Comprehensive Comparative Molecular Characterization of Young and Old Lung Cancer Patients

Real-world comprehensive genomic and immune profiling reveals distinct age- and sex-based genomic and immune landscapes in tumors of patients with non-small cell lung cancer

Introduction

Younger patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) (<50 years) represent a significant patient population with distinct clinicopathological features and enriched targetable genomic alterations compared to older patients. However, previous studies of younger NSCLC suffer from inconsistent findings, few studies have incorporated sex into their analyses, and studies targeting age-related differences in the tumor immune microenvironment are lacking.

Methods

We performed a retrospective analysis of 8,230 patients with NSCLC, comparing genomic alterations and immunogenic markers of younger and older patients while also considering differences between male and female patients. We defined older patients as those ≥65 years and used a 5-year sliding threshold from <45 to <65 years to define various groups of younger patients. Additionally, in an independent cohort of patients with NSCLC, we use our observations to inform testing of the combinatorial effect of age and sex on survival of patients given immunotherapy with or without chemotherapy.

Results

We observed distinct genomic and immune microenvironment profiles for tumors of younger patients compared to tumors of older patients. Younger patient tumors were enriched in clinically relevant genomic alterations and had gene expression patterns indicative of reduced immune system activation, which was most evident when analyzing male patients. Further, we found younger male patients treated with immunotherapy alone had significantly worse survival compared to male patients ≥65 years, while the addition of chemotherapy reduced this disparity. Contrarily, we found younger female patients had significantly better survival compared to female patients ≥65 years when treated with immunotherapy plus chemotherapy, while treatment with immunotherapy alone resulted in similar outcomes.

Discussion

These results show the value of comprehensive genomic and immune profiling (CGIP) for informing clinical treatment of younger patients with NSCLC and provides support for broader coverage of CGIP for younger patients with advanced NSCLC.

Exploring Synergistic Interactions between Natural Compounds and Conventional Chemotherapeutic Drugs in Preclinical Models of Lung Cancer

In the current work, the synergy between natural compounds and conventional chemotherapeutic drugs is comprehensively reviewed in light of current preclinical research findings. The prognosis for lung cancer patients is poor, with a 5-year survival rate of 18.1%. The use of natural compounds in combination with conventional chemotherapeutic drugs has gained significant attention as a potential novel approach in the treatment of lung cancer. The present work highlights the importance of finding more effective therapies to increase survival rates. Chemotherapy is a primary treatment option for lung cancer but it has limitations such as reduced effectiveness because cancer cells become resistant. Natural compounds isolated from medicinal plants have shown promising anticancer or chemopreventive properties and their synergistic effect has been observed when combined with conventional therapies. The combined use of an anti-cancer drug and a natural compound exhibits synergistic effects, enhancing overall therapeutic actions against cancer cells. In conclusion, this work provides an overview of the latest preclinical research on medicinal plants and plant-derived compounds as alternative or complementary treatment options for lung cancer chemotherapy and discusses the potential of natural compounds in treating lung cancer with minimal side effects.

Comparison of Clinical and Genetic Characteristics Between Younger and Older Lung Cancer Patients

INTRODUCTION

The aim of this study was to analyze the clinical and genetic characteristics of young lung cancer cases, and to compare them with those of older cases.

METHODS

We used the Thoracic Tumors Registry (TTR) as a data source representative of lung cancer cases diagnosed in Spain, and included all cases registered until 9/01/2023 which had information on age at diagnosis or the data needed to calculate it. We performed a descriptive statistical analysis and fitted logistic regressions to analyze how different characteristics influenced being a younger lung cancer patient.

RESULTS

A total of 26,336 subjects were included. Lung cancer cases <50 years old had a higher probability of being women (OR: 1.38; 95% CI: 1.21-1.57), being in stage III or IV (OR: 1.32; 95% CI: 1.08-1.62), not having comorbidities (OR: 5.21; 95% CI: 4.59-5.91), presenting with symptoms at diagnosis (OR: 1.53; 95% CI: 1.29-1.81), and having ALK translocation (OR: 7.61; 95% CI: 1.25-46.32) and HER2 mutation (OR: 5.71; 95% CI: 1.34-24.33), compared with subjects ≥50 years. Among subjects <35 years old (n=61), our study observed a higher proportion of women (59.0% vs. 26.6%; p<0.001), never smokers (45.8% vs. 10.3%; p<0.001), no comorbidities (21.3% vs. 74.0%; p<0.001); ALK translocation (33.3% vs. 4.4%; p<0.001) and ROS1 mutation (14.3% vs. 2.3%; p=0.01), compared with subjects ≥35 years.

