• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.7
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• pp.4325-4328
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• 2013

Introduction: The influence of season at diagnosis on cancer survival has been an intriguing issue for many years. Most studies have shown a possible correlation in between the seasonality and some cancer type survival. With short expected survival, lung cancer is an arena that still is in need of new prognostic factors and models. We aimed to investigate the effect of season of diagnosis on 3 months, 1 and 2 years survival rates and overall survival of non small cell lung cancer patients. Materials and Methods: The files of non small cell lung cancer patients that were stages IIIB and IV at diagnosis were reviewed retrospectively. According to diagnosis date, the patients were grouped into 4 season groups, autumn, winter, spring and summer. Results: A total of 279 advanced non small cell lung cancer patients' files were reviewed. Median overall survival was 15 months in the entire population. Overall 3 months, 1 and 2 years survival rates were 91.0%, 58.2% and 31.2% respectively. The season of diagnosis was significantly correlated with 3 months survival rates, being diagnosed in spring being associated with better survival. Also the season was significantly correlated with T stage of the disease. For 1 and 2 years survival rates and overall survival, the season of diagnosis was not significantly correlated. There was no correlation detected between season and overall survivals according to histological subtypes of non small cell lung cancer. Conclusion: As a new finding in advanced non small cell lung cancer patients, it can be concluded that being diagnosed in spring can be a favorable prognostic factor for short term survival.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.153-156
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• 2002

Synchronous primary lung cancers in the same lobe are rare. Cavitating adenocarcinoma as single lung lesion is unusual. We experienced cavitating adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma in the same lobe of the lung. The patient was a 74-year-old male with chief complaints of hemoptysis. CT scan showd a central mass in right upper lobar bronchus, obstructive pneumonia, and lung abscess in the right upper lobe. Pathologically, the central mass was a 2.3$\times$1$\times$1 cm sized squamous cell carcinoma, and lung abscess was revealed as a 37272 cm sized adenocarcinoma. The patient was discharged without any specific problem after right peumonectomy.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.2579-2581
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• 2016

Background: Neuroendocrine tumors represent 20% of primary lung neoplasms in some registries. According to the WHO classification of 2004, reconsidered for 2015, these lung tumors are divided into 4 groups: typical and atypical carcinoid, small cell and large cell neuroendocrine carcinomas. We report in this paper, for the first time in Lebanon, the distribution and the population characteristics of these tumors. Materials and Methods: This descriptive retrospective study concerned all the pulmonary neuroendocrine tumors (NET) with their characteristics diagnosed in $H\hat{o}tel$ Dieu de France in Beirut, Lebanon from 2001 to 2012, with attention to features like age, gender and subgroup. Results: Of 194 patients with pulmonary NET, 12.4% were typical carcinoid tumors, 3.6% atypical carcinoid, 66.5% small cell lung cancer, 7.7% combined small cell carcinomas and 9.8% large cell neuroendocrine tumors. The mean ages of patients were respectively 51.2 years in typical carcinoid, 64 years in atypical carcinoid, 64.2 years in small cell lung cancers, 67.2 in combined small cell lung cancer and 66.9 in large cells neuroendocrine tumors. The M/F sex ratios were respectively 0.3, 1.3, 1.4, 2.7 and 2.2. Conclusions: The characteristics of lung neuroendocrine tumors in our Lebanese institution are comparable to those reported in the literature.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.8
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• pp.4819-4822
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• 2013

Background: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality in the world. Many factors can protect against or facilitate its development. A TNF family member TRAIL, has a complex physiological role beyond that of merely activating the apoptotic pathway in cancer cells. Vitamin D is converted to its active form locally in the lung, and is also thought to play an important role in lung health. Our goal was to investigate the possible clinical significance of serum sTRAIL and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3) levels in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Materials and Methods: Totals of 18 consecutive adenocarcinoma and 22 squamous cell carcinoma patients with stage-IV non-small cell lung cancer referred to our institute were included in this study. There were 12 men and 6 women, with ages ranging from 38 to 97 (mean 60.5) years with adenocarcinoma, and 20 men and 2 women, with ages ranging from 46 to 80 (mean 65) years with squamous cell carcinoma. Serum levels of sTRAIL and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3) were measured in all samples at the time of diagnosis. Results: sTRAIL levels in NSCLC patients were higher than in the control group. Although there was no correlation between patient survival and sTRAIL levels, the highest sTRAIL levels were correlated with age and cigarette smoking in the adenocarcinoma patients. sTRAIL level in healthy individuals were correlated with serum 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3). Conclusions: Serum sTRAIL concentrations were increased in NSCLC patients, and correlated with age and smoking history, but not with overall survival.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.81 no.3
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• pp.746-752
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• 2020

