Ugonin P inhibits lung cancer motility by suppressing DPP-4 expression via promoting the synthesis of miR-130b-5p.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide, and the survival rate of metastatic lung cancer is exceedingly low. Helminthostatchys Zeylanica (H. Zeylanica) is a Chinese herbal medicine renowned for its anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, and anti-cancer activities in various cellular and animal studies. The current study evaluated the effects of H. Zeylanica derivatives on lung cancer cells. We determined that dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) expression levels were higher in lung cancer tissues than in normal tissues. We also determined that DPP-4 expression levels were higher in the metastatic stage and strongly correlated with lung cancer survival rates. An H. Zeylanica derivative (ugonin P) was shown to inhibit DPP-4 mRNA and protein expression in two lung cancer cell lines in a dose-dependent manner. Ugonin P was shown to decrease migration and invasion activities in lung cancer cells while promoting the synthesis of miR-130b-5p, which was found to negatively regulate DPP-4 protein expression and cell motility in lung cancer. We determined that ugonin P suppresses the DPP-4-dependent migration and invasion of lung cancer cells by downregulating the RAF/MEK/ERK signalling pathway and enhancing the expression of miR-130b-5p. This study provides compelling evidence that ugonin P could be used to develop novel therapeutic agents for the treatment of lung cancer.

Celastrol attenuates human parvovirus B19 NS1­induced NLRP3 inflammasome activation in macrophages.

Human parvovirus B19 (B19V) has been strongly associated with a variety of inflammatory disorders, such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), inflammatory bowel disease and systemic lupus erythematosus. Non­structural protein 1 (NS1) of B19V has been demonstrated to play essential roles in the pathological processes of B19V infection due to its regulatory properties on inflammatory cytokines. Celastrol, a quinone methide isolated from Tripterygium wilfordii, has displayed substantial potential in treating inflammatory diseases, such as psoriasis and RA. However, little is known about the effects of celastrol on B19V NS1­induced inflammation. Therefore, cell viability assay, migration assay, phagocytosis analysis, zymography assay, ELISA and immunoblotting were conducted to verify the influences of celastrol on macrophages. The present study reported the attenuating effects of celastrol on B19V NS1­induced inflammatory responses in macrophages derived from human acute monocytic leukemia cell lines, U937 and THP­1. Although the migration was not significantly decreased by celastrol in both U937 and THP­1 macrophages, significantly decreased viability, migration and phagocytosis were detected in both B19V NS1­activated U937 and THP­1 macrophages in the presence of celastrol. Additionally, celastrol significantly decreased MMP­9 activity and the levels of inflammatory cytokines, including IL­6, TNF­α and IL­1ß, in B19V NS1­activated U937 and THP­1 cells. Notably, significantly decreased levels of NLR family pyrin domain­containing 3, apoptosis­associated speck­like, caspase­1 and IL­18 proteins were observed in both B19V NS1­activated U937 and THP­1 cells in the presence of celastrol, indicating the involvement of the inflammasome pathway. To the best of our knowledge, the present study is the first to report on the attenuating effects of celastrol on B19V NS1­induced inflammatory responses in macrophages, suggesting a therapeutic role for celastrol in B19V NS1­related inflammatory diseases.

Visfatin upregulates VEGF-C expression and lymphangiogenesis in esophageal cancer by activating MEK1/2-ERK and NF-κB signaling.

Lymph node metastasis is a recognized prognostic factor in esophageal cancer. Adipokines, including visfatin, and the molecule vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-C, are implicated in lymphangiogenesis, but whether any association exists between esophageal cancer, adipokines and VEGF-C is unknown. We examined the relevance of adipokines and VEGF-C in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) in the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) databases. We found significantly higher levels of visfatin and VEGF-C expression in esophageal cancer tissue than in normal tissue. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining identified that higher levels of visfatin and VEGF-C expression were correlated with advanced stage ESCC. Visfatin treatment of ESCC cell lines upregulated VEGF-C expression and VEGF-C-dependent lymphangiogenesis in lymphatic endothelial cells. Visfatin induced increases in VEGF-C expression by activating the mitogen-activated protein kinase kinases1/2-extracellular signal-regulated kinase (MEK1/2-ERK) and Nuclear Factor Kappa B (NF-κB) signaling cascades. Transfecting ESCC cells with MEK1/2-ERK and NF-κB inhibitors (PD98059, FR180204, PDTC, and TPCK) and siRNAs inhibited visfatin-induced increases in VEGF-C expression. It appears that visfatin and VEGF-C are promising therapeutic targets in the inhibition of lymphangiogenesis in esophageal cancer.