CONCLUSIONS

Lung cancer displays differences by age at diagnosis which may have important implications for its clinical management.

Altered expression of ACOX2 in non-small cell lung cancer

Peroxisomes are organelles that play essential roles in many metabolic processes, but also play roles in innate immunity, signal transduction, aging and cancer. One of the main functions of peroxisomes is the processing of very-long chain fatty acids into metabolites that can be directed to the mitochondria. One key family of enzymes in this process are the peroxisomal acyl-CoA oxidases (ACOX1, ACOX2 and ACOX3), the expression of which has been shown to be dysregulated in some cancers. Very little is however known about the expression of this family of oxidases in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). ACOX2 has however been suggested to be elevated at the mRNA level in over 10% of NSCLC, and in the present study using both standard and bioinformatics approaches we show that expression of ACOX2 is significantly altered in NSCLC. ACOX2 mRNA expression is linked to a number of mutated genes, and associations between ACOX2 expression and tumour mutational burden and immune cell infiltration were explored. Links between ACOX2 expression and candidate therapies for oncogenic driver mutations such as KRAS were also identified. Furthermore, levels of acyl-CoA oxidases and other associated peroxisomal genes were explored to identify further links between the peroxisomal pathway and NSCLC. The results of this biomarker driven study suggest that ACOX2 may have potential clinical utility in the diagnosis, prognosis and stratification of patients into various therapeutically targetable options.

Effectiveness of Noninvasive Positive Pressure Ventilation Combined with Enteral Nutrition in the Treatment of Patients with Combined Respiratory Failure after Lung Cancer Surgery and Its Effect on Blood Gas Indexes

Purpose

To investigate the effect of noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV) combined with enteral nutrition support in the treatment of patients with combined respiratory failure after lung cancer surgery and its effect on blood gas indexes.

Methods

A total of 82 patients with combined respiratory failure after lung cancer surgery who were treated in our hospital from March 2016∼September 2021 were selected as the research subjects, and according to the random number table method, they were equally divided into the parenteral nutrition group (n = 41) with NIPPV + parenteral nutrition support treatment and the enteral nutrition group (n = 41) with NIPPV + enteral nutrition support treatment. The curative effects of two groups after treatment were compared, and the pulmonary function indexes (maximum expiratory pressure (PEmax), maximum midexpiratory flow rate (MMF), and maximum ventilation volume (MVV)), blood gas indexes (blood oxygen partial pressure (PaO₂) and partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO₂)), oxygen metabolism indicators [mixed venous oxygen tension (PvO₂) and central venous oxygen saturation (ScvO₂)], nutritional status indicators (hemoglobin (HGB), serum albumin (ALB), and total protein (TP)), and nutritional score before and after treatment in two groups were detected, and the 6-month follow-up of the two groups was recorded.

Results

After treatment, the total effective rate of the enteral nutrition group 95.12% (39/41) was higher than that of the parenteral nutrition group 80.49% (33/41) (P < 0.05). At 3, 12, 24, and 48 hours after the operation, the levels of PEmax, MMF, and MVV in two groups were higher than those before treatment, and the enteral nutrition group was higher than the parenteral nutrition group at the same time point (P < 0.05). At 3, 12, 24, and 48 hours after the operation, the PaO₂ levels in two groups were higher than those before treatment, and the PaCO₂ levels were lower than those before treatment. The PaO₂ levels in the enteral nutrition group were higher than those in the parenteral nutrition group at the same time point, and the PaCO₂ levels were lower than those in the parenteral nutrition group at the same time point (P < 0.05). At 3, 12, 24, and 48 hours after the operation, the levels of PvO₂ and ScvO₂ in two groups were higher than those before treatment, and the enteral nutrition group was higher than the parenteral nutrition group at the same time point (P < 0.05). After treatment, the levels of HGB, ALB, and TP in two groups were higher than those before treatment, and the enteral nutrition group was higher than the parenteral nutrition group (P < 0.05). After treatment, the nutritional scores of the two groups were higher than those before treatment, and the enteral nutrition group was higher than the parenteral nutrition group (P < 0.05). At 6-month postoperative follow-up, the incidence of death in the enteral nutrition group 2.44% (1/41) was lower than that of the parenteral nutrition group 17.07% (7/41) (P < 0.05).

Conclusions

The efficacy of NIPPV combined with enteral nutrition support in treating patients with combined respiratory failure after lung cancer surgery is remarkable. It can improve patients' pulmonary function and blood gas index, correct patients' hypoxia status and the patients' nutritional level was significantly improved, which helped to reduce the mortality rate and improve the prognosis.