Robotic Versus Thoracoscopic Sub-lobar Resection for Octogenarians with Clinical Stage IA Non-small Cell Lung Cancer: A Propensity Score-Matched Real-World Study.

BACKGROUND: Minimally invasive sub-lobectomy is sufficient in treating small early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, comparison of the feasibility and oncologic efficacy between robot-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (RATS) and video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) in performing sub-lobectomy for early-stage NSCLC patients age 80 years or older is scarce. METHODS: Octogenarians with clinical stage IA NSCLC (tumor size, ≤ 2 cm) undergoing minimally invasive wedge resection or segmentectomy at Shanghai Chest Hospital from 2011 to 2020 were retrospectively reviewed from a prospectively maintained database. Propensity score-matching (PSM) with a RATS versus VATS ratio of 1:4 was performed. Perioperative and long-term outcomes were analyzed. RESULTS: The study identified 594 patients (48 RATS and 546 VATS patients), and PSM resulted in 45 cases in the RATS group and 180 cases in the VATS group. The RATS patients experienced less intraoperative bleeding (60 mL [interquartile range (IQR), 50-100 mL] vs. 80 mL [IQR, 50-100 mL]; P = 0.027) and a shorter postoperative hospital stay (4 days [IQR, 3-5 days] vs. 5 days [IQR, 4-6 days]; P = 0.041) than the VATS patients. The two surgical approaches were comparable concerning other perioperative outcomes and postoperative complications (20.00% vs. 26.11%; P = 0.396). Additionally, during a median follow-up period of 66 months, RATS and VATS achieved comparable 5-year overall survival (90.48% vs. 87.93%; P = 0.891), recurrence-free survival (83.37% vs. 83.18%; P = 0.782), and cumulative incidence of death. Further subgroup comparison also demonstrated comparable long-term outcomes between the two approaches. Finally, multivariate Cox analysis indicated that the surgical approach was not independently correlated with long-term outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: The RATS approach shortened the postoperative hospital stay, reduced intraoperative bleeding by a statistically notable but clinically insignificant amount, and achieved long-term outcomes comparable with VATS in performing sub-lobectomy for octogenarians with early-stage small NSCLC.

The surgical perspective in neoadjuvant immunotherapy for resectable non-small cell lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: The recent novel conception of neoadjuvant immunotherapy has generated interest among surgeons worldwide, especially the lack of experience involving surgical treatment for the neoadjuvant immunotherapy population. METHODS: Patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), who underwent neoadjuvant immunotherapy or chemo-immunotherapy, were retrospectively collected between September 2018 and April 2020. Demographic data, pathological and clinical features, therapeutic regimens and outcome data of all individuals were collected by retrospective chart review. Operative details, information of neoadjuvant therapy, were also abstracted. RESULTS: In total, 31 patients were included in the final analysis. The patients' median age was 61 years. In total, 29 of the patients were males, while 2 were females. Patients received a median of 3 doses before resection. The median duration from final treatment to surgery was 34 days. After neoadjuvant treatment, post-treatment computed tomography scan showed that 24 patients had partial response. In total, 12 of 31 patients had a major pathological response, 15 pathological downstaging. Three patients had no residual viable tumor. A positive surgical margin was identified in 7 cases. One or more postoperative complications occurred in 18 of all 31 patients. In total, 26 patients underwent next-generation sequencing before surgery in total. Among them, 2 patients were detected STK11 mutations, none of whom had a major pathological response by final pathological examination. CONCLUSIONS: Pulmonary resection after neoadjuvant immunotherapy or chemo-immunotherapy for resectable NSCLC appears to be safe with low operative mortality and morbidity rate in the current population.

Continuous Relationship of Operative Duration with Risk of Adverse Perioperative Outcomes and Early Discharge Undergoing Thoracoscopic Lung Cancer Surgery.

Background: For thoracoscopic lung cancer surgery, the continuous relationship and the trigger point of operative duration with a risk of adverse perioperative outcomes (APOs) and early discharge remain unknown. Methods: This study enrolled 12,392 patients who underwent this surgical treatment. Five groups were stratified by operative duration: <60 min, 60−120 min, 120−180 min, 180−240 min, and ≥240 min. APOs included intraoperative hypoxemia, delayed extubation, postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs), prolonged air leakage (PAL), postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF), and transfusion. A restricted cubic spline (RCS) plot was used to characterize the continuous relationship of operative duration with the risk of APOs and early discharge. Results: The risks of the aforementioned APOs increased with each additional hour after the first hour. A J-shaped association with APOs was observed, with a higher risk in those with prolonged operative duration compared with those with shorter values. However, the probability of early discharge decreased from 0.465 to 0.350, 0.217, and 0.227 for each additional hour of operative duration compared with counterparts (<60 min), showing an inverse J-shaped association. The 90 min procedure appears to be a tipping point for a sharp increase in APOs and a significant reduction in early discharge. Conclusions: Our findings have important and meaningful implications for risk predictions and clinical interventions, and early rehabilitation, for APOs.

