Oxygen uptake kinetics during cardiopulmonary exercise testing and postoperative complications in patients with lung cancer.

It is accepted that cardiopulmonary exercise testing is one of the most valuable parameters, especially peak oxygen uptake (VO(2)), for the evaluation of risk assessment in lung cancer surgery. It therefore represents an attractive way of identifying a patient at high risk for postoperative complications. However, many patients do not achieve the maximal or predictive level during an incremental exercise testing. The purpose of the current investigation was to study the value of the oxygen uptake efficiency slope (OUES), which shows exercise capacity during submaximal testing, in predicting postoperative mortality in patients with bronchogenic carcinoma scheduled for lung resection. Forty-nine patients with bronchogenic carcinoma participated in studies with exercise tests as a preoperative evaluation. The peak VO(2) was calculated for each subject by averaging values obtained during the final 10s of exercise. The following equation was used to determine OUES: VO(2)/log(10)VE. Peak VO(2) without postoperative complication was 22.8+/-3.3 ml/(kg min), however, peak VO(2) in patients with present complications was 19.1+/-4.2 ml/(kg min) (p=0.001). In addition, although the mean OUES in patients with present complications was 11.1+/-1.2, the mean OUES in the absent group was 13.3+/-2.1 (p<0.001). Although peak VO(2) is useful in evaluating selected patients with bronchogenic carcinoma, OUES is also a beneficial parameter and should be calculated and recorded with peak VO(2), a better predictor of poor surgical outcome than absolute values, and should be integrated into preoperative decision making.

The diagnostic value of image guided percutaneous fine needle aspiration biopsy in equivocal mediastinal masses.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The aim of this study was to assess the diagnostic value of image guided percutaneous fine needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy in equivocal mediastinal masses. PATIENTS: Sixty-six patients with an equivocal mediastinal mass who underwent FNA biopsy between 1993 and 2003 were eligible for final analysis. The cytological and definitive diagnosis of masses were grouped as primary 22 (33%)-30 (46%) and secondary (metastatic) neoplasms 18 (27%)-18 (27%) and nonneoplastic lesions 20 (30%)-18 (27%) respectively. RESULTS: The diagnostic accuracy (95% C.I.) of FNA biopsy for primary mediastinal neoplasms, secondary neoplasms and nonneoplastic lesions were found to be 93.3 (83.8-98.2)%, 100 (95.1-100)%, 93.3 (83.8-98.2)%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Image guided percutaneous FNA biopsy is a safe and highly accurate diagnostic method for equivocal mediastinal masses.

Pulmonary large cell carcinoma with rhabdoid phenotype.

Large cell carcinoma of the lung with a rhabdoid phenotype is very rare. We present a 55-year-old man with multiple nodules in his lung. He had an emergency operation because of abundant hemoptysis. The microscopic appearance was a large cell carcinoma with a pure rhabdoid phenotype. There were no foci of any other carcinomatous components. Tumor cells had abundant eosinophilic cytoplasmic globules and eccentric nuclei and did not adhere to each other. Histochemically, these cells were periodic acid-Schiff-negative. Immunohistochemically, vimentin and neuron-specific enolase were positive. Epithelial membrane antigen was focally and weakly positive, p53 was positive in 60% of tumoral cells, and Ki-67 (MIB-1 labeling index) was 50%. The patient died of disseminated disease 2 months after the operation.

[Spontaneous rupture of mediastinal cystic teratoma (case report)]. / Mediastinal kistik teratomun spontan rüptürü

Teratomas are rare tumors in the mediastinum. Benign cystic teratomas of anterior mediastinum are rarely complicated by rupture into an adjacent body cavity. Such rupture, however, is usually associated with life-threatening complications. We present a case with spontaneous rupture of mediastinal cystic teratoma. The patient was evaluated with chest radiograph, computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). A complex mass including predominantly cystic components was detected in the left anterior mediastinum. After surgery, pathologic diagnosis was reported as mature cystic teratoma. High levels of amylase and lipase were detected in both the cystic fluid and serum. This finding supported the hypothesis of autolysis for the explanation of rupture. In addition, carbohydrate antigen (CA) 19-9, CA 125 and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels were high in the cystic fluid.