Culture-Positive and Culture-Negative Empyema After Thoracoscopic Decortication: A Comparison of Short-term and Long-term Outcomes.

Background: Empyema thoracis is a serious infectious disease and is associated with high morbidity and mortality. The perioperative outcomes between culture-positive and culture-negative empyema after thoracoscopic decortication remained controversial, especially since there were no studies that reported the survival outcomes between culture-positive and culture-negative empyema. Methods: This single-institute study involved a retrospective analysis. Patients with empyema thoracis who underwent thoracoscopic decortication between January 2012 and December 2021 were included in the study. Patients were grouped into a culture-positive group and a culture-negative group according to culture results obtained no later than 2 weeks after surgery. Results: A total of 1087 patients with empyema received surgery, and 824 were enrolled after exclusion. Among these, 366 patients showed positive culture results and 458 patients showed negative results. Longer intensive care unit stays (11.69 vs 5.64 days, P < .001), longer ventilator usage (24.70 vs 14.01 days, P = .002), and longer postoperative hospital stays (40.83 vs 28.37 days, P < .001) were observed in the culture-positive group. However, there was no significant difference in 30-day mortality between the 2 groups (5.2% in culture negative vs 5.0% in culture positive, P = .913). The 2-year survival was not significantly different between the 2 groups (P = .236). Conclusions: Patients with culture-positive or culture-negative empyema who underwent thoracoscopic decortication showed similar short-term and long-term survival outcomes. A higher risk of death was associated with advanced age, a higher Charlson Comorbidity Index score, phase III empyema, and a cause other than pneumonia.

Bone sialoprotein promotes lung cancer osteolytic bone metastasis via MMP14-dependent mechanisms.

Bone metastases during lung cancer are common. Bone sialoprotein (BSP), a non-collagenous bone matrix protein, plays important functions in bone mineralization processes and in integrin-mediated cell-matrix interactions. Importantly, BSP induces bone metastasis in lung cancer, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. This study therefore sought to determine the intracellular signaling pathways responsible for BSP-induced migration and invasion of lung cancer cells to bone. Analyses of the Kaplan-Meier, TCGA, GEPIA and GENT2 databases revealed that high levels of BSP expression in lung tissue samples were associated with significantly decreased overall survival (hazard ratio = 1.17; p = 0.014) and with a more advanced clinical disease stage (F-value = 2.38, p < 0.05). We also observed that BSP-induced stimulation of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-14 promoted lung cancer cell migration and invasion via the PI3K/AKT/AP-1 signaling pathway. Notably, BSP promoted osteoclastogenesis in RAW 264.7 cells exposed to RANKL and BSP neutralizing antibody reduced osteoclast formation in conditioned medium (CM) from lung cancer cell lines. Finally, at 8 weeks after mice were injected with A549 cells or A549 BSP shRNA cells, the findings revealed that the knockdown of BSP expression significantly reduced metastasis to bone. These findings suggest that BSP signaling promotes lung bone metastasis via its direct downstream target gene MMP14, which reveals a novel potential therapeutic target for lung cancer bone metastases.

ANGPTL2 promotes VEGF-A synthesis in human lung cancer and facilitates lymphangiogenesis.

Lung cancer is an extremely common cancer and metastatic lung cancer has a greatly low survival rate. Lymphangiogenesis is essential for the development and metastasis of lung cancer. The adipokine angiopoietin-like protein 2 (ANGPTL2) regulates tumor progression and metastasis, although the functions of ANGPTL2 in lung cancer are unknown. Analysis of data from TCGA genomics program, the GEPIA web server and the Oncomine database revealed that higher levels of ANGPTL2 expression were correlated with progressive disease and lymph node metastasis. ANGPTL2 enhanced VEGF-A-dependent lymphatic endothelial cell (LEC) tube formation and migration. Integrin α5ß1, p38 and nuclear factor (NF)-κB signaling mediated ANGPTL2-regulated lymphangiogenesis. Importantly, overexpression ANGPTL2 facilitated tumor growth and lymphangiogenesis in vivo. Thus, ANGPTL2 is a promising therapeutic object for treating lung cancer.

The outcomes of thoracoscopic decortication between fungal empyema and bacterial empyema.

