• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.64 no.1
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• pp.15-21
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• 2008

Background: The melanoma antigen-encoding (MAGE) genes are known to be expressed in various cancer cells, including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and are silent in all normal tissues except for the testis. In patients with peripheral NSCLC, bronchial washing fluid can be used to detect the MAGE genes, suggesting a diagnosis of lung cancer. In order to evaluate the diagnostic utility of the MAGE test in patients with peripheral NSCLC, bronchial washing fluid was investigated in patients with peripheral pulmonary nodules, which were invisible as detected by bronchoscopy. Methods: Bronchial washing fluid from 37 patients was used for cytological examinations and MAGE gene detection, using RT-nested-PCR of common A1-A6 mRNA. Results were compared to a final diagnosis of patients as confirmed by pathology. Results: Among the 37 subjects, NSCLC was diagnosed in 21 patients, and benign pulmonary diseases were diagnosed in 16 patients. MAGE mRNA was detected in 10 of 21 (47.6%) NSCLC patients, while conventional cytology examinations were positive for MAGE expression in 2 of 21 (9.5%) cases. MAGE expression was observed in 4 of 16 (25%) benign pulmonary disease patients. Conclusion: The MAGE test of bronchial washing fluid can be used as a sensitive predictor of peripheral NSCLC patients.

• Journal of KIISE:Computing Practices and Letters
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• v.7 no.5
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• pp.451-457
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• 2001

This paper describes automated methods for the detection of lung nodules and their volume calculation on CT scans. Gray-level threshold methods were used to segment the thorax from the background and then the lung parenchymes from the thoracic wall and mediastinum. A scanning-ball algorithm was applied to more accurately delineate the lung boundaries, thereby incorporating peripheral nodules contiguous to pleural surface within the segmented lung parenchymes. The lesions which have the high gray value were extracted from the segmented lung parenchymes. The selected lesions include nodules, blood vessels and partial volume effects. The discriminating features such as size, solid-shape, average, standard deviation and correlation coefficient of selected lesions were used to distinguish true nodules from pseudo-lesions. Volume and circularity calculation were performed for each identified nodules. The identified nodules were sorted in descending order of the volume. These method were applied to 621 image slices of 19 cases. The sensitivity was 95% and there was no false-positive result.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.499-505
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• 2010

Background: There have been several reports using animal experiments that CD1-restricted T-cells have a key role in tumor immunity. To address this issue, we studied the expression of markers for CD1c+ myeloid dendritic cells (DCs) isolated from peripheral blood in the clinical setting. Material and Method: A total of 24 patients with radiologically suspected or histologically confirmed lung cancer who underwent pulmonary resection were enrolled in this study. The patients were divided according to histology findings into three groups: primary adenocarcinoma of lung (PACL), primary squamous cell carcinoma of lung (PSqCL) and benign lung disease (BLD). We obtained 20 mL of peripheral venous blood from patients using heparin-coated syringes. Using flow-cytometry after labeling with monoclonal antibodies, data acquisition and analysis were done. Result: The ratio of CD1c+CD19- dendritic cells to CD1c+ dendritic cells were not significantly different between the three groups. CD40 (p=0.171), CD86 (p=0.037) and HLA-DR (p=0.036) were less expressed in the PACL than the BLD group. Expression of CD40 (p=0.319), CD86 (p=0.036) and HLA-DR (p=0.085) were less expressed in the PACL than the PSqCL group, but the differences were only significant for CD86. Expression of co-stimulatory markers was not different between the PSqCL and BLD groups. Expression of markers for activated DCs were dramatically lower in the PACL group than in groups with other histology (CD40 (p=0.005), CD86 (p=0.013) HLA-DR (p=0.004). Conclusion: These results suggest the possibility that CD1c+ myeloid DCs participate in control of the tumor immunity system and that low expression of markers results in lack of an immune response triggered by dendritic cells in adenocarcinoma of the lung.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.64 no.5
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• pp.362-368
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• 2008

