Positive expression of protein chromosome 9 open reading frame 86 (C9orf86) correlated with poor prognosis in non-small cell lung cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: Chromosome 9 open reading frame 86 (C9orf86) is a novel subfamily of GTPases. Previous studies have implicated C9orf86 as a potential oncogene. METHODS: C9orf86 expression was detected in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell lines and human bronchial epithelial (16HBE) cell lines by RT-PCR and western blotting. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was used to detect 180 consecutive NSCLC specimens and 16 normal lung tissues. The correlation between C9orf86 expression and clinicopathological parameters was evaluated. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Cox hazards ratio models were used to estimate the effect of C9orf86 expression on survival. RESULTS: C9orf86 was expressed in the cytoplasm in 74 of 180 (41.11%) NSCLC specimens. In clinical pathology analysis, C9orf86 expression significantly correlated with lymph node metastasis and clinical stage significantly (P<0.05). Multivariable analysis confirmed that C9orf86 expression increased the risk of death after adjusting for other clinicopathological factors (P<0.01). Overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were significantly prolonged in the C9orf86 negative group compared to the C9orf86 positive group (P<0.001). Adjuvant chemotherapy prolonged OS and DFS in resected NSCLC patients with C9orf86 negative expression (P<0.001) but not C9orf86 positive. CONCLUSIONS: Positive expression of C9orf86 is an independent prognostic factor for NSCLC patients, and C9orf86 may serve as a prognostic biomarker for patients with NSCLC.

Short-Term Outcome of Three-Dimensional Versus Two-Dimensional Video-Assisted Thoracic Surgery for Benign Pulmonary Diseases.

BACKGROUND: It is unclear whether three-dimensional (3D) video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) pulmonary resections are comparable to two-dimensional (2D) VATS pulmonary resections in patients with potentially operable benign pulmonary diseases. METHODS: We analyzed the clinical data of patients who underwent 2D and 3D VATS pulmonary resections for benign diseases in our hospital from November 2013 to August 2014. Perioperative factors (estimated blood loss and operative time) and postoperative factors (postoperative hospital length of stay, postoperative complications, and duration of chest tube drainage) were evaluated. RESULTS: VATS was performed in 278 patients during the 10-month study period. The 2D VATS system was used in 142 patients (51.08%), and the 3D VATS system was used in 136 (48.92%). Operative time was significantly different between the two groups (p = 0.007). However, no significant differences were found in estimated blood loss (p = 0.75), chest drainage tube placement time (p = 0.852), rate of postoperative complications (p = 0.566), or postoperative hospital length of stay (p = 0.951). CONCLUSIONS: The use of 3D VATS appears to facilitate precise execution of surgical techniques in specific operative tasks and, as a result, reduces lung resection performance time in patients with benign pulmonary diseases.

Right lung upper lobe carcinoma radical excision plus superior vena cava angioplasty.

An elderly male patient was found to be with "nodule in upper lobe of right lung" during his health examination, although without any symptom. Chest CT at admission showed that the nodules were close to the superior vena cava, and CT reconstruction displayed an adipose space between the nodules and the superior vena cava. However, bronchoscopy showed negative results. Pre-operative exploration showed that the right upper lung nodules were tightly attached to the surface of superior vena cava and could not be effectively divided; an invasion could not be ruled out. The surgery was performed in a distal-proximal manner. The pulmonary fissure, bronchi, and arteries were divided firstly, followed by veins and the surrounding tissues of the lung. After the surrounding spaces of the tumor were sufficiently disassociated, superior vena cava angioplasty was performed using a stapler. The surgery was performed completely under thoracoscopy, during which the surgical incision was not enlarged. The main operation port was about 4 cm in diameter. Two axillary operation ports (about 1.2 and 0.6 cm in diameter, respectively) were also used. All the surgical equipment were used smoothly, and thus the surgery was completed with lowest invasion.

Selective killing of lung cancer cells using carcinoembryonic antigen promoter and double suicide genes, thymidine kinase and cytosine deaminase (pCEA-TK/CD).

The application of gene therapy in cancer treatment is limited by non-specific targeting. In the present study, we constructed a recombinant plasmid, containing a carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) promoter and double suicide genes thymidine kinase (TK) and cytosine deaminase (CD), henceforth referred to as pCEA-TK/CD. Our results showed that the CEA promoter can specifically drive target gene expression in CEA-positive lung cancer cells. In the presence of prodrugs 5-flucytosine and ganciclovir, pCEA-TK/CD transfection decreased inhibitory concentration 50 and increased apoptosis and cyclomorphosis. Our result suggests that gene therapy using pCEA-TK/CD may be a promising new approach for treating lung cancer.