BACKGROUND: Fungal empyema is an uncommon disease and is associated with a high mortality rate. Surgical intervention is suggested in stage II and III empyema. However, there were no studies that reported the outcomes of surgery for fungal empyema. METHODS: This study is a retrospective analysis in a single institute. Patients with empyema thoracis who underwent thoracoscopic decortication between January 2012 and December 2021 were included in the study. We separated the patients into a fungal empyema group and a bacterial empyema group according to culture results. We used 1:3 propensity score matching to reduce selection bias. RESULTS: There were 1197 empyema patients who received surgery. Of these, 575 patients showed positive culture results and were enrolled. Twenty-eight patients were allocated to the fungal empyema group, and the other 547 patients were placed in the bacterial empyema group. Fungal empyema showed significantly longer intensive care unit stay (16 days vs. 3 days, p = 0.002), longer median ventilator usage duration (20.5 days vs. 3 days, p = 0.002), longer hospital stay duration (40 days vs. 17.5 days, p < 0.001) and a higher 30-day mortality rate (21.4% vs. 5.9%, p < 0.001). Fungal empyema revealed significantly poorer 1-year survival rate than bacterial empyema before matching (p < 0.001) but without significant difference after matching. CONCLUSIONS: The fungal empyema patients had much worse surgical outcomes than the bacterial empyema patients. Advanced age and high Charlson Comorbidity Index score are independent predictors for poor prognosis. Prompt surgical intervention combined with the use of antifungal agents was the treatment choice for fungal empyema.

Genetic Associations of Visfatin Polymorphisms with EGFR Status and Clinicopathologic Characteristics in Lung Adenocarcinoma.

Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is the most common histologic type of lung cancer. Mutations of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene are among the most common genetic alterations in LUAD and are the targets of EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors. The enzyme visfatin is involved in the generation of the oxidized form of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) and regulation of intracellular adenosine triphosphate (ATP), critical processes in cancer cell survival and growth. This study explored the relationship between visfatin single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with EGFR status and the clinicopathologic development of LUAD in a cohort of 277 Taiwanese men and women with LUAD. Allelic discrimination of four visfatin SNPs rs11977021, rs61330082, rs2110385 and rs4730153 was determined using a TaqMan Allelic Discrimination assay. We observed higher prevalence rates of advanced (T3/T4) tumors and distant metastases in EGFR wild-type patients carrying the rs11977021 CT + TT and rs61330082 GA + AA genotypes, respectively, compared with patients carrying the CC and GG genotypes. EGFR wild-type patients carrying the rs11977021 CT + TT genotypes were also more likely to develop severe (stage III/IV) malignancy compared with patients carrying the CC genotype. An analysis that included all patients found that the association persisted between the rs11977021 CT + TT and rs61330082 GA + AA genotypes and the development of T3/T4 tumors compared with patients carrying the rs11977021 CC and rs61330082 GG genotypes. In conclusion, these data indicate that visfatin SNPs may help to predict tumor staging in LUAD, especially in patients with EGFR wild-type status.

Cigarette smoke-promoted increases in osteopontin expression attract mesenchymal stem cell recruitment and facilitate lung cancer metastasis.

INTRODUCTION: Cigarette smoking is the main risk factor for lung cancer. MSCs in the TME promoting tumor angiogenesis, growth, and metastasis. SIBLING proteins enable cancer cells to extend, invade and metastasize. OBJECTIVES: Cigarette smoke promotes the progression and metastasis of lung cancer, although how this occurs is poorly understood. We evaluated the impact of whether cigarette smoking motivates SIBLING protein expression and is involved in MSC-mediated lung tumor metastasis. METHODS: We investigated the expression of OPN in the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases and confirmed the results by immunohistochemistry (IHC), qPCR and Western blotting (WB) of lung cancer cells and tissues. The effect of OPN on the recruitment and adhesion of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to lung cancer cells and lung cancers metastasis was investigated by Transwell, adhesion assays. A series of in vitro and in vivo experiments were conducted to demonstrate the mechanisms by which OPN modulates recruitment and adhesion of MSCs to lung cancer cells and lung cancer metastasis. RESULTS: Cigarette smoke extract (CSE) and benzo[α]pyrene (B[α]P) increased levels of OPN expression and facilitated the recruitment and adhesion of MSCs to lung cancer cells via JAK2/STAT3 signaling. We also observed that OPN promotes tumor-associated MSC (TA-MSC) formation through the OPN receptor (integrins αvß1, αvß3, αvß5 or CD44), inducing lung cancer cell migration and invasion. In an orthotopic mouse model of lung cancer, increases in OPN expression promoted by cigarette smoke upregulated MSC recruitment and facilitated lung cancer metastasis. Knockdown of OPN expression inhibited cigarette smoke-induced lung cancer metastasis in vivo. CONCLUSION: Cigarette smoke increases OPN expression through the JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway to attract MSC cell recruitment and promote lung cancer metastasis. Our findings offer important insights into how lung cancer metastasis develops in smokers.

