Single-nucleotide polymorphism (c.309T>G) in the MDM2 gene and lung cancer risk

Murine double minute 2 (MDM2) is a negative regulator of p53. A single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) (rs2279744: c.309T>G) in the promoter region of the MDM2 gene has been shown to result in higher levels of MDM2 RNA and protein. Regarding the contribution of c.309T>G in the MDM2 gene to the lung cancer risk, previous studies are conflicting. In order to evaluate the association between c.309T>G and the lung cancer risk, a case-control study was performed. The MDM2 genotypes were determined in 762 lung cancer patients and in 700 cancer-free control subjects using the Smart Amplification Process. Statistical adjustment was performed for gender, age and pack-years of smoking. The distributions of c.309T>G (T/T, T/G, G/G) were 20.1, 49.7, 30.2% in the case group and 21.7, 47.9, 30.4% in the healthy-control group. There were no overall associations between the MDM2 genotypes and the risk of lung cancer [T/G genotype: Adjusted odds ratio (AOR), 1.30; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.88-1.93; and G/G genotype: AOR, 1.18; 95% CI, 0.78-1.80]. The subgroup analysis of gender, histology, smoking status and epidermal growth factor receptor mutation status also indicated that there was no association with lung cancer. Additionally, the genotypes did not have an effect on the age at the time of diagnosis of lung cancer (P=0.25). In conclusion, the G allele frequency in the lung cancer cases was 0.551, which was similar to other studies. The results of the present study suggest that the c.309T>G is not significantly associated with lung cancer.

Assessment of DDR2, BRAF, EGFR and KRAS mutations as therapeutic targets in non-adenocarcinoma lung cancer patients

Molecular-targeted therapy has not been established in non-adenocarcinoma lung cancer (non-AdLC), as no targets that affect the clinical efficacy of molecular-targeted drugs have yet been identified. In this study, we investigated the frequency of genetic variations in discoidin domain receptor 2 (DDR2), v-raf murine sarcoma viral oncogene homolog B1 (BRAF), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and v-Ki-ras2 Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (KRAS) in non-AdLC patients, in order to evaluate the possibility of genetic mutations in these genes being used as therapeutic targets for the treatment of patients with non-AdLC. For this purpose, we enrolled 150 non-AdLC patients who had undergone surgery at the Gunma University Hospital between December, 2003 and December, 2012. Genetic mutations in the EGFR, KRAS, DDR2 and BRAF genes were detected by a sequencing method or probe assay using DNA derived from cancer tissues. No somatic mutations in DDR2 or BRAF were detected in non-AdLC patients. Conversely, genetic mutations in EGFR exon 19 were found in 3 squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and 3 adenosquamous carcinoma patients, whereas KRAS codon 12 mutations were also found in 3 SCC patients and 1 large-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma patient. EGFR and KRAS mutations were mutually exclusive. This study indicated that, although DDR2 and BRAF mutations may only rarely be used as therapeutic targets, EGFR and KRAS mutations may represent candidate therapeutic targets, at least in the non-AdLC patients investigated.

Clinicopathological and prognostic significance of interleukin-8 expression and its relationship to KRAS mutation in lung adenocarcinoma

Background:

On the basis of our recent findings of oncogenic KRAS-induced interleukin-8 (IL-8) overexpression in non-small cell lung cancer, we assessed the clinicopathological and prognostic significances of IL-8 expression and its relationship to KRAS mutations in lung adenocarcinomas.

Methods:

IL-8 expression was examined by quantitative RT–PCR using 136 of surgical specimens from lung adenocarcinoma patients. The association between IL-8 expression, clinicopathological features, KRAS or EGFR mutation status and survival was analysed.

Results:

IL-8 was highly expressed in tumours from elderly patients or smokers and in tumours with pleural involvement or vascular invasion. In a non-smokers' subgroup, IL-8 level positively correlated with age. IL-8 was highly expressed in tumours with KRAS mutations compared with those with EGFR mutations or wild-type EGFR/KRAS. Lung adenocarcinoma patients with high IL-8 showed significantly shorter disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) than those with low IL8. DFS and OS were significantly shorter in the patients with mutant KRAS/high IL-8 than in those with wild-type KRAS/low IL-8. Cox regression analyses demonstrated that elevated IL-8 expression correlated with unfavourable prognosis.

Conclusions:

Our findings suggest that IL-8 expression is associated with certain clinicopathological features including age and is a potent prognostic marker in lung adenocarcinoma, especially in oncogenic KRAS-driven adenocarcinoma.

