Impact of mediastinal lymph node dissection on octogenarians with non-small cell lung cancer

Objective: Impacts of mediastinal lymph node dissection on a patient’s course after pulmonary resection is unclear in octogenarians with non-small cell lung cancer. Methods: Retrospectively identified subjects included 39 octogenarians and 1 nonagenarian, with grades according to the Charlson Comorbidity Index ranging from only 0 to 2. We performed mediastinal lymph node dissection in 19 patients (D group), and just lymph node sampling biopsy in the other 21 (S group). We compared clinicopathologic features and outcome after surgery between both groups. Results: Deterioration of performance status at the time of discharge, evident in 17 patients overall, was significantly more frequent in the D group. Postoperative complications occurred in 27 patients overall and there was no significant difference between the two groups. Survival rates in younger patients at 1, 3, and 5 years were 86, 59, and 49%, respectively; in octogenarians these were 83, 58, and 42% (no significant difference). Nor did survival differ significantly by surgical management of mediastinal lymph nodes; 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates were 94, 63, and 40%, respectively in the D group and 78, 66, and 43%, respectively in the S group. Conclusion: Octogenarians with non-small cell lung cancer should be treated by urgent pulmonary resection whenever possible. Since mediastinal lymph node dissection has little effect on long-term survival or the carried risk of worsening performance status at discharge, pulmonary resection without complete mediastinal lymph node dissection should be considered.     

Self-expandable metallic stent for unresectable malignant strictures in the esophagus and cardia

Objective Self-expandable metallic stent (EMS) placement has been the first choice for dysphagia because of the certainty over its safety, low invasiveness, and immediate efficacy. However, there still remain some problems in relation to the EMS placement site and anticancer therapies before and after EMS placement. Methods: Consecutive 78 patients in whom EMS was placed due to the unresectable malignant stricture in the esophagus or cardia from July 1995 to August 2003 in our department were studied. Results: Gastroesophageal reflux was found in 5 of 8 patients after placement of conventional EMS for the stricture in the gastroesophageal junction. Meanwhile, acid and bile reflux into the esophagus were not detected by pH and bilirubin monitoring, respectively, in 6 patients after placement of the EMS with an anti-reflux mechanism for the stricture in the gastroesophageal junction. The median survival period of all patients after EMS placement was 123 days. The median survival period of 7 patients with radiotherapy only after EMS placement was 138 days and that of 17 patients with radiotherapy before EMS placement was 60 days, which was shorter than that of the former (p<0.05). On the other hand, the median survival period after hospital admission due to dysphagia of these 7 patients was longer than that of 17 patients with radiotherapy only before EMS placement, although, the difference was not significant. Conclusion: EMS with an antireflux mechanism is not commercially available in Japan and approval is urgently required. The indication of radiotherapy associated with EMS placement is to be studied further.     

Serum thymidine kinase,a possible marker for monitoring the effect of bone marrow transplant treatment in early recovery phase

We measured serum thymidine kinase (TK) activity with a radioenzyme assay system employing [I-125]-iododeoxyuridine as the tracer on serial specimens from five bone marrow transplant (BMT) patients before and after transplantation. The serum level of TK activity in the 4 patients with effective BMT treatment ranged from 3.0 to 16.9 U/L (mean, 7.80 U/L) before transplantation and from 27.3 to 236.1 U/L (mean, 82.95 U/L) after the BMT treatment. Mean serum TK activity increased 13.17-fold (range, 1.68 to 29.14-fold). In contrast, the activity in the patient with ineffective BMT treatment was not significantly different during, before, or after BMT treatment. In addition, serum TK activity in BMT patients was well correlated with the change in the number of leukocytes before and after BMT treatment [r = +0.709 (p less than 0.01), y = 0.012 x +0.87]. We conclude that the determination of serum TK activity in BMT patients is very useful in monitoring the course of bone marrow transplantation in the early recovery phase.     

Changes in thrombomodulin level in plasma of endotoxin-infused rabbits.

Changes in the plasma thrombomodulin (TM) level were examined in endotoxin-infused rabbits. The plasma TM level in normal rabbits was 143.8 +/- 8.4 ng/ml (n = 67) and the molecular weight of the major TM was about 55 kd. Endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide, LPS, E. Coli B8:0127) was intravenously infused. LPS infusion increased the plasma TM level dose-dependently between 0.2 mg/kg and 5 mg/kg. When 5 mg/kg LPS was infused, the plasma TM level started to increase immediately and was 2.3 times higher than the control value within 1 hr. The molecular weight of the major TM was about 75 kd. This rapid increase in TM occurred before the decrease in fibrinogen content and the prolongation of prothrombin time. To examine the effect of circulating leukocytes on the TM increase in endotoxin-infused rabbits, 5 mg/kg LPS was infused into rabbits with leukocytopenia induced by X-ray irradiation. The maximum plasma level of TM was significantly lower than in the untreated rabbits given LPS. These data suggest that the increase in plasma TM is caused by LPS-stimulated leukocyte's prior to hemostaseological changes. It is well known that endothelial cells can be injured by stimulated leukocytes, so this increase in plasma TM probably reflects the deterioration of endothelial cells. This deterioration decreases the ability of endothelial cells to inhibit thrombosis, which would, in turn, contribute to the development of disseminated intravascular coagulation in endotoxin-infused rabbits.     