General anaesthesia with double-lumen intubation compared to opioid-sparing strategies with laryngeal mask for thoracoscopic surgery: A randomised trial.

BACKGROUND: General anaesthesia for thoracoscopic lung surgery can be performed with the opioid-sparing strategies without intubation and may reduce the risk of glottic injury and enhance recovery after surgery. We therefore tested the primary hypothesis that avoiding intubation reduces glottic injury. METHODS: Adults having elective thoracoscopic lung resections were randomised to: (1) intubated group: routine general anaesthesia with a double-lumen tube intubation; or, (2) non-intubated group: a bundle of opioid-sparing strategies, which included paravertebral blocks and total intravenous anaesthesia with minimal remifentanil infusion from 0.05 to 1.0 ng/mL (avoid sufentanil unless the respiratory rate exceeds 25/min or the systolic blood pressure exceeds 30% of the baseline value), no muscle relaxation, and spontaneous ventilation through a laryngeal mask. The primary outcome was glottal injury as determined by transnasal bronchoscopy one hour after removal of the laryngeal mask or double-lumen tube. RESULTS: Two hundred seventeen patients were assessed for the primary outcome. Sufentanil use was reduced 96% and remifentanil was reduced 40% in non-intubated opioid-sparing patients. The incidence of glottal injury was 9% (10/109) in the non-intubated vs. 37% (40/108) in the intubated patients (RR: 0.25; 95%CI: 0.13-0.47, P < 0.001). The non-intubated group also had less postoperative sore throat (8% vs. 39%; P < 0.001) and hoarseness (3% vs. 19%; P < 0.001). Postoperative pulmonary complications and lung injury biomarkers did not differ between the groups. Compared to the intubated group, the non-intubated group had less postoperative pain, faster recovery, and improved quality-of-life scores. CONCLUSIONS: Non-intubated opioid-sparing strategies for video-assisted lung resections reduce airway injury and promote postoperative recovery. CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER AND REGISTRY URL: ChiCTR1800018198 https://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=30780.

Obesity Does Not Increase Perioperative Outcomes in Older Patients Undergoing Thoracoscopic Anatomic Lung Cancer Surgery.

Objectives: To investigate the relationship between obesity status and perioperative outcomes in elderly patients undergoing thoracoscopic anatomic lung cancer surgery. Methods: From January 2016 to December 2018, we performed a monocentric retrospective cohort study among 4164 consecutive patients aged 65 years or older who underwent thoracoscopic anatomic lung cancer surgery at Shanghai Chest Hospital. Two groups were stratified by body mass index (BMI): nonobese (BMI<28kg/m2) and obese status (BMI≥28kg/m2). Using a 1:1 propensity score matching (PSM) analysis to compare perioperative outcomes between two groups. Results: 4035 older patients were eventually enrolled, with a mean age of 69.8 years (range: 65-87), and 305 patients were eligible for obese status, with a mean BMI of 29.8 ± 1.7kg/m2. Compared with nonobese patients, obese patients were more likely to have higher rates of intraoperative hypoxemia (1.2% vs 3.9%, P=0.001) and new-onset arrhythmia (2.3% vs 4.3%, P=0.034). The difference in intraoperative transfusion and conversion rates and postoperative outcomes regarding pulmonary complications, new-onset arrhythmia, transfusion, length of hospital stay, 30-day readmission and hospitalization costs between two groups were not significant (P>0.05). After a 1:1 PSM analysis, the difference in both intraoperative and postoperative complications among two groups were not significant (P>0.05). In subgroup analysis, patients with BMI≥30kg/m2 had a similar incidence of perioperative complications compared to patients with BMI between 28 and 30 kg/m2 (P>0.05). Conclusions: Our research data support evidence for "obesity paradox" and also contribute the growing body of evidence that obesity in older patients should not exclude candidates for thoracoscopic anatomic lung cancer surgery.

