Clinical efficacy of treatment for primary tracheal tumors by flexible bronchoscopy: Airway stenosis recanalization and quality of life.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of interventional treatment of primary tracheal tumors through flexible bronchoscopy. The clinical data of 38 patients with primary tracheal tumours who underwent flexible bronchoscopy intervention therapy between January 2011 and January 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. The average time interval from onset of symptoms to the appearance of actual clinical manifestations in the 38 patients ranged from 0 to 60 months, with an average of 8.1±11.6 months and a median of 4.2 months. The rate of misdiagnosis at the first visit was 36.8% (14/38). After interventional treatment, the overall efficiency (complete + partial response) of airway stenosis recanalization in the 38 patients was 89.5%. In 3 patients with benign tumors, the anhelation score was reduced following treatment (1.00±0.77 vs. 3.13±1.21 at the pre-treatment stage; P<0.001). The overall survival rates of the 35 patients at 1, 3 and 5 years were 69.3, 48.7 and 20.3%, respectively. Therefore, flexible bronchoscopic intervention may effectively smoothen the airways of patients and relieve the symptoms of anhelation. Combining radiotherapy and chemotherapy may improve patient prognosis and safety.

Serum albumin as a significant prognostic factor in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma.

Our aim was to evaluate the prognostic role of the pretreatment serum albumin level in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) receiving platinum-based systemic chemotherapy. From 1995 to 2013, a total of 97 patients receiving platinum-based systemic chemotherapy for newly diagnosed MPM were enrolled. All clinical information and laboratory results were retrospectively collected from the medical records. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate survival. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to identify significant independent prognostic factors for predicting survival. In total, 34 of the 97 patients (35.1 %) had hypoalbuminaemia (albumin ≤ 35 g/l). The 1-year overall survival rate was 44.1 % for patients with hypoalbuminaemia and 72.0 % for patients with a normal albumin level. Multivariate analysis indicated that pretreatment albumin was an independent prognostic factor in MPM. Patients with hypoalbuminaemia had a greater risk of death than those with a normal albumin level [hazard ratio (HR) 1.778; 95 % confidence interval (CI) 1.504-2.998; P = 0.031]. When albumin was entered as a continuous variable in the Cox regression model, the HR of death was significantly decreased by 9.8 % (95 % CI 0.851-0.956) for each 1-g/l increment. The pretreatment serum albumin level is a simple, inexpensive and easily measurable marker with prognostic significance in MPM patients treated with platinum-based systemic chemotherapy.

Prognostic nutritional index predicts outcomes of malignant pleural mesothelioma.

PURPOSE: Nutritional status has been associated with long-time outcomes in cancer patients. We investigated whether the prognostic nutritional index (PNI), an indicator of nutritional status, affects overall survival in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). METHODS: We enrolled 121 patients with histologically confirmed MPM, who had successfully undergone biopsy by medical thoracoscopy in this study. Demographic, clinical and laboratory data were collected retrospectively. The PNI was calculated as 10× serum albumin value (g/dl) + 0.005 × total lymphocyte count (per mm(3)) in peripheral blood. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to identify prognostic factors. RESULTS: Mean pretreatment PNI was 44.6. PNI was significantly associated with age (P = 0.031), smoking habits (P = 0.039) and weight loss (P = 0.029). Survival analysis showed PNI to be an independent prognostic factor in MPM. Patients with lower PNIs (PNI < 44.6) had greater risk of death than those with higher PNIs (PNI ≥ 44.6; hazard ratio: 2.290; 95 % confidence interval: 1.415-3.706; P = 0.001). These analyses were adjusted for patient age, gender, smoking habits, dyspnea, chest pain, weight loss, primary site of tumor, histology, platinum-based systemic chemotherapy, hospital and stage. CONCLUSIONS: Pretreatment PNI is a novel independent prognostic factor in MPM.

Endostatin, an angiogenesis inhibitor, ameliorates bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis in rats.

BACKGROUND: Recent evidence has demonstrated the role of angiogenesis in the pathogenesis of pulmonary fibrosis. Endostatin, a proteolytic fragment of collagen XVIII, is a potent inhibitor of angiogenesis. The aim of our study was to assess whether endostatin has beneficial effects on bleomycin (BLM)-induced pulmonary fibrosis in rats. METHODS: The rats were randomly divided into five experimental groups: (A) saline only, (B) BLM only, (C) BLM plus early endostatin treatment, (D) BLM plus late endostatin treatment, and (F) BLM plus whole-course endostatin treatment. We investigated the microvascular density (MVD), inflammatory response and alveolar epithelial cell apoptosis in rat lungs in each group at different phases of disease development. RESULTS: Early endostatin administration attenuated fibrotic changes in BLM-induced pulmonary fibrosis in rats. Endostatin treatment decreased MVD by inhibiting the expression of VEGF/VEGFR-2 (Flk-1) and the activation of extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2). Endostatin treatment also decreased the number of inflammatory cells infiltrating the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid during the early inflammatory phase of BLM-induced pulmonary fibrosis. In addition, the levels of tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and transforming growth factor ß1 (TGF-ß1) were reduced by endostatin treatment. Furthermore, endostatin decreased alveolar type II cell apoptosis and had an epithelium-protective effect. These might be the mechanism underlying the preventive effect of endostatin on pulmonary fibrosis. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that endostatin treatment inhibits the increased MVD, inflammation and alveolar epithelial cell apoptosis, consequently ameliorating BLM-induced pulmonary fibrosis in rats.

[Th1/Th2 immune response in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid in children with severe Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia].

OBJECTIVE: To study the status of Th1/Th2 immune response and the value of the detection of cytokines in bronchoalveolar lavage fluids (BALF) by examining the levels of IFN-γ and IL-4 in BALF and serum in children with severe Mycoplasma pneumonia (MPP). METHODS: The levels of IFN-γ and IL-4 in BALF and serum were measured using ELISA in 25 children with severe MPP, 25 children with mild MPP and 25 children with foreign body in bronchus. RESULTS: The levels of IL-4 and IFN-γ and the IL-4/IFN-γ ratio in BALF in children with severe MPP were significantly higher than those in children with foreign body in bronchus (P<0.01 or P<0.05). The serum levels of IL-4 and the IL-4/IFN-γ ratio in children with severe MPP were significantly higher than those in children with foreign body in bronchus (P<0.01) or with mild MPP (P<0.05). The levels of IL-4 and the IL-4/IFN-γ ratio in BALF were significantly higher than in serum (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The data suggest that the imbalance of Th1/Th2 exists in children with severe MPP and it seems to represent a predominant Th2-like cytokine response. The detection of cytokines in BALF appears to be more sensitive than in serum and may be of value in the diagnosis and therapy of MPP.