Elevated muscle enzymes in a patient with severe hypocalcemia mimicking polymyositis

Abstract We report a case of hypocalcemic myopathy confounded by polymyositis due to an elevated level of serum creatine kinase (CK). A 30-year-old man was referred to our hospital for the treatment of provisionally diagnosed polymyositis. His presentation with tetany, hyporeflexia, and general fatigue, in addition to muscle weakness on admission, prompted us to scrutinize a blood sample in search of secondary myopathy. Blood chemistry revealed an elevated level of serum CK, marked hypocalcemia, hyperphosphatemia, and a low serum level of intact parathyroid hormone. The Ellsworth Howard test confirmed the diagnosis of hypoparathyroidism. Supplementation with calcium and 1α-hydroxyvitamin D3 improved his muscle weakness rapidly, and his serum CK level returned to the normal range. Hypoparathyroidism should be included in differential diagnoses of elevated serum CK.

[Current surgical treatment of primary chest wall tumor]

Primary chest wall tumor is relatively rare. According to the annual report by The Japanese Association for Thoracic Surgery in 2012, 447 primary chest wall tumors were resected in 2010. It was only 0.66% of the total number of operations in general thoracic surgery in Japan. From January 1992 to December 2012, 3,022 cases in general thoracic surgery were operated in our department. Of these, 30 patients (1%) with primary chest wall tumor were surgically treated. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of them and investigated the details of this tumor. The patients group included 11 males and 19 females, with a mean age 57.6 years (range, 16 to 79 years). The majority of these patients were referred to us because of radiographical abnormalities on chest X-ray( 56.7%) or clinical symptoms( 33.3%). The operative procedure was tumor extirpation in 25 cases and chest wall resection in 5 cases. Histologically, 23 cases (76.7%) were benign tumors, 7 cases (23.3%) were malignant tumors. Malignant tumors included aggressive and poor prognostic cases such as malignant fibrous histiocytoma or malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor, on the other hand, extremely rare tumor with low grade malignancy such as parachordoma arising from the chest wall soft tissue was included. In conclusion, although, the standard therapy for malignant primary chest wall tumors has not been established, aggressive surgical resection remains the treatment of choice and to provide an accurate diagnosis.

Postrecurrence survival of surgically resected pulmonary adenocarcinoma patients according to EGFR and KRAS mutation status

The aim of this study was to investigate the prognosis of pulmonary adenocarcinoma patients following postoperative recurrence, according to epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and Kirsten rat sarcoma 2 viral oncogene homolog (KRAS) gene mutation status and recurrence site. In total 58 adenocarcinoma patients with recurrence following surgical resection were retrospectively evaluated between 2002 and 2011. The patients were divided into groups according to the presence or absence of EGFR and KRAS mutations and the clinicopathological characteristics, recurrence sites and postrecurrence survival were compared. EGFR and KRAS mutations were detected in 26 (45%) and 11 patients (19%), respectively. Initial recurrence was distant in 25 (43%), local in 17 (29%) and both distant and local in 16 cases (28%). In EGFR-mutant (EGFR+) cases, bilateral/contralateral lung recurrence was a frequent finding. EGFR+ cases exhibited significantly better outcomes compared to KRAS+ and EGFR-KRAS- (wild-type) cases. The 2-year post-recurrence survival rates were 81, 18 and 47% in EGFR+, KRAS+ and wild-type cases, respectively. The patients with distant organ recurrence exhibited significantly worse survival compared with those without distant recurrence in wild-type, but not in the EGFR+ cases or the entire cohort. Multivariate analysis revealed that EGFR mutations and a number of recurrent lesions were the only statistically significant independent predictors of postrecurrence prognosis. Our results indicated distinct survival differences in recurrent adenocarcinoma patients according to driver mutations. Patients with EGFR-mutated tumors exhibited increased survival, regardless of recurrence at distant sites, whereas patients with KRAS-mutated adenocarcinoma exhibited poor outcome following postoperative recurrence. Therefore, the assessment of driver mutations is essential for predicting postrecurrence survival following surgical resection.