The perioperative outcomes of uniport versus two-port and three-port video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery in lung cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Uniport video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) has been applied widely for the treatment of lung cancer in recent years. Some studies have reported that uniport VATS might provide better outcomes than multiport VATS. However, the perioperative outcomes of uniport VATS compared with two-port and three-port VATS, respectively, have yet to be studied at a comprehensive scale. This meta-analysis study compares the perioperative efficacy among uniport, two-port, and three-port VATS. METHODS: We searched studies published before October 1, 2019, by using Web of Science databases, Ovid Medline, Embase, and PubMed. Studies that compared uniport VATS with two-port or three-port VATS for patients with lung cancer were included. Operative time, perioperative blood loss, number of lymph nodes retrieved, conversion rate, duration of postoperative chest tube drainage, length of hospital stay (LoS), visual analogue pain scores on postoperative day (POD) 1 and POD 3, and overall morbidity were evaluated. RESULTS: Sixteen studies that compared uniport VATS with two-port or three-port VATS in the treatment of lung cancer were included. Uniport VATS showed less blood loss, a shorter duration of postoperative drainage and a lower visual analogue pain score on POD 3 than two-port VATS; it showed a shorter duration of postoperative drainage, a shorter LoS, and lower visual analogue pain scores on POD 1 and POD 3 than three-port VATS. There were no significant differences in the number of lymph nodes retrieved, operative time, conversion rate, and overall morbidity rate when comparing uniport VATS with two-port VATS or three-port VATS. CONCLUSIONS: Uniport VATS might provide better perioperative outcomes than either two-port or three-port VATS in lung cancer treatment.

Propensity score analysis comparing survival between definitive chemoradiotherapy and esophagectomy with adjuvant chemoradiotherapy in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of the current study is to compare definitive chemoradiotherapy and esophagectomy with adjuvant chemoradiotherapy in patients with cT1-3/N0-3 esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in survival. METHODS: Records from 2008 to 2014 of 4931 patients with clinical T1-3/N0-3 esophageal squamous cell carcinoma receiving definitive chemoradiotherapy or esophagectomy with adjuvant chemoradiotherapy were obtained from the Taiwan Cancer Registry. Univariable and multivariable analyses were performed and propensity score matching was used to minimize the bias. Overall survival was compared between definitive chemoradiotherapy and esophagectomy with adjuvant chemoradiotherapy, and also in the three different clinical stages. RESULTS: Definitive chemoradiotherapy was performed on 4381 patients, and 550 patients received esophagectomy adjuvant chemoradiotherapy. Each group produced 456 patients for comparison after propensity score matching. The 1-year, 2-year, and 3-year overall survival rates for matched patients in with definitive chemoradiotherapy group were 57.18%, 31.92%, and 23.8%. The 1-year, 2-year, and 3-year overall survival rates for matched patients treated in the esophagectomy with adjuvant chemoradiotherapy group were 72.35%, 45.74%, and 34.04%(p<0.0001). In multivariable analysis, treatment modality was an independent prognostic factor. Esophagectomy with adjuvant chemoradiotherapy provided better survival outcome than definitive chemoradiotherapy for patients with clinical stage II/III disease. As for patients with clinical stage I disease, there was no significant survival difference between definitive chemoradiotherapy and esophagectomy with adjuvant chemoradiotherapy. CONCLUSIONS: Esophagectomy with adjuvant chemoradiotherapy provided better survival than definitive chemoradiotherapy in clinical II/III esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. However, more data are needed to conduct a convincing conclusion in clinical stage I patients.

Clinical Outcome of Intraoperative Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve Monitoring during Thoracoscopic Esophagectomy and Mediastinal Lymph Node Dissection for Esophageal Cancer.