Causes of death within 1 year of resection for lung cancer. Early mortality after resection.

OBJECTIVES: Some of the lung cancer patients who are treated surgically with curative intent ultimately die in the early postoperative period. The aim of this study is to analyze the causes of death within 1 year of resection for lung cancer in our patients. METHODS: Six hundred and twenty patients, who underwent resection for lung cancer with a curative intent were reviewed retrospectively. Eighteen patients (2.9%) died due to postoperative complications or within the first month and 51 (8.4%) patients (group 1) died within the first year after operation. Fifty-one patients (group 1) were compared with the survivors (group 2) in terms of age, gender, preoperative FEV 1, pathological tumor node metastasis (TNM), histopathological subtypes, type of resection, completeness of the resection, preoperative Karnofsky performance status and application of postoperative radiotherapy. RESULTS: Pathological TNM (P<0.001) type of resection (P<0.01) histopathological subtype (P<0.001) completeness of the resection (P<0.05) and postoperative radiotherapy (P<0.001) were determined to be significant factors in mortality within 1 year after resection for lung cancer. CONCLUSIONS: The patients with pathological stage 3 disease, with large cell histology or who had undergone pneumonectomy have a higher risk of mortality within 1 year. These patients require detailed preoperative work up in terms of metastatic disease and cardiopulmonary physiological status.

Life-threatening hemoptysis in a child: the only symptom.

An 8-year-old girl was evaluated for hemoptysis, 50 mL/day, which lasted for 3 days. Computed thoracic tomography detected a mass lesion in the right lower lobe. During rigid bronchoscopic examination, exanguinating hemoptysis occurred, and a Fogarty balloon catheter was placed in the right intermediate bronchus. Thoracotomy revealed a 2 x 2-cm mass in the right lower lobe. Common basal segmentectomy was performed. Pathological frozen-section analysis confirmed the diagnosis of perforated hydatid cyst.

Bronchial sleeve resections for carcinoid tumor in the first decade of life.

Two male patients who were admitted to our department with wheezing, and symptoms of recurrent pneumonia, aged 7 and 10 years, were both diagnosed to have endobronchial masses in the right intermediate bronchus. We employed bronchial sleeve resections with pathological results of carcinoid tumor. Patients were discharged on postoperative days 7 and 8, respectively. The aim of this study is to emphasize the bronchial sleeve resection as a technically feasible procedure in the first decade of life.

Chest wall invasion in lung cancer patients.

This study was performed to assess the prognosis in patients with non-small cell lung cancer invading the chest wall. In this study, the data from 43 patients who were operated on between January 1990-January 1998, for non-small cell lung cancer with pathologically verified parietal pleural and chest wall invasion were retrospectively reviewed. The median and 3-year survival of the population was calculated to be 16.8 months and 34%. The pathologic stages were T3N0 in 31 (72.09%) patients, T3N1 in 5 (11.62%) and T3N2 in 7 (16.27%). The median survival of the T3N0M0 patients was 24 months but in the same T3 population with pathologically verified N1 and N2, the median survival was 7.4 months (p < 0.01). A complete resection was achieved in 37 (86.84%) patients. The median and 3-year survival of the patients with complete resection were 20.60 months and 41% respectively. In six patients, who had incomplete resection, median survival was noted to be 7.4 months. Patients who received adjuvant radiotherapy in the N2 positive group and the incomplete resection group, did not benefit (p > 0.05). The results of this study confirmed that the lung cancer patients with chest wall invasion had different survival curves. The survival of patients changed according to the completeness of the resection and lymphatic metastases of either N1 or N2.

Hydatid cystic disease of the soft tissues with pulmonary and hepatic involvement: report of a case.