A resectable pancreatic metastasis from pulmonary adenocarcinoma

A 67-year-old man, diagnosed as primary pulmonary adenocarcinoma by intraoperative fine-needle aspiration biopsy cytology, underwent right lower lobectomy with radical lymphadenectomy. The pathological stage was Stage IIA (pT1bN1M0, N-reason: 12L positive). After surgery, nodular shadows without intrathoracic lymph node or distant metastasis were demonstrated metachronously three times by follow-up CT. Wedge resection was performed for each of the tumors, and the pathological diagnosis in each case was primary pulmonary adenocarcinoma, Stage IA (T1b), IA (T1a) and IA (T1a), respectively. Five years after the initial pulmonary resection, a follow-up abdominal CT revealed a20-mm nodular shadow. We suspected that this pancreatic tumor might be a primary rather than metastatic one, therefore, pancreatoduodenectomy was performed. Pathological examination revealed adenocarcinoma that was positive for thyroid transcription factor (TTF)-1, allowing a final diagnosis of metastatic pulmonary adenocarcinoma.This case is very rare, because most cases of pancreatic metastasis from lung cancer have already widespread disease at the time of diagnosis.This case illustrates that pancreatic metastasis from pulmonary adenocarcinoma should be borne in mind, even if the pancreatic tumor is a solitary lesion without additional organ metastasis.

Combined chemotherapy and radiation therapy for central nervous system germ cell tumors: preliminary results of a Phase II study of the Japanese Pediatric Brain Tumor Study Group

The authors conducted a multiinstitutional phase II study to establish a postsurgical combined chemotherapy and radiation therapy regimen for patients with primary germ cell tumors of the brain. After surgical debulking of the tumor and histological verification, patients were divided into three therapeutic groups: good prognosis, intermediate prognosis, and poor prognosis. Patients received two kinds of chemotherapy (three courses) prior to receiving radiation therapy: carboplatin-etoposide combination ([CARB-VP]: carboplatin 450 mg/m(2) on Day 1, etoposide 150 mg/m(2) on Days 1-3) or ifosphamide-cisplatin-etoposide combination ([ICE]: ifosphamide 900 mg/m(2), cisplatin 20 mg/m(2), and etoposide 60 mg/m(2) on Days 1-5). Patients in the good prognosis group (those with germinomas) were treated with CARB-VP followed by local radiation therapy (24 Gy). Patients in the intermediate prognosis group received CARB-VP followed by local radiation therapy (50 Gy); they received five additional chemotherapy treatments. Patients in the poor prognosis group received ICE followed by whole craniospinal radiation therapy; they also received five additional chemotherapy treatments. Eighty-two patients were evaluated. For the 56 patients with germinomas, a 93% rate of complete remission after treatment was achieved. The remission rate was 76% for 21 patients in the intermediate prognosis group, and no recurrence was detected during a median follow-up period of 2.6 years. In the group of five patients with poor prognosis, the disease in three patients progressed during chemotherapy or radiation therapy and they died within 6 months. There were no serious complications in the surviving patients. The authors found their treatment protocols to be currently effective for patients with germinomas and those with an intermediate prognosis.

Establishment of a human lung cancer cell line with high metastatic potential to multiple organs: gene expression associated with metastatic potential in human lung cancer

Convenient and reliable multiple organ metastasis model systems might contribute to understanding the mechanism(s) of metastasis of lung cancer, which may lead to overcoming metastasis and improvement in the treatment outcome of lung cancer. We isolated a highly metastatic subline, PC14HM, from the human pulmonary adenocarcinoma cell line, PC14, using an in vivo selection method. The expression of 34,580 genes was compared between PC14HM and parental PC14 by cDNA microarray analysis. Among the differentially expressed genes, expression of four genes in human lung cancer tissues and adjacent normal lung tissues were compared using real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Although BALB/c nude mice inoculated with parental PC14 cells had few metastases, almost all mice inoculated with PC14HM cells developed metastases in multiple organs, including the lung, bone and adrenal gland, the same progression seen in human lung cancer. cDNA microarray analysis revealed that 981 genes were differentially (more than 3-fold) expressed between the two cell lines. Functional classification revealed that many of those genes were associated with cell growth, cell communication, development and transcription. Expression of three upregulated genes (HRB-2, HS3ST3A1 and RAB7) was higher in human cancer tissue compared to normal lung tissue, while expression of EDG1, which was downregulated, was lower in the cancer tissue compared to the normal lung. These results suggest that the newly established PC14HM cell line may provide a mouse model of widespread metastasis of lung cancer. This model system may provide insights into the key genetic determinants of widespread metastasis of lung cancer.

A new application of a wound retractor for chest wall surgery

Use of a wound retraction (WR) is useful for lung resection by video-assisted thoracic surgery via a mini-thoracotomy. We have employed a WR for chest wall surgery involving surgical rib fixation in a patient with rib fractures, and obtained successful results in terms of a good surgical view and lack of postoperative wound infection. On the basis of our experience, we consider that a WR is useful even for chest wall surgery.