Background: LKB1(STK11) is a serine/threonine kinase that functions as a tumor growth suppressor. The functions of LKB1 in lung cancer are not completely understood. This study evaluated the relationship between LKB1 protein expression and the clinicopathological features in lung cancer tissues. Methods: The expression of LKB1 was studied in paraffin-embedded tumor blocks, which were obtained from 77 patients who had undergone surgery at Wonkwang University Hospital. The expression of the LKB1 protein was considered positive if the staining intensity in the tumor tissue adjacent to the normal airway epithelium was >30%. Results: The LKB1 expression was positive in 31 (40%) of samples. Loss of LKB1 expression was significantly associated with being male, smoking history, and squamous cell carcinoma. In the peripheral sites, the loss of LKB1 expression was strongly associated with a smoking history. A loss of LKB1 expression was more frequently associated with progression according to TNM staging, particularly more than T2, N progression. Conclusion: There was a significant relationship between the loss of the LKB1 protein and gender, smoking history, and histological type in primary lung cancer. Although LKB1 expression was not found to be a significant prognostic factor, further studies with a larger cohort of patient's lung cancer tissue samples will be needed to confirm this.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.24-32
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• 2000

Purpose: Microsatellite instability(MSI) is frequently used as an indicator of microsatellite mutator phenotype(MMP) tumors. MSI has been observed in a percentage of non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC). However, its role in tumorigenesis of NSCLC remains unknown. The frequency and pattern of MSI in NSCLC were evaluated and clinical parameters of MSI-positive tumors with those of MSS(microsatellite stable) tumors were compared. Materials and Methods: Twenty surgically resected NSCLCs were analyzed for 15 microsatellite markers located at chromosomes 3p and 9p. The peripheral blood lymphocytes of patients were used as the source of the normal DNA. Results: 1) Of 20 cases, 8(40%) demonstrated MSI. 2) Instability was observed more frequently in tri- and tetra-nucleotide repeats than in dinucleotide repeats. In all cases, instability appeared as a shift of individual allelic bands. 3) LDH was observed in 10(50%) of 20 tumors analyzed. 4) Of 20 cases, MSI-H tumor(showing MSI in the majority of markers) was absent. There were 5 MSI-L tumors(showing MSI in a greater than 10% of markers). 5) No significant difference was observed between MSI-L tumors and MSI-negative tumors in terms of clinicopathologic features such as pack-year history of smoking, histologic subtype, and(delete) stage of disease. There was also no significant difference in the incidence of LDH in relation to the status of MSI. Conclusion: These data strongly suggest that MSI plays different roles in lung and colon cancer. MMP pathway appears to be far less important in the tumorigenesis of NSCLC, caused mainly by cigarette smoke, with little familial tendency.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.616-623
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• 1994

Objectives: Careful evaluation about mediastinal involvement is important in the management of patients with non-small cell lung cancer. Invasive staging procedure such as mediastinoscopy is advocated because of the unreliability of noninvasive staging methods such as CT, MRI. We compared differences between pre- and postoperative staging in non-small cell lung cancer without lymphadenopathy on CT scan and investigated the methods for more accurate preoperative staging. Methods & Results: 1) Records of a total of 41 patients with preoperative $T_{1-3}N_0M_0$ non-small cell lung cancer were reviewed and the histologic types of tumors were squamous cell carcinoma in 32 cases, adenocarcinoma in 6 cases and large cell carcinoma in 3 cases. Twenty-four cases were central lesions and seventeen cases were peripheral lesions. 2) Among the 32 cases with preoperative $T_2$, 2 cases were identified postoperatively as $T_3$ with invasion of chest wall and among 6 cases with preoperative $T_3$, 1 case was identified postoperatively as $T_4$ with invasion of aorta and pulmonary arteries. 3) After the operation of 35 cases with $T_{1-2}$, 5 cases were $N_1$ and 3 cases were $N_2$ postoperatively. After the operation of 6 cases with $T_3$, 2 cases were $N_1$ and 3 cases were $N_2$ postoperatively. Preoperative $T_3$ showed more intrathoracic lymph node metastases and higher $N_2/N_1$ involvement ratio than preoperative $T_{1-2}$. 4) Complete surgical resections were done in 34 out of 41 cases. Incomplete resection were done in all postoperative $N_2$ tumors. Conclusion: Invasive staging procedures such as mediastinoscopy should be considered in the case of preoperative $T_3$ non-small cell lung cancer even though mediastinal lymphadenopathy is not recognized on the CT scan of the chest.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.36 no.12
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• pp.943-951
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• 2003

