imaging and bone marrow biopsy (BMB). The effective role of BMB is now under discussion. Read More

J Thorac Oncol 2019 Feb 2. Epub 2019 Feb 2.

Division of Surgery, Slingeland Ziekenhuis, Kruisbergseweg 25, 7009 BL, Doetinchem, Gelderland, the Netherlands; Division of Surgery, Radboud University Medical Centre, Geert Grooteplein 10, P.O. Box 9101, 6500 HB, Gelderland, Nijmegen, Gelderland, the Netherlands.

Introduction: SBRT is a promising curative treatment for early-stage NSCLC. IT is unclear if survival outcomes for SBRT are influenced by a lack of pathological confirmation of malignancy and staging of disease in these patients. In this systematic review and meta-analysis we assess survival outcomes after SBRT in studies with patients with clinically diagnosed vs biopsy-proven early-stage NSCLC. Read More

Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci 2019 Jan;23(2):660-669

Department of Pathology, Jinzhou Medical University, Jinzhou, China.

Objective: To explore the level of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) BX357664 in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and its role in the development of NSCLC. Meanwhile, the potential regulatory mechanism of BX357664 was also what we were interested in.

Patients And Methods: Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was performed to examine the level of BX357664 in 82 pairs of cancer tissues and adjacent normal tissues collected from patients with NSCLC, and the relationship between BX357664 level and pathological parameters or prognosis of NSCLC patients was analyzed. Read More

SAGE Open Med Case Rep 2019 16;7:2050313X18823901. Epub 2019 Jan 16.

Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Dongsan Medical Center, Keimyung University, Daegu, Korea.

A 73-year-old woman was referred to the pulmonology department for abnormal findings on chest computed tomography. She had undergone a laparoscopic staging operation including a hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, bilateral pelvic node and para-aortic node dissection, and concurrent chemo-radiation therapy for endometrial serous carcinoma stage IIIc cancer 15 months earlier. A follow-up chest computed tomography after the chemotherapy showed that the right lower lobe bronchus was obstructed, and it was necessary to differentiate a primary lung malignancy from a metastasis and secretion. Read More

J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2018 Dec 13. Epub 2018 Dec 13.

Division of Thoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Md. Electronic address:

Objective: We conducted a phase I trial of neoadjuvant nivolumab, a monoclonal antibody to the programmed cell death protein 1 checkpoint receptor, in patients with resectable non-small cell lung cancer. We analyzed perioperative outcomes to assess the safety of this strategy.

Methods: Patients with untreated stage I-IIIA non-small cell lung cancer underwent neoadjuvant therapy with 2 cycles of nivolumab (3 mg/kg), 4 and 2 weeks before resection. Read More

Ann Thorac Surg 2019 Jan 30. Epub 2019 Jan 30.

Department of Surgery, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA. Electronic address:

Background: We characterized the performance characteristics of guideline-recommended invasive mediastinal staging for lung cancer and developed a prediction model for nodal disease as a potential alternative approach to staging.

Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study of adults with suspected/ confirmed non-small cell lung cancer without evidence of distant metastatic disease (by computed tomography/positron emission tomography) who underwent nodal evaluation by invasive mediastinal staging and/or at the time of resection. The true-positive rate (TPR) was the proportion of patients with true nodal disease selected to undergo invasive mediastinal staging based on guideline recommendations, and the false-positive rate (FPR) was the proportion of patients without true nodal disease selected to undergo invasive mediastinal staging. Read More

Med Oncol 2019 Feb 1;36(3):26. Epub 2019 Feb 1.

Department of Oncology, University of Calgary, Tom Baker Cancer Centre, 1331 29 ST NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 4N2, Canada.