Hydatid disease, which is caused by the Echinococcus granulosis parasite, is endemic in certain parts of the world where close contact between humans and sheep exists. The disease most commonly involves the liver and other solid organs. This report describes the case of a teenage girl with hydatid disease involving the right axilla and various other sites concomitantly. The patient was admitted to hospital with a mass in the right axillary region, and further examinations revealed that the liver and right lung were also involved. We report this case to emphasize that hydatid disease should be considered in the differential diagnosis of patients from endemic areas who present with soft tissue masses.

Invasive staging of superior mediastinum in non-small cell lung cancer patients with specific indications.

This prospective study was done between February 2001 and December 2002 on 84 non-small cell lung cancer patients who were apparently operable. We selectively performed mediastinoscopy to 46 patients (54.76%, group 1) with the following indications: clinical T4 tumor, high operative risk, radiologically enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes, clinical T3 tumors with central location, radiologically identified mediastinal lymph nodes of any size with adeno or large cell carcinoma histology. Other 38 patients (45.23%, group 2) underwent thoracotomy without mediastinoscopy. Sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value and positive predictive value of the indications were calculated. Cost analysis was done in the 84 patients and the results were compared with alternative mediastinal staging strategies (vs. routine, and vs. selectively to patients with radiologically positive mediastinal lymph nodes) if they had been applied to our population. Group 1 had higher selectivity to differentiate N2 patients (p=0.02). Sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value and positive predictive value of indications were calculated as: 0.85, 0.54, 0.92 and 0.36, respectively. Our approach was most economical in terms of total cost per patient and money spent unnecessarily per patient. Mediastinal evaluation in operable lung cancer patients should decrease the number of surgical procedures, N2 disease found at thoracotomy and cost.

Sleeve resection of the right main bronchus for postlobectomy broncho-pleural fistula.

In this case report we present a novel treatment for bronchial fistula after lobectomy. The patient had right upper lobectomy for T1 N0 M0 peripheral adenocarcinoma and he had been reexplored 4 days later for massive air leak in another chest surgery department. After the reoperation the bronchial fistula persisted and the patient was admitted to our department. Nineteen days after the reoperation, bronchoscopy confirmed that the bronchial stump was totally opened. A sleeve resection to the right main broncus including the fistulous stump of right upper lobe was performed.

Clinical significance of P16INK4A and retinoblastoma proteins in non-small-cell lung carcinoma.

This study was performed to determine the frequency of expression loss of p16 and pRb; their relations with each other, tumour histology, tumour stage, nodal status, and survival in formalin fixed, paraffin embedded tumour tissues of patients with non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). P16 and/or pRb expression loss is observed in 72 (75.8%) out of 95 patients, and 70 (73.7%) of them showed inverse correlation (P<0.05). Thirty-six (37.9%) of the p16 positive cases usually showed weak or moderate immunohistochemical staining. Loss of p16 expression was found to be significantly greater in squamous cell carcinoma than in adenocarcinoma cases, whilst no relation was observed with other clinical parameters. Immunohistochemical reactivity for pRb was generally moderate or strong. PRb expression loss was observed in 15.8% of the cases, and no relation was found between pRb loss and age, sex, tumour histology, tumour stage, or nodal status. PRb negative squamous cell carcinoma cases had significantly shorter survival independent of nodal status. These results suggest that disruption of p16/pRb pathway is frequently involved in NSCLC, and pRb expression loss in cases with squamous cell carcinoma may predict clinical outcome.

An unusual intrapleural foreign body: ignored aspiration.

A 54-year-old male patient was admitted to our department with fever, dyspnea and chest pain. Left pleural effusion and destroyed left lower lobe was noticed in his computerized chest tomography. After chest tube drainage, massive hemoptysis developed. An emergency thoracotomy was performed. A bronchopleural fistula, destroyed left lower lobe and the head of an oat were detected in the pleural space. Left lower lobectomy and perioperative pneumoperitoneum were performed. The patient had an uneventful postoperative (p.o.) course and was discharged on p.o. day 6. We present this case because of the rarity and to emphasize the clinical presentation. The physicians should be aware of life threatening complications of oat head aspiration.