Basaloid squamous cell carcinoma of the lung is now considered a subtype of squamous cell carcinoma as per the 2015 WHO classification and remains a relatively unknown type of lung cancer due to its rarity. Here we report two cases of basaloid squamous cell carcinoma of the lung and their CT findings to clarify some of the radiologic features of this type of cancer. Two patients aged 85 and 68 years with lung basaloid squamous cell carcinoma visited our institution and underwent surgical resection. On CT, the lesions were 3.1 and 2.8 cm in size, respectively, well-defined, round in shape with lobulated margins and prominent intratumoral necrosis. The latter case was followed after operation for 20 months, and there was no recurrence of the disease on CT. Although very rare, basaloid squamous cell carcinoma should be considered a subtype of lung cancer in tumors sharing these CT findings.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.22
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• pp.9945-9948
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• 2014

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate Tim-3 expression on peripheral CD3-CD56+ natural killer (NK) cells and CD3+CD56+ natural killer T (NKT) cells in lung cancer patients. Materials and Methods: We analyzed Tim-3+CD3-CD56+ cells, Tim-3+CD3-$CD56^{dim}$ cells, Tim-3+CD3-$CD56^{bright}$ cells, and Tim-3+CD3+CD56+ cells in fresh peripheral blood from 79 lung cancer cases preoperatively and 53 healthy controls by flow cytometry. Postoperative blood samples were also analyzed from 21 members of the lung cancer patient cohort. Results: It was showed that expression of Tim-3 was significantly increased on CD3-CD56+ cells, CD3-$CD56^{dim}$ cells and CD3+CD56+ cells in lung cancer patients as compared to healthy controls (p=0.03, p=0.03 and p=0.04, respectively). When analyzing Tim-3 expression with cancer progression, results revealed more elevated Tim-3 expression in CD3-CD56+ cells, CD3-$CD56^{dim}$ cells and CD3+CD56+ cells in cases with advanced stages (III/IV) than those with stage I and II (p=0.02, p=0.04 and p=0.01, respectively). In addition, Tim-3 expression was significantly reduced on after surgical resection of the primary tumor (p<0.01). Conclusions: Tim-3 expression in natural killer cells from fresh peripheral blood may provide a useful indicator of disease progression of lung cancer. Furthermore, it was indicated that Tim-3 might be as a therapeutic target.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.10
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• pp.4947-4951
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• 2012

Objective: Lung cancer is a deadly cancer, whose kills more people worldwide than any other malignancy. SLUG (SNAI2, Snail2) is involved in the epithelial mesenchymal transition in physiological and in pathological contexts and is implicated in the development and progression of lung cancer. Methods: We constructed a lentivirus vector with SLUG shRNA (LV-shSLUG). LV-shSLUG and a control lentivirus were infected into the non-small cell lung cancer cell A549 and real-time PCR, Western blot and IHC were applied to assess expression of the SLUG gene. Cell proliferation and migration were detected using MTT and clony formation methods. Results: Real-time PCR, Western Blot and IHC results confirmed down-regulation of SLUG expression by its shRNA by about 80%~90% at both the mRNA and protein levels. Knockdown of SLUG significantly suppressed lung cancer cell proliferation. Furthermore, knockdown of SLUG significantly inhibited lung cancer cell invasion and metastasis. Finally, knockdown of SLUG induced the down-regulation of Bcl-2 and up-regulation of E-cadherin. Conclusion: These results indicate that SLUG is a newly identified gene associated with lung cancer growth and metastasis. SLUG may serve as a new therapeutic target for the treatment of lung cancer in the future.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.77 no.6
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• pp.258-261
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• 2014

Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) rearrangement, is a kind of driver mutation, accounts for 3%-5% of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). NSCLC patients harboring ALK fusion genes have distinct clinical features and good response to ALK inhibitors. Metastasis from lung cancer to the ovary has rarely been known. We report a case of a 54-year-old woman with bilateral ovarian metastases from ALK rearranged NSCLC. She underwent bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy for ovary masses, which were progressed after cytotoxic chemotherapy although primary lung mass was decreased. Histopathological examination of the ovary tumor showed characteristic adenocarcinoma patterns of the lung and ALK rearrangement.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.201-204
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• 2015

Background: This study was designed to determine the accuracy of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid cytology (BAL) using histopathologic examination of transbronchial biopsy specimens as the gold standard in diagnosis of lung carcinoma at our center. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study was conducted to investigate a total of 388 patients who were suspected of having lung cancer and had undergone fiberoptic bronchoscopy in Shahid Sadoughi hospital from 2006 to 2011. Lung masses were proven to be malignant by histology. Results: Transbronchial lung biopsy (TBLB) identified malignancy in 183 of the 388 cases, including 48 cases (26.2%) with adenocarcinoma, 4(2.1%) with bronchioloalveolar carcinoma, 47(25.6%)with squamous cell carcinoma, 34(18.5%) with well-diffentiated neuroendocrine carcinoma, 35(19.1%) with small cell carcinoma, 14 (7.6%) with non-small cell carcinoma, and 1 (0.54%) with large cell carcinoma. A total of 205 cases were correctly classified as negative. BAL was also performed in 388 patients; 86/103 cases were consistent with the final diagnosis of lung cancer and 188/285 cases were correctly classified as negative. The sensitivity of BAL was 46.9%(CI:41.9%, 51.8%)) and its specificity was 91.6%(CI:88.8%, 94.3%). BAL had a positive predictive value (PPV) of 83.4%(CI:79.7%, 87.1%) and a negative predictive value (NPV) of 65.8%(CI:61%, 70.5%). The overall accuracy of BAL was 70.5% and the exact concordance was 39%. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that BAL cytology is not sensitive but is a specific test for diagnosis of lung carcinoma. If transbronchial lung biopsy is combined with bronchoalveolar lavage, the positive diagnostic rate will be further elevated.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.376-381
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• 1991

From June 1979 to July 1988 for 9 years, total 440 cases of lung cancer[including biopsy and surgical specimen] of the Pusan Paik hospital were examined for the clinical and pathology study. The findings of the study are as follows; [1] The incidence of lung cancer started to increase from 1982, and it again remarkably increased since 1987. Such increase was solely brought by the increase of male lung cancer. Male and female ratio is 5.6: 1. [2] Histopathologically, the most prevalent type is squamous cell carcinoma[60.ado], and next are adenocarcinoma[15.6%] and small cell carcinoma[15.0%]. But in female alone, the most prevalent type is adenocarcinoma[40.3%], and next are squamous cell carcinoma[37.3%] and small cell carcinoma[11.9%]. [3] The absolute number of adenocarcinoma are approximately equally distributed among both sexes until 60 years of age. Above 61 years of age, mostly male was shown while female was not. Most probably, many female patient.- of that old age simply did not visit general hospitals for surgery in Korea. [4] Surgical treatment was performed in 8% of total cases of lung cancer. And most cases showed stage I progression of the cancer. Average size of the cancer was 5 cm in diameter in the operated 35 cases suggesting that the cancer could be detected more than 10 years ago before the time of surgery. [5] Lung cancer affected more in the right lung [right: left=1.6: 1], and each upper lobe of both lungs are affected about 1/4 of cases indicating that about 1/2 of all lung cancer develop from the upper lobes. [6] There are more nonsmokers[67.6%] among the lung cancer patients[male 64.6%, female 82.1%]. Probably, this will mean that there are other potent carcinogenic agents in our environment like automobile exhaust beside tobacco smoke. For the past history of lung disease other than cancer, tuberculosis is the most prevalent disease[16.1%, male 17.4%, female 9.0%]. Most of them is probably not related etiologically though this possibility is not completely denied.