This analysis aims to evaluate the performance characteristics of alternative baseline imaging thresholds in a cohort of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. HCC patients within the SEER database (2010-2015) who had complete information on clinical T and N stages as well as complete information on metastatic sites were eligible for the current study. Various performance characteristics associated with baseline imaging were investigated, including specificity, sensitivity, positive likelihood ratio (LR), negative LR, number needed to investigate (NNI), negative predictive value (NPV), positive predictive value (PPV), and accuracy. Read More

Cancer Med 2019 Feb 1;8(2):669-678. Epub 2019 Feb 1.

Department of Thoracic Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, China.

Visceral pleural invasion (VPI) has been identified as an adverse prognostic factor for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Accurate nodal staging for NSCLC correlates with improved survival, but it is unclear whether tumors with VPI require a more extensive lymph nodes (LNs) dissection to optimize survival. We aimed to evaluate the impact of VPI status on the optimal extent of LNs dissection in stage I NSCLC, using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Read More

Cancer Gene Ther 2019 Jan 31. Epub 2019 Jan 31.

Department of Medical Oncology, The Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Henan Cancer Hospital, 450008, Zhengzhou, China.

Retrospective analysis of data from 14,528 lung cancer patients with multiple primary malignant neoplasm (MPMN) revealed that 2.5% (364/14,528) were MPMN cases and 96.2% (350/364) were diagnosed with two primary malignancies, 3. Read More

Oncologist 2019 Jan 29. Epub 2019 Jan 29.

Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Background: The 8th edition of TNM staging of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has revised M classification and defined M1b disease with single extrathoracic metastasis, which is distinguished from M1c with multiple extrathoracic metastases. We investigated the prevalence, characteristics, and overall survival (OS) of M1b disease in patients with stage IV NSCLC.

Methods: The study reviewed the medical records and imaging studies of 567 patients with stage IV NSCLC to determine M stage using the 8th edition of TNM staging. Read More

Pathol Int 2019 Jan;69(1):29-36

Department of Pathology, Kobe City Medical Center General Hospital, Kobe, Japan.

The clinicopathological and immunohistochemical characteristics of clinically occult extrapulmonary lymphangioleiomyomatosis in lymph nodes (LN-LAM) being dissected during surgical staging of pelvic malignancy have not been well investigated. We assessed samples from nine female patients (median age, 61). None had past or familial history of tuberous sclerosis and had LAM lesions other than LN such as lung. Read More

J Drugs Dermatol 2019 Jan;18(1):103-104

Novel immunotherapies including antibodies to programmed death ligand 1 (PD-1) and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 (CTLA-4) have become common therapies for neoplasms including metastatic melanoma and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Dermatologic toxicity is the most common adverse event associated with these immunotherapies. We report a case of bullous pemphogoid (BP) in a patient receiving combination durvalumab and tremelimumab, two newer immunotherapy checkpoint inhibitors under investigation in phase III trials. Read More

Mol Clin Oncol 2019 Feb 27;10(2):231-234. Epub 2018 Nov 27.

Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University Heidelberg, D-68167 Mannheim, Germany.

Lung cancer rarely metastasizes to the palatine tonsil. There have only been a few cases that have reported on palatine tonsillar metastases of pulmonary adenocarcinoma. In the majority of these cases the primary diagnosis is a small cell lung cancer. Read More

Zhonghua Zhong Liu Za Zhi 2019 Jan;41(1):63-67

Department of Thoracic Surgery, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100021, China.

Clinical evidences of surgically treated stage M1b non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients were limited. This study aimed to summarize the clinical data of these patients to explore the prognostic factors of this population. From January 1999 to December 2012, the clinical data of 40 stage M1b NSCLC patients, including 24 males and 16 females, who underwent surgery were collected by Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. Read More

Zhonghua Zhong Liu Za Zhi 2019 Jan;41(1):50-55

Department of Medical Oncology, Beijing Key Laboratory of Clinical Study on Anticancer Molecular Targeted Drugs, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100021, China.