Robotic-assisted thoracic surgery reduces perioperative complications and achieves a similar long-term survival profile as posterolateral thoracotomy in clinical N2 stage non-small cell lung cancer patients: a multicenter, randomized, controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Our previous study demonstrated the safety and short-term efficacy of robotic-assisted thoracic surgery (RATS) in clinical N2 (c-N2) stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. From this, the present study was devised, in which the follow-up time and sample size were both extended to explore the long-term efficacy and potential benefit in survival of RATS compared with lobectomy in c-N2 stage NSCLC patients. METHODS: Patients with c-N2 NSCLS were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to accept operation through thoracotomy or RATS. The da Vinci Surgical System (Si/Xi) was applied in the RATS group, while conventional lobectomy with a rib-spreading incision was applied in the posterolateral thoracotomy group. Primary endpoint was defined as disease free survival and overall survival (OS) of all recruited patients. RESULTS: Compared with posterolateral thoracotomy group (N=72), the RATS group (N=76) had a reduced blood loss (P<0.001), decreased drainage duration (P=0.002), and decreased postoperative pain visual analog score (all P<0.001), but increased overall cost (P<0.001). Meanwhile, no difference in the other postoperative complications (such as air leakage, subcutaneous emphysema, atrial fibrillation etc.) was found between the RATS group and the posterolateral thoracotomy group (all P>0.05). Regarding long-term outcome, no difference in disease-free survival (DFS; P=0.925) or OS (P=0.853) was observed between the RATS group and posterolateral thoracotomy group. Subgroup analyses and multivariable Cox regression analyses also found no difference in DFS or OS between the RATS group and posterolateral thoracotomy groups. CONCLUSIONS: RATS reduced intraoperative bleeding, drainage duration, postoperative pain, and achieved similar long-term survival outcomes compared with posterolateral thoracotomy in c-N2 stage NSCLC patients. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR-INR-17012777.

Immuno-based therapeutic strategies for initial unresectable locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer: a case report.

Lung cancer is the leading global cause of cancer-related deaths. Even for patients who receive multidimensional treatment, the prognosis for locally advanced lung cancer is poor. The outcomes of neoadjuvant immunotherapy have been encouraging in many types of cancer, and especially lung cancer. However, the prognoses of patients with initially unresectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with T4 or bulky swollen N2 lymph nodes are still unsatisfying, and novel therapeutic modalities are desperately needed. Here, we present a case of a patient with initially unresectable NSCLC with T4 and bulky swollen N2 lymph nodes, and present the argument for neoadjuvant immuno-based therapeutic strategies as a reasonable option for such patients.

Estrogen protects cardiomyocytes against lipopolysaccharide by inhibiting autophagy.

Autophagy has a significant role in myocardial injury induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Estrogen (E2) has been demonstrated to protect cardiomyocytes against apoptosis; however, it remains to be determined whether it exhibits anti­autophagic effects. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether estrogen-regulated autophagy attenuates cardiomyocyte injury induced by LPS. The cardiomyocytes of neonatal rats were randomized to the control (Con), LPS and estrogen + LPS groups. The LPS group was treated with 1 µg LPS for 24 h and the estrogen + LPS group was treated with 10­8 M estrogen 30 min prior to treatment with LPS. Cardiomyocyte autophagy was quantitated by investigating the mRNA and protein level of autophagy­related genes (Atgs). The mRNA expression of Atg5 and Beclin1 were measured by quantitative polymerase chain reaction and the microtubule­associated protein light chain 3 (LC3) protein expression was measured by western blot analysis. To demonstrate the cardiomyocyte protection of estrogen, cell vitality and serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels were measured following LPS treatment. It was identified that LPS induced cardiomyocyte injury, together with the upregulation of Atg5, Beclin1 mRNA and LC3­II protein. Furthermore, estrogen attenuated the effect of LPS. The present study provides evidence that estrogen has a myocardial protective role against injury induced by LPS by regulating autophagy.

Risk factors for intraoperative atrial fibrillation: a retrospective analysis of 10,563 lung operations in a single center.

BACKGROUND: Risk factors of postoperative atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients undergoing general thoracic operations have been extensively studied. This study investigated risk factors for intraoperative AF. Identification of patients vulnerable for intraoperative AF during lung operations will benefit from improved preoperative and intraoperative management that will ultimately decrease intraoperative complications. This study retrospectively evaluated the risk factors for intraoperative AF during lung operations. METHODS: Medical records of 10,638 patients who underwent lung operations from January 1, 2006, to May 20, 2011, at the Shanghai Chest Hospital were reviewed. The analysis excluded 75 patients with preoperative AF or nonsinus rhythm or who were taking antiarrhythmic drugs before the operation. The final analysis included 10,563 patients. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify risk factors for intraoperative AF. RESULTS: The overall incidence of intraoperative AF was 3.27% (346 of 10,563). Multivariable logistic analysis identified increasing age, male sex, lung cancer, general anesthesia plus paravertebral block, open operation, resection of one or more lobes, and increased operation time as risk factors of intraoperative AF. In 40.73% of patients, intraoperative AF occurred during lymph node dissection. CONCLUSIONS: We identified seven risk factors for intraoperative AF in patients receiving lung operations. These findings may eventually help us to improve preoperative and intraoperative management to minimize intraoperative AF.