Late massive hemoptysis after transbronchial biopsy of hamartoma: an involvement of pulmonary artery and vein.

Pulmonary hamartoma is a common benign neoplasm that is usually asymptomatic and that arises in the periphery of the lung. However, when the tumor is growing without showing characteristic findings of hamartoma, such as involving calcification, fat density, and chondromatous contents in chest X-rays or computed tomography, the diagnosis is sometimes that problematic and definitive histological diagnosis should be established. We herein report a case with a massive hemoptysis 10 days after a successful transbronchial biopsy. A 69-year-old man who underwent mitral valve plasty 6 years earlier presented a left lung shadow during a routine chest X-ray. The shadow was seen to be growing by a series of chest X-rays. A week after warfarin had been stopped, a bronchoscopic biopsy was performed. No bronchial hemorrhage was observed during the procedure, and warfarin was not restarted. The patient began noticing bloody sputa once or twice a day, and 10 days after the biopsy, 400 mL of hemoptysis was suddenly disgorged. An emergency left upper lobectomy of the lung was performed, and the hemoptysis soon disappeared postoperatively. The patient is well without respiratory symptoms 36 months after the surgery.     

Effect of target saliency on human smooth pursuit initiation: interocular transfer

Our previous study showed that the saliency of a target increases the gain of smooth pursuit initiation. In this study, we examined the interocular transfer of this effect in five humans. A square red frame surrounding the target was used as a cue to indicate the initial target position. In the cue condition, the responses were similar, irrespective of the eye to which the cue was presented, and were significantly larger than in the no-cue condition. The result suggests that central pathways that receive input from both eyes mediate the effect of saliency on smooth pursuit initiation.     

Clinical usefulness of the measurement of plasma D-dimer levels

To evaluate the clinical usefulness of D-dimer, various effects on the measurement of D-dimer were examined. Although both fibrinolytic and fibrinogenolytic products were detected by the measurement of FDP, only fibrinolytic products were detected by the measurement of D-dimer. In patients with DIC and other thrombo-embolic diseases, plasma D-dimer levels were significantly higher than in normal persons. A significant positive correlation between plasma D-dimer and serum FDP was found in DIC patients. In patients with DIC associated with acute promyelocytic leukemia, which is thought to be an increased fibrinogenolysis state, serum FDP was higher than the plasma D-dimer which suggests that increased fibrinogenolysis affects the result of serum FDP measurement. Plasma D-dimer significantly increased 5 minutes after endoscopic embolization with thrombin in the patients with esophageal varices. However serum FDP increased 30 minutes after the treatment, which suggests that the D-dimer is more useful for rapid detection of coagulo-fibrinolytic change than serum FDP. Plasma D-dimer was significantly higher in patients with cerebral infarction and increased with age. These finding suggest the usefulness of plasma D-dimer measurement for the specific and rapid evaluation of coagulo-fibrinolytic activation and thrombo-embolic state.     

An Immunohistochemical Study

C cell proliferation of the thyroid, which was designated as primary C cell hyperplasia (PCCH), was demonstrated in aged Fischer 344 rats in high incidence using the immunohistochemical method for calcitonin. It developed from mild to severe PCCH and resulted in nodular PCCH and tumor formation. The combined incidence of PCCH and nodular PCCH was increased with age and appeared in 60.7% of 7–15 month old group and 92.7% of 16–24 month old group possibly as a preneoplastic C cell lesion. It is almost an equivalent C cell lesion reported in the human thyroid with familial C cell carcinoma and therefore this Fischer 344 rat can provide a useful animal model to study familial C cell tumor of the thyroid.     

Increased levels of serum tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 but not metalloproteinase-3 in atopic dermatitis

Matrix metalloproteinases and their specific inhibitors, tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs), contribute to inflammation-induced tissue destruction and subsequent remodeling for maintenance of tissue homeostasis. Since the production of these enzymes and their inhibitors is regulated by mediators such as proinflammatory cytokines and growth factors, elevated levels of serum TIMPs and/or MMPs have been documented in patients with several inflammatory disorders. In this study, we examined the role of TIMPs and MMPs in the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis (AD) by evaluating the serum levels of TIMP-1 and MMP-3 in 40 patients with AD and 20 control subjects by ELISA. The serum TIMP-1 levels were significantly higher in AD patients in exacerbation status than in nonatopic subjects, whereas serum MMP-3 levels were not significantly different between them. As a result, AD patients revealed significantly elevated TIMP-1/MMP-3 ratios. The levels of serum TIMP-1 were significantly reduced in AD patients following conventional treatments. Significantly higher values of peripheral eosinophil counts, serum levels of IgE and lactate dehydrogenase, eruption score, and eruption area were noted in the AD patients with elevated TIMP-1 levels when compared with those with normal values. Moreover, the points of chronic eruptions such as lichenification and prurigo were significantly higher in the patients with elevated TIMP-1 levels than those with normal TIMP-1, while those of acute lesions such as oozy/microvesicles and oedema were not different between these groups. Serum TIMP-1 level may be a useful marker to estimate the long-term disease activity of AD.