Mediastinal lymph dissection in esophagectomy for patients with esophageal cancer is important. The dissection of recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) lymph nodes could cause RLN injury, vocal cord palsy, pneumonia, and respiratory failure. This retrospective study aimed to evaluate the effects of intraoperative RLN monitoring in esophagectomy and mediastinal lymph node dissection in preventing RLN injury and vocal cord palsy. This study included 75 patients who underwent minimally invasive esophagectomy and mediastinal lymph node dissection for esophageal cancer with (38 patients) and without (37 patients) IONM at Changhua Christian Hospital from 2015 to 2020. The surgical and clinical outcomes were reviewed. Patients in the IONM group had more advanced clinical T status, shorter operation time (570 vs. 633 min, p = 0.007), and less blood loss (100 mL vs. 150 mL, p = 0.019). The IONM group had significantly less postoperative vocal palsy (10.5% vs. 37.8%, p = 0.006) and pneumonia (13.2% vs. 37.8%, p = 0.014) than that in the non-IONM group. IONM was an independent factor for less postoperative vocal cord palsy that was related to postoperative 2-year survival. This study demonstrated that IONM could reduce the incidence of postoperative vocal cord palsy and pneumonia.

Pleural Peels Tissue Culture plus Pleural Fluid Culture Help to Improve Culture Rate for Empyema.

BACKGROUND: Empyema is known as a serious infection, and outcomes of empyema cases remain poor. Pleural fluid culture and blood culture have been reported to give unsatisfactory results. We introduce a novel pleural peels tissue culture during surgery and aim to improve the culture results of empyema. METHODS: This was a retrospective study and was obtained from our institute. Patients with stage II or III empyema undergoing video-assisted thoracic surgery decortication from January 2019 to June 2021 were included in the study. RESULTS: There were 239 patients that received a pleural peels tissue culture, a pleural fluid culture, and a blood culture concurrently during the perioperative period. Of these, 153 patients had at least one positive culture and 86 patients showed triple negative culture results. The positive culture rates were 46.9% for pleural peels tissue cultures, 46.0% for pleural fluid cultures, and 10% for blood cultures. The combination of pleural peels tissue culture and pleural fluid culture increased the positive rate to 62.7%. Streptococcus species and Staphylococcus species were the most common pathogens. CONCLUSION: The combination of pleural peels tissue culture and pleural fluid culture is an effective method to improve the positive culture rate in empyema.

Comparison of extended segmentectomy with traditional segmentectomy for stage I lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: For stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), lobectomy and segmentectomy are still controversial operations. Extended segmentectomy was proposed to make larger safe margins than segmentectomy. Image-guided video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (iVATS) is useful to accomplish extended segmentectomy. We aimed to compare the effects of iVATS extended segmentectomy to the effects of traditional segmentectomy for stage I NSCLC. METHODS: This study is a retrospective analysis in a single institute. Patients with stage I NSCLC who received segmentectomy between January 2017 and September 2020 were included. Patients were distributed to iVATS extended segmentectomy (group A), and traditional segmentectomy (group B). The impacts of the different surgical methods on resection margin were assessed. RESULTS: There were 116 patients enrolled in this study. Sixty-two patients distributed in group A, and the other 54 patients in group B. The resection margin to a staple line was 17.94 mm in group A versus 14.15 mm in group B, p = 0.037. The margin/tumor diameter ratio was 2.08 in group A versus 1.39 in group B, p = 0.003. The enough margin rate was 75.81% and 57.41%, respectively, for group A and group B. The subgroup analysis of iVATS extended segmentectomy showed that T1a lesions had larger margin distances than did T1b lesions (19.85 mm vs. 14.83 mm, p = 0.026). CONCLUSIONS: The iVATS extended segmentectomy can provide more resection margin than traditional segmentectomy. Segmentectomy is more suitable to perform when the nodule's diameter is less than 10 mm.

Spontaneous esophageal rupture following perforated peptic ulcer: a report of two cases.

BACKGROUND: Spontaneous esophageal rupture, also called Boerhaave's syndrome, is relatively uncommon but may result in high morbidity and mortality. Synchronous presentation of spontaneous esophageal rupture and perforated peptic ulcer was rare and may contribute to the difficulty of achieving a correct diagnosis. CASE PRESENTATION: We reported two patients with spontaneous esophageal rupture following perforated peptic ulcer. Both patients were successfully treated with thoracoscopic primary repair of esophageal rupture. The first patient underwent peptic ulcer repair via laparotomy. The second patient underwent laparoscopic duodenorrhaphy. Both patients resumed oral intake smoothly and were discharged uneventfully. CONCLUSION: Minimally invasive approaches are safe and feasible for both esophageal rupture and perforated peptic ulcer in patients diagnosed within 24 h and without shock.

Recent advances in minimally invasive esophagectomy for squamous esophageal cancer.