Adenosquamous carcinoma of lung is an uncommon subtype with more aggressive behavior and poor prognosis than adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. This study was aimed to investigate the clinicopathological characteristics and prognostic factors of lung adenosquamous carcinoma. The pathological features and follow-up data of 133 patients were collected and the prognostic factors of these patients were retrospectively analyzed. Read More

IEEE Trans Med Imaging 2019 Jan 23. Epub 2019 Jan 23.

Risk stratification (characterization) of tumors from radiology images can be more accurate and faster with computeraided diagnosis (CAD) tools. Tumor characterization through such tools can also enable non-invasive cancer staging, prognosis, and foster personalized treatment planning as a part of precision medicine. In this study, we propose both supervised and unsupervised machine learning strategies to improve tumor characterization. Read More

Zhongguo Fei Ai Za Zhi 2019 Jan;22(1):20-25

Department of Thoracic Surgery, Third Central Hospital of Tianjin; Tianjin Institute of Hepatobiliary Disease; Tianjin Key Laboratory of Artificial Cell; Artificial Cell Engineering Technology Research Center of Public Health Ministry, Tianjin 300170, China.

Background: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have the highest incidence of lung cancer which treatment principles are diagnosis and treatment as early as possible. Because of its insidious onset and lack of specific markers for early screening, most patients are at an advanced stage when diagnosed which results in a low 5-year survival rate and poor prognosis. Therefore Exploring a sensitive biomarker is the focus of current diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer. Read More

AJR Am J Roentgenol 2019 Jan 23:1-9. Epub 2019 Jan 23.

3 Department of Thoracic Surgery, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.

Objective: The objective of our study was to investigate histopathology features, imaging features, and prognoses of surgically resected pure small cell lung carcinomas (SCLCs) and combined SCLCs.

Materials And Methods: Forty-one patients with a pure SCLC or a combined SCLC underwent preoperative chest CT and F-FDG PET/CT and subsequent surgical resection. The clinicopathologic findings were noted by reviewing the electronic medical records. Read More

Br J Radiol 2019 Jan 23:20180792. Epub 2019 Jan 23.

1 Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Zurich , Zurich , Switzerland.

Objective:: Positron emission tomography (PET) using 18F-fluordeoxyglucose (F-FDG) is an established imaging modality for tumor staging in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). There is a growing interest in using F-FDG PET for therapy response assessment in NSCLC which relies on quantitative PET parameters such as standardized uptake values (SUV). Different reconstruction algorithms in PET may affect SUV. Read More

Multimed Man Cardiothorac Surg 2019 01 2;2019. Epub 2019 Jan 2.

General Surgery Department General Hospital of Athens "Evangelismos'' Athens, Greece.

Sampling, or systematic mediastinal lymph node dissection, is the standard-of-care surgical treatment for early stage non-small cell lung cancer, according to guidelines from the European Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Lymph node status defines disease status and patients' prognosis. In this  video tutorial, a radical ipsilateral mediastinal lymph node dissection in a man suffering from a left, centrally located lung adenocarcinoma is presented. Read More

Thorac Cancer 2019 Jan 21. Epub 2019 Jan 21.

Department of General Thoracic Surgery, Teikyo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.

One in four non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients are diagnosed at an early-stage. Following the results of the National Lung Screening Trial that demonstrated a survival benefit for low-dose computed tomography screening in high-risk patients, the incidence of early-stage NSCLC is expected to increase. Use of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography during initial diagnosis of these early-stage lesions has been increasing. Read More

BMC Cancer 2019 Jan 21;19(1):91. Epub 2019 Jan 21.

Spanish Centre for Pharmacoepidemiological Research (CEIFE), Almirante 28, 28004, Madrid, Spain.

Background: Epidemiological research on small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is limited and based on cancer registry data. We evaluated the feasibility and validity of using primary care electronic health records (The Health Improvement Network [THIN]) in the UK to identify and characterise SCLC.