We are now detecting an increasing number of solitary pulmonary nodules (SPNs) that are difficult to diagnosis. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the useful radiologic findings for differentiating benign from malignant pulmonary nodules. Material and Method: The high-resolution CT (HRCT) findings of SPNs smaller than 3 cm in largest diameter were evaluated in 134 patients with malignant and benign nodules in regard to internal structures, margin characteristics, and surrounding parenchymal responses. Result: The nodules with the area of ground-glass attenuation (GGA) greater then 50% were noted in adenocarcinoma, inflammatory lesions and some of metastatic tumors, and the lesions greater than 90% were noted only in adenocarcinoma. The area of GGA in non-adenocarcinoma, benign tumors and tuberculomas were less than 50%, and mainly less than 10%. The findings of air bronchogram, spiculation, lobulation, vascular involvement, and pleural indentation were some noted at every types of malignant tumors, but especially high over than 30% in adenocarcinomas. Conclusion: Most peripheral lung adenocarcinomas form a characteristic radiologic findings especially in HRCT. Evaluation of these findings would be helpful in differentiating between lung cancer, especially adenocarcinoma, and other lesions.

• The Korean Journal of Cytopathology
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.101-105
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• 2004

Fine needle aspiration (FNA) cytological examination is an appropriate method for the evaluation of pulmonary nodules. In major types of lung cancer, Its diagnostic accuracy is quite high. However, it is sometimes difficult, using this technique, to differentiate between some unusual phenotypes including adenosquamous carcinoma, bronchioloalveolar carcinoma (BAC), neuroendocrine tumor, mucoepidermoid carcinoma, and sclerosing hemangioma. Here, we present a case involving extremely well differentiated adenosquamous carcinoma, mimicking benign lesions, such as pulmonary scar and adenomatoid malformation with squamous metaplasia. The patient was a 68-year-old man presenting with a solitary pulmonary nodule$(1.6\times1.6cm)$, which was incidentally found at the periphery of the right lower lobe. FNA revealed some clusters of glandular cells with minimal atypia, in addition to squamous cells at a nearly full maturational state. Histological examination verified the cytological diagnosis on a lobectomy specimen. The tumor exhibited a well differentiated adenocarcinoma component, mimicking the bronchioles in scarred lung tissue. and a well differentiated squamous cell carcinoma component, mimucking the squamous cell nests of adenoacanthoma, in the other organs. In the present case, the possibility of adenosquamous carcinoma should have been considered if squamous cells were seen in the FNA from the peripheral pulmonary nodule, even though they appeared to be benign.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.74 no.5
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• pp.235-239
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• 2013

Several chemotherapeutic agents are known to develop pulmonary toxicities in cancer patients, although the frequency of incidence varies. Cyclophosphamide is a commonly encountered agent that is toxic to the lung. Additionally, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) being used for the recovery from neutropenia can exacerbate lung injury. However, most of the patients reported previously that the drug-induced interstitial pneumonitis were developed after three to four cycles of chemotherapy. Hereby, we report a case of peripheral T cell lymphoma which rapidly developed a fatal interstitial pneumonitis after the first cycle of combined chemotherapy with cyclophosphamide, adriamycin, vincristine, prednisolone, and etoposide and the patient had also treated with G-CSF during neutropenic period.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.52 no.2
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• pp.166-173
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• 2002

Transient peripheral eosinophilia occurs in several disorders, such as allergic diseases, cancer, and parasitic infections. However, in most cases, their presence is not accompanied by tissue destruction or organ dysfunction. In certain disease states, eosinophils can accumulate in any organ in the body and cause tissue destruction as a result of the eosinophil infiltration or the toxic effects of the degranulated proinflammatory products. Idiopathic hypereosinophilic syndrome is a rare disorder characterized by persistent eosinophilia of an unknown origin, usually associated with a dysfunction of organs such as the heart, lung, skin, and nervous system. Idiopathic hypereosinophilic syndrome usually has an indolent course over a period of several months. However, in some cases, they have grave symptoms if vital organs such as heart and lung are infiltrated. Here we report a case of idiopathic hypereosinophilic syndrome presenting acute pulmonary edema involving the heart, bone marrow, and lung with a review of the relevant literatures.