Over the past decade there has been tremendous development in the clinical application of minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) for the treatment of squamous esophageal carcinoma. The major challenges in the performance of MIE include limitations in visualization and manipulation within the confined, rigid thoracic cavity; the need for adequate patient positioning and anesthetic techniques to accommodate the surgical exposure; and changes in the surgical steps for achieving radical nodal dissection, especially for the superior mediastinum. The surgical procedure for MIE is more and more standardized, and there is an increasing practice of MIE worldwide. Randomized trials and meta-analyses have confirmed the advantages of MIE over open esophagectomy, including a significantly lower rate of complications and shorter hospital stays. The recent application of robotics technologies for MIE has further enhanced the quality and safety of the surgical dissection, while intraoperative nerve monitoring has contributed to a lower rate of recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy. With the application of new technologies, we expect further improvement in surgical outcomes for MIE in the treatment of squamous esophageal cancer.

Bilateral lung nodules resection by image-guided video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery: a case series.

BACKGROUND: We demonstrated the safety and feasibility of image-guided video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (iVATS) of bilateral lung lesions in a hybrid operating room. METHODS: This study was a retrospective analysis of a case series. A total of 7 patients with 15 small lung nodules underwent bilateral iVATS between July 2018 and May 2019. All procedures were completed within a single anesthesia procedure and performed in a hybrid operating room that had a cone-beam computed tomography (CT) apparatus equipped with a laser navigation system. The lesion characteristics, operation methods, and peri-operative clinical outcomes were summarized. RESULTS: A total of 7 patients with 15 resected lung nodules were analyzed. The most common pathological result of our bilateral iVATS was metastasis. The median length of hospital stay was 5 days (range from 3 to 10 days). The median right chest tube duration was 2 days (range from 1 to 8 days), and the median left chest tube duration was 3 days (range from 2 to 5 days). Only one patient had a complication during his hospitalization period. There was no surgery-related mortality observed. CONCLUSIONS: For bilateral pulmonary nodules, the iVATS procedure seems to be a feasible and cost-effective approach.

Tricuspid valve infective endocarditis complicated with multiple lung abscesses and thoracic empyema as different pathogens: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Only 4.1% of tricuspid valve IE cases require surgical intervention. The complication after tricuspid valve IE with lung abscess and empyema is rare. CASE PRESENTATION: We report the case of a 38-year-old male (an intravenous drug abuser) diagnosed with tricuspid valve IE who underwent tricuspid valve replacement. The case was complicated by multiple lung abscesses and thoracic empyema. The pathogens causing the lung abscesses and empyema were Acinetobacter baumannii complex and Candida albicans, which were different from those causing the endocarditis. After 4 weeks of antibiotic treatment, chest X-ray revealed bilateral clear lung markings with only mild blunting of the right costophrenic angle. CONCLUSION: The pathogen causing the lung abscess is not always compatible with that causing the endocarditis. Thoracoscopic incision of the abscess with 4 to 6 weeks of broad-spectrum antibiotic treatment is effective and safe.

Comparison Between Esophagectomy and Definitive Chemoradiotherapy in Patients With Esophageal Cancer.

BACKGROUND: This study compared survival between definitive chemoradiotherapy (CRT) and esophagectomy alone among patients with locoregional esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). METHODS: Data were obtained from the Taiwan Cancer Registry between 2008 and 2014. Included were 5,487 patients with clinical I, II, or III esophageal SCC who received definitive CRT or esophagectomy alone. Patients were stratified according to clinical stage. Overall survival was compared between patients treated with definitive CRT versus esophagectomy alone, and between patients in the three different clinical stages. Propensity-matched analysis along with univariate and multivariate analysis were performed. RESULTS: Treatment was with definitive CRT in 4,251 patients (77.50%) and esophagectomy alone in 1,236 (22.50%). Propensity score matching produced 1,020 patients for comparison. The overall survival rates at 1, 2, and 3 years were 60.92%, 34.96%, and 26.14%, respectively, for propensity-matched patients treated with definitive CRT and were 71.15%, 56.50%, and 46.17%, respectively, for propensity-matched patients treated with esophagectomy alone (p < 0.001). Multivariate analysis showed treatment strategy was an independent prognostic factor. Esophagectomy alone was associated with significantly better overall survival than definitive CRT for patients with clinical stage I/II disease. There was no survival risk difference between definitive CRT and esophagectomy only for patients with clinical stage III disease. CONCLUSIONS: Esophagectomy alone could provide better survival than definitive CRT for patients with clinical stage I/II esophageal SCC. However, definitive CRT and esophagectomy yield similar overall survival rates in clinical stage III patients.