Methods: We searched THIN records of individuals aged 18-89 years between 2000 and 2014 for a first diagnostic code suggestive of lung cancer (group 1) or small cell cancer (SCC; group 2) and for text strings among free text comments to identify and characterise incident SCLC cases. Read More

Asian Cardiovasc Thorac Ann 2019 Mar 19;27(3):187-191. Epub 2019 Jan 19.

Department of Thoracic Surgery, Gazi University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey.

Background: Small-cell lung cancer is a highly aggressive and metastatic epithelial lung malignancy. A small percentage of these tumors can be detected at an early stage and may be appropriate for surgical treatment. We analyzed the data of patients with early-stage small-cell lung cancer who underwent lobectomy and mediastinal lymph node dissection. Read More

Medicine (Baltimore) 2019 Jan;98(3):e14084

Department of Oncology, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi.

Background: Bone metastases (BM) are prevalent among lung cancer (LC) patients. Although some studies revealed associated factors for BM, each of these papers focused on a few factors. Few studies have identified the potential risk factors through a systematic review. Read More

Eur J Cardiothorac Surg 2019 Jan 10. Epub 2019 Jan 10.

Department of Thoracic Surgery, University Hospital, Strasbourg, France.

Objectives: We queried the European Society of Thoracic Surgeons (ESTS) prospective thymic database for descriptive analysis and for comparison with the ESTS retrospective thymic database (1990-2010).

Methods: Data were retrieved (January 2007-November 2017) for 1122 patients from 75 ESTS institutions.

Results: There were 484 (65%) thymomas, 207 (28%) thymic carcinomas and 49 (7%) neuroendocrine thymic tumours. Read More

Biosci Rep 2019 Feb 1;39(2). Epub 2019 Feb 1.

Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow, University, Medical College of Soochow University, Suzhou, China

Treatments for superior sulcus non-small cell lung cancer (SS-NSCLC) have evolved, but adequate treatments of T4 disease have not been found. The aim of our study was to evaluate the prognostic factors and optimal treatment strategy for patients with T4 SS-NSCLC. We utilized the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database (1973-2015) to identify patients diagnosed with T4 stage SS-NSCLC (according to the 7th edition American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging system) from 2004 to 2015; those with M1 disease were excluded. Read More

Lung Cancer Manag 2018 Jun 31;7(2):LMT02. Epub 2018 May 31.

Oncology Unit, 3rd Department of Medicine, National & Kapodistrian University of Athens Medical School, Athens, 11527, GR.

Aim: To determine whether PET/CT and brain MRI used in staging NSCLC can be accurate, reliable and cost-effective tools. NSCLC represents 80-85% of lung cancer and adequate information on the initial tumor staging is critical for planning an optimal therapeutic strategy.

Patients & Methods: Data from 30 newly diagnosed NSCLC patients in Greece were collected and prospectively recorded. Read More

Lung Cancer 2019 Jan 19;127:25-33. Epub 2018 Nov 19.

Division of Hematology-Oncology, Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, United States; Abramson Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, United States.

Objectives: A malignant pleural effusion (MPE) is a common complication in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with important staging and prognostic information. Patients with MPEs are often candidates for advanced therapies, however, the current gold standard, cytological analysis of pleural fluid samples, has limited sensitivity. We aimed to demonstrate the feasibility of non-invasive enumeration and immunophenotyping of EpCAM-positive cells in pleural fluid samples for the diagnosis of a MPE in NSCLC patients. Read More

BMC Pulm Med 2019 Jan 14;19(1):14. Epub 2019 Jan 14.

Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Irwon-ro 81, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 06351, Republic of Korea.

Background: Endosonography with needle aspiration (EBUS/EUS-NA) is recommended as the first choice for mediastinal nodal assessment in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). It is important to maintain adequate negative predictive value of the procedure to avoid unnecessary additional surgical staging, but there are few studies on the influence of operator-related factors including competency on false negative results. This study aims to compare the false negative rate of individual operators and whether it changes according to accumulation of experience. Read More

Minerva Med 2018 Dec;109(6 Suppl 1):6-10

Unit of Pulmonology, IRCCS Foundation, Policlinico San Matteo di Pavia, Pavia, Italy.

Lung cancer is among the most important causes of death worldwide. The presence of tumor metastasis in the mediastinum is one of the most relevant elements in determining the optimal treatment strategy in lung cancer. Lymph node "maps" are used to describe the location of nodal metastases, the latest was proposed by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) in 2009. Read More

Semin Respir Crit Care Med 2018 Dec 14;39(6):649-660. Epub 2019 Jan 14.

Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Respiratory Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio.

Since its advent more than a decade ago, real-time linear endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) guided transbronchial needle aspiration has revolutionized the diagnosis and staging of nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and has become the standard of care with widespread acceptance. It is also extensively used to diagnose other disease entities such as malignancy besides NSCLC, benign diseases, or infectious processes. Ancillary studies have shown its superior safety profile and cost-effectiveness. Read More

Eur Respir J 2019 Jan 11. Epub 2019 Jan 11.

Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.

Background: Guidelines recommend invasive mediastinal staging for centrally located tumours, even in radiologic N0 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, there is no uniform definition of central tumour which is more predictive of occult mediastinal metastasis.

Methods: A total of 1337 consecutive patients with radiologic N0 disease underwent invasive mediastinal staging. Read More

Thorac Cancer 2019 Jan 9. Epub 2019 Jan 9.

Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.

Background: According to the current clinical guidelines, chemoradiotherapy is considered the standard treatment for locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We analyzed the prognostic effect of adjuvant chemotherapy (ACT) in resected patients using the new eighth tumor node metastasis (TNM) staging systems based on the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results database.

Methods: We identified 3008 patients with stage IIIA NSCLC (T4N0M0) who underwent sublobar resection, lobectomy, or pneumonectomy. Read More

J Transl Med 2019 Jan 9;17(1):14. Epub 2019 Jan 9.

Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Old Road Campus, Oxford, OX3 7FZ, UK.

Background: Despite much progress in cancer research, its incidence and mortality continue to rise. A robust biomarker that would predict tumor behavior is highly desirable and could improve patient treatment and prognosis.

Methods: In a retrospective bioinformatics analysis involving patients with liver cancer (n = 839), we developed a prognostic signature consisting of 45 genes associated with tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes and cellular responses to hypoxia. Read More

J Comp Eff Res 2019 Feb 9;8(3):157-163. Epub 2019 Jan 9.

Clinical Oncology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.

Aim: This study aims at evaluating the performance of some of the imaging recommendations of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) for initial evaluation of bladder cancer.

Methods: Surveillance, epidemiology and end results program (2010-2015) was queried and patients with clinically (T1-T4) bladder cancer and complete information about clinical T/N (tumor/nodal) stage and metastatic sites were extracted. The following characteristics were evaluated in the current analysis: sensitivity, specificity, number needed to investigate (NNI), positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value and accuracy. Read More

J Thorac Dis 2018 Nov;10(11):6247-6253

Shanghai Lung Cancer Center, Shanghai Chest Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China.

Background: The 8th International Association Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) TNM classification staging project for lung cancer has classified patients with adenocarcinoma in situ (AIS) into stage 0, while patients with a minimally invasive adenocarcinoma (MIA) were classified into stage IA1. However, MIA patients, similar to AIS patients, have an approximately a 100% 5-year survival. This study aimed to investigate if MIA could be transferred from stage IA to stage 0 in the next TNM staging system. Read More

PLoS One 2019 7;14(1):e0208992. Epub 2019 Jan 7.

Department of Pneumology, CHU de Rouen, Rouen, France.

This two-step study evaluated the cost-effectiveness of endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) for presurgery staging of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in France (EVIEPEB; ClinicalTrial.gov identifier NCT00960271). Step 1 consisted of a high-benchmark EBUS-TBNA-training program in participating hospital centers. Read More